New to this forum, Got a BEL, Shed question

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

Yeah... it’s a digital hygrometer thermometer, and i confirmed the numbers with a second hygrometer.

Is it possible he had a bad shed just cuz of being in a new environment and not 100% settled?


-Jason

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Sorry don't know.. maybe worth googling ?

I do know that mine shed perfectly after a few days of spraying .. I know they need higher than normal humidity levels though ..


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Sorry don't know.. maybe worth googling ?

I do know that mine shed perfectly after a few days of spraying .. I know they need higher than normal humidity levels though ..


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Thanks. Hopefully his next shed will be better. :/ Mainly concerned with getting him hydrated now


-Jason

Currently have him soaking, as per the stickied thread in this forum. Looking closer, it seems as if only the belly scales have shed off. The whole upper half of his body hasn’t even started it looks like. I’m very confused, hoping it’s not like this every shed. :(


-Jason

Got lots of the shed off! It seemed like he was just having a hard time gettin the shed to start. It was just stuck right on top of his head, once i got it peeling off it all came off in big pieces! Only reason it was multiple pieces was when the towel broke it. So it doesn’t seem like a typical bad shed.

Hoping it’s just he’s not experienced in shedding... or getting it to start at least. Lol, i don’t know. I’m grasping here haha


-Jason

If it's some reassurance, I think your snake's sheds will get better as he settles in. I remember reading this bit of wisdom from someone else on this forum (think it might have been Craig?) - the next shed starts as soon as the first one ends. Basically, how well a shed goes depends not just on the few days leading up to the shed, but on what happens with the snake the whole time in between sheds. Stressors, changes in location/environment, dietary adjustments, etc. during that period may all impact a shed. Your little guy is still relatively new, so he's got some adapting to do. You're doing exactly what you need to do right now - helping him through this shed, and keeping his current conditions as optimal and stable as possible.

Gotcha good point! Thanks!! I always worry about my animals, just want to provide them the absolute best life possible!! So whenever something is going not so great i tend to freak and worry haha. Thanks for the reassurance. :) So, now the question is do i offer food again or skip a week because of the shedding fiasco?


-Jason

Hmm ... perhaps someone with more expertise can chime in, but my current rule of thumb is waiting 1 day after minor disturbances like just taking him out and handling him, versus 3-4 days for things that are more likely to be a bit stressful for the snake, including the soak-and-wipe process for bad sheds.

And no worries, haha, I'm a similar brand of worrywart. I've been following this thread and rooting for your little guy because my new kid is also a young BEL.

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Originally Posted by RedRabbit

Hmm ... perhaps someone with more expertise can chime in, but my current rule of thumb is waiting 1 day after minor disturbances like just taking him out and handling him, versus 3-4 days for things that are more likely to be a bit stressful for the snake, including the soak-and-wipe process for bad sheds.

And no worries, haha, I'm a similar brand of worrywart. I've been following this thread and rooting for your little guy because my new kid is also a young BEL.

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I’m planning on going to the place i got him tomorrow. Just to browse the other snakes they have. Might see what they have to say. Thanks :)


-Jason

Awesome news guys!! He’s looking great today. I went to a local reptile center and spoke to a guy that i know who has a lot of experience with snakes :) He suggested still offering food today even though Blue might’ve been slightly stressed from the soak yesterday. Well, i’m glad i did! He took the rat! He didn’t strike when i was offering it, but i turned out his light and left the rat (pre kill) in front of his “door” to his hide that he was in. Checked on him a few hours later and the rat is gone! I’m so happy my little dude ate! :)


-Jason

Blue ate again today! :) So happy that he’s eating 2 weeks in a row. This time he even struck and got a good wrap on it! I peeked in on him and he’s still trying to figure out which end to start at... he’s such a funny baby.


-Jason

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

Also, so far Blue (cliche name i know haha) has been very well tempered! When i held him to move him to the enclosure the first day he wasn’t balled up at all, and slithering around exploring my arms, not fast like to escape but just seemed curious. And even amongst shed, when i took him out to check out his eyes i didn’t even get a hiss or ball at all. Just checking out my arms again haha. Super happy with him! Now just to get him to eat after he sheds to ease my mind. (i tend to worry about my babies too much haha)

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That's awesome! My Monty acts the same exact way. Never an ounce of aggression towards me....not once. Isn't it great? Oh, and the name (Blue) is actually clever, IMO. A Lucy is actually what I'm shopping for right now.

Congrats! He's beautiful!

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Originally Posted by Shayne

That's awesome! My Monty acts the same exact way. Never an ounce of aggression towards me....not once. Isn't it great? Oh, and the name (Blue) is actually clever, IMO. A Lucy is actually what I'm shopping for right now.

Congrats! He's beautiful!

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Thank you!! :) I especially like the name cuz i’m not sure if Blue is a girl or boy yet lol, and it’s a pretty gender neutral name haha.


-Jason

Not a great pic but, proud dad moment. Lol!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f4ba797b65.jpg

Snek doin him an explor

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f3e9a4280a.jpg




-Jason

Nice! Good job Blue (and Blue's dad, LOL)!

May have figured out the bad shed reason. I bought an Accurite thermometer/hygrometer and it’s reading about 20% lower humidity than my other hygrometer.

At least he has a humid box in there now and i’ll show him how to use it when i see his eyes go hazy. Honestly regretting not going with a tub setup now lol


-Jason

How’s her weight looking to you guys? I know it’s a blurry pic (through the glass). From what you can see tho does she still look a little underweight?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3d1730baf5.jpg


-Jason

Her spine still seems to be sticking out a bit so she seems a tad underweight to me but if you keep feeding her regularly with the right-sized prey I think she'll be fine in no time :)

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Originally Posted by Luvyna

Her spine still seems to be sticking out a bit so she seems a tad underweight to me but if you keep feeding her regularly with the right-sized prey I think she'll be fine in no time :)

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Thanks for the confirmation! She’s on small rat pups (borderline fuzzy/pup) and i think they may be a tad too small.

Should i go up to a regular sized pup or should i just feed every 5 days instead of 7?


-Jason

Can see her blue eyes better in this pic! The room was dark so her pupils weren’t adjusted to the light yet, lol.

Such a cutie!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...926a410de6.jpg


-Jason

Here’s a link to the BP Husbandry section with a chart on feeding that gives some good rule of thumb guidelines on prey size and frequency.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines

I personally don’t feed more than every 7 days with a prey item roughly 10-15% of the snake’s weight. I will also feed 2 smaller prey items when my snakes are transitioning to the next size up.

Thanks Diane. I’ve read that over a few times but since i’m still not handling Blue (unless absolutely needed) so she can get ultra settled in, i haven’t weighed her yet and it’s hard to tell how big her widest part of her body is without having her out lol. I might take her out tomorrow for a weigh in and make a note of her biggest/widest portion of her body.

Thanks!


-Jason

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

Thanks Diane. I’ve read that over a few times but since i’m still not handling Blue (unless absolutely needed) so she can get ultra settled in, i haven’t weighed her yet and it’s hard to tell how big her widest part of her body is without having her out lol. I might take her out tomorrow for a weigh in and make a note of her biggest/widest portion of her body.

Thanks!


-Jason

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You can also just eyeball the prey item to compare to the widest part of her as she crawls around. Ideally you just don’t want to create a large bulge. All of my 2018 hatchlings are currently eating 1 or 2 medium mice each. They aren’t quite big enough for large mice, but were definitely looking for more when I was offering just 1 mouse.

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Originally Posted by Dianne

You can also just eyeball the prey item to compare to the widest part of her as she crawls around. Ideally you just don’t want to create a large bulge. All of my 2018 hatchlings are currently eating 1 or 2 medium mice each. They aren’t quite big enough for large mice, but were definitely looking for more when I was offering just 1 mouse.

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Yeah, i just eyeballed it and also took the reptile center’s recommendation from what they were feeding her there (along with her siblings). :) She definitely acts hungry tho even just a few days after feeding.


-Jason

Oh my gosh, hilarious story. So i took Blue out for the first time for handling, planned on 5 or 10 mins to not stress him at all. Well, i handed him to my sister because she adores him, and Blue decided to take a nice big dump on her hand. Haha!!! It was lovely, i’m sure you can imagine.

Question tho, before the solid poops came, there was a brown liquid that looked like thin diarrhea. Is that normal before the solid poops come? First time i’ve seen a snake poop in person lol.


-Jason

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

Oh my gosh, hilarious story. So i took Blue out for the first time for handling, planned on 5 or 10 mins to not stress him at all. Well, i handed him to my sister because she adores him, and Blue decided to take a nice big dump on her hand. Haha!!! It was lovely, i’m sure you can imagine.

Question tho, before the solid poops came, there was a brown liquid that looked like thin diarrhea. Is that normal before the solid poops come? First time i’ve seen a snake poop in person lol.


-Jason

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A lot of times, some liquid urine - or even some solid urate chunks, for that matter - can come out with the poop (the snake is just generally trying to push stuff out, haha), so that's most likely what you saw. Your poor sister though!

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Originally Posted by RedRabbit

A lot of times, some liquid urine - or even some solid urate chunks, for that matter - can come out with the poop (the snake is just generally trying to push stuff out, haha), so that's most likely what you saw. Your poor sister though!

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Thanks. Haha yeah, something about her just makes animals poop. My exes Hedgehogs always would poop on my sister lol! She just has “the touch”[emoji23]


-Jason

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

Thanks. Haha yeah, something about her just makes animals poop. My exes Hedgehogs always would poop on my sister lol! She just has “the touch”[emoji23]


-Jason

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Hahaha! What a dubious honor to have!

Well, he did it again lol! Not musking, cuz he lets out full on turds. Wonder if it’s the change in temp from his cage to our hands that helps him poop?


-Jason

I've only got peed on so far and that was enough

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

I've only got peed on so far and that was enough

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lol, now i keep paper towels and/or a bowl nearby to catch any poops he decides i need.


-Jason

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

lol, now i keep paper towels and/or a bowl nearby to catch any poops he decides i need.


-Jason

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GOOD IDEA !
I always look at the vent area when I feel like it's about time for him to poop and if it's starting to open I put him back in his enclosure...
Yuck

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Yeah, i’m still only taking him out about once or twice a week to ease him into handling. He’s super chill but don’t wanna get him stressed. But it always seems i manage to handle him on his pooping night... or he saves it for me. :P


-Jason

Hopefully once he becomes more comfortable and more chilled , you wont get pooped on .

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Originally Posted by gdawgs56

Yeah, i’m still only taking him out about once or twice a week to ease him into handling. He’s super chill but don’t wanna get him stressed. But it always seems i manage to handle him on his pooping night... or he saves it for me. [emoji14]


-Jason

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