new bp owner- question about shedding

this is my first post here and it took me like 10 min to figure out how even tho the button says post new thread (shut up everyone has their blonde moments lol) but anyway, i've had tom (my bp) for about 3 months now. he shed a few days before i got him according to the previous owner, and again about a month and a half ago so i figure its about time for him to go into shed mode again and i thought he did cause his eyes fogged up, slightly cleared, skin got dull, then somewhat cleared over the past week and 4 days and his belly turned pink during all this too. but when i looked at him the other day, his eyes and skin were completely clear like he already shed but i didnt find his shed anywhere in the tank. from what i've read, ball pythons dont eat their shed like many other reptiles do which confused me even more cause that can only mean that he never shed even tho he showed every sign i know of it. is this normal? i've looked at just about everything google and bing has to offer, i have the newer version of the ball python manual by vosjoli, and i've looked through several threads on here but i havent seen a single thing about this.. idk exactly how old he is but hes about 26" so my guess is about a year if that helps at all

They clear up almost completely right before they actually shed. It's still in the works. You probably just missed it last time or something.

As you're new, I have to recommend you take a look at the caresheet by clicking the link in the bottom of my post, read the whole thing, take it to heart, and make adjustments accordingly.

Welcome.

This is nothing to be worried about. From personal experience your snake will show signs of shed wit the clouding of the eyes and skin. After this the eyes somewhat clear up and almost look normal. This is the point where the shed is very very close to occurring.

I know with my snake she has about 2 days of clouding up, then she appears to look normal, after she looks normal i can almost guarantee to find a full shed in the tank either that next day or the one after it like clockwork.

I will put money on you finding a shed in the tank within the next 2 days :). But if your concerned at all about this don't be, everything is totally fine.

o and his last shed took about a week and his skin came off perfectly, no pieces at all.
and something else unrelated: why does this site keep making me log in when i try to do anything? its not that big of a deal but its gettin old pretty quick and i just joined yesterday.

I usually check the remember me box and that works if not it might be some setting on your comp like firewall.. Hope that helps

It seemed to take like a week before it started to remember me. Like it gets longer the longer you're a member or the more often you log in or something. Never signs me out now.

o ok thanks, thats good to know.. i guess i shouldnt be jumping to conclusions with animals that dont even eat on a daily lol
well now that im talkin to someone i wanna know if this setup needs any change: i got him in a 10 gallon but i got him a 20L, aspen shaving substrate, a heating pad (leaving it off for the summer cause my room is never below 80* thx to my busted a/c), 60 watt white uva basking light, 40 watt moonlight light for nightime (i alternate the 2), 2 dial thermometers and 1 hygrometer (best i can do for now) a little log hide that he slightly outgrew but can still fit in as long as the bedding is patted down on the warm side that im thinking about taking out cause he hasnt touched it since i got him another log hide that i thought was wayy too big when i brought it home but he seems to like it just fine(it sits in the middle against the back of the tank cause its big enough for him to sit in the hot or cold side under that same hide at his current size), a humidity hide on the cool corner (clay pot with sphagnum moss), water bowl on the opposite corner, a rock on both sides, and fake plants on the cool side to take up space and help him feel more secure in there. hot side stays between 90 and 95 (if it gets higher i turn the light off cause i know dials arent the most accurate), 80- 85 on cool side, and humidity is a steady 48 but i mist the plants to make it about 53-56 and the clay pots there in case thats not enough cause theres not much more i can do about humidity except open the window while it rains and i try to keep the moss in it damp at all times.
this came up longer than i thought lol i need to figure out how to post pics

ok cool it just annoyed the hell out of me cause i never logged out but if im not the only one then ill get over it

I'll name things as I see them.

-Your ball python needs a hotspot in the low 90s controlled by a thermostat. This isn't optional. Those pads can get up to 140 degrees which is way more than enough to kill your snake. The Reptitemp 500R will work if you're on a budget.
-Ball pythons don't need light. At all. Diurnal animals need it to produce vitamin D, but most if not all snakes get it from their prey.
-Dial any-meters aren't trusted more than a piece of poo. There's a $12 AccuRite at WalMart with a probe and a built-in hydrometer. Very recommended.
-Ball pythons will prefer something much more secure and cavelike than a half log. Luckily you can just cut a hole in a plastic bowl and flip it over. Make sure your snake can barely fit. They like it snug. Put one on the hot side and one on the cool.
-If your humidity is typically around 50%, you really don't need a humid hide unless you can't raise it when he's shedding. If it's in there all the time, you need to watch for mole and scale rot.
-If your heating pad is off, how is there a heat gradient?
-You can cover the screen top with something like a wet towel. Foil tape is more permanent.

You seem like you've got a pretty good handle on things. Trust the caresheet, forum members, and professionals, ignore pet store advice, and you should do just fine.

i've seen caresheets that say that even though they dont need the lights but they can still benefit from it. like u said they get most of their vitamin d from the prey, so that tells me they get the rest from uv. hes skinny right now so i need him to absorb as much nutrients as he can from his meals. and i use them to keep the hot side hot (i made sure the wattage isnt too high) cause i dont have a thermostat (im lookin for a job right now, so money is my biggest enemy. i can mow a lawn or something for the accurite tho) but according to my piece of crap dials there is a 10* difference between each side of the tank and even tho they may not be accurate, there is a definite hot and cool side. but if u insist that i use the heat pad and not the lights, i will. theres plenty of substrate for him to not push it aside while moving around and touch the heat pad. hes never seen the bottom of his tank as far as i know. theres also not enough for him to burrow so im pretty sure hed be safe
as for the hide, not tryna disagree with u here but he can still fit snugly in the little one with the substrate patted down (which is why i still have it in there but he hasnt touched it in so long its actually collecting dust) but he prefers the big one so i dont wanna take it away from him. have there been any balls that u know of that are just different like that?
and about the humidity, i have most of the lid covered but it never reaches over 50% unless its raining so the clay pot and moss are necessary for a good shed.
o and i just wanted to state: in his old tank and the new one before all his furnishings, he tried to escape every night but as soon as i completed his tank 2 weeks ago he stopped and hasnt tried a single time since then that i've seen. i hope thats not a problem in itself.. i also hope im not startin to sound like the girl from that one thread that was goin off on everyone lol i just wanna make sure im right or wrong before changing anything

Lights are unnecessary. Breeders keep theirs in racks with no lights and they grow up to be AWESOME! Belly heat is recommended. Helps with digestion. Don't switch to it if you don't have a thermostat, though. I wasn't thinking about the light as a heat source. Don't count on him not making his way down to the UTH. They excel at defying expectations. If he likes the hides he has, great, but it's probably a good idea to offer something more secure. If he never uses them after a few weeks, then I guess he just won't. They're all different, and some are just plain weird. It's a good thing that he's not trying to escape. That's supposed to be a sign of stress. That and daytime roaming. But if they eat, poop, and shed, they're probably doing alright. Oh, and the light is probably drying out the air in the enclosure. That's another reason not to use it. Stick with things as they are until you can afford the thermostat and I think you'll be good. It's around $30-$40 shipped. The AccuRite is probably a good first step, though.

You sound like you're willing to listen to advice to make changes for the better of your snake. Nothing wrong with that.

You also sound like you're in high school. That's not wrong either, but a concern is if your snake gets a respiratory infection or something, you've got to get him to a vet. They don't just fix themselves. I hope you've got a parent or something willing to pay for a visit to a herp specialist.

Read the stickies. There's one on almost every subject of concern. "The Shedding Process" at the top of this forum addresses your first question directly.

Disagree with me if you do. Ask other people. I'm just a novice, but I'm relaying the information I've gained from more experienced keepers around here to anyone with a question I've seen answered or a concern I've seen addressed. I hope I get corrected whenever I flub something up. And I hope they back me up if I've got it right.

im waiting on a lost green card replacement (long story). how much do vet visits generally cost?
i can make $50 within a couple weeks with a little small time entrepeneur work, i thought those things were like $100, thats a relief..
i am willing to listen to anyone more knowledgeable than myself, its just that my (extremely) tight budget forces me to ask further questions.
but yea he doesnt move around during the day other than to adjust himself, unless i decide to handle him for a little bit but i usually do that at night.
he actually started shedding while i was on here early this morning but this time it was coming off in shreds. his eyecaps came off fine which is good but, i think its a combination of the light depleting the humidity outside the moss hide and that i fed him the other night thinking he wasnt gonna shed after all :hmm: i gave him a warm bath and the rest came off like knee socks though. i guess i do need to hurry up and get that thermostat cause last time he shed he was still in the 10 gallon

o and about the hide: its not like the ones in pet stores that are all smooth inside. its an old naturally hollowed out driftwood looking log from my friends backyard. his dad baked it and used it for his red tail boa but he outgrew it over a year ago and its just been sittin in his office room so he gave it to me. theres no bugs in it (he has other pets too and hes had a bp die from mites so he takes bugs and mites and such very seriously)
i will invest in smaller hides when i can tho. two identical ones right? and should the humidity hide stay in the cool side once i get the thermostat?

I totally understand the budget thing, but if your dad's into snakes he'd probably be willing to help out. It's just something to be concerned about if an emergency were to arise.

Feeding during shed has no real consequences. Some will eat, some won't. Low humidity should be what caused the piecy shed. Make sure the bath isn't too warm. Luke warm or room temperature is better.

Hides can be cheap plastic water bowls. Yes, identical, so he doesn't pick the one he likes more and sacrifice thermoregulation. You can probably get two at the Dollar Store or someplace for two bucks. Cut an entrance and soften the edges with a lighter. You might already have something you could use.

The driftwood thing sounds cool. No bugs is good.

Only use the humid hide if none of this fixes the humidity, and then, only during a shed. There are some who don't trust their snakes with anything that humid.

only problem is, hes my friends dad, not mine. hell give me free mice but thats about it. ill just have to do some borrowing if something happens before i can do something about it on my own.
he doesnt touch the humid hide unless hes going into shed but i guess ill take it out if it increases his probability of becoming ill.
do the hides have to be identical on the inside and out or just inside, cause i'd like for the plants to just be on the cool side. ill get over it if thats not ok though

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryu

friends backyard. his dad

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Right. Well, you seem resourceful. I'm sure you'll figure something out.

I think if the hides themselves are the same, it's fine. It's about how secure he feels inside of them.

alright. i think that about sums it up. i really appreciate your help steve. thank you:salute: