Smart Snake

I was curious, is it nature for a ball python to seek out humidity when they are in shed?

I found it absolutely adorable to come home to my girl all curled up in her water dish, with her head popping out.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56...Rox/photo1.jpg

ya, i have never seen any of my balls get into there water dish but i have read about them getting in there water for shedding purposes and also mites .. maybe check her dish for small black specs and also around the eyes and pits .. if nothing then maybe she is just a soaker

I will be sure to do that. I think it could also be how the breeder brought her up. He was always a firm believer of having a dish big enough for them to soak in, so he prob had them soaking every time shed came around. It made me happy to see cause I didn't really make it home til late today. So I couldn't do much for humidity.

My female Mojave is a soaker, Every time I open her tub she is in the water dish.

She ended up shedding last night, I could only find bits and pieces so I'm assuming thats why she was soaking..?

If she doesnt shed completely in one go does that mean its a bad shed?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DarrinLowe

She ended up shedding last night, I could only find bits and pieces so I'm assuming thats why she was soaking..?

If she doesnt shed completely in one go does that mean its a bad shed?

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It means it is not ideal. Ideally they would get it off in one piece, however if she gets it all off, doesnt retain an eye cap, and keeps all her scales with little to no assistance from you I would call it a decent shed.

Bad sheds are usually the ones where you read about people needing to soak their snakes and run them through a towel or pillow case. When people find their snakes with a patch or two of rubbed off scales etc.

I would double check for mites and also your temps but if all is well then it is not a problem. I use water bowls large enough for them to soak in but I very rarely see them in the water bowls. Out of the 20+ bp's I have right now and have had for several years I have only ever found 1 soaking, not to say it isn't possible that others have and I didn't see it.

I'm kind of concerned now. My Female is making a kind of odd clicking sound. It's not Everytime she breathes in but every now an then, she is freqently opening her mouth and it looks like it's kind of sticky in there. I did put her in a bath (half her size up her body. Her first reaction was balling up, so she ended up face first in the water. Her left lip is kind of hanging. We need advice.

Get her to a vet as soon as possible. Clicking, wheezing, and holding the mouth open are signs of a respiatory Infection.

Well I've been keeping a close eye on her all night. The yawning and clicking has stopped. My main concern that I can still see is her left lip hanging kind of low. As if it doesn't go into her mouth properly.

Okay, here is the requested picture. I know shes got wrinkles, its the shed she is retaining, the rest of her body is looking very healthy.

I dont quite know what is going on with her jaw. at first I thought it would be mouth rot, but looking at some pictures, I suspect otherwise.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56...x/DSCN3260.jpg

As you can see it comes down on one part, and kind of folds when it gets closer to the neck. I tried to get another picture of the bottom but it took me like 50 tries just to get that one. Tell me what you think..

as for her shed, shes been in her humid hide on her own will for the past hour or two. I'm hoping that will give her what she needs for the last part left on her.
If not I will take care of it tomorrow.

My guess would be that she's uncomfortable from the retained shed and is still trying to rub it off, causing her jaw to disalign. Try your best to get her hydrated and get that shed off of her.

Don't be so quick to assume RI.. There could be lots of reasons she's doing what she's doing. An unnecessary vet visit could do more harm than good.

Keep us updated. :)

You said she dunked herself in the water, head and all, so I would think that is where the clicking and yawning came from.. ever gotten water down your nose.. you do whatever you can to get it out.. I just had to soak a girl and she did the same thing ( dunked her head then clicked) she is completely fine now.

I would be sure to make sure she has lots of water available, keep her humidity and heat up and a close eye on her. Hopefully she gets that shed off and starts to feel all better.

When should I expect her to be able to re-align it?

She has finally taken a liking to her humid hide. She was in there when I went to bed, and when I woke up. Although, she did come out cause I noticed a very large poop beside the hide >.<

We only thought it was a RI cause she was making an odd clicking sound every now and then. I havent heard it since.

Edit:

Yeah, in one of my previous posts, that was the main reason I didnt freak out about the clicking, she decided to go for a dunk in the water haha. It went away pretty quick.

I have been spraying morning and night, and monitoring the damp of her humid hide. Im thinking tonight everything should be proper, finally.

Now I just gotta get on helping the male get comfortable, he just sits in the corner all day.
Any suggestions?

Ijust bought a snake aswell, and she wouldnt go into her hides either and did much of the same sit in the corner all day thing, i got her a hide with more entrences/exits for her and now she goes in there alll the time.

The male seems to be getting more comfortable. I gave him a bit of attention and he sparked some curiosity finally. My uth's came today, so took him out, and while doing so, I blacked out his windows, and turned his hide facing them. He went in almost right away.