Ball Python Problems

Hi I have a 4 year old ball python named Sam that has been eating live mice and rats and is currently sheding and I think he has a stuck shed. He hasn't eaten in about 4 weeks and just today his eyecaps turned blue I was wondering if he hasn't eaten because of him having a stuck shed or because the last rat I fead him bit him several times.

He also has never had a clean shed which I think is humidity related and in that case how would I keep his cage at 80 humidity. He has a 50 gallon fish tank and I use repti-bark for bedding

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Originally Posted by TheAman

Hi I have a 4 year old ball python named Sam that has been eating live mice and rats and is currently sheding and I think he has a stuck shed. He hasn't eaten in about 4 weeks and just today his eyecaps turned blue I was wondering if he hasn't eaten because of him having a stuck shed or because the last rat I fead him bit him several times.

He also has never had a clean shed which I think is humidity related and in that case how would I keep his cage at 80 humidity. He has a 50 gallon fish tank and I use repti-bark for bedding

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can u post some pics of your setup and bp??

Here's a great sticky that has some useful info if you haven't already tried some of these solutions:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...p-w-pics-*DUW*

Completely unrelated, Ryan, but looking at your list, did you produce your BEL yourself from the two lessers? Just curious, as I've got a pair on my wish-list, finances allowing, for just that reason, lol!

4 years old, has he been eating regularly before? It might just be that time of year and may simply have girls on the mind... :rolleyes:

he had been eating a rat or 2 mice every week and when he shed heed go a week or 2 without eating.

I don't know if its a boy or a girl but about a week ago we went without power for a while and his hot rock or lamp wasn't on for about a week and his cage temputure plummeted. Could that have simulated winter?

Here are some pictures of Sam and his enclosure

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Originally Posted by youbeyouibei

Completely unrelated, Ryan, but looking at your list, did you produce your BEL yourself from the two lessers? Just curious, as I've got a pair on my wish-list, finances allowing, for just that reason, lol!

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no i got her from nerd and its a mojave x lesser bel.but i am going to breed her to the lesser in the future.:)

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Originally Posted by TheAman

Hi I have a 4 year old ball python named Sam that has been eating live mice and rats and is currently sheding and I think he has a stuck shed. He hasn't eaten in about 4 weeks and just today his eyecaps turned blue I was wondering if he hasn't eaten because of him having a stuck shed or because the last rat I fead him bit him several times.

He also has never had a clean shed which I think is humidity related and in that case how would I keep his cage at 80 humidity. He has a 50 gallon fish tank and I use repti-bark for bedding

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how are u measuring your humidity and temps ? and is that a heat rock that you have in there?

what you might want to do is cover 3/4 of the top and spray some water daily to bring up the humidity .

I have a thermometer and for hummidity I have no clue

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Originally Posted by TheAman

I have a thermometer and for hummidity I have no clue

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get a digital thermometer and hydrometer and if thats a heat rock i see in your tank i would advise you to take it out since they will burn your bp :gj:

is that a heat rock.....

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

is that a heat rock.....

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im almost a 100 % it is and i dont know if its the picture or is that bp belly really red ??

Yeah, you need to take that hot rock out of there ASAP. I know they still sell them in pet stores as a way to keep your reptiles warm, but they really shouldn't. They get way too hot, and will burn your ball python if he lays on it for too long. Go out and get an under tank heater/heat pad instead, and then get a cheap lamp dimmer at lowes or home depot to control it.

I would also recommend putting in another hide for him on the other side of his tank. All snakes need to be able to thermoregulate, or be able to choose if they want to be hot or cold, and ball pythons really like things to hide in. They are very shy snakes. Even a cardboard box with a hole cut in the side would work. I would suggest getting a different water dish too, something that's bigger and holds more water. More water evaporating might help keep your humidity up.

Hygrometers measure humidity, and you can get a cheap (~$10) digital thermometer/hygrometer (so it will measure both) at either walmart or home depot. From those pictures, he's definitely going into shed, and yeah, some ball pythons don't like to eat while their eyes are blue like that. I don't think he has a stuck shed, but you really need to get his humidity up. Misting the bedding with a spray bottle and covering most of the screen top of the tank with a damp towel should help with that.

Oh, and if you haven't checked out this caresheet yet, you should http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet It might answer a lot of your questions! :)

It is a heat rock but it barely works and stays relatively cool. I will make the recommended changes tomorrow

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Originally Posted by TheAman

Hi I have a 4 year old ball python named Sam that has been eating live mice and rats and is currently sheding and I think he has a stuck shed. He hasn't eaten in about 4 weeks and just today his eyecaps turned blue I was wondering if he hasn't eaten because of him having a stuck shed or because the last rat I fead him bit him several times.

He also has never had a clean shed which I think is humidity related and in that case how would I keep his cage at 80 humidity. He has a 50 gallon fish tank and I use repti-bark for bedding

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The reason why he has not eating might be the stuck shed. Or the rat bit him, that is how my female albino ball python is when ever she gets bit she does not eat for a while. That is ok they will eat eventually. And the best way to get the stuck she off is to give him a bath or put him in a container WITH HOLES, but not a lot of holes for about 15-20 minutes. And then take him out and peel it off. Hope this helps.

If his eyes just turned blue, I reckon the shed isn't stuck yet, he just hasn't finished the shed cycle. But that's almost certainly why he's not eating. A lot of ball pythons won't eat this time of year anyway because of hormones, but even my hungry animals rarely eat when they're in shed.

The rat bites might have triggered the shed if they broke the skin. Injuries like that will trigger a shed cycle.

Do you have a screen top tank? I recommend covering it with aluminum foil. You leave the foil on all the time, or just when he's in shed, but limiting air flow will boost the humidity. (Leave some air holes for circulation, obviously.) There are some DIY threads on the forum with pictures of aluminum foil and plastic wrap fixes to screen top tanks.

Was that heat rock your only heat source? I'd try an under tank heater if you need to replace the heat rock. (Ideally with a "table-top lamp dimmer" from Home Depot, to control the temperatures.) You could use an overhead light, too, but those tend to make humidity problems worse.

I have an over head light and have covered the top with aluminum foil 2/3 of the way. I will go out and get a UTH for him.

It's strange I have had him for about 4 years now and this is the longest he's gone without eating. I wonderif me handling him more often has anything to do with this?

Count your lucky stars that in 4 yrs that heat rock never burned him...heat rocks are the devil lol! Definitely get a UTH ASAP...Amazon.com has 10 gal ones for cheaper than any pet retail store.

Once his skin "clears up" again and he begins to slough around the nose, soak him for 30 minutes in warm water (make sure to have a water dish flipped upside down in the tub so he can rest). Then do what Zack said and just run him through your hands and the skin will come off like a glove.

Personally, I've found it hard to keep humidity in larger tanks unless half of the screen lid covered with glass.

Sometimes males go into fasting cycles because they want to breed. Although, the housing conditions in this case are far from being appropriate for a ball python. Humidity is vital for the health and well being of your snake. Lack of humidity will only make his life miserable. Heat lamps basically make your terrarium an arid desert, and not the environment these animals come from. An undertank heat pad would be a far better choice but it is important to know an undertank heat pad can and will burn your snake. I would recommend having a good amount of substrate. Even a piece of fleece or terrarium turf can help ensure that you will not burn your snake. MIST your substrate at least weekly, and thats without the use of a heat lamp. With a heat lamp it's almost impossible to maintain the proper humidity. Please make these necessary changes immediately, for the sake of your snake. He will be far happier.

Also, invest in a temp gun to check your temperatures. Warm water is not warm water to our SKIN. We are 98.6 degrees... warm water to us is 100+ degrees and your snake will NOT be happy in that temperature. If I need to soak a snake it's typically done in water in low 80s. This will actually feel cooler to us... people don't realize this until they temp gun the water temperature.