My bp is driving me to drink

Lets see:

1- horrible shed, my goodness she is a mess.

2- regardless of the horrible shed, my girl is a pig... One med ish mouse every 5 days. This feeding schedule isn't giving me much chance to bring her out and assist in that shed.

3- my biggest concern.... She hasn't pooped since I got her. 3 successful feeding. I've nicknamed her chunky butt cause damn she's getting thick.

How long can she go? Could temps be an an issue? Cool side is about 84, hot side 90. I know the cool side is high but due to record heat, its not going down. Humidity is a bit high right now at 66 but was letting it stay that high until she gets this shed off, not to mention keeping her light off in an effort to maintain temps.

Safe to assume she will go when she is ready???

Yes, she will go when she's ready. :gj:

She'll poop when she's ready, and if it's really really bothering you a warm soak can sometimes help. It can help to loosen up old skin too.

Yep, x2 on the soak-- you may kill 2 birds with 1 stone there! =] Sounds like she just hasn't deemed it the right time to poo yet. :3 Sometimes doing a clean of their enclosure helps too, I know Magnus poos without fail every time I clean his substrate out. He likes it smelling like him, I guess.

I'll see if she wants to come out tomorrow since she just ate last night. I try to leave her be since she is doing such a great job at hiding. My 14 year old asked me if she is actually even still in there as we never see her. She lets her presence known when she's hungry, camps her hide exit. When she came out to eat last night, I was shocked at how much of a mess she really is concerning that shed. Her eye caps came off no problem but the rest of her *sighs* poor thing.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

Yep, x2 on the soak-- you may kill 2 birds with 1 stone there! =] Sounds like she just hasn't deemed it the right time to poo yet. :3 Sometimes doing a clean of their enclosure helps too, I know Magnus poos without fail every time I clean his substrate out. He likes it smelling like him, I guess.

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Ugh, rotten buggers do that all the time.
Fresh clean cage and next morning a huge deuce waiting to be cleaned up.
It is like they are waiting for cleaning day.

Give her time. The warm water bath will definitely help with the shed and poop situations. If she still does not poop in the next few weeks, feel her belly for any hard or distended lumps. Good luck!

I wouldn't worry about the poop too much.. my girl only poops like once a month lol.
Grab a tall tupperware and fill it with very slightly warm water to where she could comfortably sit submerged without having to strain to keep her head up. Place her in it and keep her there for 20-30 minutes while watching TV or something to supervise her. Put a book on top if you think she could get out.

I agree with all of these suggestions.

1) Nice soak to help her out.
2) Clean her cage and I garuntee she will poop! :P haha

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

One med ish mouse every 5 days. This feeding schedule isn't giving me much chance to bring her out and assist in that shed.

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Umm, then maybe don't feed her so much? Who says you need to feed the snake every 5 days?

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Cool side is about 84, hot side 90. I know the cool side is high but due to record heat, its not going down.

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If you can't bring the cool side temp down, how about trying to reduce the heat of the hot side? Thermometers can easily be a couple degrees off (I have no idea what you're using to measure temps; I use a HerpStat 1, a high-end humidor digital thermometer, as well as an IR temp gun), so you're looking at potentially 92* on the hot side - which I would argue is much too hot.

I would sacrifice one meal to soak her and get the skin off if it's bugging you, and it might stimulate her to eliminate too. But don't worry about the pooping part, they'll go when they're ready. Seriously, I remember a post on here a long time ago about a blood python that held it for 9 months.

I kind of prefer when they hold it in and go all at once - fewer cleanings! Haha.

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Originally Posted by rossi46

Umm, then maybe don't feed her so much? Who says you need to feed the snake every 5 days?



If you can't bring the cool side temp down, how about trying to reduce the heat of the hot side? Thermometers can easily be a couple degrees off (I have no idea what you're using to measure temps; I use a HerpStat 1, a high-end humidor digital thermometer, as well as an IR temp gun), so you're looking at potentially 92* on the hot side - which I would argue is much too hot.

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She pretty much lets me know she is hungry by behavior.

As for temps.... Thermostat is set at 91 with a hydrofarm. She doesn't burrow, temp at substrate level <which is an inch thick> on the hot side is 86. Yes, I know, not the greatest t-stat but I use an ir temp gun and it's pretty much spot on. Her forever home will include a herpstat but as long as this is working, I don't see the sense in changing it now. I've settled on maintaining an ambient of 85 which won't hurt her... I've never had any one tell me 92 is too hot but that is a moot point since the only part of her tank that comes close would be her basking spot.

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

She pretty much lets me know she is hungry by behavior.

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It's healthy for snakes to be hungry. In the wild, they might eat a couple times a month tops. They evolved to have breaks between meals, so why not go with what's natural? There's no need to overfeed her, it'll only make her fat. Just feed her once week, she will be fine.

Makes sense of course... She's still a baby. Only weighs in at 86 grams. I have no doubt that she will be fine if I let her go a few extra days but I've always seen 5-7 days for a baby so that is what I was doing.

Lol, I have no patience. She took being moved very well and seemed to enjoy her soaking.

http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/t...9334184ac2.jpg

Not the greatest pic but her shed is def loosened up.

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

Makes sense of course... She's still a baby. Only weighs in at 86 grams. I have no doubt that she will be fine if I let her go a few extra days but I've always seen 5-7 days for a baby so that is what I was doing.

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Every 5 days for an 86 gram baby is not overfeeding, provided the meals aren't too big. Hatchlings can eat every 3-4 days and not miss a beat. If they're hungry feed them. They'll soon enough go on a hunger strike and you'll be wishing for the days she ate without hesitation...

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

She pretty much lets me know she is hungry by behavior.

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:confusd:

Not sure how even to respond to that.

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I've never had any one tell me 92 is too hot but that is a moot point since the only part of her tank that comes close would be her basking spot.

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I'll defer to the Barkers of VPI, who probably know a thing or two about caring for BPs:

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As a general starting point for successful maintenance, ball pythons can be kept in a cage that has a night time low temperature of 79-81 degrees F and a daytime high temperature of 81-85 degrees F.

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http://vpi.com/publications/the_ball_python_care_sheet

Silly me, I was going by the care sheet on this site...

TEMPS: 80-84 F w/ basking 88-94 F
HUMIDITY: 50%-60%

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Originally Posted by rossi46

:confusd:

Not sure how even to respond to that.

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What's so confusing? That's one thing I love about hatchlings. They have no problem "telling" you they're hungry. :D

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Originally Posted by rossi46

I'll defer to the Barkers of VPI, who probably know a thing or two about caring for BPs:



[/FONT][/COLOR]http://vpi.com/publications/the_ball_python_care_sheet

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I'll see your VPI, and raise you a Garrick DeMeyer: "The ambient cage temperature should be 82-85 during the day, with a slight drop at night. A hot spot should be given that stays a constant 90-92 degrees."

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Originally Posted by rossi46

Not sure how even to respond to that.

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For a few days after feeding mine stay in their warm side hides while they digest. For the next few days they'll alternate between the warm and cool sides, but not "hunting", as in, usually the head is buried somewhere in the hide and the back is toward the opening. When hungry they'll stay in the cool side hide with their nose or head in the opening, waiting for prey to walk by (or appear magically from above on tongs...). So yeah, I know when they're hungry.

Mine "hunt" as well- increasing movement / "searching" behavior; mostly their activity spikes during night time, moreso than usual. I sleep with my snakes in my room so I notice :P

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

Yes, she will go when she's ready. :gj:

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X2 - my girl finally went after 4 weeks.