petco

[deathfromabove]

went to petco to see if there was anything i could get to improve my tank for my ball and also get some shed aid for him, he has some scales on his head and part of his body were he messed up on his last shed i think, i bought him like that, the scales are like not really missing but almost looks like they were filed down, well anyway i was talking to the lady cuz there were 2 diff types of formula and i told her how i have a humidity problem it wont stay above 30 and she told me ball pythons dont really need that high of humidity so i should just mist the tank????(wich ive been doing and still no good results) from what ive heard and from research the humidity is supposed to be at at least 50% idk i didnt feel like talking to her anymore and just got what i needed, well is it true the humidity doesnt really matter for ball pythons? or is she just another employee that doesnt no anything?

[iCandiBallPythons]

Read this: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

[smoffler]

50% is what it needs to be at what.is your setup? Tank im assuming. If so 3 layers of tinfoil on the screen lid with ventilation holes in it and a spot cut out for your light and wa la perfect and during shed bump it up to about 65% and you'll have perfect sheds. And yes humidity is a big concern with the health of your scaley friend.

sent by two homing pigeons!!

[ballpythonluvr]

Humidity is especially important during shed cycles. I like to keep it at 65% to 70% during shed cycles.

[Camarokidz28]

65-70% humidity through my BPs shed cycle and it came off in one piece no problem.

If yours had a bad shed, you may have to let him soak in water a little or put him in a damp pillowcase. Do a search to find some more information on what I'm talking about for him.

Also read the caresheet that was posted and you'll know most of the answers to your BP husbandry.

[BbyBoa]

I use heat tape over my screen, and a whole where the light is for air/heat bulb access. If you are using a heat bulb of any kind, with the top covered most of the way try soaking folded up paper towels in warm water and placing them under the light, more paper towels=more humidity. That is what has been working for me.

[Adam Chandler]

Humidity is important to BP's, not as important as something like a Green Tree Python but still important. In the wild BP live in very humid burrows and termite mounds. For her to say BP's don't need humidity is just ignorant.

Doesn't surprise in the the least, every time I'm in a Petco the BP's have stuck sheds.

[PghBall]

You definitely want an average humidity of around 50% and bump it up to 60-70% during the shed cycle. If you are using a tank, definitely make sure your screen lid is covered about 3/4 with aluminum foil. Until I did that, my normal male always had bad sheds. Now the tank stays right around 50% all the time. If you have a heat lamp, get rid of it and go with an uth of the appropriate size for your tank. Also, try getting some sphagnum moss to make a humid hide when he is going into shed. moisten the moss and put it in the hide with him.

[The Hedgehog]

Doesn't surprise in the the least, every time I'm in a Petco the BP's have stuck sheds.

While I also see this quite often, I also know that Petco hires people, train them on their corporate sheets, and just expect them to know what to do. Unless that person has a lot of reptile experience then they probably don't know how to keep humidity up or things like that. Just comes with the territory of a corporate store. However I still need to go in there for things here and there that I can't get else where due to not having mice delivered to me. (Can't do it at my apartment for certain reasons)

Another thing to get the shed off is to stick him/her into a tub with some water in it. Not too high where she has to swim, but just high enough to cover her a bit. Don't make the water hot, but cool/warm to the touch. Let the snake soak in there for half an hour to an hour and pull her out. Then get her to run through a wet rag. Should pull most of the shed off of her. I actually have to do this with my dumeril's boa a lot. She's always burrowed, and I can't tell a lot of times when she goes into shed. So by the time I notice, she's already peeling but it's not in one clean peice like it should be. So I do the water in the tub, and 30 mins later she's perfect!