Do BPs need baths?

[onthefritz]

This might be a stupid question to some but I'm curious so I'll ask anyways. I know that people soak in containers to help with shedding but can BPs be bathed too? Obviously, I know they don't need soap and all of that but can they benefit from just hanging out in a shallow bathtub of warm water for a few min every so often?

I was visiting with family last week and she has bearded dragons. Once a week she runs a warm bath for them and just lets them hang out for a few min while she supervises. They seemed to really enjoy it and it cleaned the messes off of them so they weren't stinky. It made me think about my guys at home when they wallow in their crap. Will it hurt my guys to do they same thing when they're gross?

[Redlude92]

They don't need it nor will it hurt them.. It'll stress them out, but it won't hurt them.. I've done it to help the shed process and to clean them up if they smell like poo.

[Redlude92]

Just make sure it's not so deep where they have to work to keep their head out of water..

[onthefritz]

Do you think it'll stress them out anymore than soaking them in a container?

[Zincubus]

I give my Royals the occasional soak for about 30 minutes , they ALWAYS come out looking cleaner, brighter and occasionally plumper ......

[Skiploder]

They don't need baths. There is no benefit to it and they don't enjoy it.

You have one goal as a keeper: to provide a stress free proper environment.

Stress is the root cause of many health issues that plague captive reptiles. It can reduce the efficacy of the immune system and trigger bouts of anorexia.

For every instance where someone states a bath us needed I can provide a less stressful solution. Bad sheds, crawling through poop....anything.

[Zincubus]

They don't need baths. There is no benefit to it and they don't enjoy it.

You have one goal as a keeper: to provide a stress free proper environment.

Stress is the root cause of many health issues that plague captive reptiles. It can reduce the efficacy of the immune system and trigger bouts of anorexia.

For every instance where someone states a bath us needed I can provide a less stressful solution. Bad sheds, crawling through poop....anything.

Well .... To be fair I'd say that SOME do benefit from a soak .

My first Royal ( albino ) was in pretty poor condition when I 'saved' it from the local pet store and she wasn't happy or wanting to eat for a few weeks afterwards .

I posted a photo of it onto a Snake forum and within hours somebody suggested that she thought it was probably dehydrated and to give it a soak in water for 30 minutes . I did everything she said and within the hour the snake had transformed into a plump brightly coloured Albino .. and she ate the very next day ...

[Skiploder]

Well .... To be fair I'd say that SOME do benefit from a soak .

My first Royal ( albino ) was in pretty poor condition when I 'saved' it from the local pet store and she wasn't happy or wanting to eat for a few weeks afterwards .

I posted a photo of it onto a Snake forum and within hours somebody suggested that she thought it was probably dehydrated and to give it a soak in water for 30 minutes . I did everything she said and within the hour the snake had transformed into a plump brightly coloured Albino .. and she ate the very next day ...

Was the OP asking about rehabilitating a dehydrated snake?

Or was the OP asking about just hanging out in shallow water very so often?

With regards to dehydration, there are better ways to address it than soaking the snake in water.

[Zincubus]

Was the OP asking about rehabilitating a dehydrated snake?

Or was the OP asking about just hanging out in shallow water very so often?

With regards to dehydration, there are better ways to address it than soaking the snake in water.

No he wasn't , but you said 'categorically " that they don't benefit from baths and I simply showed an actual example of one benefiting massively from a soak ... Ie it went on to positively thrive rather than maybe dying !!

[Skiploder]

This might be a stupid question to some but I'm curious so I'll ask anyways. I know that people soak in containers to help with shedding but can BPs be bathed too? Obviously, I know they don't need soap and all of that but can they benefit from just hanging out in a shallow bathtub of warm water for a few min every so often?

I was visiting with family last week and she has bearded dragons. Once a week she runs a warm bath for them and just lets them hang out for a few min while she supervises. They seemed to really enjoy it and it cleaned the messes off of them so they weren't stinky. It made me think about my guys at home when they wallow in their crap. Will it hurt my guys to do they same thing when they're gross?

They don't need baths. There is no benefit to it and they don't enjoy it.

You have one goal as a keeper: to provide a stress free proper environment.

Stress is the root cause of many health issues that plague captive reptiles. It can reduce the efficacy of the immune system and trigger bouts of anorexia.

For every instance where someone states a bath us needed I can provide a less stressful solution. Bad sheds, crawling through poop....anything.

Now, point out to me where we are discussing dehydration and soaks.

A ball python does not need a bath.

A ball python does not benefit from a bath.

A dehydrated ball python requiring rehydration - that is a different discussion - but I would do two or three other things rather than soak the snake.

If you want to have a discussion about that, let's start with this:

How does a ball python physiologically benefit from soaking in water if it's seriously dehydrated? Let's begin with that.

Now if you are trying to stave off a potentially fatal case of dehydration, you first need to diagnose the cause and then treat it in the quickest, most stress free way possible that provides maximum and immediate benefit.

But soaking it is not that way. And again, ball pythons do not need baths. They do not benefit from it and it can lead to other health issues.