Unusual shedding behavior!

[ConcernedSnakeOwner]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and to the world of having a snake as a pet in general. I am having trouble with my BP and I need some help.

Backstory:
I have had Bravo going on 3 years now and starting this year his behavior has drastically changed. First two years he would eat fine and right on schedule (every two weeks or every month), shed right and overall health was good. The manner in which I had been taking care of him was good enough, even if not perfect. I live a couple of miles from Downtown Los Angeles so during the day the room temp was fine and I only used my heat lamp during the night.

Starting this year he's had only one meal on January, and since then he has not wanted to eat. I did some research and found out that when they reach a certain maturity they begin to fast during winter, so I did not let it concern me.

It has now been three months since winter ended and 5 months since he has eaten but he is still not hungry.

Now I know that BP's sometimes fast as much as a year but even though I have not weighed him consistently or at all in order to have an idea of how much weight he is losing, I have been noticing a steady loss of weight by observing an unnerving increase in loose skin. He also had a horrible scattered shed in the beginning of March which prompted me to do research on housing and humidity.

I recently found out my screen-top glass terrarium aka glass box aka fish tank was not the best choice for housing so I have covered the bottom, sides, back, and 3/4ths of the top with insulation foam board. Here's where my question/real concern comes in (I know this is a bit lengthy but please bear with me):

Although humidity levels have been much better now, right after I put him in this new and improved housing he is now seemingly having A SHED CYCLE WITHOUT AN INCUBATION PERIOD! He is shedding his scales all over the tank and some of it has stayed stuck on him even after I soaked him in warm water and used mineral oil. I do not have mites, he rarely soaks in his water bowl in which I consistently keep fresh water in, his substrate is changed regularly (reptibark), I don't handle him much, and his approachability and general behavior is still consistent.

What might be going on??? I have provided pictures below and I would GIVE YOU MY LIFE if you help me save my Bravo!!!! I am well aware of the possibility of taking him to a herp vet, I just want to gauge opinion about whether this constitutes an emerging or already existing emergency situation.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRECIOUS HELP AND FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO READ THIS.

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[blk02ssmonte]

I can not see the pics try inserting them differently.

[ConcernedSnakeOwner]

I dragged the images from the desktop hope it works




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[anicatgirl]

Ahhh cookie... Try this

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Post-Pictures

[ConcernedSnakeOwner]

Thanks anicatgirl! It should work now.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/6/0/7/2/6/cam00120_57455.jpg

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[anicatgirl]

Stop with the mineral oil for 1. That is why in the first pic it looks like you have actual scales which have fallen off. Any oil based product is going to cause this eventually. It is not natural for them. Hm. Maybe someone else will see something I don't, but I see no stuck shed, just an oily snake. Does he seem to have stuck eye caps? That would be a sign of a stuck shed. Ummmm. Run your temps and humidity level for me. Do you ONLY use a lamp, or is also a heat pad available? With what are you measuring the temps and humidity?

[BCS]

I agree, stop with the mineral oil. It is very common for this to happen when mineral oil is used. Also, no more soaking. It is unnecessary and it does not help with shedding. It is stressful for ball pythons. If he feels he needs to soak, he will do it himself in his water dish. You do not mention what his temps and humidity is at. Also, what do you feed him? Rats, mice? Frozen, live? Have you switched him to a new type of food lately? Since he has stopped eating, have you tried something new? Males reach sexual maturity before they are year old up until a year old so he has past that point I am sure. Also, do you feed him in his enclosure or in a separate feeding tub?

[ConcernedSnakeOwner]

Anicatgirl,

Thank you for the response.

So the scales coming off like that is not considered shedding? Okay that was my first mistake.

The scales are falling off because of the mineral oil? Never knew the oil would eventually cause this.

No stuck eye caps.

Since the new set-up, humidity has now been between 55%-75% and temps range between 70-80F nighttime, 80-90F daytime. The reason it gets really low at night is because I have had to turn off the heat lamp manually since it now gets too hot in there, upwards of 95-100F. I use a 150w red basking bulb, which is suppose to be for both daytime and nighttime cycles.

Up until now I have only used a heat lamp since it has been all I needed, but with these newfound problems I decided to purchase the Pro Heat panel along with a Herpstat to regulate the temp. At the moment I use two (digital and non-digital) thermometer/hygrometer on either end of the tank.

[ConcernedSnakeOwner]

BCS,

Thank you for the response.

I usually feed him live rats or mice, sometimes hamsters. Come to think of it, I think his last meal was a hamster. But since this is rare, I'm going to say yes I have been feeding him a new type of food. It really just depends. If I find he doesn't like one, I'll go for the other. At this point, he is rejecting the rats and mice, but I haven't tried a hamster again....

I thought it took males 3 years to become an adult and reach sexual maturity.. thanks for that.

I usually feed him in his enclosure, when I find a good warm temperature in the tank and I see him engaging in the predatory behavior of having only his head out of his hide lying in wait. I've also tried to place him in the enclosure in which I keep his food, currently a mouse. He has also rejected that. At the moment I am trying once every week to get him to eat.

[BCS]

Okay, you will need to get a lower heat bulb wattage. around 75w should be fine and wont heat his basking or hot spot to unbearable temperatures. It will also give you the opportunity to keep the lamp on all night so that the temps dont drop so low. Heat pads are the best for ball pythons as long as it is running on a thermostat.

The hamster might be the problem. Unfortunately ball pythons have an extremely bad case of addictive personality and some prey is more addictive then others like hamsters, gerbils, and ASFs. Best thing for you to do at this point is try another hamster.

If he is losing a lot of weight, it may be time to take him to a vet. A snake that is refusing food but not losing a substantial amount of weight will be fine, but losing too much and there might be a medical issue. Try the hamster again and if he refuses it but is getting pretty skinny, a vet visit never hurts anything.