Dry but not shedding? HELP!

[D3lacr0ix]

I got my BP from Petsmart a little over a month ago. I was told he shed just that week before I got him. He looked great! He's strong, eats one fuzzy a week, very friendly. He hides all day, comes out and explores at night. I keep him in a room with no a/c or heat. Since I live in Florida the ambient temps sometimes go up to 91 degrees, but cools off to about 81 at night. I use a UTH with a thermostat to keep it about 90 degrees. He has two hides, a large water bowl & a smaller bowl. I clean the bowls and add fresh water every 3 days, sometimes more often. He eats great, every 5-7 days. He ate last night too.

THE ISSUE: He has becoming increasingly dry, even difficult to slither around smoothly when I'm holding him. He has folds in his skin on his neck lengthwise when he crawls and on his sides when he's curled up. This has been going on almost 2 weeks. I'm worried he is dehydrated. I've checked for mites, there are none. He is still strong and acting completely normal. I feel like it's been going on too long to be first stages of shedding. After he ate last night, I saw him take one sip of water. His poop as looked fine with dark spots and white/yellow urates. He poops about 3 days after every meal.

[Eric Alan]

Classic "new parent" worries. I don't see anything here to be worried about at all - especially since it sounds like you've been doing your homework. As long as your humidity is where it needs to be and his water bowl is clean and has fresh water available for him at all times, just keep on doing what you're doing. It sounds like it's working just fine!

If you haven't seen it already, there's an awesome thread here about the entire shedding process: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...edding-Process.

[D3lacr0ix]

That's a great article, thank you! Maybe I'm just paranoid. His eyes haven't dulled yet and I'm worried it's not a shed just because it has been two weeks already. A friend of mine suggested rubbing mineral oil on him if it continues like this. Has anyone used mineral oil before with success? How long should I wait before I know he's not just shedding?

[Eric Alan]

That's a great article, thank you! Maybe I'm just paranoid. His eyes haven't dulled yet and I'm worried it's not a shed just because it has been two weeks already. A friend of mine suggested rubbing mineral oil on him if it continues like this. Has anyone used mineral oil before with success? How long should I wait before I know he's not just shedding?

Don't do the oil thing! BPs generate their own lubrication and doing something external such as this can have a negative effect on the entire process.

Don't worry about the "not shedding" piece. It will shed on its time, not yours.

[D3lacr0ix]

Oh okay, I certainly won't do that then! Thank you again

[Eric Alan]

Oh okay, I certainly won't do that then! Thank you again

You're very welcome. Always glad to help!