Shedding / Going off Feed Question

[lunarpython]

Hey all! I've just got a small question I'm hoping someone can help me out with!

Tonight, my ball python Violet denied food for the first time. She's eaten every time I've offered her food before. My numbers are: 90 on the hot spot, ambient temperature of 80, and a humidity of 64%. A few days ago, I thought she looked pink on her belly and might be going into shed. I forgot that today though, and thawed the rat anyway. I've never offered food to her while she's been in shed, in case that has relevance. Seems simple enough, but her stomach is back to a creamy color. I guess my question is, is it possible that she IS going into shed despite the pink being gone? And is it possible she denied the food because she's starting shed?

Sorry if this is a silly question, I'm just a bit worried about her. She seems in good spirits, only exploring a bit before going back into any one of her hides for a few hours.

Thank you for reading!

[HenryTheSnake]

You have nothing to worry about! My ball python's belly is almost always a little pink, but when he is about to shed (once every 2 month) his eyes turn milky blue and his skin dulls out!
Good luck!

[BCS]

First, whether she is shedding or not, food should be offered on every feeding day, this includes while she is in shed. If she refuses then she refuses but she should be offered.

Depending on your substrate, the pink belly may also be "pressure" from them laying on their belly on a hard surface. If the rest of the body does not seem dull when the belly is pink, and the pink belly goes away before the eyes get cloudy and if she is active then it is most likely pink due to pressure. If the snake is on paper towel or news paper bedding, you will find this to be the case sometimes. After handling her for ten minutes or so, you will see the belly go back to normal.

[Eric Alan]

Welcome to the forum!

Here's a good article on The Shedding Process: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...edding-Process. Each animal is a little different, but they all tend to follow the pattern in that article.

It sounds like you've got everything under control, so I wouldn't stress too much about a single missed feeding.

How long have you had Violet? How old/big is she? Is she a morph?

[Eric Alan]

First, whether she is shedding or not, food should be offered on every feeding day, this includes while she is in shed. If she refuses then she refuses but she should be offered.

I hear what you're saying, but it's not quite as black and white as you're trying to make it out to be. There is certainly A LOT to be said about getting to know your own animals. Just because I've arbitrarily picked Saturday as my adult BP's feeding day, that doesn't mean that I'm going to offer food to every single adult on every single Saturday. By no stretch of the imagination are any of my animals getting less than their fair share of the all-you-can-eat buffet.

[lunarpython]

Thanks for all the answers, I really appreciate it! For the time being she is on paper towels, but I plan to change that back to aspen once I am more confident about being able to keep the tanks humidity up. Thankfully, I am in Florida so this shouldn't be too much of a challenge. I hadn't considered that the pinkish color could come from a hard surface, but it makes sense now that I think about it!

I've had Violet for about a month and a half, and she is a normal morph. I'm not sure how old she is, but she weighs 168 grams. I will now offer her food on scheduled days including during shed, as well. She has eaten 5 meals (while living with us), and thankfully switched over from live fed to frozen/thawed on the first try!

[BCS]

I hear what you're saying, but it's not quite as black and white as you're trying to make it out to be. There is certainly A LOT to be said about getting to know your own animals. Just because I've arbitrarily picked Saturday as my adult BP's feeding day, that doesn't mean that I'm going to offer food to every single adult on every single Saturday. By no stretch of the imagination are any of my animals getting less than their fair share of the all-you-can-eat buffet.

So you feed them every Saturday or you don't? I guess it depends on what you feed them, how much, and how often. For me I feed adults every Wednesday. And yes, I offer every Wednesday no matter what. Never are they offered Monday, it would get confusing for me and it only takes 3 full days to digest their prey (at an appropriate offer size). I could understand if you had 300 animals. Feed 150 of them today and the other 150 tomorrow. If you feed them large prey and decide to feed every two weeks instead of every week that would still be their feeding day.

[200xth]

is it possible she denied the food because she's starting shed?

It's possible. Some don't eat while they're in shed.

You can offer or not offer, it's up to you. If you keep trying, but your snake keeps refusing food on the days she's in shed, just start skipping. Your snake will be fine missing a meal.