Pre-shed conundrum

[MuicyJelon]

Simply, I can’t really tell if my BPs going in to shed. I know to look for colours going a bit dull compared to normal, which for me is a bit difficult considering Syd hasn’t exactly got the brightest of colours.
And obviously eyes going a milky blue colour. The reason I’ve put his eyes is I only end up noticing the colour change about two days before he actually starts shedding.

With me only noticing right before it happens I would think upping his humidity last minute wouldn’t make a huge difference in him having a ‘perfect’ shed. (I’d still up anyway).
Please correct me if I’m wrong.

I don’t really know what to do if/when this sort of thing pops up every now and then.
The other day I upped his humidity to 70-80% because he usually sheds every six to eight weeks, just had a feeling he’s going in to shed.

Past couple of sheds haven’t been the best, flaky bits were stuck which came off after the next shed.


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[Treeman]

I have a ball python that has had more bad sheds (incomplete) than complete ones. Every time I see signs of shed I immediately bump up the humidity to 75% roughly, and have to spray constantly to keep that. I also immediately swap out one of his hides for a small bin filled with dampened sphagnum moss. Sounds crazy, but it almost feels like sometimes he wants to put in the work sometimes he doesn't. It's odd. I was actually just going to make a thread describing this probably next week, as he is currently looking quite blue.
Anyway, the first thing to notice that can indicate shed is a faint pink color on the belly of the snake. That's the first cue. All the duller colors and blue milky eyes come after that.

[Luvyna]

You're right to say that the humidity should be upped a bit earlier than 1-2 days before the shed. The best time to start is when you notice the snake's eyes are blue, but this can be easy to miss with certain morphs like albinos and BELs.

Another early sign that a BP is going to shed is that they become more reclusive than normal. I usually see mine sticking his head out of the hide in the morning or exploring the enclosure at night but all activity ceases when he's about to go blue.

Overall, though, the signs can be easy to miss especially if you're having a busy week or not handling the snake every day. It also takes a lot of diligence to keep up the humidity—sometimes requires misting more than once a day. For these reasons, I think it's best to just leave a humid hide (tutorial on how to make one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjBFKkbJrRE) in the enclosure at all times (as long as the snake doesn't love it a little too much and stay in it all the time, which may cause scale rot). The snake will use it as needed to hydrate their skin and usually get a perfect shed every time.

[MuicyJelon]

I have a ball python that has had more bad sheds (incomplete) than complete ones. Every time I see signs of shed I immediately bump up the humidity to 75% roughly, and have to spray constantly to keep that. I also immediately swap out one of his hides for a small bin filled with dampened sphagnum moss. Sounds crazy, but it almost feels like sometimes he wants to put in the work sometimes he doesn't. It's odd. I was actually just going to make a thread describing this probably next week, as he is currently looking quite blue.
Anyway, the first thing to notice that can indicate shed is a faint pink color on the belly of the snake. That's the first cue. All the duller colors and blue milky eyes come after that.

I’ll check his belly tomorrow. It’s 5am an I don’t want to wreck his head seeing as went back in hide.
It’s difficult to notice his skin going dull as he’s colours are pale yellow/orange some pink and what seems like purple.
I have stuck some damp moss in both of his hides and scattered some around the viv.
Would he be alright since I’ve upped the humidity and he may or may not be going in to shed?

I don’t want him to end up with an RI or something else.
I know what to look for when it comes to RI’s, mucus, wheezing, etc. I just don’t what the mucus looks like, does it look like human snot?


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[Luvyna]

Whoa, 5am?? You need to get some sleep!

That aside, yes having damp moss in the hides and the viv will help a lot Having higher humidity for a short time like a week during shed should be no problem, it only starts to get unhealthy if the enclosure is constantly high humidity for a long period of time as this promotes the growth of bacteria.

[MuicyJelon]

Whoa, 5am?? You need to get some sleep!

That aside, yes having damp moss in the hides and the viv will help a lot Having higher humidity for a short time like a week during shed should be no problem, it only starts to get unhealthy if the enclosure is constantly high humidity for a long period of time as this promotes the growth of bacteria.

What would you say is classed as a long time for the humidity to be high?
A few weeks, a month or two.

I do try to clean out the viv a day or two after he has a dump. If I don’t do it in one week I just spot clean it then clean it out the next week. I use eco earth substrate with forrest floor, once you put it in the humidity tends rise a fair bit.

As I’ve brought the humidity up to 70-80% if he doesn’t show signs of a shed shall I just bring it back down to normal 50-60%


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[Luvyna]

Haha good question! It's pretty hard to say exactly how long is too long, and I'm not sure about it myself. Maybe a month or more? If your enclosure is properly heated and regularly cleaned (which it sounds like it is), possibly longer.

Elevating the humidity for a week just in case sounds like a good plan.

I also get a humidity spike from replacing my snake's bedding (I use Forest Floor cypress mulch). The first time I did it the humidity shot up to like 90% for a week! I'm thinking of baking the bedding in the future before putting it in because it felt a bit damp to the touch.

[MuicyJelon]

Haha good question! It's pretty hard to say exactly how long is too long, and I'm not sure about it myself. Maybe a month or more? If your enclosure is properly heated and regularly cleaned (which it sounds like it is), possibly longer.

Elevating the humidity for a week just in case sounds like a good plan.

I also get a humidity spike from replacing my snake's bedding (I use Forest Floor cypress mulch). The first time I did it the humidity shot up to like 90% for a week! I'm thinking of baking the bedding in the future before putting it in because it felt a bit damp to the touch.

Cool beans.
Same, that’s the sort of reading I get after cleaning it out. (80-90). It usually drops after a day or two. With it being high I tend not to mist around, I don’t want it going to 99 (obviously) an the humidity gauge to shut off.


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