Pink belly

[Laurlaur1124]

I am new snake keeper. I have a UTH that has a stat on it. I noticed today that my ball pythons belly was light pink as he was slithering up the side of the tank. I took him out to check on it and it was no longer pink. Could it have pink from him stretching his body? I just want to make sure he is not being hurt.

[Bogertophis]

Several possibilities:
1. What temperature is the surface IN the cage where your snake can touch (over the UTH)? It's NOT enough to set a thermostat to a given temperature, you also
need to double-check the ACTUAL temperature & make sure it's not above 90* at the highest. Thermal burns can result & cause serious harm if heat is not correctly
regulated, & a snake that has been "burned" will have a pink belly, or even blisters & peeling skin.

2. The other thing is that many BPs get a slight pink belly when going into shed, & for your sake & his, let's HOPE that's what you're seeing...but double check your
temperatures anyway, ok? (when did he shed last?) (& no, snakes don't turn pink just from stretching their bodies)

[dakski]

Everything Bogertophis said, and make sure temps and humidity are spot on or even higher than normal for humidity to aide with shed if that's what's going on. Hoping you have temps regulated and that's the case.

[Laurlaur1124]

I have a infrared thermometer and thermometers on both sides of the tank. The cool side never gets below 75 degrees but stays mainly at about 80 degrees. The warm side never gets below 80 degrees but mainly stays at 85-90 degrees. I only have the UTH on 12 hours of the day and the hottest it’s ever gotten was 100 degrees. It only reached that temp when I left it in all day and night. The highest the UTH has gotten recently is 87. I don’t think it is a burn seeing as it is not continuously pink and I turned the UTH off last night just to make sure I wasn’t burning him. His belly is still a very light pink and I can only see it when he is slithering up the side of his tank. I got him a month ago from pet smart. He has not went through a shed yet. Right now the tank humidity is between 55-60%. Is it more likely he is about to go through a shed than it being a burn?

[Bogertophis]

... I only have the UTH on 12 hours of the day and the hottest it’s ever gotten was 100 degrees. It only reached that temp when I left it in all day and night...I got him a month ago from pet smart. He has not went through a shed yet. Right now the tank humidity is between 55-60%. Is it more likely he is about to go through a shed than it being a burn?

If your snake was in the cage when the UTH got to 100*, yes, it's possibly a burn. How is your UTH being regulated? You NEED a thermostat to control it 24 hours a day.
You also said "when I left it IN..."? I hope you realize that "UTH" means Under Tank Heat...meaning it does NOT belong IN the cage? Just checking...it's dangerous to run
UTH inside the cage, because your snake will likely spill some water (or just the humidity) & may die from electric shock...UTH is not designed for safe use inside a cage.
Note, thermostats are not the same thing as thermometers. Thermostats control the power, thermometers only measure whatever it is.

If you are turning the UTH off at night, how cool is his cage getting overnight? I'm guessing it's too chilly for him, but it depends on your ambient room temperatures too.
There are snakes that can tolerate a significant temperature drop at night (without getting sick) but BPs are not one of them. He needs temperatures between 78-80* on
the cool side and about (slightly below) 90* on the warm side...and he needs this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...or he'll be getting sick.

It's still possible that he's going into a shed (hence the pinkish belly) but I'm not there, seeing your snake...so no guarantees. I sure do HOPE it's not a burn.

[Laurlaur1124]

If your snake was in the cage when the UTH got to 100*, yes, it's possibly a burn. How is your UTH being regulated? You NEED a thermostat to control it 24 hours a day.
You also said "when I left it IN..."? I hope you realize that "UTH" means Under Tank Heat...meaning it does NOT belong IN the cage? Just checking...it's dangerous to run
UTH inside the cage, because your snake will likely spill some water (or just the humidity) & may die from electric shock...UTH is not designed for safe use inside a cage.
Note, thermostats are not the same thing as thermometers. Thermostats control the power, thermometers only measure whatever it is.

If you are turning the UTH off at night, how cool is his cage getting overnight? I'm guessing it's too chilly for him, but it depends on your ambient room temperatures too.
There are snakes that can tolerate a significant temperature drop at night (without getting sick) but BPs are not one of them. He needs temperatures between 78-80* on
the cool side and about (slightly below) 90* on the warm side...and he needs this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...or he'll be getting sick.

It's still possible that he's going into a shed (hence the pinkish belly) but I'm not there, seeing your snake...so no guarantees. I sure do HOPE it's not a burn.

I have it under his tank and I had his cage set up before I got him. He was not in the tank when it got to 100 degrees. My UTH is not a thermostat. I am slowly buying better things for the tank when I can. I do not sleep in a cold room. I keep my thermostat on 80. I don’t have a thermostat on my UTH hence why I turn it off every 12 hours to let it cool down. I have 2 digital thermometers and hygrometers to make sure the temps are staying regulated. This is my first time owning a snake but my boyfriend has had many. He just never noticed a pink belly on any of his when they went into shed. He confirmed today for me though that he is probably going into shed because his eyes have a milky tint to them. Thank you for yalls advice it really helped. If it doesn’t get better I will take him to vet.

[dakski]

I have it under his tank and I had his cage set up before I got him. He was not in the tank when it got to 100 degrees. My UTH is not a thermostat. I am slowly buying better things for the tank when I can. I do not sleep in a cold room. I keep my thermostat on 80. I don’t have a thermostat on my UTH hence why I turn it off every 12 hours to let it cool down. I have 2 digital thermometers and hygrometers to make sure the temps are staying regulated. This is my first time owning a snake but my boyfriend has had many. He just never noticed a pink belly on any of his when they went into shed. He confirmed today for me though that he is probably going into shed because his eyes have a milky tint to them. Thank you for yalls advice it really helped. If it doesn’t get better I will take him to vet.

A UTH unregulated can get well over 100F and quickly. That's a dangerous situation for your snake. Regulated means Thermostat Regulated/Controlled, not you turning things on and off.

Get a thermostat for it ASAP and unplug it in the meantime. All heating elements must be controlled by a thermostat.

Burning or worse, killing, your snake will be much worse than getting an inexpensive thermostat. You can upgrade to a better one down the line, but get something for now. If you are not sure what to get, ask, and we will point you in the right direction.

While the UTH is unplugged, do not feed. If he's going into shed, you should hold off food anyway as that can impact the shed negatively.

Temps too hot or too cold will make it difficult for your snake to digest. Too hot he will have to choose between trying to digest and potentially getting burned or avoid it and risk regurgitation.

It seems you want what's best for him, and no one here is trying to give you a hard time. However, please do what's best and listen to those who have lots of experience.

Also, many snakes get pink belly's when going into shed. If his eyes are cloudy, that does sound like what's happening.

[Bogertophis]

"I have it under his tank and I had his cage set up before I got him."
-OK, good...the way you worded a previous post, I wasn't sure.

"He was not in the tank when it got to 100 degrees."
-Whew, glad for that...

"My UTH is not [on] a thermostat."
-OK, that's what I thought...as both dakski & I have explained, this is important for safety because of the higher temperatures needed by BPs.

"I do not sleep in a cold room. I keep my thermostat on 80."
-That's fine for now but what about when the weather gets colder? (My A/C is set to come on at 80* too, for warm months, but winter my heat comes on at 70*.)

"...he is probably going into shed because his eyes have a milky tint to them."
-It does sound like he's going into shed, but please get your UTH on a thermostat. We only want the best for you & your snake.