Ball Python Possible Issue? Need help please

[Craiga 01453]

What’s a better way to control the humidity? I ordered everything else recommended on chewy.

The best way is to be prepared BEFORE bringing an animal home....

Without knowing your humidity it's tough to tell you if it needs adjustment or not.

[hilabeans]

To Craiga's point, without knowing what your current humidity levels are, we don't know how much to bring you up to. You may be in the right range already, or you may need major improvements. You'll want to be in the 50%-60% range on average, with a bump to 70% while your snake is in her shed cycle.

IF you need a big fix to humidity, and want to continue using a glass tank, there are some workarounds. Changing to a substrate like EcoEarth will hold humidity much better than Aspen, which is a better substrate for lower humidity species who like to burrow (think hognose). You can layer a damp towel over 1/2 of your screened top, soak sphagnum moss and add it to your substrate, add a bowl of moistened moss under one of the heat lamps,...these are all just FYI. Don't do anything until you get accurate readings on the environment first.

[dr del]

Hi,

I can't help thinking it looks a lot like a retained shed from the pictures.

As long as it is a while since the snake had a meal I'd be tempted to make a humid bath ( usually a small rub with water around 85f and no deeper than half way up the snakes body with a rock or something in it that extends above the water level ) and after 20 minutes or so try rubbing the areas edge gently with your finger to see if anything lifts off.

When was the last time the snake shed and was it complete?


del

[Faith.luu]

It definitely looks like retained shed. I find that when you’re in the 50% range for humidity it’s quite low. Not sufficient enough especially for when your snake is about to shed. I’d definitely recommend putting in a humidity box into your enclosure. I personally just use a damp towel and drape it over part of her hide and over some sticks so that she can go underneath it, but it also really boosts the humidity. Another way is to use a container with a hole at the top of the lid, add some damp sphagnum moss inside and your bp can sit in there which helps a lot with shed issues.

but I would try to wait a bit and see if it almost looks like it start to peel off. If it does, give your bp a bath or let it sit inside a warm, damp pillowcase for about 15 minutes. You wanna use these techniques only when you know for sure that it’s stuck shed. But I mean you can always take it to the vet for certainly and a clear answer as to what’s going on. Hope this helps.