New bp, first shed with me but also feeding time

[wyvbee]

Hey everyone! Completely brand new ball python keeper here but have been doing research for years and finally adopted a rescue a couple weeks ago. My sweet boy just went into blue yesterday but was due to eat today. It has been 10 days since he last ate and has shown no interest today since he is going into shed. Should I be nervous that it may be a bit until he can/shows interest eat again?

Thanks

[Snagrio]

No worries. Snakes generally don't (and in fact shouldn't) eat while in the shed cycle, as it's a taxing time for them that takes energy and moisture to accomplish, which btw, make sure the humidity is bumped up in his enclosure at this time if it isn't already to ensure the shed goes smoothly (80% or so). To put it in our perspective, imagine wearing very tight-fitting clothes you have to squirm out of over the course of a week or so. You probably wouldn't want to eat a full course meal during such an ordeal either.

And keep in mind, BPs can, and often do, go months without eating at times, so a few more days without food won't do him any harm.

[KMG]

Some snakes will eat during shed but more times than not a Ball is not on the high side of that scale. I wait for most all my snakes to shed even if I know they will still eat.

[wyvbee]

Oh thats good to hear!! Thank you so much :D

[Bogertophis]

I'm on the "same page" as the other posts: in the wild, snakes lay low when in shed; if they didn't, their poor eyesight might make them easier pickings for a predator, or more likely to suffer from other perils, while also more likely to fumble if they did happen to find prey. They've totally evolved to skip meals during a shed since there's no "room service" like when they're our pets, so don't worry at all about sticking to a strict feeding schedule. Meals get missed if you're a snake- it's all okay.

What's more, both digestion and shedding requires extra hydration from a snake's body, so if they happen to eat during a shed, sometimes they end up with a "stuck shed"- one that doesn't come off as it should, & may come off in a "million" pieces or require your help- it's not fun. Some snakes have no trouble doing both, but why push it? Yours may well be one that doesn't "multi-task" very well.

[wyvbee]

Yeah stuck shed seems like a pain and a half to deal with from what I have read. I have offered him a moist hide but he seems more interested in his normal hide. Humidity reading are up though! I'm hoping this will go well and I will have a happy pretty boy after it all

[Bogertophis]

Yeah stuck shed seems like a pain and a half to deal with from what I have read. I have offered him a moist hide but he seems more interested in his normal hide. Humidity reading are up though! I'm hoping this will go well and I will have a happy pretty boy after it all

It will probably go just fine. Many snakes take to humid hides right away, but if you just gave it to him & he's not interested, he's probably more comfortable with what's familiar for the time being. Don't worry, he'll figure it out in time.

[Bleh]

Yeah stuck shed seems like a pain and a half to deal with from what I have read. I have offered him a moist hide but he seems more interested in his normal hide. Humidity reading are up though! I'm hoping this will go well and I will have a happy pretty boy after it all

One of mine isn't a stranger to a scruffy shed. But we have an agreement, he chills and I help remove it when it does happen

But there are some little things you can offer as an extra helping hand when in blue. For example, when any of mine start showing signs, I'll mist spray them directly and I'll spray their tree bark which I use as part of their hides, cool side, which is great at holding some moisture for a while and then increases enclosure humidity whilst it does so.

In addition to this, the obvious offering of fresh drinking water, but only filling the water dish half way so if they try to get in for a soak (my adults are to big to fit in completely now), there's less water spilling over the sides.

And finally, the obvious warm water soak when they've not shed completely.

In terms of feeding, my observation has been with mine that they're more willing to eat whilst in shed when they're younger, but I've had plenty of rejections when I've thawed their food, opening their enclosure and realising I've missed their going blue signs (pinking bellies, cloudy eyes).

I had a close one this weekend. Saw my pastel spotnose out and he looked fine and feeding day so he had his meal that evening, the next day his eyes were all clouded.... phew!!

[Hugsplox]

I’ll echo other keepers that have already said they don’t feed while in shed. If I can catch them in blue, I just stop feeding until after. My BP is hit or miss on feeding while shedding, but I noticed early on if he did eat, he had bad sheds. Not awful, but enough that I had to help him out a little. Once I cut out feeding altogether during the cycle I stopped seeing any issues.

Obviously, I can’t say for sure that cutting out the feeding is what solved the shed issue, but I haven’t seen a bad shed since. Plus these guys can go months without food, so if you’re on a weekly or bi-weekly feeding schedule, it won’t hurt to skip a meal.

[Bogertophis]

...And finally, the obvious warm water soak when they've not shed completely...

Just an important clarification here that's really easy for anyone to goof on: And maybe this is why so many ppl say their snake HATES a bath?

Our body temperatures are about 98.6*, which is warmer than a BP (or any snake I can think of) should ever be. So while you don't want to immerse your poor snake in COLD water, please use a thermometer to check the temperature BEFORE you put a snake into it, because your hand won't think the water is warm unless it's OVER 98.6*- or in other words, unless it's TOO HOT. "Luke-warm" to us is TOO warm for a snake- please don't trust your hand to tell what's safe.

If & when you ever need to soak a snake, you want the water temperature to be about 77*-85*, and no warmer, for their safety & well-being. Remember it's very hard for a snake to express discomfort- it's up to us to keep them safe. (Incidentally this is also why our snakes always "feel cold" to us.)