Ball hasen't moved in 3 days..worried

[CakeLike]

My snake hasn't moved out of his warm hide for three days straight. And I know for a fact he didn't because I keep a pet cam with motion sensor locked on his cage.
His temps are the same as ever, he has a nice warm belly heat of 88-90 and an air temp of around 84.
He usually is out at night every night and roams. This has only happend one time before. He shed his skin at that time while he was in his hide.
But this time he wasn't as far gone in his shed. His eyes were still clear when he went in so it has to be a while till he sheds.
I am worried because I'm not at home at the moment. My bf is watching him but he hasn't lifted the hide to look at my snake properly yet. He fed 6 days ago.

He moved around in his hide a bit because I could see on camera that the hide was moved.
You think everything is okay? I'm worried.

[Luvyna]

I think it sounds like he is preparing to shed. My BP starts to become lethargic and inactive 1-2 weeks before he shows any of the visible signs of an impending shed like clouded eyes. He also stays in his warm hide all throughout the shed process. My theory is that he is saving energy to grow the new skin or maybe at that point the new skin is already growing and it makes moving uncomfortable. Snakes are also vulnerable when shedding so they prefer to stay hidden.

Anyway, unless your BP is limp and unresponsive in his hide I wouldn’t be concerned - most likely he is going to shed and he starts to experience the physical effects before you can see any noticeable signs of it.

[KMG]

Mine is in shed and I haven't seen her in at least a week. She's nicely coiled in her hide and I suspect will be out soon with a fresh coat of paint.

[Bogertophis]

Sounds normal to me too- incidentally, this is why "helicopter snarents" get multiple snakes- so we don't obsess over the private lives of our snakes when they have other things to do.

Incidentally, our snakes know when a shed is coming BEFORE we can see any evidence of it. Sometimes they refuse food "inexplicably", sometimes they just lay low, but they have their reasons. Trust them to know what they need.

[CakeLike]

It could be that he is about to shed sometime soon, it's been around 5 weeks since the last one. But does the process vary from shed to shed? I'm sure he has been out roaming last time when we was visibly dulling and only stayed hidden right for the actual shed. And now he has no strong visual signs of shed which makes me think it would take at least another week or more but he hides away.
So you're saying the behaviour can possibly vary in each process?

I have noticed him shift positions quite a lot in the hide. He seems to be restless. I see on camera that he shifts his body from time to time. Don't know if snakes sleep for long or wake up much in generel.
Anyway could the behaviour possibly also have something to do with pooping? I have noticed he's gotte a lump at the end of his body at the cloaca. Looks like a fat snake with a full butt and thinning again at the tail. Basically snake hips if you get what I mean. So I thought he'd have to go big soon.

Yes I am a helicopter mom xd, he is like my baby

[Bogertophis]

BTW, when I spoke of "helicopter snarents", you notice that I did say "we"? It wasn't an insult...more like commiseration. And it means you care- that's not a bad thing.

Sheds are not all identical. He probably does have to "go"- sometimes they leave their feces inside their shed skin- the activity of shedding the old tight skin sorta pushes the process along.

And remember, both shedding & digestion require good hydration- keep his humidity up now- he's likely finishing digestion* AND then may be going into shed- unless he was already cloudy & you somehow missed it? It takes as long as it takes. *I suggest that he's still digesting because snakes typically seek warmth for digestion, & often the cool hides when they're shedding. At least for most of the time. Anyway, nothing to worry about.

[CakeLike]

BTW, when I spoke of "helicopter snarents", you notice that I did say "we"? It wasn't an insult...more like commiseration. And it means you care- that's not a bad thing.

Sheds are not all identical. He probably does have to "go"- sometimes they leave their feces inside their shed skin- the activity of shedding the old tight skin sorta pushes the process along.

And remember, both shedding & digestion require good hydration- keep his humidity up now- he's likely finishing digestion* AND then may be going into shed- unless he was already cloudy & you somehow missed it? It takes as long as it takes. *I suggest that he's still digesting because snakes typically seek warmth for digestion, & often the cool hides when they're shedding. At least for most of the time. Anyway, nothing to worry about.

Hm alright then I will be watching the situation for now. He has a humidity of 68% right now and I put damp sphagnum moss in his hide before I left so I think it should be fine.

[Luvyna]

It could be that he is about to shed sometime soon, it's been around 5 weeks since the last one. But does the process vary from shed to shed? I'm sure he has been out roaming last time when we was visibly dulling and only stayed hidden right for the actual shed. And now he has no strong visual signs of shed which makes me think it would take at least another week or more but he hides away.
So you're saying the behaviour can possibly vary in each process?

I have noticed him shift positions quite a lot in the hide. He seems to be restless. I see on camera that he shifts his body from time to time. Don't know if snakes sleep for long or wake up much in generel.
Anyway could the behaviour possibly also have something to do with pooping? I have noticed he's gotte a lump at the end of his body at the cloaca. Looks like a fat snake with a full butt and thinning again at the tail. Basically snake hips if you get what I mean. So I thought he'd have to go big soon.

Yes I am a helicopter mom xd, he is like my baby

5 weeks since the last shed sounds like an exactly standard shedding timeline for a young BP. In another ~two weeks you will probably find an old skin in the enclosure

Like Bogertophis said above, the process can definitely vary. Sometimes different stages of the process (cloudy eyes, clearing eyes, shedding...etc.) will take different amounts of time as well and the snake's behaviour may differ based on how comfortable they are or other factors of their environment. Also, snakes don't always do things "by the book" or the "average, standard" way haha.

It's normal for him to shift in his hide, like humans I'm sure they like to move from time to time to lie in the most comfortable position.

And no worries about being a helicopter snarent haha, many of us are too! When I first got my BP (he is my first snake) I would also get worried every time he was going into shed because I thought he might be sick due to the lack of activity and lethargy but now I've learned to recognize the signs. There's definitely a learning curve for snake keeping, they are so different from typical mammal pets that it takes a while to learn about their biorhythms and understand their behaviour. It's good to pay attention and be alert to avoid misreading signs that something may not be right.

[CakeLike]

Seems like he really is shedding soon. My boyfriend said he has dulled quite a bit and has clowdy eyes now.
And he's still moving in the hide.
But it's still scary not seeing him out for almost a week.
I mean I know snakes don't drink much but how long can they really go without water.

[KMG]

Mine surfaced last night. I gave fresh water and when I went back in there a bit later she was out looking all fresh and clean while getting a drink.