Blotches on BEL

[Oz781]

Found a weird color on my BEL, he is my first so I have no idea what’s going on. If anyone has some insight that would be great. They’re very faint pinkish blotches that can wipe off with water

[Oz781]

[Bogertophis]

If you were trying to post pictures, well that didn't work. Maybe this will help you show us what you mean: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

You say these blotches WILL wipe off? It's likely some sort of coloring added to substrate you're using in the enclosure that rubbed off on your snake.

If they DON'T wipe off, I'd say it's some minor bruising- pressure marks from your snake lying snugly against some cage furnishings- remember that with a white snake, every little thing shows up.

[Oz781]

Thank you for the image tutorial! And the insight! The stuff that wipes off is like a brownish pink color, so coco fiber and husk mix probably did just get on him. There are two smaller marks on his spine, I’m assuming because he has a tendency to climb and forget to hold on, that he took a small fall

[Armiyana]

If they just shed, sometimes they will bleed a little bit in the process at the cloaca. Or if they had just been fed and the meal had bled a bit.

BELs are beautiful but oh man does any little dirt show up.

[Oz781]

Right now he’s on a hunger strike of about 3 weeks and hasn’t shed recently. But his eyes are turning a darker blue on the sides and a grayish color at the top. So he might just be preparing

[Bogertophis]

Right now he’s on a hunger strike of about 3 weeks and hasn’t shed recently. But his eyes are turning a darker blue on the sides and a grayish color at the top. So he might just be preparing

So if he's in a shed cycle, be sure to keep his humidity up (about 65-75%), and/or add a humid hide- to facilitate the shedding process.

It can be very hard to tell when a pale colored snake is clouding up- the best way I know to be sure is to use a tiny flashlight in a dark room- shine the beam from the side, across his eye- the cloudiness, if it's there, will show up really well. In normal light, it's so hard to tell. I'm good at telling when a snake is in shed (I've had tons of practice) but even I had trouble telling when I had some albino snakes.