shed

[rex322]

ok im pretty sure rex is shedding. but i want to be sure. his eyes are kinda cloudy, but not totally, and a little part of his body underneath is pink. i picked him up today to check, and he kept striking. he usually strikes when i go to pick him up, but not when i have him in my hand. so what do you guys think? is he in shed? i appreciate the help, u guys are so damn smart.

[Ironhead]

Deffinetly sounds like he is in shed mode to me.....

[Marla]

Ditto what Carl said. Watch for his eyes to go totally cloudy tomorrow.

[beaglegod]

Yep time to bump the humidity up to 75-80%,his eyes should clear,followed by a nice shed all within the next few days.

[rex322]

thx 4 all the help

[rex322]

also, hes been staying in his hide, his cool hide. he usually comes out at night and explores his tank. could the shedding be the reason hes staying in his hide? he hasnt been out since i fed him last thurs, except to get a drink, and thats it. is this cuz of the shed?

[Marla]

Well, at first it was probably because he was digesting. Now it's probably because of the shed.

[elevatethis]

Just let him be a ball python and don't worry. Amber moves from hide to hide in the days after she eats, and doesn't do much else. I don't handle her for at least 48 hrs after. When she's in shed, she doesn't move from the cool hide, and is really shy when I try to pick her up for a soak right after her eyes clear up.

But when she's not digesting or in shed, she's otherwise pretty content when being held, and tries to escape her tank all night long.

[JamminJonah]

yeah it's hard to get used to the hiding aspect, I totally know how you feel, my bp was active every single night for the first few weeks I had him, then just started hiding.. I think that it means he has settled in so take it as sort of a compliment, he has let go of the flight response

[Eddie_Z]

That is certainly what I am hoping to be the case with Hissy Jonah! All that bum does lately is lay around in her hides. She used to come out at nite & explore & I think that part of that was her hunting for some eats as well but since she ate, she rarely comes out. She spends most of her time just chillin under her hides.

Another good sign for me is that she spilled some water in her tank (I put a cup in that ended up not being heavy enough to not tip when she crawled on it) & I had to pick her up from under one of her hides. I made a promise to her (not that she listened) & to myself that i would never pull her out from under a hide just to play with her. But when i picked up her hide, she didn't even Hiss at me. I think that means that she is really, really comfy with me. We hung out for a couple minutes after I changed her substrate & she was fine.