shedding and temp

[tuffy110]

n0

[tuffy110]

Now that I put the warmer light on, he is out under where the light is. This is first time I have seen him out in days.

[Eddie_Z]

Three weeks is not a long time to go without a shed. Most babies only shed every 4-6 weeks from all the info that i have gathered. You do NEED to get your temps right though, that is one of, if not THE most important things in the world for your snake!

[tuffy110]

n0

[Ginevive]

Usually the eyes go blue, and then oddly enough, they clear up just before the shedding takes place. This can actually make it seem like your snake has shed, and the skin has vanished, when in fact they haven't shed yet! The eyes will clear before shedding, but the skin will still look ugly and dull, so you know that he has not shed yet.
I would concentrate on your humidity. When my snakes are about to shed, I mist the cage with hot water as often as needed, to maintain a constant humidity reading of 90%. You may need to cover a screen top in plastic, if you have that kind of top on your cage.
They do need a period of darkness though, which is why you should not leave the daylight bulb on all night. You could supplement the heat at night by adding an undertank heater if you don't have one already. If you do, just measure the temperature on the substrate, above the heater, and that's the really important temp, not necessarily the air temperature.
I know my posts are long! I just hope that they are useful to you.

[Marla]

Ditto what Ginevive said: stop stressing the poor little thing out by making it live in light 24 hours a day! If the eyes of the snake are just now turning cloudy, you could be in for a shed anywhere from 2 to 7 or so days from now, most likely around 4 days. Now is the time to bump up the humidity and stop using lightbulbs in his visible spectrum 24 hours a day. I bought a 75-watt blacklight bulb at WalMart for like $6 for nighttime gecko viewing and it definitely creates a warm spot, so if you insist on not providing belly heat to to the little guy, that should be one option you could consider.

[tuffy110]

n0

[elevatethis]

Ball pythons don't really need a photo-period (unless you are getting a pair to breed) and you could just go get a red bulb to keep on all the time. Some people also stress that they need belly heat and can be heated by a UTH (human heat pad works great) alone, w/o a basking lamp.

[sophie42204]

I agree, you really need to use another heat source besides light bulbs. IMO it is not the most reliable source, but then again, I'm kinda green, so what do I know? :roll:

[Marla]

What's with the changing of all tuffy's messages to "n0"?