Hello, this is my first time posting here at BP.net and I'm posting because 2 days ago I noticed that my ball python Najita had a slightly pink tinted belly. Her scales do feel a bit more rigid now than a few weeks ago.

My immediate guess was that this could be the beginning of scale rot, so I removed her aspen bedding and replaced it with clean, dry paper towels. I also unplugged the under the tank heating pad in case the pinkness is the result of a burn. I see this as unlikely because lately she hasn't been hanging out near the heating pad. Yesteray she looked much less pink than the first day I noticed. Today she looked a bit more pink than yesterday but still not as pink as that first day.

I don't see any signs of mites, there are no dots anywhere on her, it's just a slight pink. She had a bad shed last time and so I was trying to increase the humidity in her tank. This pink puts a dent in my plan since I'm taking measures to reduce moisture just in case it is scale rot trying to start.

I'm hoping she is just pink because she is about to shed, like many forums claim. It's just that I've never noticed this before, and it also seems a bit early for her next shed. Do ball pythons ever just randomly shed early? Today I noticed her eyes were a little blue so maybe she is going to shed afterall...

Anyone have any idea whats going on? Thanks