You're asking good questions. There are a few distinct points I want to help address, so I'm gonna try to separate them into sections for easier reading.
The Shed:
- One valuable thing I learned from this forum is that "the next shed begins as soon as the previous one ends." What that means is that, in order for your snake to have a good shed, the humidity conditions have to be on target all the time, not just during the visible shedding period. You mentioned you've been wrestling with the humidity being too low, so for however long it's been in the 20% range, that unfortunately contributed to this time's patchy shed too.
- My first snake Iggy also had two really patchy sheds before I was able to get everything optimized. If Nyx looks like she's done the best she can but still has chunks of shed stuck to her, then in my experience, those only become harder to get off the more you wait on them. In Iggy's case, I did end up giving him a brief warm water soak and then wiping the stuck shed off with a washcloth, and it worked, though of course he didn't like it one bit. If you do decide to go that route, just make sure to read up on it thoroughly so that you're well-prepared and it minimizes stress on your snake; the forum has a great sticky on it here:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...hed-No-problem
The Humidity:
- You probably already know this from previous research and/or other advice on here, but just to be sure - you'll want to aim for around 50-60% humidity at baseline, and shoot for 70% when you see your snake has gone blue/gray and is visibly getting ready to shed.
- Sadly, heat bulbs are really good at drying things out very quickly. If you definitely need the bulb for maintaining your target temperature gradient, then just be prepared to mist regularly to compensate.
- It's good that you have a large water dish - more surface area for that water to evaporate into the air and help the humidity a bit.
- I don't have experience with the cypress mulch so I can't comment on that, but I have heard that coconut fiber substrates are pretty effective for holding a lot of moisture/humidity without getting water-logged.
The Heat Pad + Thermostat:
I'd probably need set-up pictures or more details to give you more specific advice, but here are my questions and comments just going by your current description.
- What kind of thermostat do you have? We might be able to help you troubleshoot why it doesn't seem to be working properly.
- If the heating pad is not adhered to the surface of the tank anymore, then we definitely have a problem there. It's designed to be able to generate a good amount of heat, but in a way that's very localized to a surface and does not "radiate" very far. I wouldn't recommend just letting it sit and run unregulated at full capacity; it'd be at best, unreliable as a heat source, and at worst, a fire hazard waiting to happen (and not something you want anywhere near your cute ball python).
- What is the reason the heat pad is not sticking anymore? If it's just that the adhesive on it was weak, then you can tape it flush to the glass with a heat-safe tape. If it's because the heating pad was peeled back at some point and then stuck back on, then I would recommend replacing with a new heat pad. The peeling back can easily warp and damage the wiring within the pad, resulting in faulty, uneven functioning that even a thermostat can't do much to help.
- Might be an obvious question, but - where is the thermostat probe placed? A thermostat can only do its job based on what its probe measures, so that might also be part of your issue. Most people on this forum place the probe either sandwiched between the heat mat and the glass surface, or right flush against the heat mat's outer surface. If your heat mat isn't even attached to the tank at this point ... well then, you see why I'm asking, haha.
I realize that's a lot of text to wade through, so I apologize for that, but I hope at least some of this info is helpful to you!
Originally Posted by RedRabbit
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