Hi! I'm posting here because I'm not able to find many answers about my BP and the vet seems pretty baffled as to what is going on with him.
He has not shed in a decent amount of time. I'll be honest, I shouldve recorded it, but I never wrote down the exact date. It's been a couple months though.

His skin is very... flaky? Scratchy? And has been like this for a a few weeks. It's not stuck shed - it's literally the fact his scales don't lie flat and everything is very dry. You run your fingers over him and those scales will catch on you. Only discoloration is one tiny marking on his neck, where I believe he got scratched on a sharp edge of his hide. (Its been sanded down now) I'm comparing him to my female, who has very smooth skin and is very soft to the touch.
Also, he seems to be shedding individual scales... although I had been applying a triple antibiotic to his scratch. I read that those type of ointments can do that to them.

Anyway, here is the questionnaire about him :

1. How long have you had your ball python?
Hatched August of 2018

2. How old (or how big) is your snake?

770g

3. Does it eat on a regular schedule?

He hasnt been eating that well, but before I would feed him every 10 days or so. Only in the past 2 weeks or so had he started to get back on track.

4. How long since its last meal?
5 days.

5. What type/size prey is being offered?
He used to be eating frozen small rats. Although, right now he is only interested in frozen mice.


6. How often do you offer food?

Every 10 days.

7. What type and size of enclosure does it live in?

40gal.

8. What are you using as substrate? If it has depth, how deep is it?

Cypress mulch and some moss sprinkled in.

9. What type of heating do you use?

Heating pad.

10. Do you use a thermostat to control temperatures?

Yes.

11. What do you use to measure/monitor temperatures?

It's a jumpstart brand thermostat with a little heat probe on it.

12. What are the surface and ambient temperatures in the enclosure?

78 cold atm, 92 on the mat.

13. What is the average humidity level?
I try to keep it about 60% when not in shed.


14. How many and what type of hides does the snake have?

He has 2. A closed in rock thing as a cold side (the type that has a ceramic bottom and a lid) and a fake log as the cool side with only 1 opening.

15. Is water readily available at all times?

Yes.

16. Does the snake live alone or does it share the enclosure with anything else?
Alone.


17. How often and for how long is the snake typically handled?:cens0r:

Every other dayish unless he has recently eaten. Hes very handleable, sometimes about 30min to an hour at a time.

18. Does the snake have any medical history (old injuries or illnesses)?
Just the scratch like I described.


19. Do you have any other reptiles? Have you brought in any new reptiles recently?
I have 3 other snakes, a female BP who is very new, though she is housed in another room. And also have a kingsnake and a cornsnake for several months now.


20. Is there anything specific or unique about your situation that we should be aware of?:cens0r:

Eh, I think I described as much as I could.