Question: My ball python stopped shedding...

[HoneyCombTina]

My ball python stopped shedding, the last time she said was over a couple months ago and I'm not sure if that's normal or not. I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced this or knows why? She's been eating just fine and is active and alert. She's calm when I pick her up and will explore. She seems fine other than she seems to not have shed for quite a while

[TheWinWizard]

How old is she?

[HoneyCombTina]

How old is she?

Only maybe a year or two

[BPelizabeth]

what are you feeding her and the size of the prey as well as the size of your snake. Also how often are you feeding. Please also let us know what your housing in as well as your temps and set up.

Sorry for so many questions it just helps us to make sure we answer your question as best we can..

[firemandan26]

what are you feeding her and the size of the prey as well as the size of your snake. Also how often are you feeding. Please also let us know what your housing in as well as your temps and set up.

Sorry for so many questions it just helps us to make sure we answer your question as best we can..

Agreed..also has your BP gained any significant weight since it's last shed? Might want to up the size of you food. IMO

[HoneyCombTina]

what are you feeding her and the size of the prey as well as the size of your snake. Also how often are you feeding. Please also let us know what your housing in as well as your temps and set up.

Sorry for so many questions it just helps us to make sure we answer your question as best we can..

2 fuzzies every sunday. She's maybe like 2 feet long? Longer than the tips of my fingertips to my shoulder. Housing her in a 20 gallon right now, I've just had heat lamps on top of her tank for now, but that was temporary. I'm about to get her a 40 gallon and undertank heaters, so she can have more room and uth's are better n all that. I mean, she's definitely gained a little bit of weight, not a whole whole lot, but she does seem a bitter thicker. She just hasn't shed in a while and I was wondering if it's because she just feels a little cramped in her tank right now. And you know how fish will grow as big as they see fit depending on the size of the enclosure they have? Well I was wondering if maybe that's why she stopped shedding and once I put her in a bigger home, she'll start shedding again and continue growing as normal. Does that sound logical? Should I be worried or anything?

[zina10]

Basically, you have her on a starvation diet

At 2 years old 2 fuzzies ( I sincerely hope they are rat fuzzies , not mice fuzzies? )
every sunday is by far not enough food for the snake to grow. It barely keeps her alive. She sounds hardly bigger then a juvenile Ball Python...

This would also be the reason for not shedding. She just isn't outgrowing her skin.

She does not need a bigger tank at the moment. She does need ideal husbandry, though, and way more / bigger food. I would suggest you read the care sheets on this site, there is great information on size of housing, temps, heat, etc...

A bigger enclosure for such a small snake might actually get her to stop eating altogether, which that snake cannot afford to do.

At her age she should be eating multiple adult mice at every feeding.

Obviously you will have to slowly up the size of the food item. For now I would slowly go up in size, and perhaps feed every 4 to 5 days. The snake should start gaining weight and size and eventually you can go back to feeding weekly, an appropriate sized meal.

Kudos for coming here and seeking the answers to help your snake live a good life.

[j_h_smith]

Looking at your gallery, I see Roco is your snake. In the pciture, it does look as if the snake is a little thin. I don't know how old the picture is, but the snake could use more food prey.

Up the size to mommy (ex-breeder) mice, if you can't get Roco to eat small rats right away.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[HoneyCombTina]

Basically, you have her on a starvation diet

At 2 years old 2 fuzzies ( I sincerely hope they are rat fuzzies , not mice fuzzies? )
every sunday is by far not enough food for the snake to grow. It barely keeps her alive. She sounds hardly bigger then a juvenile Ball Python...

This would also be the reason for not shedding. She just isn't outgrowing her skin.

She does not need a bigger tank at the moment. She does need ideal husbandry, though, and way more / bigger food. I would suggest you read the care sheets on this site, there is great information on size of housing, temps, heat, etc...

A bigger enclosure for such a small snake might actually get her to stop eating altogether, which that snake cannot afford to do.

At her age she should be eating multiple adult mice at every feeding.

Obviously you will have to slowly up the size of the food item. For now I would slowly go up in size, and perhaps feed every 4 to 5 days. The snake should start gaining weight and size and eventually you can go back to feeding weekly, an appropriate sized meal.

Kudos for coming here and seeking the answers to help your snake live a good life.

I might be wrong on how old she is, I didn't really ask when I bought her, but she was still young. But I know you're suppose to feed snakes food prey up to the size of the thickest part of the snake, and she's not quite big enough to be eating adult rats, she's not quite that big. But I will try and get her bigger food prey and feed her a little more often then every sunday. I'll try every 4-5 days and see if I notice a change within the next month.
I have read the caresheets, when I first got her, but I'll reread them all for good measure.
I was about to get her a 40 gallon, and I know you should provide animals with as much space as possible. I mean, I know ball pythons like small, enclosed spaces, like their hides, but that doesn't mean you should keep them enclosed in a small container over all. We all like our beds to be nice and comfy and secure for us, but it doesn't necessarily mean we want our entire rooms to be small, ya know? I think it'd still be nice for her to have a bigger area to roam and explore when she comes out at night. And I'd give her lots of decoration and things so she wouldn't feel exposed or out in the open with nothing in there for her to hide behind and stuff. Should I not do that?
I mean, these are just my thoughts about it and my thinking, but you all have more experience and stuff, so I'd like to ask and hear your opinions as well. I don't feel like it would do any harm, she always eats just fine, is still calm when I hold her, her stools look normal, not runny or anything, no discharge around her nose/mouth, and her mouth looks healthy (no rot or anything), I mean, everything else looks fine. Do you think I should just wait for her to shed again, once things are back on track, and then switch her to a bigger tank?