Wrinkly skin?

[LoNeSt4r]

Unless the Petco is so gross that they straight up have mites jumping around the whole store, i don't think so. I literally walked in, bought the mouse, and left. But should i feed her today? Or wait till i get all the skin off of her? Or what. I'm kinda at a loss here.

[Homegrownscales]

Honestly I don't consider the way you got her to be excellent care of an animal. I'd classify that as a negligent store. I can almost guarantee that if that snake looked like that when you got her that's where the mites came from. If they weren't paying enough attn to bump her humidity or give her a humid hide at least, they certainly wouldn't notice teensy tiny mites crawling around. Just a thought. Anyways regarding your q. She's had a lot of handling so far so don't take it personally if she refuses but if her eyes and head are at least done or mostly done I don't see the harm in offering. She looks like she needs a few good meals.

[LoNeSt4r]

No, no she didn't look like that when i got her. Her colors were rich. I went in there with the knowledge of what to look for in a snake, i looked at her and saw no mites or anything. Their tank was more humid than mine is, for sure. The issue i guess was that i didn't know you were supposed to increase the humidity when she's shedding. The skin on her face is finally starting to come off, so it's just a matter of time. I went and got a squirtbottle so i can mist the cage down.

[Ham]

Ya the mites are from the petstore where you got her, the mites will hide under the edges of the snakes scales, and under the edges of the eye socket as well as the thermal pits on the snakes lips. Im sorry to tell you but that petstore is very obviously infested with mites, they are not easy to see and will go unnoticed if people do not look for them very hard. They will not come home on a mouse thats for sure. I guarantee most of the reptiles in the store will have the mites on them and in their cages. Plus the stuck shed in the picture looks bad enough to actually be two stuck sheds, meaning the petstore probably neglected the snake during its last shed as well... Besides which a ball python should be misted daily to maintain the humidity in the enclosure, not just during the shed...

[LoNeSt4r]

I read that 50-60% humidity was fine... Mine is at 55%, which is right in the middle. I live in texas, and it's really damn hot right now, and probably will be for a while. Should i switch to a better substrate? Which should i use? I'm using aspen right now.

[Inknsteel]

Misting is only necessarily if your setup doesn't hold humidity well without it. And obviously, the OP's setup does not.

When Homegrownscales was referring to how your snake looked when you got it, I don't believe he was referring to the colors. I think his reference was to the fact that the snake appears to be pretty underweight, dehydrated and has at least one layer of stuck shed, but likely two layers.

And as everyone said, the mites were most likely there when you bought the snake. Even if they did some kind of topical spray like Reptile Relief, you're still going to have a mite problem. Those types of sprays only kill the mites on the snake at the time, but do nothing about the mite eggs. Very likely, your snake had at least mite EGGS when you bought it, which are now hatching and you are seeing them. Definitely look up Provent-a-Mite. That stuff is worth its weight in gold when it comes to dealing with mite problems. Just follow the directions on the can exactly. Don't spray it on the snake and make sure the enclosure is totally dry before you put the snake back in it.

[Inknsteel]

I read that 50-60% humidity was fine... Mine is at 55%, which is right in the middle. I live in texas, and it's really damn hot right now, and probably will be for a while. Should i switch to a better substrate? Which should i use? I'm using aspen right now.

You should bump the humidity up to 70% or so during shed cycles... 50% is ok for the day to day setup, but definitely needs to be increased when you notice the start of the shed cycle.

[Ham]

I totally agree with InknSteel, Provent-A-Mite is amazing, just be sure to follow the directions exactly. ( Dont spray the snake, dont spray the water bowl, let the spray dry 100% before putting the snake back into the enclosure, etc.)

I use cypress mulch instead of aspen, cypress mulch holds humidity better and is resistant to mold, if aspen becomes too wet or soaked it is possible it can become moldy.

[LoNeSt4r]

Ham, that's what i initially was going to get. I'll be sure to get it from now on. I will definitely order some provent a mite. I checked out their webpage and apparently because our economy sucks they're selling it for like $3 cheaper (oddly enough jack daniels does the same thing, for you whiskey people out there). And the whole increasing humidity during shedding thing will be done from now on. I haven't seen any mites on her since the vet shot/baking/cleaning, though, but just to be sure i'll get some.

[Scorpio]

oddly enough jack daniels does the same thing, for you whiskey people out there

JD gets rid of mites? is this true? my snake doesnt have mites but if he did at least i know i always have the cure around lol