Concern over shedding snake... and humidity levels

[Celebrindal]

Hello everyone. My husband and I own two ball pythons. Darla (f) and Dopey (m).

Darla, we bought first and we got her, beginning of June. She was only a foot and an inch from nose to tail and has grown quite a bit. Since we got her she has shed twice. The last time being end of last month and beginning of this month. I noticed today as I put her into the feeding tub that her color is darker and her belly has gone pink. Her eyes aren't cloudy yet though. Could she be shedding again? This baby has grown to an impressive two feet already and is only about an inch and a half in girth. How often DO ball pythons shed? I was under the impression that they shed every three to four months.

Also, I've been having the damnedest hard time keeping the humidity in the terrarium. It used to be our 40 gallon fish tank but when all of them went belly up and Darla outgrew her 10 gallon... we decided to wash it out with Clorox and make it her terrarium. Two weeks later (this being mid-July) we brought Dopey home. He's a tiny little thing... of the two pythons at Petsmart he was the least skinny... the other one was waaay to skinny for me to even consider buying it even out of pity.
When it came time to change the bedding (which for had started to moulder due to the fish rocks still lining the bottom... and on the advice of my friend who's an avid snake lover I bought hydroballs and put the aspen bedding over them. This helped keep humidity levels up for a while but I'm still having trouble with it dipping down to "desert". I have a 100 watt intense basking bulb for day time and a 50 watt night light. I mist the enclosure every morning before I turn the day lamp on and mist it lightly when I see the humidity dip down to "desert" ... meaning about 3 to 4 times a day, depending on if its sunny or rainy outside as somehow this affects the terrarium even though I have central air conditioning all the time.


Sorry for the rather long post but, I am new to this and don't want to harm them.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Young BP's that are growing rapidly tend to shed every 4-6 weeks. Adult BP's only shed a few times a year.

There are a few things you can do to increase the humidity, first off ditch the hydroball, they aren't helping you at all, and are just a mold risk at this point.

I would suggest switching substrates as aspen doesn't do much for humidity. Eco-Earth, repti-bark, cypress mulch, or forrest floor are all much better choices.

Cover 70% of the screen top with aluminum foil. this will help to hold moisture in the tank

Get a larger water dish. The more surface are the better

replace both your day and night time heat bulbs with one of these:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInUS%2FNo

The 100 watt version hooked up to a lamp dimmer will be ideal

lamp dimmer: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lutron-Cr...H-WH/100145680

It also sounds like you need to replace your thermometers/hygrometer(s) I would suggest getting one of these. They cost $12 at Walmart. They measure 2 temperatures and humidity:



Do you have both snakes in the same cage?

[MootWorm]

Do you have the actual temps and humidity? If you're struggling that much with humidity, I'd switch to cypress mulch or coco fiber to bump it up. You can also make a humid hide by adding some damp (not wet) spagnum moss under a hide, that way they can self regulate.

I don't think there's anything wrong with darla's shedding schedules. Babies shed pretty darn often. That said, each snake grows at a different rate and as such will not shed on any set schedule.

Quick question, are they housed together? And what's the setup like?

[Celebrindal]

Yes, they are housed together... I'll take a better picture of the set up in a bit.
Darla ate her large mouse yesterday night but Dopey hasn't touched his.

I was told that cypress mulch wasn't that good... Guess I'll be making another trip to Petsmart later.
for some strange reason our infrared bulbs don't last long. The blue heat bulb has lasted the longest of any of our bulbs. Their water bowl is medium sized... big enough for Darla to soak if she so wishes.

I'm going to hold off getting a few of these things till Andy gets home from his trip, that way we can both see what we want to get in terms of hides and such... I can chop up some pine branches and make a little nest with them. I did that last month and Dopey loved it. Darla kept using the branches to find an escape route. =]
Again, I'm gonna take better pictures of my set up. Coincidentally where IN Walmart did you find that humidity monitor. I've got that dual zoo med one they sell at Petsmart.

[CaitJaye]

I've also had troubles with humidity. But recently, and thanks to the many members on this site, I've wised up to easier methods. Under the tank heaters help create a nice warm spot without killing your humidity. I use a small one of those that covers about 1/4 of the tank and a 75 watt bulb to keep the basking and ambient temp up. From what I've seen, anything like a 150 watt will kill humidity. as for substrate, reptile bark is good, but I've recently switched to paper towels. much cleaner, easier, and surprisingly seems to hold humidity up well. Also you can set up a humidifier in the room as well to go off on a timer. Boosts the humidity in the room, thus boosting tank humidity. As a side note, I wouldn't keep them in the same tank. I'm sure other members will tell you the same thing for many reasons.

[Celebrindal]

At first I didn't want them in the same tank... But Darla seems okay with Dopey being there. Also, Darla is fixed. When Andy got her we both noticed an incision line 2/3 down her belly about 3 inches from the tail. This upset Andrew a bit cause he wanted to get a male in the future... Well, we got Dopey but didn't know that he was a he until after he shed. Then we noticed the little nubs near his vent.

Ive thought of those under tank heaters... Wasn't sure if I should get them or not.

[MsMissy]

Well, number one... Darla is the alpha in that tank. She's been there longer and isn't going to let Dopey into spots he may need or want to go... This will hurt Dopey and as you are learning already, cause him to not eat. Soooo..... Separating them is going to be best for you and more importantly, the animals. Yes, it means you will need to purchase two of everything until you have them nice and set up. Unless you go with a rack system, multi repti's equals multi tanks.

Those heat lamps will kill your humidity, as Aaron suggested, a dimmer switch will def help as they also get VERY hot. I highly recommend UTH's to create your hot spot as Bp's live primarily at ground level. This being said, you cannot run a heat pad without a thermostat. Unregulated, they can hit 130 degrees easily which WILL burn your snake badly. The 40g is big for one, but with some creative cluttering will be fine. I would pick up a 20g long for Dopey, switch them both to reptibark or cypress mulch and make sure you have two identical hides for each along with a decent thermometer.... The Acurite with probe from Walmart is a favorite around here.

I'm sure I missing stuff but those changes would be a good start.

[Kat_Dog]

I've never heard of a snake being fixed unless the reproductive organs were going to kill them.
The "incision" you are talking about it probably her equivalent to a belly button, some snakes keep a small slit where the umbilical cord was.

Also, these "nubs" are just the spurs, all ball pythons have them, some are just more prevalent than others, it is no way to tell if they are male or female. You have to get your snakes probed to tel the sex.

I would take Dopey out of the tank and put him in a tub, if you got him from petsmart and the other snake looked unhealthy, there's no telling if he has any diseases that might transfer over to Darla. I would also check both of them for mites.

[Sita]

an incision line 2/3 down her belly about 3 inches from the tail.

That is the "belly button", not an incision.

Since no one else has specifically said this bit about housing snakes together, since you seem to care about them, I will. If you keep them together, you ARE, without question, risking both snakes' health and their very LIVES by keeping them together. Cannibalism, while rare, has been documented in BPs housed together, and it usually kills both snakes (the snake that is eaten is usually too large a meal, which kills the other snake).

By putting the sickly one into the cage, you have now risked giving something to Darla. At the very least, internal parasites and/or mites, or something worse like a respiratory infection or any number of diseases that can kill snakes. Even the stress alone of having to compete for the same resources can kill a snake. Tank mates do NOT "cuddle"; they are competing for the same heat source or hiding spot.

The others have posted good suggestions for regulating humidity, and I also use that Accurite thermometer/hygrometer. You'll find it in the aisles near the paint, plumbing, etc.

I can chop up some pine branches and make a little nest with them

Pine and cedar are very bad for snakes; they emit toxic fumes. I use a mixture of cypress mulch and coco bark for my cages, and rarely have to mist the ones in tanks, as I also have most of the screen covered. 50-60% is your goal, bumping it to 65-70% while in shed. Don't soak them before a shed, as it leaches oils out of the skin and make a normal shed go badly.

Also, the spurs are useless in determining sex, as you can have males with small ones and females with large ones. Probing is the best way, and must be done by someone who really knows what they are doing, like a herp vet (not the dude at the pet store), because you can cause damage if done incorrectly.

It sounds like you want to do right by these snakes, so I hope you'll take this advice with an open mind and change up some things for your snakes!

[brenda]

Hello everyone. My husband and I own two ball pythons. Darla (f) and Dopey (m).

Darla, we bought first and we got her, beginning of June. She was only a foot and an inch from nose to tail and has grown quite a bit. Since we got her she has shed twice. The last time being end of last month and beginning of this month. I noticed today as I put her into the feeding tub that her color is darker and her belly has gone pink. Her eyes aren't cloudy yet though. Could she be shedding again? This baby has grown to an impressive two feet already and is only about an inch and a half in girth. How often DO ball pythons shed? I was under the impression that they shed every three to four months.

Also, I've been having the damnedest hard time keeping the humidity in the terrarium. It used to be our 40 gallon fish tank but when all of them went belly up and Darla outgrew her 10 gallon... we decided to wash it out with Clorox and make it her terrarium. Two weeks later (this being mid-July) we brought Dopey home. He's a tiny little thing... of the two pythons at Petsmart he was the least skinny... the other one was waaay to skinny for me to even consider buying it even out of pity.
When it came time to change the bedding (which for had started to moulder due to the fish rocks still lining the bottom... and on the advice of my friend who's an avid snake lover I bought hydroballs and put the aspen bedding over them. This helped keep humidity levels up for a while but I'm still having trouble with it dipping down to "desert". I have a 100 watt intense basking bulb for day time and a 50 watt night light. I mist the enclosure every morning before I turn the day lamp on and mist it lightly when I see the humidity dip down to "desert" ... meaning about 3 to 4 times a day, depending on if its sunny or rainy outside as somehow this affects the terrarium even though I have central air conditioning all the time.


Sorry for the rather long post but, I am new to this and don't want to harm them.