I have checked for mites. He's all clear no problem there! He has shed and full piece, no problems there. Mine just likes to soak a lot. It could be the heat in the room I guess, he is up high in the room. I will look at moving him really quick. The previous owner didn't have a large enough water bowl for him to soak in. As for the age, the previous owner said he believes the snake is 4. He said it could be 3. I don't know hardly anything about their size so I couldn't even attempt to try.