BP soaking in H2O bowl...why?

[Wizard]

In the past few days my BP has been soaking in her H2O bowl. I checked her for mites and didn't see anything that concerned me, but I'm curious if there should be another signalment I should be looking for.

Thanks!

[Slim]

What are your hot spot and cool spot temps? What is your humidity, and when was her last shed?

[ZacharyPoller]

What are your hot spot and cool spot temps? What is your humidity, and when was her last shed?

What he said and also remember mites in their early forms of life aren't visible so i wouldn't rule that out yet however the juvenile mites usually don't move around to much yet so with that in mind don't rule out mites , but also it can be they are about to shed, low humidity , or she is trying to regulate her temps, ball pythons rarely soak unless something is wrong but also I do know of one that is perfectly healthy with perfect husbandry that soaks a lot , but its rare

[Wizard]

Thanks for the input guys!

FWIW, I haven't had any new acquisitions in the past six months, all without any issues. Can mites hitchhike on live and F/T prey?

[satomi325]

Can mites hitchhike on live and F/T prey?

Yes, but it's rare since they cannot survive long on non-reptile host.

Check your temps. BPs sometimes soak because they are too warm. Sometimes its mites. Sometimes its just an out of ordinary event.

[pbyeerts]

She could be soaking because she's going to shed, and she also might be constipated. BPs will soak to loosen a hard bowel movement. That's what my Oliver did.....


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[smalltimeballz]

I have a male that soaks himself after having a fun time rolling around in the news paper with the biggest girl on the block.... in her bowl.

[Wizard]

Yes, but it's rare since they cannot survive long on non-reptile host.

Check your temps. BPs sometimes soak because they are too warm. Sometimes its mites. Sometimes its just an out of ordinary event.

Checked the temps w/ an IR gun and it's around 92 degrees F in the hot spot and 85 F in the cool zone. Probably a bit warm but not too bad. Humidity is 60%.

What are your hot spot and cool spot temps? What is your humidity, and when was her last shed?

She's going into shed now.



Thanks for your suggestions everybody, I appreciate it.

She's an Axanthic so it's somewhat difficult to see mites especially when she is in shed.
I'm lucky to have a Donegan Optivisor on hand and I haven't noticed anything that looks suspicious so I'll just keep checking her and the other bunk mates.

Thanks again!