Sick ball python?

[Fincayra]

Hi, everyone. I'm rather new here, and new to snakes in general. The only ball python I currently own at the moment is Cinna, my three - four month old Caramel Albino. He's been great. He eats well and he seems to love the habitat I have set up for him. He crashes around like Godzilla every night.

Only thing is.. he isn't being much of a Godzilla monster at the moment. Cinna hasn't moved very much at all these past few days. At first I thought he was going into shed. His colors are darker and he had a blue film over his eyes for a day. I think he's still undergoing the shedding process, but his immobility has me worried. He isn't even hiding. He's out in the open by his water dish all the time, completely unmoving except to shift to the other side of his water dish. He refused the mouse I tried to give him last night. I've left him alone to give him time to adjust to his upcoming shed, but I took him out to examine him earlier and his skin appears loose. Also, the scales on his underbelly are flaky. Is this part of the shedding? He kept opening his mouth a few times for no reason and what really has me worried is that he barely moves even when I'm handling him. His muscles bunch together and it looks like he's trying really hard to push himself forward, but he can't make it very far.

I'm really, really uncomfortable with his behavior. Does he have a respiratory infection? Is this just pre-shedding behavior? The ambient temperature in his terrarium is around 85-87, with a basking temp. of 89 and a cool side of 81-ish. I try to keep the humidity levels up but it's been hard with the aspen bedding I use and the dry winters we have. I've got a humidifier going right by his terrarium, and I have a Repti-Fogger I turn on for an hour or two. With all of that, the humidity levels hang around 40-50%

Am I doing something wrong? Please help me.

[wideglide]

So far it all sounds normal to me. Up his humidity some (maybe spray his tank once a day with some water)and give him a couple of days without handling and he'll prolly shed for you just fine.


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[satomi325]

His humidity is too low. Flaking skin isn't normal. They don't move much before shedding.
Their humidity should be around 70% during a shed.

For humidity:
1) Large-wide water dish: wide surface area promotes greater evaporation
2) Use a substrate that retains moisture: Coco-husk or Cypress mulch
3) If you're using a glass tank with open screen top, cover 90% of the screen with a damp towel, tin foil, or plexiglass.


OR

Instead of fixing the entire enclosure, just provide your animal with a "Humid Hide".
Get a tupperware container with a lid and cut an entrance hole into it. Place damp paper towel or damp moss inside. This creates a humid micro-climate that the snake can choose to enter when it needs humidity

[Fincayra]

Thanks for the advice!

I removed every bit of the aspen and replaced it with Cypress mulch. I also got ahold of some green moss at the pet store to put under his half log hide. I misted that to get it damp and went ahead and misted the whole terrarium. The humidity reader I have jumped up to 90%. I've been monitoring the humidity levels now for about half an hour, and with the new substrate, the humidifier I have going, and the pillow case covering a good portion of the screen top to keep the heat in, the humidity has been a consistent 90%. I'm sure the number will drop once everything dries (I washed all his toys and did a thorough cleaning before adding the new substrate), but for now, this looks very promising.

Cinna's crashing around like Godzilla again! I'm so happy to see him moving. He's currently exploring every corner of the terrarium even though only the substrate has changed, the goofball.