6month ball python losing weight?

[zmc02h]

Hi all.

My 6month old ball python has lost a little weight and I'm a little concerned. I had her a week and a half ago and she was healthy, very tame, etc. Her previous owners said she fed on large mice every 10 days. Since I live with a friend who knows a bit about snakes (has had a corn snake for 6 years), she had a look at her and said she looks way too small to be on large mice and said I should try medium instead.

As it came to feeding her on Tuesday (11th Feb), I was hesitant on whether or not I should change her diet to medium f/t mice every 7 days after what my friend said, but I went ahead with it and bought medium. She fed on it well, didn't take her long to eat it. Then after 48hours passed so she can digest, I noticed she had lost a little weight, not a lot, but a significant amount for me to notice - she has a tiny bit of excess skin and sort of looks like when your hands have been in water a very long time. It's not drastic, but you can see it if she curls a little or whatnot.

I've been keeping her viv temp at around 80f all the time, but I did increase the humidity a bit since she had a tiny bit of skin to shed that her previous owners didn't help her out with. Before I fed her, her skin started to go a little dull and her eyes a bit grey, so I thought she was ready for her next shed. But after feeding her she was fine and looked normal again.

I'd really appreciate any feedback or advice since I am quite concerned, and she is my first BP!

[bcr229]

She needs a temperature gradient, 78-80*F on the cool side, 90*F on the warm side. What are you using to measure temps and humidity?

It sounds like she's going into shed. Also, how much did she weigh and how much did she lose?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

No offense to your friend but unless this animal was severely underfed in the past it is plenty capable of taking down an adult mouse.

BP are generally started on hopper and quickly move to adults.

An easy way for you to know it to eyeball it, the prey should be equal the girth size (largest part of your BP's body)

Try offering weekly.

If you BP eats but cannot seems to gain wait or seems to lose some, the animal is either underfed or there might be something else going on which is why it might be a good idea if it is the case to get a fecal done.

As for your temps it is important to know them and make sure that they are as stable as possible (digital thermometer or temp gun are a must), providing a cool side ranging from 76 to 80 and a hot spot ranging from 86 to 90 would be optimal.

[kylearmbar]

Crinkles in the skin are normal for all healthy ball pythons, after just two days an animal wouldn't lose enough to cause this unless she's been under fed for awhile and you didnt notice the loose skin before. And yes when shedding they can go from being all grey and milky eyed to normal, it's usually because of high humidity which is good, she should shed soon. Also is this weight loss visible after just two days? Or is this from a scale, because she could have just peed or something...