Worried about my ball python

[zina10]

What size rodent are you feeding, and how often?

This is a fully retained shed, but the snake also looks quite emaciated even though you say he eats well.

No reason for him to give you anxiety You are here now, you will get the help you need and after you tweak a few things, your snake will be completely fine, plump and growing !
The trick is to get the husbandry just right. That includes the heat and humidity, but also the setup (enclosure, hides, privacy, etc)

Diet is also important, esp. for a young BP. Meaning size of rodent and frequency of feeding.

If you have trouble with shedding, put him on a substrate that can hold humidity better. Something like a coco coir. When the shed cycle starts you can mist a bit more then usual, and right before the shed (first they turn dull with blue eyes, a few days later they "clear up" and within a day or two of clearing up they shed) you can mist directly where the snake sits once the day. Just make sure you don't create a swamp either and don't make the entire setup wet, just keep some areas moist to the touch.

He will be fine

[Sonny1318]

What size rodent are you feeding, and how often?

This is a fully retained shed, but the snake also looks quite emaciated even though you say he eats well.

No reason for him to give you anxiety You are here now, you will get the help you need and after you tweak a few things, your snake will be completely fine, plump and growing !
The trick is to get the husbandry just right. That includes the heat and humidity, but also the setup (enclosure, hides, privacy, etc)

Diet is also important, esp. for a young BP. Meaning size of rodent and frequency of feeding.

If you have trouble with shedding, put him on a substrate that can hold humidity better. Something like a coco coir. When the shed cycle starts you can mist a bit more then usual, and right before the shed (first they turn dull with blue eyes, a few days later they "clear up" and within a day or two of clearing up they shed) you can mist directly where the snake sits once the day. Just make sure you don't create a swamp either and don't make the entire setup wet, just keep some areas moist to the touch.

He will be fine



Here is some good advice, I would follow closely what Zina is telling you. Best of luck.

[zina10]

Also, if you going to help with the shed, just do it now.

Once you got a full retained shed, they will not get it off by themselves without help. The oils under the old skin dry out and the old skin adheres to the new skin. Do the soak with a towel in water. Make sure you keep an eye on the snake. Watch out for some older skin separating from the new skin. You may have to help by running a wet wash cloth over the snake while letting it slither through you hands. You need to get some areas started, so that the water gets underneath the old skin and helps get it loose.

The longer you wait the harder this will get.

I've gotten a snake once with a full retained shed, he looked AWFUL !!!!!! I was in shock. After I helped him shed, tada. Beautiful snake.

All that aside, your baby still looks thin, though, might need to adjust the diet some..

[Bogertophis]

That’s my worry! His humility has been right at 60 and his water dish is full, I’m just at a loss as to what I’m doing wrong. First he wouldn’t eat now he eats but this pops up.


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As mentioned earlier, his humidity should be raised to at least 70 when he's in a shed cycle. If your gauge is not accurate, you need one that is. Try never to let a snake get in this condition. Part of his problem is that he also wasn't eating well: growth = shedding, & to do that, a snake needs good nutrition AND enough water (hydration).He appears as one whose body tried to shed but came up short (both on nutrients and water) to finish the job. He needs your help.

And also, just for future reference (& I'm NOT saying this is what happened this time)- when you can tell your snake is going into a shed cycle (gray-bluish eyes, dull colorson body), it's best not to feed them until they complete the shed. Don't worry if they were "due" for a meal, it can wait. The reason is that for some snakes (not all, but from the looks of things, yours may be prone to this situation)- some snakes will have trouble doing "both" (digesting and shedding) at the same time, because both processes require extra hydration from the snake's body to get the job done. The result can be a snake that looks as yours does. When did you last get this snake to eat?

[Samzi1123]

What size rodent are you feeding, and how often?

This is a fully retained shed, but the snake also looks quite emaciated even though you say he eats well.

No reason for him to give you anxiety You are here now, you will get the help you need and after you tweak a few things, your snake will be completely fine, plump and growing !
The trick is to get the husbandry just right. That includes the heat and humidity, but also the setup (enclosure, hides, privacy, etc)

Diet is also important, esp. for a young BP. Meaning size of rodent and frequency of feeding.

If you have trouble with shedding, put him on a substrate that can hold humidity better. Something like a coco coir. When the shed cycle starts you can mist a bit more then usual, and right before the shed (first they turn dull with blue eyes, a few days later they "clear up" and within a day or two of clearing up they shed) you can mist directly where the snake sits once the day. Just make sure you don't create a swamp either and don't make the entire setup wet, just keep some areas moist to the touch.

He will be fine

That was my fear too, but this is him just a week ago eating and as you can see he looks dramatically different. In less then 7 days he went from looking completely healthy, as he has since I got him, to the way he looks now so that’s why I kind of panicked.




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[zina10]

As long as you have a towel in the tub with the snake, you can raise the water up high enough to almost cover their back.

You want enough towel to have them able to rest their heads or part of their body on it (so they aren't forced to swim to stay above water and stress...) but not so much towel that they just end up sitting on a wet towel. You do need most of their body to be in contact with some water. The water needs to get in between the old skin and new, it will plump up the old skin and that will help pulling it off. So if you see where skin separates, carefully pull some of it away, or roll it off.

You will probably have to do the soak for a good 30 min minimum and STILL have to help with a wet wash clothes.

What I did was stand by the sink after the soak, with luke warm water running and a wet wash clothes. I kept wetting the snake with the wash clothes and then rolling/pulling skin down the body, either with hands or the wash clothes. During all that you have to keep the snake wet, thats where keeping the water running helps..

If you allow the snake to slither around while you do it, they won't stress as much. He will stress SOME, obv., but at this point that skin has to come off...

After you are done with all this, let the baby rest.

Can you post a pic of your setup ? If you use a glass tank it would help to use substrate rather then paper towels. Also, you want to cover the sides and back of the tank with dark paper (stuck on the outside) to give the snake more privacy. Most of the top should be covered too, leaving some uncovered for air exchange.

[zina10]

In the pictures he looks much better, but still a bit thin. You can see the edge where his ribs end in the picture where he wraps around your arm.

Now that he eats well, that will quickly change though They can turn plump and healthy rather quick once eating.

Just get everything else tweaked, and all will be well. That looks to be like a hopper mouse, since its not to much bigger then his head is long. You can probably go to young adult mice or try fuzzy rats.

But first things first, get that old dress off of him

[Samzi1123]

In the pictures he looks much better, but still a bit thin. You can see the edge where his ribs end in the picture where he wraps around your arm.

Now that he eats well, that will quickly change though They can turn plump and healthy rather quick once eating.

Just get everything else tweaked, and all will be well. That looks to be like a hopper mouse, since its not to much bigger then his head is long. You can probably go to young adult mice or try fuzzy rats.

But first things first, get that old dress off of him

Yeah it was a fuzzy/young hopper. I wasn’t sure how big to give him, he was getting small mice before I got him but then someone told me that they were too big so when I started offering live I dropped him to smaller hoppers. He refused to eat this weekend but I thought that might be because of the retained shed?


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[zina10]

Yeah it was a fuzzy/young hopper. I wasn’t sure how big to give him, he was getting small mice before I got him but then someone told me that they were too big so when I started offering live I dropped him to smaller hoppers. He refused to eat this weekend but I thought that might be because of the retained shed?


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Yes, he was probably in shed. I never even offer food while they are in shed. It takes a lot work for their body to go through shed (and hydration) and the same goes for digestion. So I let them do one at a time. Some eat while in shed, some don't.

He should definitely eat bigger then a mouse fuzzy. Most hatchlings eat mouse hoppers as a first meal. Next couple meals give at least large hoppers or young adults. He will plump up quickly once on the right size food.


Oh, one VERY IMPORTANT thing about the whole retained shed thing.

I can't stress this enough, but be very, very patient. There is no rushing through this. Take your time. Esp. the part where you hold the snake and help it shed. The snake will wriggle around, you will have to adjust your grip, switch hands, adjust again, let it slip through fingers, etc etc. Just stay calm, let the snake move, and do a little at a time. As long as you allow the snake to move it will be less stressed.

Don't be anxious or nervous, expect this to take awhile. Just calmly keep adjusting your hold and go with it

[Samzi1123]

So my ball python Eliot suddenly got super wrinkly and feels very rough, he looks horrible and it scared me to death but my friend who has a ball python said to not worry that he’s just shedding. I’m just looking to see what you all have to say because I’m a new ball owner and he’s been giving me anxiety since the day I got him. He went 9 weeks without eating before I finally switched him to live and now he eats like a champ, then this happens so I guess I’m just a little on edge regarding him. His hot temp is right around 90 and the cool temp is around 80. He has a hot and cold hide and his humidity is at 60%. I have an under tank heat pad and a heat light.


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Update on Eliot! I followed some very good advice and was able to get his skin nice and loose and then it came off pretty easily with him crawling through a wet towel. He still has some shed stuck on the head and an inch or so down the back but 90% of it is off and he looks so much better. Thank you all for the amazing advice.


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