Dehydrated Ball Python

[blackhawk]

I have had my BP for about 3 weeks. He has been eating well, but recently he has started shedding. He has shed from his nose to his neck, but that is it. His skin is a little wrinkly and he is showing signs of dehydration. What do I do? How can I test the humidity in his tank?

[daniel1983]

I would recommend getting a digital thermometer/hygrometer combo(in walmart for $15.00) and setting up a humid hide. All you need for a humid hide is a plastic container with a hole cut in it. Place damp paper towels in the container and presto...humid hide For dehydration make sure FRESH water is readily available to the snake.

[blackhawk]

Thanks Daniel.

Should I have 2 hides available for my BP, one humid and anther dry. Should either hide be near the heat source.

[Adam_Wysocki]

As long as it's had water to drink it's unlikely that your snake is dehydrated. It sounds like a bad shed. To get the rest of the skin off, soak your snake in an inch or two of water (depending on your snakes size) in a sealed rubbermaid container for 1 hour each night until the rest of the skin is off. The soakings will cause most of the skin to just slide off your snake when you remove it from the container.

To prevent future bad sheds, you'll need to correct your husbandry ...

82-84 on one side of the cage, 92-94 on the other .... appropriately sized hides on both ends so your snake does not have to choose proper temps and security ... humidity between 50% - 60% ... with some enclosures it's harder to maintain high humidity than others, so as Daniel suggested, a humid hide added to the cage during your snakes shed cycle is an excellent alternative.

Good luck!

-adam

[blackhawk]

Thanks for the information. He is already looking much better.

[PrincessErica]

If you're worried about him not getting enough hydration, you can always soak down his food before you give it to him. Adds a bit of extra water to the mix.

[daniel1983]

If you're worried about him not getting enough hydration, you can always soak down his food before you give it to him. Adds a bit of extra water to the mix.

The only bad thing about 'soaking down' a rodent or dethawing a rodent directly in water is that the amount of odor put off by the rodent will decrease. If the ball python is a picky eater, the lack of rodent smell may cause the ball python not to feed. Then again, I have had my male bp take wet defrosted rodents without a problem; however, dry rodents his feeding responce was greater. Just trying to help....I would not want a solution to a problem causing another problem in itself

[PrincessErica]

His post said the BP is eating well, so that's why I figured it'd be ok to give that way a shot.