Reading a Shed?

[Adam_Wysocki]

Too bad I'm not in the market now, else it might be good to snatch a good shedder, especially since it's doing well in conditions that are likely less than ideal.

In my humble opinion (for whatever it's worth) the average ball python owner gets way too hung up on complete sheds. If a ball python doesn't shed in all one piece it's really no big deal ... wild ball pythons almost always have some part of their previous shed stuck on them ... it's nothing that a quick soak can't fix and doesn't bother them in the least.

This store seems pretty good. If I can't find anybody locally, I may end up buying from this store. They charge $75, but I figure that's about how much I'd pay to get one shipped to me.

Could be more than that even.

A follow-up question. Is it generally recommended to just leave a BP alone when it's in it's hide, and only handle when they're out and about? I ask because the girl asked if I wanted to see the snake that shed. I didn't for two reasons - It seemed to be happily hiding, and I'm not buying at this time, so I didn't want to cause unnecessary stress.

Doesn't matter ... once they are settled in and eating well, they are amazingly adaptable. We pull them out of hides and cages constantly and they all thrive at my place.

-adam