husbandry

[jeannie]

ok now I'm confused.... My python has shed twice in less than 2 months. Why??? The first time he shed it was in one piece, this time it's all over his cage. I got him in february, he hasn't eaten still.... now what?

[Danielle(THM)]

If the shed skin was all over his cage, the humidity probably was a little low, 50-60% is ideal, most people find it that it helps the snake shed easier if you bump it up to 70% during shed times. As for the feeding, just keep trying same day every week, he'll eat when he gets hungry.

[daniel1983]

Here is a little info on shedding frequency:

The time between sheds (shedding frequency) for ball pythons varies for each animal and is dependant upon several factors. Some of the factors that effect shedding frequency include genetics, food intake and frequency, enclosure temperature and humidity, reproductive status, level of stress, presence of skin parasites or bacteria, and the age of the ball python. Younger ball pythons tend to shed more frequently than older ball pythons. I have young ball pythons that will shed every 4 weeks and I have older ball pythons that shed once every 1.5-2.5 months. Adult female ball pythons go into a shed generally 10-14 days after they ovulate. This shed is used by most ball python breeders to predict the date the eggs will be layed. An elevated level of stress on the ball python can cause shedding to become delayed. Food intake and enclosure temperature are directly related to the growth rate of a ball python. If improper husbandry conditions and improper feeding occur, the shedding frequency can be effected. Because of the numerous factors that can effect a snake's shed, it is always good to keep records of when a snake sheds and the quality of shed that takes place. These records can give a keeper the advantage of predicting when the ball python will shed, and can also provide an indicator of sicknesses or stress.

Here is a little on getting good sheds:

The best way to prevent a bad shed is to provide proper humidity in the ball python's enclosure. The enclosure should have a humidity between 50-60% normally, but can be bumped up to 60%-70% during shed. You can also use humid hides if getting the humidity high in the enclosure is a problem. You can find information on humid hides links below

Here are a bunch of sites with shedding related info:

http://www.danielhillreptiles.com/Ar...hedprocess.htm
http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/stucksheds.htm
http://www.joecompelreptiles.com/bal...mber/index.asp
http://www.joecompelreptiles.com/bal...shed/index.asp
http://www.joecompelreptiles.com/bal..._cap/index.asp
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=48

Concerning the feeding, a few questions need to be answered:
What are your enclosure tempertures?
What is your enclosure setup (i.e. how many hides, waterbowls, etc)?
What are you feeding?
How old, what size, and from what origin is you ball python?

The more details the better we can try to helpout

[JamminJonah]

all good things - I'll just add that BP's choose when they want to eat and believe me that first year and a half it will get to you when he/she won't eat. I suggest you keep an eye on body composition, scale condition, and mouth and vent areas, these are your barometers for health.

If you pick your snake up and the vent is clear, the mouth looks clear, no wheezing or long bouts of what looks like yawning, no ticks, no mites, eyes look clear with no stuck shed. Temps have been good and consistant not dipping under 75deg F, water has been changed daily and is clear, and humidity is in the 40-60% range don't be overly concerned. Though if your humidity is 40% you should try to bump it up a bit as 50% seems to be ideal.

If the body starts to look triangular time to go to the vet.

But if your herp passes this inspection and doesn't seem excessively stressed he/she's just being a pain and will eat when the tummy growls.

[JLC]

Can you describe your setup and routine?


How big is the enclosure? What kind is it? How do you heat it? What are the temps at the warm and cool ends? What is the humidity? What are you using to measure temps and humidity? What kinds of hides do you have for him?

How often do you try to feed? What are you trying to feed? How big is the snake? Do you handle it a lot? Do you mess around in the cage a lot? Are you still adjusting the cage and changing things around?

I know it's a lot to type out...but if you can answer those questions, we can probably offer some very specific advice.

[JamminJonah]

ah and of course as others have said, when you see the eyes turn blue bump up the humidity to around 60% (what they said about 50-60% normal humidity and 60-70% for shed) is ideal and good advice. Do you have a hygrometer in the tank? A shoddy shed is the result of low humidity (shedding in pieces as opposed to one entire piece) try to bump it up by:

misting, changing substrate, covering up parts of the screen if you have a screen top (leave air space!), switching from a light or ceramic heat emitter to an under tank heater (UTH), putting in a waterfall (exoterra makes one), getting and automatic mister, sprinkling some sphagnum near the hide when eyes turn blue, putting in a humid hide....

haha there's lots you can do and part of the fun of owning a herp is trying a bunch of things and seeing what works for you!

Cheers to improved sheds,
-Jonah