he's soaking slot

[sactownball]

alot of the time gonzo just sits with half of his body in his water bowl, he doesnt have mites, i dont think he's going to shed and the temps are in the 80's. is this normal?

[lillyorchid]

Some BP's just like water more then others from what I've seen and heard. And are you 100% SURE he doesn't have mites. Mites are pretty hard to see on BP's! Also make sure your warm side is 90-92 and the cool side at in the 80's.

[snakedude56]

do u mean his cool side temps are in the 80's? Bps should have a heat gradient of 92-94 warm side and 82-84 cool side. i dont know if that would be any reason for him to soak but they do require those temps to have good digestion and such

[Schlyne]

Does he have nice tight fitting hides? He could be sitting in the water bowl for security reasons.

[Sputnik]

Some balls like to soak, simple as that. It depends on the individual animal. And when I say soak, I mean for days.... not 10 mins. I have a handfull of yearlings that soak before shedding. And a few that soak even though they are not ready to go into a shed cycle, they just soak. And a number that just don't soak at any point! The tubs they are housed in are often fogged up, so no it's not a humidity issue.

I have noticed that this is with yearling sized ball pythons however, I have yet to have a juvie that soaks.

Here is a pic of one of our pastels soaking before a shed.