OOps?

[Pythonian]

So i bought a couple F/T and due to the sort of long drive home(15 mins) i decided to finish the thaw and feed my snake. He ate both like he had not seen food in weeks, ok cool. (he has been downing 2 med- large F/T mice a week since i got him) I wake up this morning to shed pieces all over the tank...great i pissed him off before he shed. Whats odd is he never showed any aggression or stress when i picked him up to feed him. Nor were his eyes glazed (that i could tell) Another odd thing he is doing is he is hanging out on the cooler side of the tank more than the hot side. the cool side shows about 70-74 while the hot side is showing 83-88 (temps vary alot with the AC being on or not and if the AC isnt on the windows are open so ambient temps play a part here.)

[BMorrison]

I don't think pissing him off has to do with how he sheds. That sounds like a humidity problem to me. What's your humidity reading?

[Pythonian]

it varies alot, sometimes 50-60% but since i saw the pieces ive been misting alot and getting it to stay in the 70-80% range.

im sure he shed fine, my concern was more about feeding before a shed. Do these snakes go " oh food time, put the shed on hold so i can digest" or will he continue shedding, he has not moved from his cool side hide since.

he has lots to shed on and get it done, i do see a few flakes still on him so i dono if hes just waiting for the mice to digest or what.

[BMorrison]

Keep it between 50 and 60% humidity. 70-80 is way high for a ball python. I'll bump up to about 65% when Furio is going into shed.

In my experience with Furio he will eat going into shed and still shed just fine. If you say there is alot of shed around his tank and he still has some on him it may be stuck on there and you might have to help him. Give him a day or 2 to relax. He'll finish his shed. He just needs a little time to digest. In the meantime don't handle him just let him be.

[Pythonian]

thats what i figured. I was just worried about feeding him before a shed. Its really odd he showed no signs of a shed comming. Its like he just woke up and said, "hey today is a good day to shed." he had just shed 2 days prior to me buying him, which was about 3 weeks ago. Could the increased food supply be telling him the time is good to shed?

[BMorrison]

Snakes shed according to growth. When they get too big for their skin they shed. So if he's growing and he's just a baby right now he'll shed a little more often.

[starmom]

So i bought a couple F/T and due to the sort of long drive home(15 mins) i decided to finish the thaw and feed my snake. He ate both like he had not seen food in weeks, ok cool. (he has been downing 2 med- large F/T mice a week since i got him) I wake up this morning to shed pieces all over the tank...great i pissed him off before he shed. Whats odd is he never showed any aggression or stress when i picked him up to feed him. Nor were his eyes glazed (that i could tell) Another odd thing he is doing is he is hanging out on the cooler side of the tank more than the hot side. the cool side shows about 70-74 while the hot side is showing 83-88 (temps vary alot with the AC being on or not and if the AC isnt on the windows are open so ambient temps play a part here.)

It is widely believed that cool temps ought to be about 82-85F and warm temps about 92-95F with ambients staying about 82F. Humidity is good between 50-60% and needs to be measured unless, like Kara, you just know what the correct humidity feels like (I'm jealous Kara! ) I used to bump my humidity to 65-70% during shedding, but I have found that with my snakes this is not necessary. If I keep the humidity between 50-60% they all shed just fine!

Also, if the snake shed in pieces, it could indicate a humidity problem~ or just a bad shed Their eyes go opaque for a few days and then they clear for a few days and then the snake sheds; you might have just missed the blue-eye part

For my snakes, I always offer food on feeding day and permit the snake to choose whether to eat or not; this includes any snakes who are in any part of the shed cycle. I don't feel that you angered your snake by feeding it! I believe it was Kevin McCurley who reminded us all, in his book, that anger is a human emotion and not shared by reptiles due to their brain structure.

I am wondering if you might share a bit how the snake environment is set up and what type of mechanism you are using to control the heat source. If you were to share some information regarding your snake's set-up, members might be able to assist you in stabilizing the temps.

[Brimstone111888]

Keep it between 50 and 60% humidity. 70-80 is way high for a ball python. I'll bump up to about 65% when Furio is going into shed.

70-80 isn't to high of humidity, considering it is 90-100% outside most days for me. If it gets below 65% my snakes won't shed correctly. Just my experience.

[BMorrison]

Just seems 50-60% is enough in my experience thus far. Then again it's whatever works for the individual keeper and snake.

[Brimstone111888]

Just seems 50-60% is enough in my experience thus far. Then again it's whatever works for the individual keeper and snake.

Very true!