Ball python having trouble shedding

[jess32247]

Hi everyone, I'm worried our ball python is having trouble shedding. I'm new to snakes but I'm thinking this isn't normal. He's very wrinkly and hasn't lost much shed in the last few days. He was just finishing a shed when we got him, the pet store employee explained he was having a rough shed and told us that he was soaking in him water to help get the last of the stuff stuck on his head off. We ended up not having to do that, but is it possible he's having another bad shed?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! I attached a picture of him from 2-3 days ago, not much as changed since then.

[JodanOrNoDan]

No pic. What is your humidity?

[jess32247]

I finally got the picture up, it should be on the first post now. It's been hard to keep humidity up in his cage, it usually sits around 50%-60% which I think is fairly low for bp's? He's in a 10g tank with a screen top covered in foil. Could low humidity be causing his shred problems?

[Oxylepy]

I'd recommend a better substrate for a tank like that. Paper tends to maintain less humidity, as does aspen. Cypress, reptichips, etc are supposed to be good for humidity. A larger water dish is good for increasing humidity. At the moment I would suggest a moist warm washcloth

[JodanOrNoDan]

He is looking a little thin and dehydrated. Read the sticky threads here. Especially those pertaining to tank setup. Something is very wrong with the humidity for him to look like that. My bet is that your gauge is inaccurate. Your humidity should be up around 70% for a shed.

Also take a look here for general parameters.

[jess32247]

Thanks for the help so far guys. We still have the humidity gauge that came with the tank when we bought it so I'll see if I can find a better one to upgrade it with. He has a better thermometer now but it doesn't measure humidity. Any suggestions for ones on amazon prime that aren't too expensive? I'll also order a bag of Reptichips to go along with a new humidity gauge.

He's had a hard time eating since we got him but I think things should start looking better now. The pack of frozen mice I bought were getting wet somehow when I was thawing them out so he refused to eat and missed a few feedings. I fed him a new brand last week and he preferred that 100% more.

[jess32247]

Alright, so I went and bought him a bag of reptichips and a proper humidity gauge. I'm wondering what I should do now though. Do I wait until his shed is over (how can I tell?) or should I go ahead and take him out so I can put the new stuff in tonight?

[Tigerhawk]

Go ahead and put in the new substrate. You need to get his humidy up as soon as possible. One other thing. Get rid of that half log. Get him a hide with one entrance. He will feel more secure with a real hide. Finally don't handle him for a week or two. That way he has time to settle in and get use to his new home. Also welcome to the forum.

[WarrThox]

Here's my setup with a 10gal tank. I have coco fiber coming to help with humidity instead of having 2 warm damp cloths in there. Mine is having trouble too. Friendly forum members helped me to get mine setup proper.

My thread also
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=246577


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[jess32247]

Thanks for the help everyone. Getting him a second hide is next on my list. I really like the look of the half coconut, I'll probably end up getting him one of those haha. My boyfriend and I are really digging that tank set up WarrThox!