Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all. I have a ball python that i boughgt 3 weeks ago yesterday at the white plains reptile expo. He still hant eaten, which I'm not all too worried about. What was starting to worry me was last monday he went into his hide box on the cool side and didnt really come out much for the next few days. I left him be, and on friday I bought a rat pup to try and feed. When he came out of his hide I had seen that his eyes had become foggy, and his skin dull. So i had assumed him not coming out was a sign that he was about to shed.

Now these are my questions...

It has been 4 days since his eyes have fogged over and they are still fogged. Should I start the soaking process now, or should I wait alittle longer?

And for my second question. I still have the live rat pup, and its now going on a month since he's eaten (the breeder told me that the last time he ate was a week b4 i had purchased him). Should I try again to offer him food? Or should I wait until he has shed?

Each snake is different, but most will not eat in shed. I have a female thou that eats in shed,but just wait till it is done, You should not have to soak if the humidity is correct, I would bump it up a to about 70 or 80% until it sheds. When the snake goes clear then it should only be a few days till it sheds.

I had assumed so when it came to feeding. but in regards to the humidity, i've been misting the tank at least 3 times a day. and i also have a damp towel over the top. so what else can u recomend to keep the humidity up? i have the water dish on the cool side of the tank, do you think it would help if i moved it to the warm side under the heat lamp?

Do you have a under the tank heat mat.. if not I would suggest getting one and losing the heat lamp. All you can do is keep misting make a humid hid under the heat, Put some moss in it.. that
will help also..

i tried getting rid of the lamp and the temps were just not right with only the uth...how can i fix that?

What size tank is the snake in? I used the zoomed uth and they worked good, at the time i did not have a thermostat so I used extra bedding and it worked fine. If you put the hide right over the uth it should be ok.

i have him in a 20gal long,with the same brand uth...and with the heat lamp off the hot side goes down to 75-80

is that where he is laying that the temps are? Or inside the hide?
I used 20 longs also and it worked fine. I covers 90% of the lid to help with humidity. Are you using a temp gun to measure temps? I think If you cover 90% of the lid and lose the light It should be fine.

see the problem is i have two thermomoters on the cool side and the hot side, but they are the pet store bought dial ones, i have no way of telling how hot it is inside the hide....how could i estimate this?....if my temps are 85 on the hot side, what should i figure it is in the hide?

Those temp gauges are in my experience crap. I'd go get a temp gun. I only paid $25 for mine and it was well worth it.

where can i buy a temp gun?

www.Tempgun.com but I got mine at our local reptile shop.

I reccommend that you go to homedepot purchase a piece of cheap arclyic plastic sheet cut it to the desired length and place this on top of the screen cover of your 2o gal L this worked fine for me when I use to use glass tanks this will raise and keep ur humidity levels high, it will also keep your air temps high its a simple and cheap easy fix good luck.

HE WILL NOT FEED WHILE HE IS IN SHED SO DONT TRY TO FORCE HIM,KEEP THE HUMIDITY HIGH N THE ENCLSURE THAT YOU HAVE HIM IN AND KEEP YOUR TEMPS UP . THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT WHILE HE IS IN HIS SHED CYCLE,THIS WILL ALLOW HIM TO SHED PROPERLY WITH KNOW PROBLEM AND HE WILL SHED IN ONE COMPLETE SKIN, THE OTHER IMPORTANT THING IS TO NOT HANDLE HIM AND LEAVE HIM BE UNTIL HIS SHED IS ALL COMPLETE , AND THEN YOU CAN ATTEMPT TO FEED HIM AGAIN , GOOD LUCK.