Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok i am still learning all of the retic habits so i am asking yall for help, my 6 and a half foot retic who has not grown any in the two months i have had him just shed last week, and ever since then he has been in the water bowl non stop. he has never done this before, this is his second shed with me he did not do this the last time. is this common, or is this a sign of a growth spurt, basically what does this meen, any help would be great maybe im worried for nothing. by the way he is not lethargic or anything like that he is just soaking a lot

have you checked to see if he has mites. i know i had a carpet python that did several shed over a short period of time and sat in his water alot. i didnt notice at first because he was nice and black so the mites hid well. but one day i was messing around with him and ound the nasty creatures. i killed off the mites and he returned to his non soaking nature and his sheds came further apart. the shedding and soaking help give comfort to the snake by killing off or eliminating some of the mites. if he has no mites then i dont know what to tell you, but i would check his cage and him real close.

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Spider

Assuming your temps are good across the cage with proper hot and cool ends; as the other poster wrote check for mites. Also, sometimes snakes will use water bowls ad "hides," where they feel secure if they are stressed. Is there anything that might be making your retic feel out of whack? A new cage or cage surroundings? Others bothering it while you're away? Smoke? Loud music with thumpy bass going on a lot?

Can you find out what its environment was like before you took over? Maybe it was a dramatic change?

B.

he has been in the same tank since i got him, i bought him from a breeder who had him in a 40 breeder in his store, where he was on display i have had him for two months now, there is no one to bother him while i am not home i live alone, also there is no noise around him his temps are good and i have not noticed any mites on him or in his tank, i will look more closely when i clean his tank this evening, thanks for the advice