Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Two questions : First is it ok to handle the ball python during the shedding process ?

Second : My ball is in the shedding process, he refused food the other night, is that common ?

Holding your ball pythons while in shed can stress them out, I think its because they dont see as well and are much more skitish but i could be wrong on the reason why.

It is common for balls to refuse food while shedding, some will eat some wont alot of people say you shouldnt do it but i have 2 bps that will take em before they hit the bottom of the enclosure even in shed. But the ones that wont eat i dont try to feed for safty reasons.
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B Sleeper

1.0 Chocolate Lab
0.1 ?? Normal Ball python (yet different)
1.0 04 Het Albino
1.1 06 Het Albino
1.0 06 Het Pied
1.0 06 Pastel
1.0 07 Pastel

Balls tend to be a bit shy during their shed, so handling may cause them more stress than it normally would (some may even strike), which is why some people caution you against it. Personally I don't think it's particularly dangerous, if you really need to move the snake for some reason, but it should be avoided if it's uneccessary.
Feeding can go either way. Some snakes won't feed if they can't see as well as normal, but some don't seem to mind. I don't think offering food is a bad idea, as long as you're not feeding live. & if you are, you may want to wait, since a strike may go awry. Even if the snake wants to eat, he/she may not be able to properly aim.

Hope that helps!

-Tami*

I have two '07 siblings, one won't even look at food when in shed and the other seems to feed more aggresively when in shed.
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Craig

Gotta love the Bumble Bee.