Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted pics of baja. Hoping to get a good view so you can scope her/him out and let me know what you think. Eyes/black/caps? To thin? Bumps on face? Can you tell-her/him? She was very active today. A ham at pic taking. Acted like hungry but didn't bite. Hasn't in 2 1/2mo. Please fill me in on how you think she/he looks. So new and concerned. What kind is she anyway? jen

pretty cute

not seeing the bumps on the face but its late...

looks healthy-- wouldn't hurt to gain a little- but has a nice rounded back-- backbone isn't sticking up sharply.

can't tell him/her

as for the eyes- look fine-- looks like he/she is about to shed though-- will brighten up those eyes a bit.

I just got a little pastel in arlington-- i can see the pupils on her-- not just little black beady eyes.

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

Jen, Lets start with the easy stuff. First looks like a nice light colored normal Ball Python. Second can't tell the sex by just looking at pics. Would have to be probed or popped to be relatively sure. And I would say not to skinny, but could be a little thicker. Now for my honest observations based on the pics. The poor little fella looks dry and unhappy. Appears to have either dimpled or retained eye cap/caps. If the animal is brand new to you and not eating then you really should not be handling it. Being unable to see the entire enclosure I can't tell but does he/she have a place hide/feel secure? A must for BPs. Also what type of substrate is that your using? Repti Bark maybe. I have never used it but it looks to much like pine bark to me. What is it made of? Any pine product would be very bad for your animal. Now for my personal suggestions. First I would try and hydrate the animal by soaking it in some warm(80-85 degree) water about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch deep. I would do this two or three times a day until the skin no longer looks dry and wrinkled. Also make sure that he/she has a nice tight secure place to hide away from any disturbance. Keep bright light to a minimun. By the way what are you using as a heat source? If its a heat lamp of any type get rid of it. Under tank heaters work much better and they don't dry out the air. If the tank has a screen top I would cover abut 90% of it to hold in heat and humidity. And last I would trash the bark and use shreaded Aspen instead. Looks just as nice as the bark and helps to maintain humidity if you give it a light misting every couple of days. As for the not eating I would let him/her have about 2 weeks to settle in before trying to offer food.Sorry for the long post but you ask. Anyway that is where I would start and go from there.

Jeff

Jen,

In my opinion, he/she looks really nice!

It does looks as if the snake is almost ready to shed. Prior to your snake shedding, its belly will turn a pinkish color and its overall color will start to become much darker. A few days later its eyes will cloud up (some people refer to this stage as blue-ing) and its skin will besome very gray. After a few days after this the eyes and skinn will clear up, but the skin will look very thick and not have its usual sheen to it. I believe (looking at the pics) that your snake is in this final shed stage.

It is most likely uncomfortable and I dont feed mine at this point because the old skin is so thick and it has lost its elasticity and the snake has trouble streching its mouth open to eat.

I would increase the humidity way up for the next few days and 70-80 percent and your snake will most likely shed out. This is really fun to watch if you catch it!! After it sheds it will have its best color and a beautiful sheen that is really nice! After it sheds, return the humidity to 45-55 percent and you can feed if you want.

Please let us know how you make out.

~Alan