Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey all!I bought my first baby ball Sunday. When I bought him he was in shed. The next day(monday) we noticed lots and lots of small pieces of skin here and there. I'm a little worried b/c the skin is not coming off all in one piece. The top half of him is shed(except for a tiny peice on his nose) but the bottom half(as of last night) was still on him. I watched him for a while last night trying to scratch it off. I mist his cage a couple of times a day to help with humidity. He is staying mostly on his cool side dug down in the subsrate..is all this fairly common? He seems otherwise healthy, active and very curious about us and everything around him...when is it ok to handle/feed him?? any help would be appreciated..thanks!
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1.0 bearded dragon "Ifrit"
0.1 leopard gecko "Lucy"
0.0.1 frog eyed gecko "Nikki"
1.0 crested gecko "Strider"
0.0.1 ball python
0.1 pueblan milksnake "Scarlett"
1.0 rabbit "Pippin"
1.0 cockatiel "Pretty Bird"
0.1 siberian husky "Sierra"
lots of fish

How big is he and where did you get him.

Broken shed can be caused do to humidity but it may be careful with misting because if you mist his cage depending on your bedding choice it may start to mold. Personally I would recommend putting the snake in different container and soaking him. Make sure that the water is room temp.

After a good soak check the water he for mites which look like poppy seeds. If he has mites this could be the reason for a broken shed as well.

Matt

he's about 16-18". Got him from a local pet place. I've read not to handle them for the first couple of weeks and especially not if they are shedding. I thought about soaking but wasn't sure if I should or not.
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1.0 bearded dragon "Ifrit"
0.1 leopard gecko "Lucy"
0.0.1 frog eyed gecko "Nikki"
1.0 crested gecko "Strider"
0.0.1 ball python
0.1 pueblan milksnake "Scarlett"
1.0 rabbit "Pippin"
1.0 cockatiel "Pretty Bird"
0.1 siberian husky "Sierra"
lots of fish

I too am a new ball python owner, my little guy had his first shed yesterday. Keep close eye on the humidity levels! I use coconut husk as a substrate, mist twice a day, and put a warm towel on top of the enclosure in the early evening. Alot of people suggest Aspen, but I've found that the Coco bedding holds humidity much better. Not to scare you or anything, but make sure you do a really thorough check for mites. A bad shed right from the store makes me a bit nervous.

I don't know why people still use aspen, because coco bedding is far superior.

You might want to try watering the substrate, instead of misting. I sprinkle about two cups of water all over the substrate once daily when in shed. That soaks in and it releases the humidity slowly. I found it easier and longer lasting than misting, unless you live somewhere thats already humid.

I would suggest a good 10-15 minute soak. Even if you just brought it home, even if it just ate. Your snake will know what to do when you place it in the water. This should help with broken shed and also completely hydrate your snake.

-Patrick

I've eliminated the need to mist my cages. I use Aspen as a substrate, but for the hide on the warm side I use an overturned terra cotta plant pot with a hole broken in the side (I ground down the sharp edges using a Dremel).

I put the pot upside down in the terra cotta base equal or larger than the size of the mouth and fill the bottom with moist cypress. It never seems to mold, though I still change it about every month. Every week or so I dunk the pot in warm water and this keeps the entire cage humidity around 60+% with about 80-90% humidity inside the pot.

The aspen never gets wet or molds but my BPs shed perfect every time. Also, this way they can "escape" from the high humidity as well when it irritates their skin.
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1.0 normal ball python
0.1 greyband hybrid kingsnake
0.2 crazy cats
1.0 husband

thanks for all the great advice from all of you. I soaked him in luke warm water about 10 min ago. He sure wasn't thrilled but he did stay in for just a few minutes. I checked the water and did not see anything..anyways, should I expect the rest of the skin to come off soon or should I continue to try to soak him daily until it's all off??thanks!
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1.0 bearded dragon "Ifrit"
0.1 leopard gecko "Lucy"
0.0.1 frog eyed gecko "Nikki"
1.0 crested gecko "Strider"
0.0.1 ball python
0.1 pueblan milksnake "Scarlett"
1.0 rabbit "Pippin"
1.0 cockatiel "Pretty Bird"
0.1 siberian husky "Sierra"
lots of fish

I like that idea of using the clay pot drain pans and soaking them in water. It would indeed hold the humidity in the enclosure up nicely, unless you have a screen top of course. I may start using that idea myself

Quig

Just be careful getting the hole in the side of the pot. What I did was press the spot I wanted to remove against the ground and tapped it with a ball pein hammer. This way the rest of the pot wouldn't vibrate from the hits and fall apart, just the pieces I wanted to break off would be crushed.
It comes out a little jagged, but I kind of like the natural appearance too.
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1.0 normal ball python
0.1 greyband hybrid kingsnake
0.2 crazy cats
1.0 husband