Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased a baby ball python, he is having trouble sheding. I heard that you could use baby oil to help them shed. Is this good information?

I've only heard of baby oil being used to aid in the removal of retained eyecaps after a shed. Not sure about using baby oil on the body. Some BP keepers have had luck dipping a cotton swab in oil and touching the tip of the swab to the eyecap to help take it off. If I was going to use this method, I would use a natural oil like vegetable or mineral oil, something fragrance-free just to be safe.

The main cause of poor shedding is too low humidity levels in the enclosure. Raise the humidity by increasing size of water bowl or misting tank with fresh water. Put your light/heat source over the water bowl to increase evaporation into the air. Cover the screen top of your enclosure with a piece of plexiglas but do leave a small gap for some fresh air to get in and space for any overhead lights/heat source. When you notice signs of your snake starting to shed (dull/scruffy appearance, pink under belly, skin starts to look like very thin layer of plastic wrap is over it), you can create a hide box from a plastic container with a lid and a small opening cut out of it (big enough for your snake to access, small enough to keep moisture in). Then put moss (comes in package at Petco/Petsmart) dampened with fresh water in the hide box so your snake can hide-out and moisten his skin to ease shedding. You can also soak your snake for a few minutes in a lukewarm/cool water bath with a tub exclusively for his baths then gently dab his skin with a clean washcloth. Just make sure it's supervised and keep the water level low so he won't drown. Most snakes have no problem swimming but BPs are mainly terrestrial, not aquatic and a little baby could drown. You should have a hygrometer (humidity gauge) in the tank so you can regulate humidity levels. Ambient humidity should be at least 60% and then having a hide box like I described above with 70-85% humidity is great to have as well. Keep in mind ball pythons, Python regius, are native to west-central/western Africa. I've never been there but i'm sure it's hot and humid as you know what there!

If you try all these things and your snake is still having problems shedding, he should be seen by a vet. Sometimes parasites can cause poor sheds.

Hope this helps and check out this site: http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/ - it has a lot of good info.
Good luck!
~Michelle~