Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just reading a thread down below, and figured a good thread need not be lost in this flawed system. It was about dehydration in ball pythons. He said that if you soak a ball python in warm gatorade for an hour they come out nice and fresh. Made a little sense when I first read it, I mean gatorade does have a lot of good stuff in it. I bet soaking them in it would also aid in shedding and so forth. But, having not tried it, I'm not sure. Has anyone given this a shot? Seems like a nifty trick.
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Ball-Pythons.Net

I tried it last night for the hell of it. I read on some caresheet that the electrolytes in gatorade help rehydrate your snake and mine definately got better after soaking it, it looked like a whole new snake. Also, he shed in one night and it came off in one perfect piece.

There was once a guy around where I live that did that with RED gatorade, and he started selling "high red" boas. Yes folks a scammer! Once the snake hits water, or sheds the red disappears. Some people just amaze the crap out of me.
Greg
Link

Ok. If red makes boas look redder, what color would make a ball python his best? I don't drink gatorade, but maybe a yellow color would make mine look lighter. I'm not going to sell any, I just have one that is about to shed and would like it to come off easier. Last time it took a several days and was in many pieces, even though I soaked him every day for the week before. As to actually doing it, would you just stick him in a tall bucket with two inches of warm gatorade in it, and let him swim around for an hour? I don't want to drown my snake. He hates water, so won't just sit in there unless he's basically forced.
animalmaniac

Don't know the flavor name, but they do make a clear Gatorade.

I don't think I would use gatorade to help with a shed. Just go ahead and use regular water. Put two inches of LUKE WARM (Warm to you is scalding your snake) water in a container, drop in a tea towel (Size of a face towel) leave snake be for about 20 min. Usually the skin comes right off, if not rub a bit with the towel (Let snake crawl through towel you are holding firmly)

Gatorade has a lot of things in it. Electrolytes, yeah........but a lot of processed sugar as well. Can't be good for their kidneys. I have tried it before. I used Blue gatorade on a non-feeding snake hoping to induce a feeding responce (hey, I get the munchies after a sugar high!) Did not work. (The snake did not turn blue either). I used green gatorade on a sick snake (Its what I had), the snake died........yes, she was bright green too. More recently when I felt a snake (imports) needed extra boost of hydration I tried unflavored pedalyte. Seemed to work, snakes gained aprox 20 grams each after a 30-45 min soak (I assume water weight) and I saw no ill effects and no discoloration.

I use plain pedialyte too, and also with my leos when I have to force feed them (had a nasty bout with giardia last year). I have never had any problem with it and agree that gatorade might have too many things that the snake doesn't need.
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All my Children: 0.2 female humans (1 is 10 and the other is a 6 month old hatchling), 1 Saint Bernard, 2 maine coons, 15 leopard geckos, 1 pacman frog, 1 oscar, 1 jack dempsey, 1.1 ball pythons, and "Lilith" the black meowing kitty

LOL. Sorry I had to. No but on a serious note, regarding soaking a BP in Gatorade to absorb electrolytes through its skin...this seems a bit far off. Has this been "proven"? Just curious. I rub soap on my pythons to clean/disinfect them after they slither around in their preys blood/urine after eating, does this mean that Im getting soap in their bloodstream? This isnt sarcastic by the way, it just seems a bit strange.