Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My ball python has some slightly brown patches on his most recent shed. I don't think that's normal, what's it mean?

Lots of times you can see the pattern in the shed. That's totally normal. If it's something besides that then it's not something I've had experience with.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

Do you know what makes some sheds clear and others colored?

Haven't quite figured it out... I know it varies between species. I think how wet the skin gets as it's being shed may affect the amount of color you can see on them. If it's what you're seeing, it looks like a ghostly outline of the snake's pattern.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

It doesn't look like his pattern. most of it's transparent, but there are some random brown parts, and no black. He soaked in his water dish before he shed, he hasn't done that before, but his whole body was wet and only random parts of the shed are brown.

and only random parts of the shed are brown.

I have seen this in snakes that have skin infections associated with too much moisture in the cage. Check to see if the snake has similar looking brown spotting on its skin (particularly on the ventral scales). If so, the cage is too moist (or the snake is spending too much time in its waterbowl because the temps in the cage aren't correct.
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Chris Harrison