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I picked up a few animals on the weekend... 0.3 and all were well over 700g... Of the 3, one was a rescue (missing anal plate, but looks otherwise healthy) and the 2 others were CB... one of the 2 CB's has a very orange belly... under the tail it's not just a little bit, but like "carrot orange"... it's lighter at the other end of the snake, but still much more orange than normal...

I've been keeping ball pythons since 1999 so I know what they look like when they are starting a shed cycle.. this is really not it... not pink, orange! It was on unprinted newspaper when I picked her up... The previous owner apparently mentionned that he kept his snakes on coconut bark for a while (don't know when or for how long)... Other than that, everything appears to be normal.. the snake looks healthy, is active and it's back appears to be perfectly normal... have not tried to feed them yet...

The orange on this picture is close to the real color you see in person:

The colors are a bit faded on this picture, but still gives an idea how it is lighter further away from the tail:

So, has anybody seen anything like this before? Any clues what's going on? I'd love to hear what you think! She's currently in the quarantine room and won't be going in the snake room anytime soon.. I would assume that it's simply some kind of dye or coloring that soaked up in the belly scales and it will eventually go away... just thought I'd ask in case somebody knows something about it!

Thanks,
Bristen.

>>I picked up a few animals on the weekend... 0.3 and all were well over 700g... Of the 3, one was a rescue (missing anal plate, but looks otherwise healthy) and the 2 others were CB... one of the 2 CB's has a very orange belly... under the tail it's not just a little bit, but like "carrot orange"... it's lighter at the other end of the snake, but still much more orange than normal...
>>

Have you ever seen a snake kept on TREX Bone Aid or the Zoo Med Calcium Carbonate sand? They use it mostly for lizards such as Bearded Dragons.

It colors the belly of the snake!

You will know when the snake sheds! Good LUCK! I have also seen Ringer balls with some of that kind of orange on only part of the belly - Kev@NERD

>>I've been keeping ball pythons since 1999 so I know what they look like when they are starting a shed cycle.. this is really not it... not pink, orange! It was on unprinted newspaper when I picked her up... The previous owner apparently mentionned that he kept his snakes on coconut bark for a while (don't know when or for how long)... Other than that, everything appears to be normal.. the snake looks healthy, is active and it's back appears to be perfectly normal... have not tried to feed them yet...
>>
>>The orange on this picture is close to the real color you see in person:
>>
>>
>>The colors are a bit faded on this picture, but still gives an idea how it is lighter further away from the tail:
>>
>>
>>So, has anybody seen anything like this before? Any clues what's going on? I'd love to hear what you think! She's currently in the quarantine room and won't be going in the snake room anytime soon.. I would assume that it's simply some kind of dye or coloring that soaked up in the belly scales and it will eventually go away... just thought I'd ask in case somebody knows something about it!
>>
>>Thanks,
>> Bristen.
>>
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www.newenglandreptile.com

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Hey Kevin,

that's quite possible... the previous owner worked at a small pet shop, and I did meet him at the pet shop to pick up his animals... I wouldn't be surprised he used some of that lizard sand substrate stuff you were talking about... I just got the snake, so no sheds anytime soon, but my first thought when looking at it, was that it was probably not serious and probably related to a susbtrate...

Thanks for the reply!

Bristen.

yea i was going to say ringers sometimes have that and some poss het pieds too,it looks like from what i'm seeing makers of this trait..Greg Van Zweden@ VanZwedenReptiles
http://www.geocities.com/vanzwedensreptiles/

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Forever Trust in what we are,and nothing else Matters

While I may not have as much BP experiance as some people here I would have to agree with NERD. I know that color pretty well from the store...every now and then someone will give a bearded dragon up that will be so orange that you almost think you might have something...till it sheds. I hate that sand lol. But you can hope for the best and you will know for sure when it sheds what you really have.

Thanks, Jay
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Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life -Confucious
3.20 ball pythons
1.1 dumeril boas
0.0.1 pixie frog
1.1 dogs
0.2 cats
more fish than I can list.

Well, she ate a 70g rat last night, so at least she appears to be a piece of cake to feed, which is nice... not sure about the belly though, I haven't bothered her since the pictures, trying to allow her to settle in (hasn't been at my house for a week yet)...

My theory is still that something colored the skin and that it will eventually go away... but I have yet to prove anything at this point heh... Once she sheds at least once skin, if my theory is correct, the color should drop significantly... we'll have to wait and see I guess...

Thanks for the replies folks!

Bristen.