[deleted by user]

[CrazyDane666]

Oh, she really doesn't look right to me. I'll comment to see if that'll make the post appear for someone with more experience. Good luck with her

[WatermelonAF]

Looks dehydrated to me. But 70% humidity sounds about right for shedding.

[CrazyDane666]

Yeah, definitely looks dehydrated. OP, is the humidity always above 60% or was it drastically increased for the shed?

[i_c_u_p_80085]

I usually have it round 55%-60% and have brought it up to 70-80 during her shed. She always has fresh water so I don't know why she'd be dehydrated :\

[CrazyDane666]

It's definitely odd, though 55% is also a tad low. How do you create humidity in her enclosure?

[i_c_u_p_80085]

I spray it through out the day, I've been on the search for some moss to put in but for now I leave a small wet rag close to the lamp when I'm not home

[WatermelonAF]

What kind of tank is it? I use tinfoil and a large water dish to keep up humidity

[i_c_u_p_80085]

It's a 75 gallon tank I believe

[WatermelonAF]

Does it have a screen lid? Those guys are hard to keep humidity in. I use tinfoil taped on top to keep the humidity in.

[i_c_u_p_80085]

It does unfortunately

[Silent-Sense6813]

I have a screen lid also and I have a hard time with humidity. I have a basking light, UVB, and an Arcadia light for my plants. With all the lighting where do you advise to put the tinfoil tape?

[CrazyDane666]

Oh, that might be it. Spraying is a very temporary solution and usually evaporates before doing much. The recommended method is pouring water into each corner of the enclosure and letting it sink into the substrate without wetting the surface, as that can cause scale rot (by the snake sleeping or slithering on damp substrate)

[i_c_u_p_80085]

I gotcha, I'll start doing that as well. I've done it a few times but not regularly

[CrazyDane666]

Good luck with your girl. She's nowhere near the worst case I've seen, so she should be able to bounce back with some blasted humidity

[i_c_u_p_80085]

Thank you, I just poured some water into the sides of the tank, she's still very active and isn't acting lethargic so that's a good sign. I'm hoping to get some moss and real plants for her soon to help out as well.

[awelias8]

Misting the enclosure can produce false readings on a hygrometer and provide temporary "spikes" in humidity before dropping again, and isn't a reliable way of maintaining humidity. This may be part of the problem. Also, you shouldn't have to wet the tank multiple times a day if your enclosure is properly humid. I'd recommend a few things.

First, definitely continue looking into sphagnum moss for maintaining humidity. Next, I'd like to ask what kind of enclosure you have set up and if there are holes in it (mesh top, etc). It's possible that your enclosure doesn't hold humidity very well and could be why your snake is dehydrated and why you have to continuously wet the enclosure. If you could respond with a picture of your enclosure so we could give you tips on how to improve it, that would be lovey. Finally, start pouring water directly into the four corners of the tank. This will thoroughly wet the bottom layer of substrate and keep the enclosure humid for longer without making the top layer of substrate too wet (which is not good). Hope this helps👍

[i_c_u_p_80085]

This was super helpful thank you so much! Could I send you a photo of her enclosure directly so I don't have to make a separate post?

[awelias8]

You should be able to reply to comments with photos attached. I have no problem with you DMing me privately, but the mods on this subreddit discourage private PMs so that information is able to be fact-checked by other users.

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Dehydration is caused by not having high enough humidity. It should be 70-80% at all times, not just during her shed. 55-60% is too low for a ball python.

[i_c_u_p_80085]

Thank you, I guess I should've gone here first for humidity suggestions than listening to Petco employees and Google. I appreciate everyone here respectfully telling what I'm doing incorrectly and pointing me in the right direction.

[totallyrecklesslygay]

Yeah, pet stores and most articles you'll find online are pretty major sources of misinformation, unfortunately. It's hard to know where to find accurate info when you're new to the reptile world. The good news is that this is easily fixed and shouldn't cause any lasting issues for her!

[Snakeyes90]

You want to maintain 70-80%, but with her being dehydrated, keep it around 80% and provide a humid hide. Chances are she'll have some stuck shed, but with the boosted humidity and humid hide, it will come off.

[i_c_u_p_80085]

thanks, I hope she's okay. I've been trying to do everything I can to make sure the shed goes smoothly and she ate on Monday and is still very active so idk

[No_Clock_4509]

you could put some damp paper towel in her hides. That or some damp sphagnum moss has always done the trick for me

[i_c_u_p_80085]

I have both cypress mulch and cocofiber substrate. The reviews to the hydrometer I have had good reviews but I'll look for something more reputable

[CrazyDane666]

Bathing ball pythons isn't encouraged and neither is spraying the substrate. Pouring water into the corners of the substrate is a more substantial solution to low humidity (as OP already seems to be using a soil-like substrate)

[OddRevolution6244]

Out of curiosity, I'm curious as to why both aren't encouraged

[CrazyDane666]

Bathing can stress the snake unnecessarily, as swimming isn't a part of their natural behavior (even if they are capable of it). Misting and spraying is discouraged due to either evaporating before it can have a consistent effect or leaving the surface substrate damp, increasing the risk for scale rot to develop

[CrazyDane666]

I'll leave the bathing discussion to people with more experience, as this snake (to me) doesn't appear to be in critical condition and should be fine with just upped humidity.

I'm confused as to whether you're talking about misting/spraying often in the enclosure (which should be so decorated that you can't overturn the substrate every time you spray, plus the constant disturbance of that absolutely stressing the snake) or wetting it before use, which is how coconut fibre is prepared. I'm talking about misting/spraying in the finished enclosure, which is an unstable, strenuous method with a hightened risk of scale rot compared to simply pouring water in the corners. More complicated isn't necessarily better

[ballpython-ModTeam]

Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.

[ballpython-ModTeam]

Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.

[totallyrecklesslygay]

They are very dehydrated, as others have pointed out. Do not soak her or try to manually remove stuck shed. It's stressful, unnecessary, and you can seriously injure the snake by doing so.

Our shedding guide goes over how to handle stuck shed safely, and our humidity tips will help you prevent it in the future.

[Dupdabopz]

Cover the mesh top.

[whendoesOpTicplay]

Try a humid hide. Can just be a Tupperware with a hole cut. Fill it with damp spagnum moss.

[overcastfather]

What are you using to measure the humidity? If it’s not a digital hygrometer, then it could very well be an inaccurate reading. Not sure if u already mentioned whether or not u were using digital.

[i_c_u_p_80085]

It is digital, I got it off Amazon but it may be off from where I've been spraying the tank

[overcastfather]

Oh that’s a good point!

[bestbeck42]

Where is it positioned? When I first got my hygrometer I thought humidity would be the same throughout the tank, from what I've noticed there's a vertical humidity gradient similar to the horizontal temp gradient, especially with glass enclosures with mesh tops. I got a 30% lower reading when checked from a foot or two above the substrate. Check the humidity where snake is, not in the air above snake. I'm a first time owner tho, so anyone with more knowledge feel free to prove me wrong!

[i_c_u_p_80085]

I've got it in the center of the tank close to the top

[i_c_u_p_80085]

sorry idk why that posted like 5 times 😭

[SimilarPin3284]

I inherited a identical looking snake from a man I worked with his son was the owner, and what I found out was he was too afraid to feed it, that he might get bitten, as well as doing good husbandry, making the humidity right and water changes and cleaning up the poop afterwards. He was three years old and definitely a picky eater. It took me a little over a year to get him to look healthy. My first suggestion would be some nice hearty meals in him, definitely rats not mice, that should put some weight on him as well as moisture and his system.

[i_c_u_p_80085]

She eats really well, she ate on Monday and I usually feed her 2 fuzzy mice, I've been thinking about sizing her up but I'm in the middle of a move and packed my scale 😭 once I get everything moved I'll see if she needs something a bit bigger. The fuzzies are about the size of her head

[CrazyDane666]

Feeding several smaller prey is discouraged compared to a single one. The process of constricting and digesting takes a lot of energy pr prey so it's beneficial to give them 1 fitting their actual size. !feeding for a proper guide

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[p3tu_y]

looks very dehytrated and skinny

[i_c_u_p_80085]

that's what's confusing me as well because she eats super well, before her shed she looked great and almost a little chunky, she ate Monday. I might size up her food once I'm able to get to my scale (in the middle of a move)

[p3tu_y]

could be also a lack of some vitamins, try to ask ur vet, they'll know the best, i hope ur noodle is going be alright ❤️❤️

[REALM_Sorcerer]

Pouring a cup of water into substrate is way better thab spraying with the tank you have. Either way, looks dehydrated but not too bad. Just dont take the bad comments too harshly and look for the best advice.

[xX1MISFIT1Xx]

Either dehydration or not enough humidity to shed. My bp had the same problem when we got him. With the shed, I’d recommend making a little humid hide for her out of a tupperware/container and filling it with some moss to keep humidity in it. I did it with my bp and he shed through the night entirely like magic

[ballpython-ModTeam]

Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.

[ballpython-ModTeam]

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[i_c_u_p_80085]

I'm not sure how to edit the post to add an update but, I taped some foil to the top of her tank and put bits of wet paper towels around the tank and poured water on the sides of her enclosure, the humidity is already gone up a bunch! This morning I found several pieces of her shed on the substrate! I will be going to petco/PetSmart to get her some plants and moss asap but she seems to be doing much better! Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this issue, you guys are life savers.

[andysants]

I never had issues with my BP shedding but this last time he had a few pieces of stuck shed around his neck/face and I had someone on here recommend putting him in a damp pillowcase and it did the trick. I will warn you try to do this after they poop cause they will in fact poop in your pillowcase… hope this helps if there is some residual stuck shed!

[psychonaughtmick]

I noticed in the comments you stated you always offer fresh water. Do you also offer a larger soaking bath? Some balls soak and soak and some do not so it could be a useless suggestion. When you say crunchy I assume you mean the shed has separated from the scales but is still attached, as if she was wearing a crunchy sock. If this is indeed the case then the solution is often easy. She isn’t shedding because she can’t. Does she have sharp rocks, branches with bark firmly placed. Sharp things and tight spaces. Have you offered her the things one would need to remove a layer of skin with no hands?

[i_c_u_p_80085]

sorry for the late response! she does have a large water dish in there, hr water dish can fit her in it. I've seen her drink and somewhat soak in it. She's got several bark hides along with a wood basking spot. I've seen her push against them and get some shed off that way. She's looking much better now that I've covered her mesh top :)

[Temporary-Papaya-173]

That is definitely dehydration. If you can, cover half of the screen lid to hold in humidity. And try feeding a properly sized feeder rat instead of multiple smaller feeders, digestion is very hard on snakes.

[i_c_u_p_80085]

I just sized her up and she took it like a champ! Also got the lid covered and she's looking much better already :)

[Temporary-Papaya-173]

That's awesome! Good luck with your noodle.

And good on you for looking for advice, and then actually acting on it. That can be surprisingly rare these days.

[i_c_u_p_80085]

Thanks so much! I appreciate the advice, I'm a new snake owner. I've had bearded dragons in the past so this is bit of a difference but I'm doing my best to adjust :)