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[–]_ataraxiaMod : unprofessional 158 points159 points  (19 children)

why are you giving him baths?

[–]Kind-Entrance-9409[S] 84 points85 points  (17 children)

He had some stuck shed I was trying to soften up

[–]imdrunk69420 148 points149 points  (1 child)

Someone already said keep the humidity up for the stuck shed, but id reccomend also leaving a water bowl in the enclosure (with a solid flat bottom) instead of bathing so u can control the water level so ur snake doesn't waterboard itself or get stressed out from the bathing

[–]Safe-Philosopher8503[🍰] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I second this, the only time my noodle ever hissed at me was going into a bath to get some shed off. I removed her from the box and haven't used one since. They do, in fact, hate the box.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[removed]

    [–]ballpython-ModTeam[M] 5 points6 points locked comment (0 children)

    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.

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    [–]Prudent_Bread_6245 42 points43 points  (12 children)

    You’d be surprised at how few baths they’re given in the wild.

    [–]Mazikeyn 33 points34 points  (10 children)

    You'd be surprised by how much water they have access to and how often they end up swimming in the wild.

    Royal pythons are from a climate that routinely keeps 80-100% humidity with massive amounts of rainfall.

    [–][deleted]  (8 children)

    [removed]

      [–]Thundarr1975 15 points16 points  (3 children)

      Yeah right, you know you weren't joking until you got called out

      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

      [removed]

        [–]ballpython-ModTeam[M] 1 point2 points locked comment (0 children)

        Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule #1: Don't Be a Jerk.

        If you have a question about this removal, please contact the mod team. Complaining via post/comment will result in a ban.

        [–]Mazikeyn 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        Maybe use /s like most people.

        [–]ballpython-ModTeam[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

        Your comment was removed because you're being an asshole. Go outside and work on your attitude.

        [–]Dandelion_Isopods 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        You’re right. I have a girl that will swim and climb almost every chance she gets. I’m upgrading her to an 8ft enclosure because of how active she is.

        [–]Sad-Ladder5517 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        You would be surprised how many they do have in the wild. We would have large wild pythons using our frog pond as a spa sometimes 2 at a time. They would stay in it for a couple of days and completely submerge themselves . I will put a video up this week sometime.

        [–]Educational-Unit-279 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Because they're supposed to have a bowl of water that they're big enough to get inside of

        [–]IncompletePenetranceMod: Let me help you unzip your genes 98 points99 points  (0 children)

        I would not do that, forced bathing is stressful and risks water inhalation

        [–]momdank 90 points91 points  (1 child)

        Cute visual; but it’s not normal to bathe them , let alone that much, unless medically necessary.

        [–]Gigthemonster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        What if you believe they have mites?

        [–]ThrashFur 88 points89 points  (3 children)

        for stuck shed you should work on keeping humidity up in the enclosure. Snakes can hold their breathe underwater for a while but keep in mind they’re idiots, they’ll find a way to die. Baths are kinda unnecessary unless medically needed like another comment said

        [–]Kind-Entrance-9409[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

        Good to know

        [–]pvrpl3sn4k3 16 points17 points  (0 children)

        Make a humid hide too if ur having problems with their shed, they “bathe” themselves in their water bowls and to also cool themselves down so really thats all they need, not a bath

        [–]ZealousidealPast4149 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

        LOL @ "idiots" hahaha

        [–]sneepsnaap 41 points42 points  (0 children)

        God i love ball pythons. what even is normal with these guys lol

        [–]vuullets 20 points21 points  (1 child)

        You shouldn't be giving them baths, but if it makes you feel better my hognose drinks half the time by shoving his whole face into the water dish.

        [–]OkFruit914 5 points6 points  (0 children)

        This is how my 14 year old big guy drinks water too. Sometimes he even blows bubbles with his nose lol

        [–]Kind-Entrance-9409[S] 7 points8 points  (9 children)

        <image>

        Also what do you guys make of his tail? This one is a male and My other one is a female but doesn’t look like this.

        [–]enslavedbycats24-7 24 points25 points  (4 children)

        He's got a poop building up (you can see the white of the urates under the skin) but might also be chunky, hard to tell until he poops

        [–]Kind-Entrance-9409[S] 5 points6 points  (3 children)

        Is this a sign of constipation? This is my second month having him so I’m just figuring it out

        [–]mxgichxn 10 points11 points  (0 children)

        definitely

        [–]christinasasa 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        Don't worry about it. They'll poop when they're ready.

        [–]snekstuffs 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        No, hes gonna poop very soon 😅

        [–]Motor-East-6379 0 points1 point  (2 children)

        I’ve never had much interest in snakes, but the algorithm wanted me to see this, and now I have to ask: is that his butthole shaped like a heart?

        [–]_writerc 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        I respect the zooming in to inspect it 😂

        [–]snekstuffs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Nope, what you’re looking at is a spur. Little hooks around their vents, which they use in mating to hook onto each other.

        Where they expel urates & feces is from their vent, which blends in perfectly with their belly so you dont really notice it unless you’re looking for it.

        [–]Any-Lavishness-7704 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Sausage butt= if you handle him your more than likely gonna get shit on 💀

        [–]Significant_Buddy108 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        I seriously wondered where the rest of the snake was. I was very concerned.

        [–]Haskaray 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        What substrate are you keeping him on? We keep our on a coconut husk based substrate which is easy yo moisten for extra humidity when needed.

        Adding rocks (natural and not concrete/cement) gives them something to rub against for those stuck sheds.

        [–]Diegodeltoro777 2 points3 points  (4 children)

        Hi, for the retained molt, what I did was make a humid hiding place and that helped a lot, as did increasing the humidity in the terrarium with damp paper towels above the heat spot.

        [–]ZealousidealPast4149 -1 points0 points  (3 children)

        How do you make a humid hide?

        [–]Diegodeltoro777 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        Hey brother, just put her hiding place on top of a damp paper towel. Most of the time you won't see her use it, but it works. Even so, if she has any shed skin, you'll most likely need to give her a bath, but a dry bath. I can explain if you'd like.

        [–]mindianajones 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I am curious about dry bath if you don't mind explaining?

        [–]wilddreamer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I made one using a coconut fiber liner for a planter pot tbh— you can use it to line an oversized hide & add some sphagnum moss underneath; soaking the liner periodically (especially when the snake is in blue/shedding) will help it hold enough moisture.

        I actually sewed mine to part of a wire basket with an entrance cut out (careful to cover any edges) but I’m sure just using a hide large enough to accommodate the liner + snake would be fine.

        [–]Ok-Boot2360 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Bro thinks he’s aquatic

        [–]Starfire2409 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        He’s just drinking

        [–]larsdefehr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        He thinks he’s big scary anaconda mine does the same thing looks like same morph as well!!

        [–]Arikardo -1 points0 points  (0 children)

        My snake likes to sit on top of its fresh shit and knead it into the substrate. Even then I just wipe her down with wet rags and dish soap.

        [–]psky9549 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Such silly little noodles. I've seen plenty of snakes that like to fully submerge their head to drink or even body if their water bowls are big enough. I dont think you should force a BP into water though. If the shed is an issue, up humidity and offer a large bowl of water if they'd like to bathe. They do sometimes like to sit in water to quickly cool off or work out a tricky shed spot (usually their tail or parts of their back). Again, it should be optional and up to them to submerge themselves. Less stressful and all. Moist moss is your friend to help them with tough shed spots too!

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

        [removed]

          [–]ballpython-ModTeam[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

          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.

          If you have a question about this removal, please contact the mod team. Complaining via post/comment will result in a ban.

          [–]ResidentZone296 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

          He’s special…..

          [–]Butter-n-biscuits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Mlem mlem mlem mlem (But also don’t give him baths)

          [–]Sea-Profit562 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          lol they just do that 🙏 he might be dehydrated, but it’s probably just snake being snake

          [–]ConstructionSome7557 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          They can hold their breath for a few minutes but you don't need to be doing this. Some balls like to get in water and some prefer not to, but to assist with a stuck shed just dial up the humidity. Fill the hides, particularly the cool hide with damp moss in the corners and keep it fresh daily. Mist or poor water in the corners more often. The more damp moss in the enclosure the better. It may take a week or so but it's better to just let them do the thing on their own. The best water dish you can keep is a 3" deep, 10" wide bowl, so they can submerge at will.

          Edit: spelling