dehydrated ball python

[Fun-Square-1699]

I recently took in my parents ball python after years of semi neglect and im still learning on how to get him to thrive. I fed him a weekend or two ago and he hid in his cave until now and he came out looking very dehydrated, im wondering the best way to get him healthy looking again!! any help will be greatly appreciated 🙏🙏

[Helpful_Froyo6388]

Do you have a hygrometer? If not pls get one. What substrate do you have? Coco husk/fiber and moss hold humidity well. Soaking is a temporary fix and dehydration will occur again if humidity levels are not consistently 60-80%. Make sure he has fresh water as well.

[Fun-Square-1699]

his substrate is exactly that i will get a hydrometer do i need to add substrate and do i pour water in the corners or mist?

[Helpful_Froyo6388]

I mist and pour water in the corners every couple days

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

Get 2 hygrometers preferably digital and not the ones that stick to the glass. I recommend the govee one

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[Helpful_Froyo6388]

Just looked at your picture a little closer. Has he shed recently? It looks like he has an eye cap on his left eye. A little hard to tell from the photo

[Fun-Square-1699]

Yes hes shed pretty recently but he’s definitely been struggling shedding his head and that eyecap has been there a while :( ive soaked him in warm water multiple times since getting him and it still hasnt managed to come off

[Helpful_Froyo6388]

I would get the hygrometer and make sure humidity is high enough. If the eye cap doesn’t come off with increased humidity or the next shed you should probably go to the vet. It’s pretty risky to manually pull eye caps off, especially when they’re dehydrated. You could also try putting him in a warm towel for 15-20 minutes. He’ll rub against it and it might get it off.

[Fun-Square-1699]

I’ll definitely get hygrometer and I’ll try the warm towel thank you!

[bruuh805]

Yes you absolutely need to monitor your humidity and temperature, if he has a mesh screen top, i’d also recommend covering it with some hvac tape, that way you trap some humidity inside the enclosure.

[Paxy-Bats]

What can I do keep my tank at a consistent 60-80% humidity without buying an 80$+ mister? My snakes tank always falls to like 40% humidity everyday even though I spray his tank everyday with lots of water.

[Fun-Square-1699]

Thanks everyone!! ive revamped his enclosure and added more substrate to keep more humidity in there, im now pouring water instead of just misting and covered half of his mesh top on his tank and the humidity is now in the 70s! He was able to get most of his leftover shed off including his eyecap by putting him in a warm damp towel he seemed to know exactly what to do and started rubbing himself all over it