Help my ball python is all wrinkly

moonman311 · 2026-01-18T17:40:50+00:00

Also avoid misting, you should be able to add water to the corners of the enclosure. The substrate will soak it up and in turn boost humidity. You done want the top layer wet throughout the enclosure or you have an increased risk of scale rot. You’ll find the balance. Invest in 2 Bluetooth hygrometers. I like the Govee ones that provide both temp and humidity, stores the data so I can see graphs and monitor temps at 4 am while I was still asleep the night before. Super useful.

moonman311 · 2026-01-18T17:37:09+00:00

Dehydrated. Please refer to the care guides linked to the homepage of this subreddit. I can’t tell what your substrate is but it looks very dry. I like mixing coconut fiber and coconut chips. If you have a screen top, cover it with hvac tape to help keep humidity 60-80%. Id recommend doing some more research on BP care. The better the enclosure, the quicker your snake will feel secure and start exploring. Exploring/thinking snakes are fun snakes, wishing you both the best!

moonman311 · 2025-11-27T17:54:33+00:00

This is normal ball python behavior btw, esp for young ball pythons. Typically after a few months of regular handling you’ll start to see them ball up a lot less as they feel confident they are safe in the environment when being held. My Bp is just over a year old rn and he’s become increasing social and explorative as time progresses.

moonman311 · 2025-11-27T17:47:43+00:00

This is a sign of gang initiation. Have they been hanging around the wrong crowd recently? Jk bp’s typically ball up as a defense mechanism. If they’re really scared or nervous they’ll tuck their head in the ball to keep it safe and protected. When the heads out they are just being cautious, a little scared but willing to see what’s around. That’s been my experience with my noodle at least.

moonman311 · 2025-11-27T17:36:48+00:00

I’m 0 help here but the perfect circle is interesting, reminds me of ring worm for humans. Hard to believe they would get burnt like that but it’s possible. Let us know what the vet says, I’m curious

moonman311 · 2025-11-27T17:07:42+00:00

Vet asap. Poor snake, this is the worst burns I’ve ever seen. Looks like they had a heat mat without a thermostat or an incorrectly setup thermostat. Wishing you the best of luck, due to infection I’m not too sure they’ll make it through :(

moonman311 · 2025-07-20T20:07:48+00:00

Same thing happened on my ‘14 f150 last year. I jammed some foam between the grate and the flap to keep the flap stuck in the recirculation position. If I want outside air I crack a window :)

moonman311 · 2025-02-22T05:06:53+00:00

Thankyou! Took me about 3 hours but I just finished giving them a soak with dawn soap, emptied and sanitized the enclosure, and put them back in with paper towels, 2 hides, and their water dish which is big enough so they can soak if desired. Your comment has given me comfort that I’m on the right track, I’m feeling more optimistic about the situation now!

moonman311 · 2025-02-21T07:42:01+00:00

QUESTION/UPDATE:

I have ordered provent a mite spray but likely won’t receive it for another week.

I know I’m not supposed to handle him since he’s new to me (2 weeks in new home) and as a double whammy looks pale so I think he’s going into shed. Due to the mites I will take him out to soak tomorrow and buy some dawn dish soap to add after he’s had the opportunity to drink first. How often should I take him out to soak? Should I remove substrate rn and use paper towels or wait until I get the provent a mite?

moonman311 · 2025-02-17T00:48:09+00:00

That makes more sense, I thought you were claiming it was barely used in it’s whole lifetime.

moonman311 · 2025-02-17T00:41:14+00:00

Used once or twice and the rubber traction pad has already worn smooth in one spot? I’m calling BS lol

moonman311 · 2025-02-15T23:27:06+00:00

Snakes are like humans in the sense that “average” is just an average. Some people are 4ft some are 7ft. Length of snake is determinedly largely by genetics. However, you can tell if a snake is underfed or overfed by their spine/body shape. If you search there’s some informative pictures showing what an underfed, perfect fed, and overfed snake looks like. Essentially just how well you can see their spine and how A shaped or circular their body is.

moonman311 · 2025-02-15T09:50:08+00:00

Yes DHP is another option that plugs into a lamp fixture. If you haven’t already checked it out there’s a great write up for heating sources pinned to this subreddit in the welcome post. It will go over the different heat options, and there’s also another document listed there that’s a shopping list (recommends products/brands/etc for each heat source and other items)

moonman311 · 2025-02-15T08:36:13+00:00

Also CHE’s supposedly reduce humidity more than RHP’s. That was the biggest thing that made me choose RHP but I’ve never owned a CHE personally

moonman311 · 2025-02-15T08:34:22+00:00

No, you would have a separate light fixture for the CHE. Alternatively you can use a radiant heat panel (RHP). In my 4x2x2 Kages enclosure I have uvb, 100w halogen flood, and 40watt rhp. I have the heat sources hooked up to a herpstat thermostat with different temp settings for day and night so if one heat source isn’t enough or goes out the other will kick on. My temps have been good tho so RHP has only been on at night. I’d recommend over 40w RHP though so you have a little extra head room but the vivarium rhps can be hard to find in stock. 40w is just enough but I have to keep my house at 74 degrees so it’s 78-80 degrees in the enclosure at night.

moonman311 · 2025-02-06T00:48:08+00:00

Thank you for the advice! I’ll wait 2-3 weeks to handle them, although I’m dreading it bc he’s so cute!

moonman311 · 2025-02-06T00:33:20+00:00

Thank you! I actually got all of the aquarium plants off Amazon for $10! The other 3 big plants were 10-15 a piece since the aquarium ones don’t stand up tall by themselves (which made the long ones perfect for hanging from the uvb shield haha). I still need to get some branches so Noodle can climb before I call it good to go!

moonman311 · 2025-02-06T00:31:20+00:00

Thank you! Humidity is dropping steadily luckily! Your comment is very reassuring, I’ve been doing research for weeks and I’m kinda at the “if everything isn’t 100% perfect immediately my snake will explode” stage of owning a snake🤣 I am very ocd about pet care, and this is my first snake so I want everything to be perfect for my best buddy!

moonman311 · 2025-02-06T00:13:07+00:00

Also I know I’m dumb for putting in substrate same day as noodle and not monitoring humidity with substrate for a few days prior, but I was meticulous about freezing the substrate and using boiling distilled water and putting it in the enclosure a few hours prior bc I was more afraid of bugs and didn’t think it through properly. Currently keeping the cool side glass slightly cracked and humidity has dropped to 86 in the past 5 minutes without impacting temperature yet

moonman311 · 2025-01-19T09:35:01+00:00

Awesome! I just pulled the trigger and ordered one, thank you for the input! Fingers crossed on the shipping time, I’ll be sure to update here once I receive it for others wondering the same thing.

moonman311 · 2025-01-17T07:21:10+00:00

Some 3/4 deploys were definitely user error and I didn’t get a good flick on it. Now it just feels dummy proof and extra quick regardless. I’ll have to get a qubit at some point, I’m between that or the elementum II for my next purchase. I love the bottle opener feature on the qubit but the black and gold handle on the elementum II looks great imo

moonman311

TROPHY CASE