Is this normal? Pictures inside

[IR_Slacker]

I'm brand new to snakes, and this is my 6yr old girl Bella. She was lively and active when I first brought her home, but a few days ago she ate a rat and since then she hasn't been moving around very much. She looks like she may start to shed cause of the colors of her eyes and the dullness of her color. I'm not sure if this is normal behavior of a "digesting" "shedding" snake or not. She just looks sick? She is alive for sure, I come home from work and she's usually coiled up in her log with her head poking out, but after a little while I find her like this.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140701_183922_zpsbcfnfefa.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140701_183910_zpsbwitjvfs.jpg

I haven't handled her yet, I don't want to stress her out.

[franks]

Can you post a full body shot picture?

[IR_Slacker]

I would have to lift the half log from her, is there anything specific you're looking for? I'd rather not interrupt her if I don't have to

[franks]

I do not think it looks natural but I do not want to say that and mislead you based off of seeing 1/4 of the snake. Maybe without moving the log you can take a birds eye shot for us revealing more of the enclosure?

[IR_Slacker]

Since posting this she has gone back into her log but here is both sides of it

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140701_190952_zpsxnf6kd2a.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140701_190755_zps8pkrzysp.jpg

[bigsnakegirl785]

It almost looks like she's beginning to rub her shed off, but her eyes are still blue so I don't think so. >.> How long has she been doing this, does she stay in that position, or does she move around (dig her head in the bedding, across objects etc.).

[IR_Slacker]

I did notice her rubbing her head on the glass and water dish a few days ago. The pictures make the eyes look blue but they are a dull grey. I'm not sure what she does while I'm working, but she seems to stay put in her log most of the time. Temp under the red infrared heat lamp shows 85 and humidity 70%. I mist the tank and spray her body when she comes out.

[David VB]

It might be the picture but i find the neck part right after the head look thick, like it's swollen.

[bigsnakegirl785]

It might be the picture but i find the neck part right after the head look thick, like it's swollen.

I thought it was just the skin and tissue being pushed to the side, but it could be swollen.

OP, do you have any photos of her neck without any weight on it?

[IR_Slacker]

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140702_200324_zpse2ujbhlq.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140702_200318_zpsdynruoeh.jpg
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140702_200205_zpsohnebfe8.jpg

And here is a video to her response to me trying the "hook training" with a temporary "snake hook". I obviously never attempt to pick her up with these tongs, but I just use them to gently touch her head. I rub the tongs along her body and in certain spots she has this intense twitch like a muscle spasm that can almost quite literally knock them out of my hands. And she still hisses quite a bit. Here's a short video.

20140702_200520_zpsoitdpb3n.mp4 Video by v6slacker | Photobucket (http://s197.photobucket.com/user/v6slacker/media/20140702_200520_zpsoitdpb3n.mp4.html)

[SnoopySnake]

I can't give any insight to the behavior you're seeing, but I would just like to point out that in your video I see you have an analog thermometer and hygrometer. I would switch these out for a digital one with probes, as the analog ones are notorious for reading wrong.

[IR_Slacker]

Yeah I know I have a digital temp gun, it's on the to buy list

[SnoopySnake]

Ahh, well disregard what I said then, lol. :)

[IR_Slacker]

Well I think I found out why she was acting weird. I moved her hide and added another one out of a cardboard box. Went and checked out her because she was finally moving around the tank, and I saw this. I literally said "Holy ****ing feces" haha.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140702_214440_zpsluavwcgk.jpg


and I guess she was trying to shed haha, she's successfully begun I would say?

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140702_214514_zpsajhdldif.jpg

[aaron_cg]

Looks like you got it figured out. For the first day or so after a meal, snakes usually aren't active, because they are trying to digest there food, especially if it was a large meal.

The other thing to remember about balls, they are boring snakes. Spending a majority of there time curled up in a small dark space. Just they way they are. Nothing wrong with it, I still have my normal ball I bought when I got back into snakes.

[franks]

Is she acting more normal now? Fish tanks are not the most ideal for ball pythons, it makes it difficult to set them up properly. Is the top a screen, or were you able to seal it?

[IR_Slacker]

Yeah she's slitherin around and rubbing her body against everything. She's got a "roll" of shed that is about mid way down her body that keeps getting pushed back as she rubs against her log. She's VERY active right now haha. I'm actually quite amused, I was literally talking to a friend not even 20 minutes ago about possibly giving her to him because he has a ton of snakes. I know they will basically just sit coiled up but I was like cmon there has to be SOME activity?! And yes it's a screen top but it's 2/3 covered with plastic. Holds humidity in quite well.

[IR_Slacker]

She's done with her shed! I gotta get that crap out of her tank too. Guess I'll have to buy a pooper scooper lol. I wear a size 11 for comparison.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa188/v6slacker/20140702_222300_zpscgbwy8gc.jpg

[aaron_cg]

Best bet is to put on some rubber gloves, or use a newspaper. Remove the top layer of substrate as well.

Also, you should look into a bin for housing. Not as good looking, but does much better for them. Easy to keep humidity up, plus they seem to feel more secure and therefor less stressed.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Glad to hear everything went well. :)

I agree with the housing stated before in the thread. Not to mention the price beats a tank! I got my 106qt tub for ~$15, and then they only need small adjustments to add ventilation, security (I used bungee cords for mine), and heat.

[franks]

I'm glad you girl is doing better.

[jpsteele80]

Lol that's a pretty big piece of crap from such a small snake lol

[Concept9]

I'm no expert on ball pythons but that poop does not look fully digested. It maybe be the pic but I can still see the shape of the mouse/rat, are you sure your temps are all in the green ?

[franks]

Something to note: your pictures make it seem like you need to spray your enclosure down to keep humidity. If this is the case it is not true humidity and is not good for your snake. I'm not trying to bust your chops- this is just an aspect of husbandry that most first time ball python keepers mess up (including myself). You said that 2/3 of the fish tank is covered. The overhead light will act like a meat dehydrator regardless of whether you spray or not. The easiest quick solution would be to cover the entire top and place an Under tank heater on a dimmer under one of her hides. Hope this helps.

[waf]

Hi... what you have seen, is, to me, pretty normal. In my experience, these are the regular steps:
1 the skin looks darker and without brightness
2 eyes color turn like gray
3 several days after, the eyes come back to the normal color
4 a couple of more days and the snake will sheds and poops.... if you see a big crap in there, it means that you girl had very good meals... haha. but also, notice that if you provide adult preys (adult rats or so), you will get more crap, if you provide young prays (like young rabbits) less crap... as I said.. it is my experience...
Quiet.... she is doing good.