bp not shedding

[khaskin]

Within the past 4 weeks, by bp has gotten the cloudy, bluish, grey eyes. Twice her eyes have done this but no shed has followed. I have had my bp about 2 1/2 months , never a problem eating, temp. are ideal and so is the humidity. So Im confused on this one, she has not shed since ive had her.

[Will0W783]

What's the humidity like in the enclosure, and what is her feeding schedule?

[khaskin]

humidity is 80 on the cool side and 60 on the hot side. bp eats every 8 days. which will be tomorrow?? still feed?

[Will0W783]

I would offer it. I generally offer all my animals food even when they are shedding. I have some that never refuse no matter how deep in blue they are. I did have my female GTP get all blue and hazy and then clear up and not shed once. She ended up shedding about a month later. If the animal is eating, and appears healthy otherwise, she should be fine. Sometimes they don't actually go through with the full shed process.
Now when you say humidity is 80 on the cool side, do you mean constantly that high or just when she is in shed? If that is the normal humidity, you are keeping the snake a bit too moist. BPs usually need 40-60% humidity ambient, up to 80% when in shed. I have heard of animals not being able to shed properly when kept too wet, and they also can't shed well if kept too dry.
BPs are kind of a pain that way. Mine sit at about 50% ambient, and when they turn blue, I keep an eye on them. I soak my problem shedders, but most will go soak in their own water bowls and I don't have to do anything extra for them.

[khaskin]

Thank you so much for the information. I would say 60 is as low as the humidity gets down to on the cool side and it gets down to 35/40 % on the hot side. When they say 80 % humidity when in shed, does that mean when the blue starts or when the actual shed off the body starts?
Im glad to hear you've seen this happen before, puts me at ease. I will try a feed tonight. Also, im going to make sure my humidity stays between the 40-60%. Does it matter that my cool side has the higher humidity? Should i try and change that to higher humidity on the cool side?
Thanks again!

[khaskin]

I did mean should i change it so the higher humidity is on the warm side?

[Will0W783]

It's probably ok to have it higher at the cool end. Whichever end holds the more humidity I guess, although I think hot air tends to hold more. You just want for your snake to be able to regulate its body temperature and humidity. The thing you need to watch out for with your regular humidity being so high is mold, fungal infections (especially on the belly scales) and respiratory infections. You can raise the humidity when the snake starts turning blue and lower it once the skin comes off. In your case though, since the snake has gone through two shed cycles without actually shedding the skin, I would try lowering the overall humidity immediately and just see.

One other thing I forgot to ask- when your snake blues and then clears with no shed, is it just the eyes clouding up, or is the whole body? When my GTP did that, her eyes stayed clear while her whole body got dry, wrinky and cloudy. I was quite freaked out and thought she was dehyrating, but she cleared up and was fine, then went into another shed cycle 3 weeks later and shed.

[khaskin]

Her eyes turned blue, no pink on belly, colors seamed to remain the same. The only thing I noticed is when she was curled up her neck skin seamed wrinkly.

[mykee]

Just how LARGE is your enclosure that you have two different humidity readings?
Humidity for a ball python should be ~ 60% all the time, and closer to 100% during a shed.
As a sidenote, I think it's funny how whenever a hobbyist says, "my husbandry is bang on" that, in my experience, really means that there is something wrong with the husbandry.

[khaskin]

My enclosure is 30 gallons and I have 4 temp. gauges and 3 humidity gauges.

[Will0W783]

It does seem odd that the humidity readings are different by 20% on either end...are they the stick-on kind? PLEASE say you are not using those things; they are never accurate. Same with stick-on thermometers. You need to get a digital temp/humidity gun. They are not that expensive, and you can take daily readings or several times a day until you get it stable, whichever.
And, like Mykee said, they can need up to 100% during shed. Usually 80% is enough in my experience, and I've never been able to get air up to 100% humidity unless I was soaking the animal in a tub...lol.
Thanks for pointing out the thing about the two different readings, Mykee, that does seem odd. I didn't even think about that until you mentioned it and when she says she has 3 I have a bad feeling they are the stick on kind.

[khaskin]

hi , hobbyist here, i use a humidifier at one end of my tank "that side of the room" with
the winter here,and heat and dryness i have to use one and that is why one end has a higher humidity rate. I really am glad to be talking to experienced snake owners. most sites its hard to get some good answers. For my snakes sake im really glad to be figuring this out. Thanks again

[khaskin]

as far as the stick ons , i do a have a couple, but they just read the glass or enclosure side temp if they are stuck there. i have most just in the husbandry. and yes some digital . good thought though, thank you huys

[Janek]

in regards to feeding, someone has been having trouble with their bp's ball python. They've refused to eat anything put forward, i'm trying to save money by not taking her to a vet. what does anyone recommend please give input.

[marvelfreak]

First how long has she not eaten and second what do you feed her, and finally don't worry? I seen a ball go up to 8 months once with out eating. Now it never turn down a meal. I have a jungle that just won't eat for about 3 month every winter. Done it sense she was 3 years old.