GTP- Weird skin wrinkling- HELP!!

[Will0W783]

I noticed my GTP's skin is very wrinkly and seems loose. She's been eating fine, one to two jumbo f/t mice a week, but her skin was looking very hazy last week so she did not eat then. It's been two weeks since she ate. I would think she is going to shed except that her eyes are not at all cloudy. I have a MistKing system that mists for 30 seconds every hour from 8am-10pm and once more at midnight, so I can't see how she would get dehydrated. She also has a large water bowl that I have seen her drink from. The temps up by her basking lamp at the top of her cage are around 90-92, and in the lower perch area and floor it's about 82-84 during the day. The room drops no lower than 78 at night. I have a room heater that kicks in as soon as the temp drops below 78. I am rather concerned- could it be she is going to shed even though her eyes are not cloudy? Her skin looks dry and like it is going to shed, but the wrinkles are what freaked me out. I am going away on vacation on Thursday, but I will have a neighbor come every day to check on the snakes and make sure everyone has water and is ok. I will be back the following Tuesday, so not too long. Any advice would be really appreciated...I'm worried about my sweet Mystique.

[Will0W783]

Another thing, she was always docile and handleable, and I just went to get her out to soak her in the tub a bit and I had gloves on but she kept striking like crazy- I couldn't get her out. Her eyes still seem clear though, so I imagine she can see?

[citysnakes]

im going to assume this is an adult GTP. it sounds like shes mid shed cycle right now so i wouldnt worry about how hazy her eyes are. i would however lower the temperature of the basking area, set the mist king to one maybe two mistings per day(morning/evening) and let her shed on her own. theres no reason to soak the animal while in shed and she may be acting agressively towards you because youre messing with her during this time.

[Will0W783]

Thanks Julian! She is 3 years old, so adult. I did turn her light off last night when I found the wrinkles, and the room has ambient temperature of around 84 during the day due to all my snakes' lamps. This morning I did see some skin coming off, so she is shedding. I got her to eat a rat weanling f/t last night, which was good because she hadn't eaten in two weeks. I will keep an eye on her and let her shed on her own. Thank you so much; I was quite worried.

[gonesnakee]

So this is pretty much an adult Python thats eating between 4-8 adult mice monthly & the skin appears loose? Sonds to me like the prey size needs to be increased. You mention it has just taken a rat too. I'd scrap the mice entirely & start working on some slightly larger rats as time goes on. That will help start to fill it out. Sounds likeits not much of a growth diet anyways. Mark

[Will0W783]

Thanks Mark. She has been taking one to two f/t rat weanlings or mice a week. I wasn't sure how big of a prey item to give her; GTPs aren't as sensitive with diet as ETBs right? I will slowly start increasing her prey size as she fills out. I never noticed any looseness of skin before, just the last day or two. But as she started to shed, I think might have a lot to do with the wrinkles, but she still looks to have lost some weight. She had been cloudy for two weeks and hadn't eaten for those two weeks though, and normally she is ravenous. The guy I got her from said he was giving her a mouse or two a week. He was feeding her live, but I switched her over to f/t. What size prey item do you suggest for her? She is a 3.5-foot long GTP.

[gonesnakee]

I'd stick with a couple weanling rats a week for a bit & get her onto some smalls over time & then eventually small mediums. I don;t think you want to go too big too fast with A GTP but I think they are a lot more hardy eting wise than an ETB is. Best bet would be to check with some GTP breeders & see what they suggest.
Its always better to grow them up slowly over power feeding ANY day.
Good for getting it off of live mice & I'd stop giving it mice altogether & establish it as a solid rat feeder as mice will soon not cut it anyways & the sooner it juts eats rats the better. Can't understand why folks even feed them mice if they can be started on pinky rats instead. Sure sometimes they require mice for a bit but the sooner on rats the better with ALL Pythons & in the case of the big ones the sooner they are on rabbits the better. As soon as they are big enough to take pinkies in whatever the desired prey will end up being for an adult the BETTER! Cheers Mark

[Will0W783]

I've been feeding her the rat pups and weanlings for the past month, since I started getting them frozen in bulk at reptile shows. I will make sure to give her a few each week, and build up from there. Thanks. Hopefully she will be through the shed when I get home tonight- it was peeling off when I checked on her this morning. She has yet to shed in one piece for me, even though I keep the humidity 60-80% all the time, with a dry-out period at night.

[gonesnakee]

Maybe some increased misting during shed cycles will help you out some? A humid hide helps as well, but the snake likely just perches all the time I'm assumming. Mark

[Will0W783]

She perches most of the time, occasionally she will curl up on the ground next to her water dish, but she spends 90% of her time coiled on her perches. I think turning off her heat bulb will help the humidity get higher- I have my ETB and Peruvian rainbow boa hooked up to the misting system as well, and they are thriving so I don't really want to change the schedule if I can avoid it. Mystique the GTP has been fine her last two sheds, so I think it was just getting a bit too hot in the tank with the warmer summer temps heating the house more? I'll try giving her a few manual mistings each day and see if it helps.

[gonesnakee]

Ya light bulbs of any sort tend to "eat up" the humidity. A UTH may be a better option, plus you can have the water dish partially over the UTH to create extra humidity as well, Mark