Ball Python won’t shed and always hides

[MrBean7]

Hello,

I have a slight concern about my ball python: I’ve had him for almost three months yet I haven’t seen him shed. Here are some details:
- he is approximately 6-9 months old
- tank set-up: 20 gallon, bark on the bottom, cool side of approximately 74-77 degrees and warm side with approximately 94-97 degrees (with daylight 5w basking lamp and a small heating pad underneath. Water bowl on the cool side. Artificial vines and vegetation all over the place. Humidity stays constant at around 60% with daily misting that brings it up to 80-90% for a little bit.
- he eats fine: started with fuzzies, but for the last three weeks he’s been eating one small mouse a week with no issues.
My concerns are:
- since I got him (mid-December) I haven’t seen him shed, and I found very little excrement
- he is always hiding (mostly on the cool side). I know for a fact he comes out at night though
- I try not to handle him more than 2-3 times a week at most, but at every initial contact he gets scared (after holding him for a few minutes he “warms up” and then he acts fine and friendly)

I would REALLY appreciate any suggestions or guidance you may have: I’ve had snakes before, but never a ball python, and while I did a massive amount of research prior to getting him, I just want to make sure I’m doing things right, and that he is happy. And if you notice I do something wrong, please don’t sugar coat it and give it to me straight: I promise I am very welcoming to criticism and won’t get upset, especially if I’m doing something incorrectly!
Please let me know if there is anything else I need to provide to paint a better picture! And thank you so much in advance! Cheers,

Sergio

[Aaron_S]

Feed bigger meals.

[dangernoodles]

One, 60% humidity is fine for bps but 80-90% is WAY too high, so you´re over misting. It should be 70% at the most.
Cool side should be in the low 80s and hot spot should be about 90f. 94-97 degrees is much too hot, that´s likely why he is always on the cool side.
Ball pythons spend most of their time hiding during the day, since they are nocturnal, that is something to expect. What substrate are you using? You said bark- but you have to be more specific. If you are using bark chips, that is a big no no. I do not think you need a heating lamp AND a uth, that is probably why its too hot. I know you are past this, but fuzzies are too small for ball pythons and that has nothing to do with shed.
There is also the possibility he does shed, yet it gets lost in the tank somewhere, so you may want to look around for that.

[chairman]

I'd expect that a small mouse is too small for the python as well. You should be feeding your snake prey that is about 10% of its weight, the same thickness as your snake is at its fattest point, or some combination of those two criteria. I'd expect a 9 month ball python to be around 300 grams and eating large adult mice or rat pups, and possibly weaned rats.

If I had to guess then I'd say that you're afraid of feeding your snake a prey item that is too large. This is understandable. Python heads are not proportional to their bodies and it seems like feeding a rat that is that much larger than the snake's head would be harmful. It isn't. I used to have this concern as well, but as long as your aren't leaving a large bulge in the belly area after feeding then you're ok.

[craigafrechette]

Ok, there's a handful of things I'd like to mention. Some were already mentioned above, but I'll repeat to stress the importance and that I agree with the others.

I will disagree with above in that prey size hasn't affected the shed, or lack of. Fuzzies are WAAAY too small for a BP. They eat hoppers for their first 3-5 meals before quickly moving up to small adult mice. At 6-9 months old the snake should definitely be on adult mice or rats.
Since the animal is using up the vast majority of it's food intake to sustain itself, there isn't much left for growth.
And since shedding is directly correlated to growth with juvenile snakes that would explain why the snake hasn't shed yet. This would also explain the lack of excrement. No food left to poop out when it's all being used to sustain growth.

Based on the temps you're reporting and the fluctuations in temps, I'm guessing your heat sources are not regulated by a THERMOSTAT???

Your cool side temps need to come up a hair. 75 should be the absolute liw, but you want to aim closer to 78-80.

Your hot side temps need to COME WAY DOWN. 88-89 is the highest you should be aiming for.

Humidity in the 50-60 range is fine and you should only bump the humidity to 70-80 during shed.

Since BPs are a nocturnal species, they will remain hidden the vast majority of the day. And you see him almost always on his cool side cause his warm side is way too hot.

Not too be a jerk, but you said not to sugar coat and give it to you straight....
You claim you did tons of research, but the mistakes you're making are literally snake 101 covered in the first few paragraphs of every care sheet you can find. I'm not sure where you did your "research" but you should basically just start from scratch and learn about the animal and how to keep it properly.

[dangernoodles]

You are probably right- he should be on adult mice by now. Its easy to miscalculate the right size for a rodent, do you know how much he weighs? And yeah, I dunno where your getting your information from but it does not seem like you did a lot of research because temp and humidity are very basic things mentioned in many care guides, and many ball python can be answered with a simple google search.

[MrBean7]

First of all, I wanted to say a huge thank you to all who took time to respond to my initial post, asked clarifying questions and provided their input: I really appreciate it.

Second, to clarify a few things (and thank you to those who asked for additional information to make your suggestions more accurate):

- I estimated the age to be between 6-9 months, but the python was a rescue, and is currently at about 20” with approximately 1” (and maybe 1/4) in body diameter. I even traced his body on the white sheet of paper to get more accurate measurements. I completely understand that rats are preferred, but the reason I haven’t given him anything about medium size mouse is because last time I tried he struggled for 45 minutes before completely giving up. In addition, I check his body composition, and he is not showing any signs of malnourishment.

- I did do research in regard to establishing an adequate habitat, including basic care sheets as well as actual evidence-based research articles published in the Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research. According to that information, in order to recreate python’s natural African tropical savannah climate, and keeping in mind that ball pythons prefer to live in burrows, where temperatures are cooler and more stable than the open air above, the following temperatures are recommended:
*using a temperature gradient:
Basking surface — 95-105°F (35-40°C)
Ambient/air — 82-86°F (28-30°C)
Night drop — 72-78°F (22-26°C)

- in regard to humidity, I’m also aware of the recommended guidelines, but just like I said in my initial post, the only reason I was increasing the humidity was to help with shedding, since he hasn’t shed in while. Every care sheet suggested increasing humidity levels to facilitate shedding, so no, I was not trying to keep overall humidity above the recommended levels, but rather a short-term approach to address shedding problems.

Like I said, I’ve had snakes before, just never the ball python, and I was simply trying to seek advise to make sure I do things right with this rescue. So I appreciate most of y’all’s input (even the condescending ones). Thank you for your time, and enjoy rest of your weekend!

Cheers

[craigafrechette]

Please do your snake a favor a disregard those temps completely!!!

I started out in this hobby over 20 years ago and have about 15 years experience. I'm also fairly tuned in to the snake community. In all that time, I don't know a SINGLE experienced keeper or breeder, that keeps their BPs above 92 degrees. And the vast majority don't go above 89.

You're citing ONE source. Do yourself and your snake a favor and read other sources. I have seen some care sheets that suggest going as high as 95, but never anything over that. And those care sheets are outdated and obsolete.

As for shedding, you're right, boosting humidity to 70-80 is a good idea to facilitate shedding. However, it's not going to do anything to induce a shed. So raising humidity before the snake is in shed is not necessary.

You also failed to mention whether or not your heat sources are regulated by a thermostat. It's literally the most important piece of equipment you can have when keeping snakes. Heat spikes can cause serious burns, cause neurological damage and even be fatal.

[dangernoodles]

AGAIN, the reason your snake is always on the cool side is because your hot spot is WAY TOO HOT. You should only raise the humidity if there are clear signs that shedding is going to happen, and raising it for no reason isn't helping your ball python at all. Also, basking surface? From what i've learned, bps aren't basking species, they need a hotspot, in my opinion its best if it's a uth and regulated by a THERMOSTAT! Please link where you found your information from, because almost all care guides recommend an ambient temp of 85-90 with a 90 degree hotspot. 105f could seriously damage your snake. Never ever should it drop to 72, let alone 78 and ever make it above 92 degrees. We aren't trying to be rude, we are just trying to help you with the health and wellbeing of your snake.

You also didn't respond to my question: what substrate specifically are you using? You said ball pythons like to burrow, and "bark" certainly isn't going to be ideal for that.

[chairman]

I keep my ball pythons in a sterile rack environment. The heat tape is set to 94 F. The cool side sits in the mid to upper 70s. Humidity runs about 50-60%, though I move the water dish over the hot side to raise humidity when the snakes are shedding. My pythons are doing just fine.

The environment that MrBean7 is describing is perfectly acceptable for ball pythons if certain other conditions are met.

The enclosure needs to have a footprint of around 2' wide, 4' long, and 2' high. Anything smaller and the snake will not be able to thermoregulate properly.

Also, the substrate needs to be a a sandy soil, kept moist at depth, that is at least 12" in depth.

You also need to properly understand how snakes bask. Ever see a snake basking in the wild? They'll bask about 10% of their body at a time, leaving the rest in dappled or shaded light. The basking spot needs to accommodate that need. A retes stack would do the trick, or some other structure that provides a lot of cover under the basking light.

That's what it really comes down to. If you want to keep a ball python in natural conditions then you need to use a nice, big enclosure and REALLY use natural conditions. You can't do it in a 20 gallon aquarium, or even a 55 gallon aquarium.

If you are not going to use a large enclosure with deep substrate then you need to pare down the rest of the "natural" bit too. The temperature guidelines that are typically offered for ball pythons, as have been offered here, are a reflection of keeping pythons in the smaller enclosures typical to most reptile keepers.

[dangernoodles]

Temp and humidity have a lot to do with shedding, so if it's acceptable I'm not sure why the bp isnt shedding. It could be size of meals, but we don't know the size or weight of the snake so we can't precisely determine what size rodent it should eat. I'm more concerned about temp spikes and burns. Since there are no rules set in stone for keeping any animal, and bps are somewhat hardy, if your snake is healthy in the environment you set up for it- then awesome! I'm sorry if I come off as rude, or make false assumptions about your bp, but I don't know everything.