Last night I went to a friend's house to help her ball python with a horrible shed. She's had the snake for 2-1/2 weeks, bought it while starting to shed, and the snake has been unable to complete the process.
We gave it a long soak in a plastic tote with the lid on and then I gently rubbed the shed off using a wet Q-tip. This poor guy has been quick to nip since she got him and I suspect it's because his vision was hindered. I was able to remove all shed including both eye caps last night (my first try for this). Once his little eyes were clear again he seemed to understand I was helping and he stopped fighting. (we thought for sure we'd end up getting bit before the night was over, but happy to report he didn't even try!)
Last night was also feeding night and although I hate putting so much stress on him, he is a great eater and has taken his meals without any probs (including last night). Before he was fed we weighed him and noticed he's lost 10 g since his last feed (11 days ago). He seems otherwise healthy, so I'm wondering if the stress from being unable to shed is what possibly triggered this weight loss? I just don't understand how a snake who is feeding can lose weight... maybe the tray wasn't perfectly centered on the scale... we're going to weigh him again in a day or so after he's digested this meal. I'm really hoping the problem was with me using the scale! We may bump his feeding schedule up to every 5-7 days for a short time and see if we can put some weight on this guy (will depend on next weigh-in)
Has anyone ever noticed a weight loss in conjunction with a bad shed?
We gave it a long soak in a plastic tote with the lid on and then I gently rubbed the shed off using a wet Q-tip. This poor guy has been quick to nip since she got him and I suspect it's because his vision was hindered. I was able to remove all shed including both eye caps last night (my first try for this). Once his little eyes were clear again he seemed to understand I was helping and he stopped fighting. (we thought for sure we'd end up getting bit before the night was over, but happy to report he didn't even try!)
Last night was also feeding night and although I hate putting so much stress on him, he is a great eater and has taken his meals without any probs (including last night). Before he was fed we weighed him and noticed he's lost 10 g since his last feed (11 days ago). He seems otherwise healthy, so I'm wondering if the stress from being unable to shed is what possibly triggered this weight loss? I just don't understand how a snake who is feeding can lose weight... maybe the tray wasn't perfectly centered on the scale... we're going to weigh him again in a day or so after he's digested this meal. I'm really hoping the problem was with me using the scale! We may bump his feeding schedule up to every 5-7 days for a short time and see if we can put some weight on this guy (will depend on next weigh-in)
Has anyone ever noticed a weight loss in conjunction with a bad shed?
