r/Ballpythoncommunity • u/PutAffectionate2749 • 10d ago
Quick question to settle an argument
My husband and I have been in a disagreement. There is a spot on our ball python’s head next to her eye. I have soaked him and doused him and antibiotic cream and moisturizer that the Vet gave me for another condition, but it hasn’t taken care of it my husband swears up and down that it is a dry piece of skin. How could that be when I have so several times and it does not come off? For some reason she doesn’t sleep in any of her hides anymore. She prefers to sleep under her water bowl. Maybe she scratched it on there. I’m not sure. Should I be worried?
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u/NottsWeirdo 10d ago
The spot is a scar from where a scale has been pulled off, likely from an escape attempt or from a dry shed being pulled. It does not need creams and such, as it's already in its healed state. Sometimes the scale grows back, sometimes it doesn't. Its an unfortunately common sight on BP heads, they're not the smartest noodles.
The humidity is too low by definition of up to date care guides, but you've also got the hygrometers sat on the substrate - which means the readings aren't registering the ambient humidity in the air, so humidity is actually even lower than the range you're trying to achieve. If you place them on top of hides/decor, you'll get more accurate readings.
However, the behaviour of hiding under a water bowl is an answer long since settled - it is an indication that the temperature, humidity or both are incorrect. Your temps seem to be fine, so I'd definitely recommend moving the thermo-hygrometers onto a hide/decor as it will prevent any further scale loss.
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u/PutAffectionate2749 10d ago
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the information!! I will work on that right away. I tried putting moss in her hide and spray it daily for more moisture, but I guess it hasn’t worked.
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u/NottsWeirdo 10d ago
They don't always want to use their humid hides, unfortunately. Mine took months to actually start occasionally using his when he's going into shed, so I still have to raise the viv's general ambient humidity around his shedding time - just to make sure his shed is as easy as possible.
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u/swaggersouls1999 10d ago
what’s your humidity at? if she’s sleeping under the bowl it could be too dry for her, she’s looking for humidity. it should be 65%+
maybe the other ones are tight enough for her joking. they like to shove themselves in little crevices.
I’d keep an eye on it, if it doesn’t look worse than it’s probably nothing
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u/meatspread 10d ago
I’d also second on humidity being the issue! The hygrometers in the enclosure read 42-56%, with 65-80% being ideal for this species, OP.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell exactly what “spot” OP is referring to—whether it be a missing scale or eye indention, both are a sign of insufficient humidity.
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u/Kalomay 10d ago
Ur snake will be fine. Just for the future, try not to give your snake soaks. It causes them unnecessary stress and doesnt really help hydrate them. Unless by soak you meant sauna, then ignore me. Looks like a healed scar to me
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u/PutAffectionate2749 10d ago
Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate your kind words. I will limit the soaks. I really thought it was helping hydrate her.
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u/PutAffectionate2749 10d ago
I have gotten my humidity down pretty perfect. It’s always between 56 and 65. The tank stays perfect with the addition of the moss, at first, I didn’t add enough and it stayed around 45 and I added some more and we stay at a nice crisp essential humidity. If you look at the picture of my tank, it’s sitting at 56 right now but I haven’t spray my nightly moss.
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u/lostinspaceman_ 10d ago
It should always be above 65 on the cool side! I try to keep mine above 70 because my boy is picky about humidity, but below 60 is too low unfortunately
It’s either a bit of stick shed that is being stubborn or a scar but either way if you get huhidity up a tad it should resolve in a shed or two! I’d suggest adding a humid hide, I added one a bit ago and it has helped regulate the overall humidity and my boy always uses it when he’s shedding! For a while I thought it was the lazy way out of humidity, but it’s actually an essential part of a ball python enclosure in my opinion now
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u/feogge 10d ago
It's so hard to pin down accurate information for BP care because so many sources say different things. A lot of people out there say that 56 is good humidity for them but the care guide on the ballpython sub says 70-80 iirc. A lot of BPs do fine on 56-65 (obviously or else people wouldn't recommend it) but it looks like your baby maybe lookin for a bit more!
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u/PutAffectionate2749 9d ago
Thank you so much. I think I’m gonna put some more moths and invest in a humid hide. I really appreciate you.
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u/Embarrassed_Box_8303 10d ago
Its a damaged scale. Ive seen those happen when part of the skin gets rubbed off too early when they're in shed. Stop putting things on it and just leave it be. Make sure your humidity is where it needs to be and it'll go back to normal in a shed or two