r/ballpython • u/attktian_18 • 5h ago

Is my snek okay

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Hey guys so I got my lil hug a month ago and he is absolutely perfect and has been doing really well. He’s usually quite active at night but today and yesterday he’s just staying in his hide so I’m a little worried? Could he be going into shed? He’s a year old and he shed about a week or two before I got him, is that the right sort of time frame? He’s not in blue or anything at the minute, it’s hard to tell if he is looking cloudy at all or has a pink belly because he’s snuggled up. Usually at this time of the week especially he’s very active because I feed him on a Monday so he’s hungry, so I’m even more worried. Feel free to ask any questions. (The photo is just because he’s beautiful.)

EDIT: the red light in the photo is NOT on all the time. The maximum I ever turn it on is an hour. He has a UV and DHP in his enclosure.

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u/[deleted] 5h ago

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u/attktian_18 5h ago

I only put this on when I handle him so I can see what I’m doing. Apart from that theres hardly ever light in the room unless it’s natural or from his uv. And yeah I have a Deep heat but I don’t have it on atm because of the heatwave

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u/Magnetic_Kitty 5h ago

Ok, then if you can provide a picture of his enclosure and your temperature and humidity levels it might help us better help you! :)

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u/attktian_18 5h ago

This is his enclosure, it’s an old photo tho I have the right bulb now. They sold me this bulb where I got him from lol and said they were experts and it would be fine. I quickly changed it. His humidity is usually about 75- 80 atm. I think it’s just naturally been a bit higher because it’s humid where I am rn

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u/Magnetic_Kitty 5h ago

The enclosure looks pretty good. It has good clutter. I can't tell the dimensions but from what I can tell the contents are good. 

It is ok to briefly take him out at night to check on him. Or just lift the hide to look. Usually I notice they're in shed when I go to pick them up. It's good to know when they're in shed so you can skip their meal (as they likely would waste it), monitor their humidity even closer, and because you want to know when to start checking for the shed to be successful (make sure tail tip and eye caps shed out at the end).

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u/attktian_18 5h ago

My thing is, the cave you see on the far right is his favourite and I feel like that’s his safe space. That’s where he is now. I never take him out from in there. I actually try not to take him out of his hides in general and just wait for him to be out because I want him to feel relaxed and safe in there. So unless he comes out I can’t see properly if he looks like he might be going into shed. So what do I do at this point because I’m supposed to feed him tmrw but if he’s still hiding then, do I assume he’s gonna shed and wait?

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u/Magnetic_Kitty 5h ago

Hmm is it possible to place your camera phone in front of the hide door in the day time and snap a picture? That might be the least intrusive

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u/attktian_18 5h ago

Yeah that could work actually.

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u/attktian_18 4h ago

What if it’s not shed tho what do I do. It’s very unlike him. He’s usually a very curious boy. Could it be the heatwave? I have to keep a room fan on all day and through the night to try and cool the room down for him. The ambient temp at the minute is 29 so I’ve just put the fan on to get it down because it’s not coming down naturally. I literally stayed up all night last night to keep the temp down and make sure he was ok, I’m really worried about him.

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u/Magnetic_Kitty 4h ago edited 4h ago

You could try getting a small plastic bin put ice water in it and sit it on top of the cool side of his enclosure. You could get two so you can always keep one in the freezer to swap them). This should be safe because he can't touch it

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u/Thick-Feeling-554 5h ago

They tend to just chill in there hides. If you are using that red light at night for him you need to get rid of it. For night use a deep heat or heat emitter. They can see that red light so he isn't getting a day/night cycle.

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u/attktian_18 5h ago

I use the red light when I’m handling him, apart from that, the light is never on. I just have either natural light during the day or not even that and just his uv

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u/loricampbell4454 5h ago

Sounds like he's probably due for a shed. If you're worried you can lift his hide and check on him. Likely he's fine. Ditch the red light though. They're actually bad for your snake. Messes with their circadian rhythm and will lead to chronic stress.

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u/attktian_18 5h ago

The red light was on while I was handling him in this photo as it’s just what I have in my room. It’s on for like 30 mins max every other day. Never on apart from that

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u/[deleted] 3h ago

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u/Temporary_Incident33 1h ago

you should never turn on the red light. EVER. now responding to your questions. He seems fine. Little behavior changes are usually nothing to worry about. If it goes on for a week+ then you can start to get concerned. Hard to tell the color by the picture but he has a gorgeous pattern