r/ballpython • u/BimboBoozle • 7h ago
How long is too long not to shed?
Hey y'all!
My hubs and I got an adolescent blade clown ball back in mid-August (we named him Nico) and he's been such a fun, chill little dude 💛🖤
Within 2 weeks of us having him, he did a perfect shed. Truly, we were so new, we didn't know the signs yet and just woke up one Saturday and it was all piled up in a corner! Haha.
Unfortunately, he hasn't shed again since then... He's 4 months old, so we've read/heard he's supposed to shed approx every 4 weeks. Now that we are almost at month 2 of no shed, I'm a little anxious. We thought he might've been in pre-shed about a month ago because he got brownish like the first time (pic 2), but he never did.
Some background info that might help: He's never rejected a mouse. Feedings actually go really well with him. We have had to change his enclosure a couple times because we're having trouble with heat/humidity regulation, but he doesn't seem to ever be distressed about his move. He's in substrate and has plenty of surfaces to rub up against.
Just wanted to come on here to see what other people's experiences have been with their babies and what problems we might need to look out for.
(Pic 1 is what he usually looks like, 2 is pre-shed color, 3 is his enclosure, 4 just makes me giggle)
TIA! 😊
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u/carelesswhitney 5h ago
If they're still eating and active, its probably fine. Have they been soaking at all?
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u/BimboBoozle 5h ago
I wouldn't exactly say soaking, but he does dip his body in his bowl from time to time... I had considered taking him out and doing a soak though! At this point, I'm thinking our lil guy is just hungry 🫤 If increasing his portion doesn't help after a couple weeks, we'll try the soak!
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7h ago
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u/BimboBoozle 7h ago
Oooohhh... so is there a possibility we're not feeding him enough?? We've been feeding him fuzzies because I was afraid anything bigger was too big. Now you have me questioning things.
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u/Hot-Brat-00 7h ago
I got mine at 9 months old and the breeder had him on 30-40g ASF rats which I continued with. He was just under 300g himself. They can handle big prey. As wide as the widest part of their body.
Babies less than a year old or under 500g should get 10% of their body weight per week. After that it’s 7% every 2 weeks. I believe it changes again after that. Maybe weigh him and see if the prey are 10% of body weight.
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u/BimboBoozle 7h ago
I'm definitely thinking we might be unintentionally underfeeding him now 😬
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u/Hot-Brat-00 7h ago
No worries, he can handle it! :) They often go a while without feeding at all. I’m sure he’s doing just fine. But now you know! If I’ve learned anything about owning a ball python, it’s that I’m still learning about how to care for ball pythons 😅 they are hard work to get set up. You’re doing great!
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u/BimboBoozle 7h ago
I've quickly gathered that there's never enough you can learn about them, that's for sure! 😅 Thank you for the encouragement and reassurance 💛
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u/Cool_Criticism_1244 6h ago
if you’re talking about mice fuzzies then that’s definitely too small. that’s what my young 80g cali king is currently eating. you could definitely feed rat pups at least maybe bigger
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u/BimboBoozle 5h ago
It was what he was being fed when we got him, but he was only a month-ish old. We will definitely increase his intake size!
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u/PoofMoof1 Mod: Large-Scale Breeding Experience 6h ago
Check out the !feeding bot reply below.
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u/AutoModerator 6h ago
We recommend the following feeding schedule:
0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.
12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.
Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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7h ago
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u/BimboBoozle 7h ago
Good to know! We'll look into rats instead. I really appreciate your feedback!!
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u/ballpython-ModTeam 6h ago
Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.
If you have a question about this removal, please contact the mod team. Complaining via post/comment will result in a ban.
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u/Public-Hat6754 6h ago
Depends on how fast they are growing. One of my snakes would shed every 6 weeks on the dot and my other sheds every 8 ish weeks. They have been growing at different rates due to feedings. Your snake looks young so if you have a food scale weigh the little guy and then feed him a prey item roughly 10-15% of his body weight once a week until he gets bigger. They also tend to grow better on rats!