Ball Python Breeders

Ecdysis or the shedding of skins is a natural phenomenon of all snakes. The old skin is shedded off and new skin replaces the old one. When young snakes grow in size, they need new skin to cover the increasing body length, so young snakes shed frequently than older ones. They also shed if the skin becomes extremely dirty or incur an injury.

The Ball Pythons usually shed the skin a single piece, which gets blown away by breeze. When the Ball Pythons get into shedding phase, they become dull looking and their eyes become dark with a blue or green tinge to it. The Ball Pythons are almost blinded during this phase and hence it’s better to leave them alone than to startle and get them nervous. Most of the Ball Pythons do not feed during the shedding period. So it’s not advisable to offer food. A rough place like a scrub must be provided in the tank to help the Ball Python shed its skin.

The Ball Python soaks itself in water well for easy removal of the skin. The snake then rubs itself by going around the cage and on rough surface initiating the shed. And then the snake crawls out of the skin. The old skin is either rolled into a ball or straightened out.

The shedding is poor or incomplete due to many reasons and the primary being low humidity. Improper surroundings like inadequate water, unsuitable temperature, etc also contribute to the improper shedding. The shedding of skin can be helped by soaking the snake in lukewarm water for fifteen to thirty minutes. Slight rubbing of the snake to help it remove the old skin is also a good measure.

The shedding should not be done by us if the Ball Python doesn’t shed for a long time. If the shedding starts, then it can be helped. Manual shedding might result in ripping of skin causing injury to the snake. The skin on the tail and head are difficult to be shed by the Python itself. So it would be advisable to help the Ball Python near the tail and head alone. Sometimes the snake will have the old skin on the eyes called the eye cap which should be removed as soon as possible if it’s not removed by the snake itself. Retained eye caps attract a variety of bacteria that may even blind the Ball Python. If removal is not easy, the eye cap is to be removed by an adhesive tape that is slightly stuck to the eye cap. The Ball Python must be restrained while removing the eye cap.