Issues for my SWCP

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Matt-to-the-K

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Hey allI own a south west carpet python, who is currently in the process of shedding. He got cloudy eyes on the 21st and ima still waiting for that shed...Is it normal to take this long?And also I'm having problems with humidity. If I leave the heat lamp on it maintains 60% but if I turn it off at night it skyrockets to 90%+ so I have been leaving it on 24/7. ( only had this problem for the past few weeks ) hoping it's just the rainy weather here in Perth He lives in a glass exo-terra enclosure and the whole top is mesh. I've looked around for people with similar problems but only came across this problem with click-clacks and putting more holes in the sides, which I can't do to glass. Any help/advice would be appreciated
 
takes about 14 days start to finish..

Starts with eyes cloudy, then eyes go clear, then snake sheds..so bout 2 weeks.
And honestly in 10 years ive never even checked humidity in a carpet pythons enclosure.... only thing that i check with humidity is the incubators..
 
Ah ok good. I just assumed that with humidity that high it was basically breathing in mouthfuls of water. My carpets behavior has changed. He hasn't moved a whole lot in the last week or so but I thought this was due to him sloughing.
 
hey mate nah its normal for them to take that long my swcp usually does it in excactly a week from the cloudy eyes but the most recent took him a a fortnight and a bit. imo get him out of the glass tank and get him into a wood enclosure. holds the heat in a lot better than glass also you being in rocko its pretty much his natural habitat already so just work on ya day/on and night/off light and heat cycles .ez

p.s what bez said dont even check the humidity hey
 
He is growing out of his enclosure so I have been looking around for a wooden one. Just not in the financial position at the moment. I'll shut the light off At night from now on then
 
Yeah I agree you don't really need to check humidity as long as your not actually getting condensation, if you have the water bowl in there constantly and your still worried maybe consider alternating a couple of days with and a couple of days without. Snakes feel vulnerable when there shedding so it's quite normal for it not to have moved. Keep checking and hopefully youll catch Him in the act, quite fascinating really.
 
He has only shed once since I've had him and I missed it. I saw him drink for the first time a few months ago! And I thought that was pretty cool. Super keen to see a shed in progress

Well I missed it :( found a snake skin in his enclosure this morning. Pretty happy but. He is active and lying in a different spot too so all is well
 
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Definitely agree that a python specific enclosure is the way to go.

Humidity is something that many don’t even think about unless it becomes a problem. In a well designed enclosure for pythons or elapids, with appropriate ventilation and properly heating, it is almost never an issue.

However, sustained humidity levels either above or below that required by the animal can and do cause problems. Excessive humidity can most readily affect animals from fairly dry environments and usually manifests itself in the form of susceptibility to respiratory infections. If coupled with low temperatures it can result in problems like scale rot. You would only really expect to see this with someone who had little to no idea what they were doing. Insufficient humidity is more often a problem. It is a major contributing factor to poor shed (disecdysis).

To reduce the humidity, you can use a water bowl with a smaller surface area. Make sure you place it at the cool end of the enclosure, as far from the heat source as possible. Make sure there is nothing above the enclosure restricting air flow. The humidity will probably return to a more reasonable level anyway, once the rain lets up. But do keep an eye on it because 90% is on the high side and you would not want it that high for more than say a month or so.

Blue
 
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