my new black headed python is worrying me!! shedding individual scales etc etc

[JackH]

hi, my BHP is about 5 months old and for the 3 months hes been in my possesion he hasnt shed but instead sheds individual scales.
he also has only done one solid poo whilst ive had him and that was in the first week. since then he has only been doing bird poo looking ones. He is eating fine and has the right humidity and temp.
i have no idea whats wrong??!! i am new to snake keeping but have good overall snake knowledge

PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

[Herpo]

I'd say he's fine if he's eating. It took my carpet a few months to shed in my care as well. Do you have pics? Also pics of his cage would help.

Cheers,
Herpo

 

[saikrett]

What and how often is he eating?

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

What makes you think something is wrong?
He will shed when he out grows the current skin. 12-14 weeks might indicate that you are not feeding enough, please tell people what you are feeding & the frequency.

 

[SKYWLKR]

BHPs digest food differently from morelia and other pythons. It very much depends on what youre feeding him and how youre preparing it and the temperature inside the enclosure. How do you know the humidity is right etc? Not saying you dont, but give us specifics and we can help more specifically.

 

[JackH]

Hi, thanks for the help.
he is feeding on large fuzzy rats and his vivarium is a 7 by 2 by 3 aquarium with a hotspot of 32 degrees with lamp and cool spot of 28 degrees.
i got him from breeder in NT and he said not to worry about humidity because up there he has 90% humidity and they are fine with it.

thanks!!!

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Fuzzy rats are probably too small.
How many & how often?

 

[JackH]

one every 7 days.
the breeder sent me dates of his feed times and some were 14 days between!!!
im starting to up in size and how often would you suggest i feed him

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

7 to 10 days is probably fine. (I personally feed every 2 weeks as it fits around my schedule)
Depending upon the size of the animal I would say 40-50g rats should be more appropriate. (I generally feed young BHP's this size)

Rule of thumb is 10% of the animals body weight as a youngster.

(That temp of 32, might be a bit cool. BHP's like heat, a hot spot of 35-37 is generally accepted as the way to go. But make sure you are checking the temperature directly under the hot spot. Hand held non contact thermometers are best for checking temps)

 

[JackH]

thanks Paul ill get some larger rats asap!
would you have any tips on increasing temp in the tank?
i have a heat lamp, UVB and heat cable but i cant get it to go up without sending humidity sky high
i have a screen mesh top on it and a medium water bowl in the far cool side

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

I don't worry much about humidity to be honest.
You could always put a smaller water dish in, or just less water in the existing.

Most of my enclosures I heat with light globes but have started running some on reptile radiators.
UVB is not neccesary, I'm not saying take it away but little benefit to the animal.

 

[Wokka]

How big is the animal? I am guessing about as thick as your thumb, in which case you could feed weaner rats which are more mature than fuzzies and so have more bone and fur which is beneficial to your snake. I would probably feed weekly until defication increases. If you think you are having problems with temperature now winter is just around the corner. A picture is the easiest way to diagnose temperature problems and your location is always helpful.

 

[ronhalling]

You are probably losing a lot of your heat through the mesh top and the glass, try covering 3/4 of the top with thick ply and enclose 3 sides of the tank with foam sheeting, you could color up the foam sheets with some nice painting or desert type landscape painting, the foam is easily attached to the glass with thin smears of fish tank silicone, this will all help with heat loss and make it a lot easier to control the temps. ...............Ron

 

[SKYWLKR]

Or get a water bottle and spray some water on the back and sides of the enclosure (on the outside) and lay on some sheets of Alfoil as a cheap insulation trick (to test if humidity and temps are the issue). The Alfoil will stick to the glass for as long as you want once the water spray dries. This way you're not spending money straight up to test what the problem/s are. If it is found to be temp and humidity etc, then you can do the nice coverings and such.

Just a thought anyhow.