My ball python had milky eyes and her belly was very pink so I assumed that she was going into shed. I have her on newspaper and she was hiding underneath it for 2 days now and she didn't eat so those were more signs of shedding. Today she came out of hiding with her eyes back to normal and her belly returning to its original color but I can't find her shed. Also, I sometimes have problems keeping up the humidity so I assumed that she was going to have a bad shed but since she didn't come out of her hiding, she had nothing to push against to remove her shed and she had nothing left on her. I just want to know if ball pythons, like many other reptiles, eat their own shed and if you think that she did shed after all. Thanks for any help
Snakes do not eat their own shed. Right before the shed occurs it is not uncommon for the eyes to clear up. That usually tells me it will happen that night or so. Just make sure you have a good rock, log, stick or something for the snake to rub against. That and the humidity will make or break the shed. Good luck. Jeff
Thanks Jeff, I was really doubting that they ate their shed as I had never heard of that before but I had to be sure.
HI, Jeff is correct snakes dont eat their skin. During the "milky" stage they produce a fluid which seperates the old and new skin, this is then re-absorbed prior to shed and it's common for skin to look normal, this can last a few hrs or even days before they actually shed so everything is normal there. My boas were little (9ft)..lol beggers for going clear for days before shedding and the skin would stick back down even with good humidity, hence a bad shed. Should you experience a bad shed then one way round it is to place snake in a pillowcase with a warm very damp handtowel and leave at warm end of tank for a few hrs this usually helps to remove a bad shed.
My husband and I have had our fair share of ball pythons and what always helped with shedding is to make sure they have a container full of water large enough to submerge there body in, we always had good sheds.
