Is it ok to give my pregnant Ball Python a bath?

Question

Well I bred her the end of September, And I have 90 days at the 27th of December. She just went in to shedding last week and she got some of her skin off but not all. Is it ok to hold her to give her a bath with out being attacked? I know that Ball Pythons can get very aggressive or touchy when pg.

Yes I know it can be another 30 days if she doesn't have her litter on the 27th of this month.

Just wondering if it would be safe to give her a bath if she didn't get all the dead skin off?

Answer 1

Hello,



If your snake is not shedding properly and is pregnant then you need to increase the humidity in the enclosure. Make that your number 1 priority. The eggs require a lot of moisture and if the humidity isn't correct then your snake will not produce healthy offspring.

As for a bath, I wouldn't worry. In fact, I would avoid stressing out your snake as much as possible. Once the humidity is raised the snake will take care of the shedding on it's own.



Check out this video for a better understanding about humidity:



http://www.youtube.com/v/6HvTYZqhqfU?fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1



Goodluck

Answer 2

Leave her alone. It is not a good idea to handle a gravid (pregnant) snake. This causes unnecessary stress. Also, I'm not sure where you heard that ball pythons lay eggs 90 to 120 days after mating because this is not accurate. I've had them lay 60 days after mating and 200 days later. Breeding season has just begun and I let my males breed to my females numerous times for the next several months. If your males has only "locked up" with your female one time, this may not be enough for you to get a successful mating, and handling the female only lessens your chances of anything happening.

Answer 3

better to soak her in a tote with baby bath warm water. you could hold her under the tap while running baby bath warm water over her but this may aggravate her. soaking would be better, just place her in something that is escape proof, leave her in the warm water until it starts to cool off. by the way she will lay eggs and the proper name for it is clutch not litter. you need to place a lay box in the enclosure for her to lay the clutch in. [e-mail] if you need any advice on what to use for lay substrate and how to set up the incubator. hope this helps

Answer 4

just spray the cage down to up the humidity. She will take care of it.