Over the past week, Havana’s been sleeping outside her hide, pressed up against the glass in the corner of her enclosure. Her skin is now duller, and her eyes have become a cloudy blue.
Thomas and I have kept the humidity in her tank high so that she finds the shedding process easier. We folded a large towel, placing it over the half of the enclosure that her hide is on, and I keep this wet and moist at all times. This is necessary since it’s currently the winter here and the humidity in the air is much lower than it was in the autumn.
When ball pythons shed, many breeders suggest increasing the humidity to make sure they have an easier time with the shedding process. Although the humidity in a ball python’s enclosure should never reach below 50%, most breeders recommend keeping humidity at least 15% higher when your snake is shedding. This means that the ideal humidity for a snake in shed is somewhere between 65-75%. Some breeders even suggest keeping humidity as high as 75-80%, so if your snake appears to be having problems with shedding, you can always try to knock the humidity up just a bit higher to help him or her out.