Ok, it's me, AGAIN! I gave Roxy the biggest meal she probably ever had in her life. Kudos to Rodentpro! But she is sitting in her water now for 3 days. I did change the water as best I could last night. What now?? Should I take her out and see how she feels about handling? Should I leave her alone for a bit? I know you guys know I stink at that! Her low side is at 79, where she is hanging out, but her warm side is 89. She has her hide spot on the warm side. She is moving around in her water and is reactive when I bother her, not in an aggressive way. She doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body! Sorry, I couldn't let the pun slip by.... As usual, any and all input is appreciated.

She's fine. Most of my boas tend to soak more this time of year. With the A/C running most of the time the humidity drops quite a bit. There smart enough to know when to get in the water and when to get out. If it was her first "large" feed, I'd say 3 days to wait until handling. My 3 larger boas I always wait at least 3 before handling.

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Ken
" The United States Marine Corps......sure we are a department of the Navy,,,,,,we're the MENS department "

They do that, it's nothing to worry about. Also if its the largest meal she's ever had it's possible she could be approaching a growth spurt and getting ready to shed. Sometimes snakes will hang out in the water to help soften up the old skin. Kind of like using a humid hide only it's a water dish. She'll come out when she's ready.

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Professional Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
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yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot (RIP) and Bear

As usual, you guys were right. If you ever come to my end of town, I owe you and your families dinner. I took her out, she ran amok, then she continued to contaminate her water bowl and cage. Nothing I love more than after 10 hours of work is cleaning the tank 2 days in a row!! But being the "pain-in-the-@ss" mom, I was still happy with it. Thank you!! I'm sure I'll post again soon moaning about something else! At least you know I'm consistent.

After a big meal, my ball python usually goes into a shed cycle.
Leave her alone. It takes a lot of energy for a snake to digest a meal and as mentioned before, if given the right conditions (a water bowl big enough to soak in) they will know how to take care of themselves.
Given her reaction to being taken out, she's probably got a shed cycle coming on. I imagine that it must feel like having a high-fever and flu symptoms by the way my snakes react. Think about how much you'd like to be moved around and touched with the flu.
Leave her alone for a while (I think 3 days is too short for handling after a big meal). I would bet she'll start to go blue in the next few days. Try to be patient!
Good luck

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Andrea

I think you may be right, but I think she may eat first one more time. I took her out yesterday and she just had a blast. I always stay right by her and make sure she can't hurt herself. She strolled the flower bed for about 45 minutes. She is looking like she may be getting ready to eat again. Still very active. Ha! Thanks to Rodentpro, I am ready. She has gotten more girth since I adopted her. I believe that she shouldn't get too much longer. (I still have to figure out how to accurately measure her when noone will help me). I will watch her and see how she is. She was really active last night but I try to keep her feedings on the weekends. If she exhibits signs of shedding I will leave her be, but if she is moving towards the opening when I move it, that tells me my girl is hungry. I'm just happy that she is not hibernating in her water bowl.

Put her down on a tile floor. As she stretches out moving forward you can measure the tiles. And since most tiles are 1 Ft square it simplifies things.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Here's another idea for getting the length:
If she sheds in one piece and you straighten it on the floor before it dries out, you can measure it and subtract 20%. It's very accurate, easy, no stress, and another reason to try to make sure you get nice sheds.
We compared the results with the string trick and it was the same within a few millimeters: (The string technique takes at least 2 people depending on the size of your snake.) Run a piece of string along the length of the snake, from its nose to its tail, moving bit by bit along the spine. Then measure the string. It sounds easy, but most snakes don't want to sit still for it and I find it frustrating.

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Andrea

Thanks, BlackJack. Roxy usually comes out with a really nice one-piece skin. I did measure her skin on her first shed. That was when I first got her and according to the formula she was 7.2 feet. She is waiting patiently while I defrost dinner and I am sure she is going to shed after that. I will try it again. I really can't do the tile because there are always other furry creatures in the house but what a great idea, Merlin. If I can clear the dog and cats out I will definitely try that. You always have the simplest answers that should be staring right at me. I have to do the "V8" forehead smack when I read them.