# Bredli Python Bathing



## Louisapatricks96 (May 24, 2019)

I’m a new snake owner and my 2yo bredli has in the last 3 days started sitting in his water at night for extended periods of time. The first time I noticed it he sat in there for about 20 minutes. 2 days later he was in there for about 30 and tonight he has been in there for maybe 45. I’m panicking as this is the first time I’ve seen him do this since I’ve had him (about 3 months) and my friends who own snakes haven’t heard of it. He has had a heat coil this whole time but we just put heat lamps in there as it is getting cooler. Is it possible he is just readjusting to a temp change? The heat is about 25 degrees humidity is 70%


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## Anthony0739 (May 24, 2019)

Could be shed related? When coming up to shed sometimes they soak to loose up the old skin. Has it recently shed well? could potentially be mites also? Defiantly check it over for notes. Could also just be enjoying a cool down at night which is defiantly a possibly. 


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## Louisapatricks96 (May 24, 2019)

@Anthony0739 he shed about a month ago and we aren’t feeding him big meals so I wouldn’t have thought he would have grown that quickly and be ready to shed again. His shed wasn’t great though. What should I look for if it’s mites?


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## Anthony0739 (May 24, 2019)

Shed related soaking does sound unlikely then. You can try and see the mites, check near its eyes or pits especially. There is Defiantly still a chance he is fine and just enjoying the soaks. 


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## Louisapatricks96 (May 24, 2019)

This is him now he’s been there easily for an hour++ now. I just felt the water and it’s not cold at all so I’m hoping he’s just enjoying it. He hasn’t defecated since he ate last Saturday could that have something to do with it? Or am I just freaking out for no reason lol


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## Abstractivity (May 25, 2019)

what are your temps? you say 25, is that the cool end? The warm end should at least be 35 and cool end around 25- 20.

(Idk if you had taken a picture earlier and just posted it now or if you have your lamp on at 11 pm?) should only have heat for around 9am to 5pm timer on. However one hour more or less shouldn't hurt them if your in a cooler climate
also i'd get a better substrate and bigger water dish.

Edit: Unless you mean 25 is ambient temp then that should be fine either way my question still stands.


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## GBWhite (May 25, 2019)

A picture of the entire enclosure would help.

You don't need both a heat cord and lamps. One heat source (one lamp or a heat cord) is plenty as long as it's placed in the right location at one side of the cage (at the top - light or bottom - heat cord). If the water is warm to touch then this suggests that the enclosure is too hot. Snakes need a cool area so they can regulate their body temperature, they don't need to be warm all the time.The snake needs a heat gradient with a hot end of between 32 and 35 deg C at the basking spot and a cool end of between 20 & 22 deg C. This way they can move between the basking spot to warm up to their desired body temperature and retreat to a cool area and chill out. Overheating can lead to dehydration which in turn leads to shedding problems. 70% humidity seems pretty high and again this could be a result of the enclosure being too hot.

It's not uncommon for snakes to soak. They might get in the water to get some relief from heat and are also known to soak to relieve the irritation which is consistent with a mite infestation. From the pic it doesn't appear to have mite but, as suggested, a check around the eyes and labial (heat) pits would give you a better idea. Either way, the water bowl for soaking needs to be much bigger for it to be able to fit in comfortably. A good idea is to provide two water bowls, a small one that can be topped up with fresh water to drink from and a larger one to soak.

Also, as suggested, it would be a good idea to get rid of that substrate and replace it with something more suitable.

Do you have a hide in the enclosure for it to retreat and cool down and get away from the light? From the photo it looks like it's in the water to cool down and hiding it's head to get some relief from exposure to the light. They need a hide where they can coil up and feel secure and the hide is best placed at the cooler end of the enclosure. Lights, even if they provide the heat source, only need to be on for around 12 hours a day and should be connected to a thermostat to regulate the optimum temperature. The probe for the thermostat should be placed directly at the basking spot.

No need to panic the snake looks to be healthy but, from the pic, the separation between the scales indicates the snake appears to be well over weight which could prove detrimental to it's health in the long term so it mightn't hurt to scale back the size and/or frequency of feeding.

Hope this helps,

George.


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## Ramsayi (May 25, 2019)

Lots of reasons why pythons soak,a few have already been touched on.
Could be too hot.
Could be too cold.Water stays warmer than the surrounding temp so they sometimes soak because of that extra warmth.
Could be because they feel safer crammed up in bowls.
Mites.
Going into a slough cycle.
Sometimes it is just because that can.

BTW that is the oddest looking bredli I have ever seen.


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## Bl69aze (May 25, 2019)

one of those Hypo bredli jags me thinks



Ramsayi said:


> Lots of reasons why pythons soak,a few have already been touched on.
> Could be too hot.
> Could be too cold.Water stays warmer than the surrounding temp so they sometimes soak because of that extra warmth.
> Could be because they feel safer crammed up in bowls.
> ...


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