my ball python wont shed

Question
I have a female ball python who is approximately 18 inches, I got her about two months ago, and she isn't growing and shedding at all. She hasn't even shown the signs that she's getting ready to. Her skin is still bright and glossy, and her eyes haven't clouded. She's been eating fine, cage humidity is fine, she isn't underweight, nothing seems wrong except for that she isn't growing.

I have had a small problem with the cage not being hot enough for some reason, because recently she's been trying to climb up her thermometer and hygrometer to sit next to the ceramic heating element. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but she's also had a couple spells of diarrhea, and her urate has had more moisture in it than it should.

Anyways, I hope you might have suggestions for me, or happen to know the problem. And if it is a heating problem, I'd like to know a good way to fix that without paying an arm and a leg like the amounts Zoomed has dragged out of me.

I was told by the people at the pet store that she should be shedding at least every couple of weeks being that she's quite young. I couldn't get much more information than that because they aren't exotic experts, and the best I've gotten from asking around on the internet is "Well, she sheds when her skin gets tight." Yeah... breaking news, Captain Obvious.

Well, now I'm just rambling, but if you happen to know how to correct the problem, I would very much appreciate it.

Answer
Hello Andrew,

Oh no, she wont shed quite that often.  Maybe once a month or every 6 weeks or so.  
What are you feeding her?  What size of rats, the weanlings?
What are the temperatures in the tank currently?  If you are using a ceramic heat emitter, are you also using an undertank heater as well?  That would be my suggestion to help get her hot end up to around 88 or so.
So if you don't have a thermometer, you will need to get one so you can monitor the temps, & the humidity also.  What is the humidity?  It should not exceed 50% most of the time, unless they are in preshed then you can increase it to around 80% for a short period until she sheds, then back down on it so she doesn't get a respiratory infection.
It sounds like it might not be warm enough in there for her to adequately digest which could cause diarrhea.  
What type of tank do you have & what size is it?



Tracie