Sometimes his eyes turn blue

He has a moon cycle too. Every month he sheds his skin and for a few days before, his flesh turns dull and thick. His topmost layer of skin is drying and tightening against his body. You shed your skin a little bit every day, but he sheds his all at once. It's not comfortable. He becomes irritable, his belly becomes red and inflamed looking, and his eyes turn a milky blue. During this time, he is virtually blind and does not want to be messed with. He won't eat, he won't drink, he'll sit under his rock, curled tight until he can't bear it anymore. And then one night while we're sleeping, he'll uncoil himself and slither from under his hiding spot. He'll rub his body against rocks like a bear scratching his back on a tree. And little by little his skin will peel.

You can always tell if your python is happy by the way he sheds. Does his skin flake off in little pieces? Then his environment is not suiting him. Does he leave his skin behind him, like a dirty old gym sock? That is the sign of a happy boy.

It's just occurred to me that there will probably be a whole lot of snake themed pictures coming up on this blog, so I think it's time I add a Mephistopheles label over there on screen right, and also maybe tell you a little about the real Mephistopheles, whom my beloved python is named for.

Actually though? Why don't you just click here and find out?