Yet another addition to my family.

[dashnu]

Hello all,

I went to the pet store to by pinkys...... A bunch of money later I came home with a new enclosure and a new female 6 month old Ball Python. I love her. I think I’m going to name her Tess after my Doberman who was sadly stolen from my yard.

STORY TIME (for those interested, if not please be kind enough to check out my questions)

My girls and the "sweet" shirts I made up for them!!


http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pj1s4pia8Zl4VOSLZFJi_GioiN1m5aH2EMeTmiIJnEKPeYdl AJeaKJh3NW5PHKO-ebXahSGoI6Dc

I feel I have already learned the most important lesson... THEY ARE ESCAPE ARTISTS!! The store gave me a box with the lids folded in that "special" way to stay closed ya know? So anyways I was working really hard with my girls to get the new enclosure ready for the other critters probably about 2 hours worth of work cleaning and whatnot.. (And the fact I’m doing this with my 2 & 3 year old daughters) I checked about halfway through and she was in the box still. So finally all the enclosures are ready old critters moved to the new enclosure old enclosure cleaned out. Now keep in mind Kiah, my three year old this entire time "can we see the new snake dada" EVERY 5 MINUTES.. So finally, "OK Kiah go sit on dada's bed ill bring the box in... She is freaking at this point her face lit up like the morning sun.. Go in to my room with the box and opened it up.. Kiah now is like "ooooohhhh" "dadaaaaaa" "loooooook" those shortly turned to "dada?" "dada is she small??" Dada is she in there??"" Of course I see this unreal look of sadness on Kiah's face and I tear through the box and paper towels NOTHINGGGG!!! ARGHHH!! We freak tear apart the kitchen move EVERYTHING still nothing. Last place I look (and the most obvious to me now) behind the fridge.. BAMM there she was catching the heat from the back of the fridge! !! Oh man the three of us were flipping out now with excitement.. So yea.. That’s my story..

Now to the more important things... if you made it through that story..

I really want to do things right and have a few questions.

My Enclosure:
http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pj1s4pia8Zl44ZxaxU6WpnamY2wRZXXIMUxdQouvw0MROD78 OfY9_aQohvWpu49KpllObsxRMvxY

1: How does this look? It is a 35 Gallon... The side with the half log is the warm side usually around 75-90 degrees. I use a under the tank heat pad that covers about half the warm side bottom. and a 150W "Red" Nocturnal infrared heat lamp.

http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pj1s4pia8Zl63JapbEEmOwglh_NJ4vd9Fq8mhpUlqaQJsw2Z 8gKg2XRn2TUw12Ex2F1BjdRwdzfQ

2: I am unsure what the humidity should be ? I just took some cold water and sprayed some mist around bringing it up to 55. What is ideal level for this snake??

http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pj1s4pia8Zl7W7eBNVQq1y_kxKPpwPcFZXOBGTTSkFtB8eeA JY8Nl9EcEymlr_TIPNItkQ7ZeusA

3: This is the hide / half log. Would she feel more secure it the back was block off by something other than the glass?? Is the glass enough?

http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pj1s4pia8Zl6REaO2QWm5IMItNOTWTFr2xYiaWvABm4hhk6w SNRBtrEl9YW1jLYRAzt6o0XusBSY

4: Her water dish.. Is this big enough?? When she is curled up I could probably fit 4 of her in here.. AND I came home from a job today and she was hiding under this?? it "opens" up at the bottom.. This is what lead me to the fact I may have a humidity problem.


http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pj1s4pia8Zl5_Pny3XcOesZlYHAkWR1ehe-_6moT14OD0V_T16OIIjbRmoOQ8UyUhlzPM2KYBTuo

5: In the center I have three log/branches is this to much clutter? Should I take one out? Two maybe?

6: Last Question and the reason I do not have a few nice shiny pics of her is.. She seems to be pretty aggressive. She has striked at me twice. She allows me to hold her however she stays in a ball for the most part. I got her yesterday and have handled her 5 to 6 times.. Am I stressing her out. I think I am thats why I haven't taken her out from under the water dish to show you wonderful people pics.. What is some good advice on handling? I really want her to be tame so my girls can experience her also.

Any other suggestions to make her life a better one would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!

[Snake lover 3-25]

well.... i don't know anything about pythons...... but your kids are SOOOO cute!!!:D:D:D:DLOL can't wait to see pics of the snake!!!:D

[Loren]

[quote=dashnu;54393]

Well, I will answer best I can- just my personal opinions of coarse. :)

1: How does this look? It is a 35 Gallon... The side with the half log is the warm side usually around 75-90 degrees. I use a under the tank heat pad that covers about half the warm side bottom. and a 150W "Red" Nocturnal infrared heat lamp.
Looks great to me. She would have to get pretty big to outgrow that. When I had my ball python in a similar tank(mine was a 20 gallon long) I had bark substrate, with a heat pad on one end, and it worked well. The heat lamp is only needed if he is kept in a cool place- 90 or so during the day, a little coooler at night. My reptile room is pretty warm, so I just had the heater. (Mine is in a tub rack now)


2: I am unsure what the humidity should be ? I just took some cold water and sprayed some mist around bringing it up to 55. What is ideal level for this snake??

I dont own a humidity gauge, but what I did, is cover alittle over half of the screen lid with card board, to help hold in humidity, and mist the cage with room temp water almost every day- just enough to dampen the top layer of the substrate. Just dont create areas that are always wet, or bacteria will grow.
As long as I kept up on it, he shed well. You could cover even more of the top, as long as you can still work the temps right.
If you use filtered drinking water, your tank will not get water spotted from the misting- well worth the dollar or so a month.





3: This is the hide / half log. Would she feel more secure it the back was block off by something other than the glass?? Is the glass enough?

She would be more secure- You could use a different hide, or tape a small cardboard cutout against the back glass, and press it up to it, or put a background on the tank and press the hide up to it.


4: Her water dish.. Is this big enough?? When she is curled up I could probably fit 4 of her in here.. AND I came home from a job today and she was hiding under this?? it "opens" up at the bottom.. This is what lead me to the fact I may have a humidity problem.
That should be fine for a small snake. She might hide under it because it is darker than the log hide.



5: In the center I have three log/branches is this to much clutter? Should I take one out? Two maybe?
I think its fine while she is small. You can always remove some of it as she grows, to make more room for her. In the wild, they live in jungles, so they are used to "clutter".

6: Last Question and the reason I do not have a few nice shiny pics of her is.. She seems to be pretty aggressive. She has striked at me twice. She allows me to hold her however she stays in a ball for the most part. I got her yesterday and have handled her 5 to 6 times.. Am I stressing her out. I think I am thats why I haven't taken her out from under the water dish to show you wonderful people pics.. What is some good advice on handling? I really want her to be tame so my girls can experience her also.

I have never had aggresiveness problems with mine. Make sure it knows its you, and not food, coming into the cage(dont surprise her), and I would leave her alone mostly for a few weeks till she can get settled in. Then handle for just a few minutes at a time here and there until she gets use to you.
I would also watch closely for mites(little black dots that move) and ticks, since you just got her. They can be hard to see- you have to look closely,especially around the eyes, but its not real uncommon for a newly aquired python to have them. They can make the snake uncomfortable and more aggresive too.

Hope this helps. You can find ball python caresheets all over on the internet if you want more specific heat/humidity details.

quote]

[dashnu]

well.... i don't know anything about pythons...... but your kids are SOOOO cute!!!:D:D:D:DLOL can't wait to see pics of the snake!!!:D

Thx! I am trying to keep them really focused on "different" things like Bindi The Jungle Girl, hense the shirts :) They were stoked when i gave them those!

[dashnu]

First off, thanks Loren! This is such a great place to learn.



I have never had aggresiveness problems with mine. Make sure it knows its you, and not food, coming into the cage(dont surprise her),

I have yet to feed her. I plan to do this in a large plastic container away from her enclosure. I also heard of people putting a piece of clothing in the cage? Not sure I need to go this far seeing im sleeping 6 feet away from her.



and I would leave her alone mostly for a few weeks till she can get settled in. Then handle for just a few minutes at a time here and there until she gets use to you.

This sounds like a great idea. It will be hard not to hold her but will be best for her im sure :)



I would also watch closely for mites(little black dots that move) and ticks, since you just got her. They can be hard to see- you have to look closely,especially around the eyes, but its not real uncommon for a newly aquired python to have them. They can make the snake uncomfortable and more aggresive too.


I will keep a close eye out for this. Ticks have to be one of the worst creatures on earth!!!!! Allthough I am a bit confused how she would get ticks short of me or the kids bringing them into the house..


Thanks again more questions to come im sure :)

[Lori P]

Brett, congrats on your new baby! Loren answered your questions, I just wanted to add that in my limited experience (I have 2 balls) (giggle) they tend to be very shy, and not very mobile. Mine stay hidden 99.99999 percent of the time, only coming out at night-- and not even every night, at that. They are notoriosly difficult feeders... and can go on hunger strikes for months and months. Whatever she has been eating, stick with it... they are nowhere near as flexible as the garters when it comes to food.

Your daughters are ADORABLE!!!! :-)

[dashnu]

Brett, congrats on your new baby! Loren answered your questions, I just wanted to add that in my limited experience (I have 2 balls) (giggle) they tend to be very shy, and not very mobile. Mine stay hidden 99.99999 percent of the time, only coming out at night-- and not even every night, at that. They are notoriosly difficult feeders... and can go on hunger strikes for months and months. Whatever she has been eating, stick with it... they are nowhere near as flexible as the garters when it comes to food.

Your daughters are ADORABLE!!!! :-)

Thanks for the info! I think your a mind reader, I was just finishing up reading the new posts and was going to mention in this thread that my ball has been hiding under her water dish for almost 24 hours now.. So this sounds like normal behavior. I may have high hopes, however, I really was hoping to hang out with this snake a lot. I work from home so having her in the living room on me and really spending a lot of time with her was/is my goal... Is this unrealistic or better yet unhealthy for her????

She has been on fuzzies, I was told to thaw one out and try to feed this coming Wednesday. She is pretty chunky right now which is good in case I run into issues feeding. I found a site with some videos 8ballpythons.com that mentioned to keep food in the feeding area for about an hour before feeding.. So for feeding I wanted to get a large plastic container with some paper towels and a hide and put her in it. I was thinking to thaw the pinky out on top of the container so the smell would slowly get stronger and stronger.. Hopefully getting her excited to eat. If she takes the fuzzy should I try to feed weekly or every other? The people at the pet store were not very helpful. They told me it was ok to feed my garters gold-fish :p

Last question for now, Not just a ball question.... Is taking your critters out and letting them poke around the yard a bad idea? I have taken my garters out for a "walk" if the weather is warm enough. Let them cruise around the grass a bit.. Same with my anole and gecko. I suspect what im reallying doing is stressing them out when I think I am letting them explore a bit?? Jeesh im crazy arnt I?

Thanks again Lori, and take good care of your balls! :eek:

[anji1971]

I take my garters for a walk now and then too!! I let them climb around in the little mimosa tree in my yard -- it's small enough that I can fish them out of even the top branches.
I don't think it stresses them out at all, in fact, they seem to love it. Much more space to climb than in their tank.
Congrats on the new addition. I know absolutely nothing about ball pythons, but from what I've read, they aren't very active, and you may not get the 'hanging out' experience you were hoping for, but hey, it's worth a try!
And you're little jungle girls are extremely cute!:)

[dashnu]

I take my garters for a walk now and then too!! I let them climb around in the little mimosa tree in my yard -- it's small enough that I can fish them out of even the top branches.
I don't think it stresses them out at all, in fact, they seem to love it. Much more space to climb than in their tank.
Congrats on the new addition. I know absolutely nothing about ball pythons, but from what I've read, they aren't very active, and you may not get the 'hanging out' experience you were hoping for, but hey, it's worth a try!
And you're little jungle girls are extremely cute!:)

Haha, thanks anji! So I guess I am not crazy for talking my critters out for a walk :D:D

[dashnu]

Ok, I had to refill the water bowl so took a few pics. Most are through the glass so not the best but better than nothing.

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[Snake lover 3-25]

awwww very cute!!!:D

i take mine out too!!!!!! they love it..... especially my female because she was WC and the baby just fallows her around and hunts for worms..... which he does find sometimes!!!:D

[jeanette]

aww your girls are cute. ive only got boys myself, want to swap one? j/k
ok everyone seems to have things mostly answered for you. if you want to tame your new family member take things steady. the more relaxed you are the more relaxed he will be.
choose a time to handle him when things arnt so chaotic, i know this isnt ideal as your girls want to get to know him but trust me its better in the long run, even at this age it does hurt if they bite you and they can even leave teeth in the wound.
Boas are more prone to mites than Pythons but that isnt to say they dont get them, most pet store pythons run the risk of getting them and they make the pythons cranky. Ball/royal pythons are bad shedders, they need a small enclosed area to go and hide in before they shed, thats warm and damp. i use a box thats lined with moss, they tend to stay in it for a few days and then come out and shed there skin.
as Lori P said they can be difficult feeders especially when they have been moved around and tend to need settling before they will eat, if you have any trouble getting this snake to feed i would suggest cutting of the rear of the Foods skull in order to trigger a feeding instinct, something about the smell of the brains is pretty much an appetiser for these guys. when he becomes used to you and being fed i would recommend moving him into a dry box for feeding as these guys can get impacted although its rare.
Congrats on your new friend, im sure you will have a lot of enjoyment form him as we do form our little man.

[Lori P]

She's very nice Brett!! I would feed her weekly if she'll take it. Your idea of thawing the fuzzy on top of the cage is a good one... I've noticed that my Fluffy comes out looking once she starts to smell those mice. :-)

I think that, once she settled and more used to being handled, taking her outside of her cage will only give her positive stimulation... it has GOT to be a boring existance in a cage, even a nice cage. If she is stressed by you, she will hiss and ball up. If she's comfortable, she may still ball up but not as tightly, and after a few moments will move her head to look around. So you can read her stress level and decide whether she'd rather be left alone or can come out and be comfortable.

My Squiggles seems comfortable and curious when out of her cage, whereas Fluffy has never stopped hissing at me and stays balled up when out. But keep in mind, all this is only my limited observation and others here with more knowledge can help you more. :-)

[dashnu]

You guys all rock! Thanks for such good advise!! A really good group of people here, and I am glad I found this place!!

Lori I about died laughing when I read your Snakes names!! oh man!! Maybe I should name her "Cake" and when/if I get my male down the road name him ... yup you guessed it "Death" :D That way if someone comes over and ask to hold my snakes I could say "Cake or Death" that would be great :p

I do have a couple more questions now:

@Jeanette: I do feel pretty relaxed with her. Maybe a hint of nerves here and there since she striked at me. I do plan on taking your advise using calm times of the day. What is this moss you speak of? Just regular moss you find outside on a rock or something? Also I read on these forums about a "blue" stage... I think I am seeing hints of a bluish color on her and her hidding under the water bowl might be a sign she is getting ready to shed.. Im I understanding this "blue stage" correctly or am I just seeing things??? You also said "when he becomes used to you and being fed i would recommend moving him into a dry box for feeding as these guys can get impacted although its rare" What do you mean by dry box? And I was thinking of never feeding her in her enclosure. any draw back to this?

I think these are all my questions for now.. Thanks again!

[Zephyr]

I must admit, she is a very pretty snake.

[drache]

I know nothing about balls
she's cute though
and your girls are more than cute

[Loren]

As for taking critters outdoors, I dont usually do it, except to snap some pics, but its up to you. Pay attention to how they act- if they seem nervous- always looking for a place to hide- then I wouldnt do it. Bottom line, do not let one escape- the reason why fits in with the next 2 paragraphs of this post.

Keep in mind that it could have negative effects to let neighbors see you have snakes. Some people get awefully terrified to know that a snake is living on their street. Sometimes its better if they just dont know- even if you are following all the laws.

While it's Peta, and other groups like that, that pursue state and federal banning of reptile keeping, its often terrified neighbors that are behind the new laws we see in local governments to ban certain, or all, pet snakes.

As for picky feeders- mine used to eat thawed rodents no problem, until I gave him a couple live rats. He will not even look at a dead animal anymore. So I guess the moral of my story is, is you get him to take something healthy and convieniant, dont mess with sucess. Just my opinion, and based on just one ball python.

Thats a very nice ball.

:)

[Snake lover 3-25]

Keep in mind that it could have negative effects to let neighbors see you have snakes. Some people get awefully terrified to know that a snake is living on their street. Sometimes its better if they just dont know- even if you are following all the laws.

most of mine already know...... i used to take them down the street durring neighborhood garage sales!!!!!:D:D:D

[dashnu]

yea, I dont have that issue.. I live in the middle of the woods!

[Snake lover 3-25]

yea, I dont have that issue.. I live in the middle of the woods!


LOL i'd like too!!!!!:D

[jeanette]

I do have a couple more questions now:

@Jeanette: I do feel pretty relaxed with her. Maybe a hint of nerves here and there since she striked at me. I do plan on taking your advise using calm times of the day. What is this moss you speak of? Just regular moss you find outside on a rock or something? Also I read on these forums about a "blue" stage... I think I am seeing hints of a bluish color on her and her hidding under the water bowl might be a sign she is getting ready to shed.. Im I understanding this "blue stage" correctly or am I just seeing things??? You also said "when he becomes used to you and being fed i would recommend moving him into a dry box for feeding as these guys can get impacted although its rare" What do you mean by dry box? And I was thinking of never feeding her in her enclosure. any draw back to this?

I think these are all my questions for now.. Thanks again!

ok the moss is pretty what you can buy in some pet stores or you can use wild moss you find outside although check it for parasites and dont use it if its been in an area where fertilisers or weedkillers may have been used.
you are understanding the blue stage perfectly it gets its name from when a snakes eyes take on a milky hue that can sometimes look blue, it is simply when they are due to shed. it would be great if you dont feed her in her enclosure as snakes can sometimes get used to movement in their enclosure and associate it with food, causes them to strike and you get unhappy owners. some owners dont ever experiance it, but it does happen.
Dry box is simply a box you move the snake to for feeding it contains no substrate so they cant swallow any along with their meal.
hope that explains it :)
any more questions feel free to ask. Enjoy your new friend :)

[Flutterbye]

Thx! I am trying to keep them really focused on "different" things like Bindi The Jungle Girl, hense the shirts :) They were stoked when i gave them those!

thats really such a good idea, makes such a nice change...if they follow that path i'm sure your girls will go on to do great things in the natural world

[dashnu]

thats really such a good idea, makes such a nice change...if they follow that path i'm sure your girls will go on to do great things in the natural world

Thank you! It is nice to here stuff like this... I really hope to make these two buckoroo's something special and I am doing all in my power. I "gave" Kiah the Anole, the gecko, and the two garters. She lit right up :) So now on her days at my house she is really focused on these guys.. Its an awesome thing!

[Loren]

yea, I dont have that issue.. I live in the middle of the woods!

Sweet!

I grew up on a dairy, but live in town now.

[dashnu]

Well she feed, unfortunately live.. But shes eating and she is exploring her new enclosure, seems to be much less "stressed" now.. I also held her for a few minutes and she was content flapping her toung every now and then "smelling" me.. Not NEARLY as balled up as before.

Thanks for everything guys..

Another good tip I tried with F/T (all though it didnt work for me) :

Run the head under HOT water for a minute then dry it off.. The heat "should" trigger the feeding.

I am going to try this with my garters.. They are more then ready for pinkys.. The bigger of the two will eat three big night crawlers per feed.

[Lori P]

I swear, there is something about bp's and feeding live. The difference in the response when I offered them live for the first time really made me realize how important that is to them. I'm not advocating it necessarily, but I think I'm sticking with it for mine...

[dashnu]

Yea, On top of all that i would assume since they are a pretty mellow snake this would be the only true form of exercise.. this is just my "outside" prospective.

[jeanette]

pythons and boas need movement to trigger feeding response thats why a lot of people have more luck feeding live.
If its your preference then thats ok. I cant however feed live, it brings out my protective instincts and i want to rescue the poor little food item. it is also illegal here in the uk to use live mammels as feed items unless its recommended by a vet for health reasons.
If you dont want to feed live then you can stimulate feeding with a warmed through frozen rat/mouse/prefered food item and offer it on tongs mimicing rodent behaviour, it takes time and practice but it will work. just be patient .

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

WOW YOUR KIDS ARE ADORABLE!!!

and so is you new addition, I am a HUGE fan of normal ball pythons!

I've had my own little one for about a month now.. heres her a month ago
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakes/Pythons/007.jpg


and here she is now!!! she is thriving on 1 thawed small adult mouse, twice weekly! i open that tub and she is ready to nail it :D, she has doubled in width and weight already!
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll86/aSnakeLovinBabe/Snakes/Pythons/065.jpg


i really hope yours does as well as mine's doing!

[jeanette]

shannon that is a lovely snake :) absolutely beautiful

[dashnu]

Ya know, I am going to try frozen again today.. Warm that little thing up and wiggle it all over the place :) You guys are motivating me! I would prefer to go the frozen path.. Truthfully I am unsure if the girls would like my new Ball if they new what she actually ate!! They are still to young for that :) As of now they think she eats a "Frozen Gummy Bear"

As far as garters go they are ok with giving them worms and fish... One step at a time ;)

[Lori P]

OMG... that is TOO CUTE... a frozen gummy bear!!!!!! I love it!!

I had some success with Squiggles for a while with f/t, as long as I wiggled it just right. Be patient, try to go with natural type movements, and hopefully she'll be fine for you. It's funny, too, because as much as Fluffy wants live mice, she'll eat f/t chicks for me with no problem, so I alternate.

Keep us posted!!!

[dashnu]

I have been thinking a bit.. The pet store "said" she was eating F/T.. However I really think they want the sale. I am sure the most important thing for the pet store is to have a "plump" snake and I bet they will do anything to make that happen.. So I would not be surprised if they feed her live this entire time..

On top of all that I went in the store other day while another girl was working and they had a male Ball in which she claimed "wouldn't take F/T so we just feed him live"

[jeanette]

sounds like they were just going for the sale dashnu. keep trying with f/t but if she/he wont take the it then you aint gonna have much choice but to feed live.
dont give up with it, you never know it might work :)