Hi there! c:

[Opaque]

Hi there! My name is Jackie - I am a woman in my late 20's living in Southern Ontario, Canada. I just purchased my first pair of ball pythons yesterday and I am so in love with them already. My female ate for me tonight but the male didn't seem as interested and hasn't eaten his rat yet - I am going to leave it in there for another hour or two before I take it out.

So without further ado.. everyone meet Xylo & Sage! I will get more photos in a week or so - I didn't want to handle them too much after they got here yesterday. I am letting them settle into their enclosures.

This is Xylo - 1.0 Banana enchi YB het ghost



Anddd this is Sage - 0.1 Enchi YB het ghost


I have set up larger bin enclosures for them and they seem happy so far.

I will be posting with lots of questions as they come to me - luckily I have a few wonderful people in real life who breed ball pythons and were willing to share their knowledge with me. So for that I am thankful!

Thanks for reading - I will be posting more photos in a week or so - lol!!

[Homebody]

Welcome! Your bps are beautiful. I really love Sage's eyes. I'm looking forward to your updates.

[Bogertophis]

Adorable new BPs- we're glad to have you join us.

Just "fyi"- since they only just arrived, it's too soon to either feed* or handle them, for "best results". New snakes (especially shy ones like BPs) need time to settle in, & we recommend no handling until they've fed at least 2 or 3 times for you without fail (-unless in shed, when it's normal for them to refuse food). (*It's fine to wait a week or so before offering a first meal, btw.)

Since one of your snakes did just feed, you should leave her alone too (no handling & give privacy) for several days so she digests well (& doesn't regurgitate her meal). It would be best if you don't handle either of them right now until they're feeding reliably, since fear is a great appetite suppressant & you want them healthy. When snakes refuse food for extended periods, it's very frustrating to us, to say the least, but it also may lower their immune system to things they were exposed to before they arrived at your place. Shipping/transportation, new people & new homes are all very scary to snakes, since in the wild, they learn their way around to be safe from weather & predators- so when the world they knew suddenly "disappear"...

And much as we love photos here, they can wait while your new babies settle in- We understand.

[Opaque]

Thank you for the welcome you two!

@Homebody- Sage appreciates the compliment! I love her eyes also - they are very striking! Xylo has pretty eyes too but they are hard to capture on camera - I might have to try outside in a month or so once they have started to settle in some more here.

@Bogertophis
Thank you so much for all this helpful information. I am a beginner so I am very appreciative for any advice/tips that I am given. Also the breeder told me they were due for a feed - so I just went off of what he said - I am glad you've told me this though - I will use this knowledge in the future and let future snakes settle in completely before feeding. I am not going to try feeding him again until next week when I offer Sage her next rat also.

I have also let them be after these photos were taken - I realize now that I shouldn't have handled them. Beginner mistake - sorry Xylo and Sage.

I did know not to handle after feeding so prevent regurgitating - I have been giving her privacy. Just peeping in every so often. They are both appreciating their hides that I got them.

I will be lurking the forums in the meantime perusing all this helpful info! I will be back with an update once these two have settled in some more. Thank you again.

[Bogertophis]

I hope you have many happy years enjoying your new buddies. They're not like any other pets & they're well-worth knowing & understanding.

[nikkubus]

Welcome! Hopefully after about a week to settle in the second one will take food too, but just be patient. Sometimes it can take them a while to get comfortable enough to feel safe to eat and digest so they can refuse a bit. They are both gorgeous

[Opaque]

Thank you everyone! It's been a week since I brought them home now and Sage seems to be adjusting quite well. As I said she had her first meal a couple days after she arrived. I went to change her water yesterday and as soon as I opened her tub up she was right up there wondering what I was doing - lol. I almost thought she thought I had food or was going to feed her.. I was hesitant about putting my hand in as the breeder said she can be a little food happy and I didn't want to get bit, lol!! I did end up deciding to take her out though as she seemed like she wanted to come out. She was great about the whole ordeal. She was very calm and curious. She didn't ball up or try to hide!

I only had her out for about 10 minutes as I didn't want to stress her out but I got a few photos of her - she is lovely.






I am not handling Xylo until he takes his first meal. I am going to try and feed him again this week when I feed Sage again. I will be back with an update on if he takes his meal or not. Hopefully he will!

[Bogertophis]

Sage looks like she'll be a great pet for handling. Sometimes older snakes are more freaked out by being rehomed than hatchlings are, but not always. Looks like Sage skipped that memo?

[Opaque]

Honestly I think she may have skipped the memo - lol! She is very chill and always had her head poking out of her hide to see what's going on when I walk by. I love them both so much.

I have been leaving Xylo alone to settle in for the past few days and he came out of his hide and was doing an explore last night so I opened his enclosure and he peeked out on his own and wanted to come out. He lets me touch his head - he seems to like little head pets/boops - lol. I am hoping he is going to eat this week when I offer them their rats - fingers crossed.

I think the breeder must have handled them both fairly often because they are both quite friendly or I just got lucky with these two.