Just some simple feedback would be nice!

[MrTrippy666]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the site & to the world of snakes, I just got my first baby Ball Python 4 days ago. She (I don't know the sex, but I named the snake Ava) is VERY timid when I pick her up and handle her. I know the rule is 'wait a week or two after purchase' but I couldn't control myself! Everytime I handle her, she is ALWAYS in striking position. She has never tried to strike but because she has yet to eat, I wouldn't put it past her to send out a warning. I've tried feeding her twice now & she's just not about it! I have issues with keeping the humidity levels up in her tank aswell. I'm constantly spraying the tank walls and it'll get up to 50%-60% humidity but after 30-45 minutes, it drops to below zero again..I need tips please!

How do I ease her out of striking position when handeling her?

How do I keep the humidity up?

How do I get her to eat?! (I know new snakes are picky eaters but how can I ease her into a eating schedual)

Any information people can give will help me so just reply if you have any ideas!

Thank you,
- Justin.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Welcome to the site!

The first thing you need to do is get the cage heat/humidity into the proper ranges (cool side 80, hot side 90, 40%-60% humidity) then leave the snake alone for a week before even trying to feed. Offering food too often will stress out the snake and make a successful feeding less likely.

What are you using to heat the cage? What thermometers/hygrometers/thermostats do you have? How big is the cage? What substrate are you using? What type/size hides do you have. Can you post a picture of the cage?

Checkout these 2 threads to make sure you have the basics down:

Care: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Heating: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers


How to post pictures: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)

[LadyOhh]

Hi Justin,

It would be helpful to see your set up. That would be the first thing that I would start to look at to trouble shoot.
Husbandry is key in reducing stress, which will hopefully stop her being so "bitey", and will also fix the humidity and feeding issues.

[MrTrippy666]

Thank you for responding so fast you two!

This is a picture of her & her tank:


When I got her, they said they just got the shipment into the pet store (don't judge me cause I got her at the pet store lol) & they haven't fed her yet so we are going on 11-12 days of KNOWN nonfeeding. I will wait a few more days & let her get more comfortable.

Under the hide, I have a heating pad and the water dish is the cold side. The thermometar is on the right side (via image) and the humidity gauge is on the left.

She lounges for the majority of the day & is VERY active at night. She likes to hang off the meters on the side of the tank!

She's too cool lol.

Anything else?

[The Serpent Merchant]

OK, a few major concerns.

1. Does your heating pad have anything controlling its temperature? (Without something to control the heating pad it can and will get hot enough to cause serious harm to your snake (130+ degrees))

2. Do you have any other thermometers besides what is shown in the picture? (Heating pads don't change the temperature of the air in the cage. This means that the thermometers shown in the picture aren't telling you how hot the floor of the cage is. You need to get a probed digital thermometer)

- Please read this thread on cage heating/thermometers/thermostats: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

3. you need a second hind, and really you should replace the hide that you have already with a better one. (These are the best hides: http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes)

One more question. What is the temperature of the room that the cage is in?

Pet store employees generally know very little about reptiles and the products that they sell are less than ideal, and in some cases dangerous. If you do not resolve some of these issues The vet bills will add up.

[DooLittle]

Aaron has got you on the right track for getting her set up. Check out those links. The way to get her to eat and out of striking mode, is to get her husbandry spot on, and leave her alone to settle in. She is just a baby and scared. Offering food to frequently, and handling her is freaking her out. Also, those log hides are terrible. Bps like dark snug fitting hides. And should have one on the cool side, one on the hot side. You can get these hides at Reptile Basics.



Also, you should go to Walmart and get an Accurite thermometer. Those stick on gauge ones are terribly inaccurate. And how are you controlling the heat pad? It has to be controlled a thermostat. Or else it can get hot enough to burn or kill your snake.


Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

[MrTrippy666]

My heating pad does NOT have anything to control the temperature (yet). Everything together cost nearly $200 as is, so I'm waiting till next paycheck to get that. (I touch the floor of the tank everyday to feel the temperature, and it's not been to hot)

I do NOT have any other thermometer besides what is shown in the picture (if you post a small list so I can get an idea of what exactly I need, that would help tremendously!)

I will get a new hide when I get my temperature control element.

& the temperature range in the room is between 75*-85*. I've been worrying about this as nobody really uses this room and I sometimes think it's too cold, but I've been gauging it.

[MrTrippy666]

& I know this bedding? I guess what you call it, is horrible for the snake as it can scratch her stomach. I have aspen bedding to change to this weekend when I clean her tank for the first time.

[The Serpent Merchant]

My heating pad does NOT have anything to control the temperature (yet). Everything together cost nearly $200 as is, so I'm waiting till next paycheck to get that. (I touch the floor of the tank everyday to feel the temperature, and it's not been to hot)

Ok, in the mean time a cheap "Band-Aid" solution is to get a lamp dimmer from walmart or a home improvement store. They usually cost $10-$12 and will let you turn down the heat some.

I do NOT have any other thermometer besides what is shown in the picture (if you post a small list so I can get an idea of what exactly I need, that would help tremendously!)

This thermometer costs $12 at Walmart. it has a probe so you can measure the temperature on the floor of the cage over the heating pad, as well as a second temperature sensor and humidity sensor behind the screen. By placing the unit itself on the cool side of the cage, this single unit will tell you everything you need to know.



I will get a new hide when I get my temperature control element.

& the temperature range in the room is between 75*-85*. I've been worrying about this as nobody really uses this room and I sometimes think it's too cold, but I've been gauging it.

75 to 85 is actually perfect. As I said before your heating pad will NOT increase the air temperature in the tank. As long as the air in the tank is between 75-85 degrees no additional heat sources will be needed.

So you need to get:

• A thermostat
• 2 identical hides
• A new probed digital thermometer

How thick is the substrate layer? It needs to be no more than 1/2" thick for the heating pad to be able to heat through it.

What type of heat lamp are you using? (Wattage/style)

[MrTrippy666]

Okay cool!

So when I get that thermometer, I put it directly inside the tank?

The substrate layer was evenly spread out when I put her in the tank for the first time. She's now managed to push it over so it's not as thick over the heating pad. I JUST took the picture a few posts above so that's how thick the substrate is currently.

For the day time, I have a 75 watt Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamp bulb & for the night time, I put on a 75 watt Zilla Night Black Heat Incandescent Bulb.