Ball Python Rescue

[Webby]

Saturday night i got a call from my friend .. he told me he went my a friend of a friends house and saw a BP that didn't quite look right 1.5-2 years old (only about 500 grams).. the guy that had him had been trying to find a good home for him for quite sometime.. My friend called me up (he knew i had been looking). We figured that there was no way he was going to live much longer under the previous owner. No sign of mites or and other health issues at this point except the malnourishment ..

Well i found out last night he is a VERY good eater.. I didn't have time to find a place to get Frozen Thawed mice so i just went to our local feeders supply to get a couple feeder mice.. I could not wait any longer to feed him .. Supposedly it had been as long as 3 weeks since his last feeding.. i was told to feed him about once a week .. i used a large Rubbermaid storage bin to feed him. I dropped one mouse in at a time.. The first one landed in the container and was hit and coiled around in less than 5 seconds.. once he had devoured that one.. I dropped the second mouse in.. It didn't even get a chance to hit the ground.. He struck it in mid air..

I don't think I'm going to have problems with his appetite.. .. at least not right now..

I figure even if i only keep him until i can nurse him back into good health he is better off than where he was.. Honestly i could see having him for years and years to come..

He is very sweet after i feed him i gave him about 30-45 mins to relax in his tank then i took him out and let him coil around me for about 3 hours until i fell asleep.. i woke up about 2 hours later to find him still coiled around me staring me right in the face.. I woke up with a huge grin on my face..

there is a bi-monthly reptile show on June 4th here i hope to find a good source for Frozen Thawed Mice there and possibly a better cage..

Here is a really bad pic of him.. ain't he cute ??

[Smulkin]

Cute indeed - and welcome to the site!

3 weeks shouldn't freak anyone out too bad as far as skipped meals go - certainly worse has been suffered with no ill effects. Glad he is in more attentive care though! I wouldn't dare nod off with one of ours out - just too many irretrievable places they could get to and not be seen again. Did you give him any acclimation time after the relocation?

Good idea on scoping the show for f/t - paying shipping on those orders is always a hard pill to swallow at ~$35 per.

[tigerlily]

Just a word of warning....when feeding allow them at least 24-36 hours before handling. You don't want them to regurgitate their food! Good luck getting him a nice cage. Congrats on the new snake, and if you ever have question be sure to ask!!!

[Ginevive]

I am glad you rescued him!
Now all he needs is a week or so of "down time" in his cage to acclimate and get used to his new surroundings. I would avoid handling him for now.

[Webby]

I am glad you rescued him!
Now all he needs is a week or so of "down time" in his cage to acclimate and get used to his new surroundings. I would avoid handling him for now.

he really seems to be adjusted.. just got him Late Saturday.. last night i was rearanging a few things in his tank and he crawed up my left are coiled around it and didn't want to let go .. hugging it nicely .. i didn't want to pull him off so i just let him be for a while.. when i took him back to the tank after i woke up he was happy to crawl back in and get in his hiding box.. just to the left of his under tank heater..

He is about 3 feet long and about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter at his thickest.. i was told he should be about 4 inches thick at that length .. is this correct ?? the previous owner had four dogs that were barking at the cage about 12 hours a day .. That would seem like a lot of stress.. Only a matter of time before they pushed over the cage and tried to eat him.. I would think he might be able to defend himself from one dog but I'm pretty sure 4 would get the best of him unless he could find a place to hide.. let's just say the living conditions as I heard it were less than ideal i don't want to go into gory detail ..
yeah the more i read the more i see 3 weeks without food is nothing.. I'm learning here.. I'm sure I'll say some stupid stuff about him.. i would rather ask the stupid question and learn then try and act like i know what I'm talking about and do something horribly wrong..

Thanks for everyones interest..

[Marla]

yeah the more i read the more i see 3 weeks without food is nothing.. I'm learning here.. I'm sure I'll say some stupid stuff about him.. i would rather ask the stupid question and learn then try and act like i know what I'm talking about and do something horribly wrong..

They're not stupid questions. None of us is born knowing how to take care of a ball python and asking the questions makes for much better keepers, as long as the source is good. We have a good group of helpful, experienced keepers here who answer questions for newer keepers, and you'll find a lot of good info in the caresheets, forum archives, and other parts of the site as well. Welcome!

[Webby]

Thank you Marla i feel welcome..


I've been sitting here all day trying not to think about my new pet and failing..


I'm starting to wonder if i'm the keeper or the kept..

[frankykeno]

Hiya Webby and welcome to the site! You are the kept btw LOL. We just got our first BP and they are fascinating to say the very least. You do become a bit obsessive compulsive tho at first about getting the temps right and the humidity just so. It's the first thing we do in the morning and the last thing we do at night LOL.

As you been advised, no matter how hard it is, try not to handle your new snake too much this first week or two. Provide hides, clean water, heat, clean substrate, humidity, etc. then leave it alone as much as possible. As we were told when we got our snake, they may not show stress until it's very, very bad so best to let them settle in that first week.

What is your cage set-up like as far as heat source, substrate, hides, etc? The folks here were invaluable for helping us make the right choices for our baby BP's environment.

Good luck with your new snake!


~~Joanna~~

[Webby]

i was given a 29 Gallon Tank with an under tank heater.. I have a wooden hide and a water bowl about 10 inches in diameter filled half way .. Right now i'm using a Repti Bark substrate soon to change to either Astroturf or newspaper..


My plan today is to try and find a good reptile light with timer and a temp and humidity gauge ..

Thanks,
Mike The Kept

[Egyptian_Sphynx]

glad to hear that the little one is doing well for you. as far as the handling goes maybe you should listen to them but that is totally up to you ... truth be told i hold mine and held mine from the get go. they have never regergitated always eat well and come out of their hides all the time. when i come home and turn the lights on my little male comes right out most of the time and starts slithering around the cage. but like i said it is totally up to you, i just dont listen very well. hope that you find him a good home or hope you decide to keep him(be kept by him )