new snake owner -- new to site

[chkm8]

I'm a new snake owner (about 3 weeks now), and I've made some mistakes (realized this after reading site for a few days). I hope I don't get flamed. I was holding my friends snake and I was hooked! It was his first snake, he got it from someone a little over a year ago, he has owned lizards all his life). So I asked him for some info about owning snakes and called around. Petco $70 (asked friend if ok to get there...he says should be fine). I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't know....aahhh *looks down in shame, braces for angry attacks*. It dosn't get better. 55 gallon tank, aspen, hides, heating pad, heating lamp. ~85 (in warm side). Read site a few days (I always read as much as I can on things I get into)...oh oh...tank is to big, temps to low, humidity?? -- to low. Animal plastics , wife says not till next year . Ok I'll try to make rubbermaid one like on site. Container is semi-clear brown (ok, better to keep snake stress down) 26x15x6 (dang migt be to big, but has to be better than 55 gallon). Snake is between a foot and a foot and a half? Set up container, two heating pads for test run. Temps, humidity -> great . 2 hours later everything down -> bad . Auto shut off...was only box that didn't say that at walmart. Get two more from k-mart...test run 4 hours...no shut off . 92 on warm side, 81 on cold side, humidity 70%....drilled a couple more holes...trying to get between 50-60%. Looking into buying a thermostat this week. Tried feeding snake f/t, nope...tried feeding live fuzzie, nope . Will try once a week. I havn't yet moved snake to new home...but will once eveything looks good and stable. But this is where I'm at. This is open ended, but if anyone has any suggestions for a new snake owner than I'm all ears (or eyes...or something). Sorry for long post....please don't slam me...I'm new, and I messed up some here....but I'm willing to learn and put in a lot of effort....I love my snake already!!

[jglass38]

First off, welcome to the site! I don't think anyone here will flame you. You recognized some mistakes and made the necessary changes. Congrats on your first snake! We would love to see some pictures and feel free to ask any questions.

Jamie

[elevatethis]

Good looking out on going with the rubbermaid setup right. Plastic enclosures are the easiest ways to set up ball pythons, whether it be a stand-alone tub like you have or a tub in a rack system. That's also something to look into if you are looking into getting more snakes. You mentioned Animal Plastics, for the price of one of their terrestrial cages, you can buy a rack that houses anywhere from 3-7 individual tubs! I went from glass tanks ---> AP Cage ---> AP rack. Woulda been much cheaper to just go straight to the rack. I digress....good luck with your new snake!

[xdeus]

Welcome to the site! First off, I think you might be a little paranoid about the discussions on this site. Nobody is going to slam you, although some heated arguments get started when people are a little stubborn when it comes to getting good advice.

Second, kudos for doing the research and correcting your mistakes. It sounds like he is well on his way to becoming a healthy, happy snake. The only suggestion I have is to check him over for mites. Coming from Petco, they aren't exactly known for treating their snakes well before selling them. An easy test would be to put paper towels in your cage and look for black specks. You can also look for them in the water bowl and on your hands after handling your snake. Besides that, look for solid stools if an when he does decide to start eating and defecating.

Good luck with that little guy!

[Johar]

OI!! Like everyone else, I welcome you to the site.
believe me, im a beginner,i had my BP for over a month now. evreything went great because of the fantastic advice i get from the people around here.

i cant compete with the rest of the snake gurus here. everyone will help, i've asked so many questions but i was never flamed even though i did alot of mistakes in the 1st week . so good luck

[JLC]

WooHoo....welcome aboard! We love new people, and even more than that, we love people who are eager to learn! I think you'll fit right in.


Seems to me like you're moving in the right direction. As hard as it may seem, you might want to hold off on holding your snake and even on feeding, until you get his/her new home all set up and give them a week or so to settle in there. Then start with a small, live prey animal...whatever is appropriate for your snake's size. You could start with f/t if that is your preferred method, but if they resist eating, then I would try live.

Since your snake has been through a lot of trauma between typical pet-store handling and then getting a new home going through constant adjustments, I would get her settled in and eating consistently for 2-3 weeks before I started regular handling. (I know this seems hard because we want to "cuddle" them so badly!...but consider that you should have her for 20-30 years...a few weeks to settle in isn't such a big sacrifice. )

IF she refuses a meal, don't fret about it. Don't try to feed again the very next day. That just adds to the continuing stress. Wait a full week and then try again.

[kavmon]

welcome, seems like things are going in the right direction. seriously think about a thermostat! to me they are a must have. a piece of flexwatt(heat tape) and a thermostat will go a long way in providing you and your snake the best. check out www.beanfarm.com for them. along with the caresheet on this site, get your setup correct and then have some patience. snakes don't always respond the way we want them to. feed it the way it was eating before and try to switch after he/she is eating steady.

vaughn

[MedusasOwl]

We don't bite! Really! You came to the right place, this forum has been a godsend for me on everything snake! The people who seem to get flamed are generally ones who insist on doing the wrong things for their snakes, not people who come to learn and improve things!

[frankykeno]

Welcome to BPNET and glad you've joined us. Please don't worry about being flamed or slammed for making mistakes (most of which I'm sure the pet stores enabled you to do as they tend to give the worst possible information). You're obviously very concerned for your snake and making big strides quickly to correct things.

Once your temps and humidity stay stable and the snake is installed in it's new home (if it isn't already) just let it be for a week or so. Just fresh water and check for urates and defecations, other than that let it settle in and get to know it's environment, it's hides, etc. These are quite shy snakes that can get stressed even when we are trying to improve things so let your snake have it's quiet time to sort itself out with no handling and no attempts to feed during that time.

Did they tell you what the snake was eating before you bought it (hopefully it was in fact eating for them). Also how big is the snake as far as estimated age, length and girth at it's widest body area. That will help you decide what size to feed it, what prey choice you want to make (mice or rats) and what method of delivering that prey (frozen/thawed, pre-killed or live).

Don't hesitate to ask for help or question anything you read if you aren't sure what someone is talking about. You aren't the first nor last person to struggle with some issue with their snake....even experienced breeders have daily challenges with their collections I'm sure They've just gained years of experience with large numbers of snakes that help them know better what is appropriate to do.

[chkm8]

Wow, I'm pleasently supprised by such a large response. Thank you jglass38, elevatethis, xdeus, Johar, JLC, kavmon, MedusasOwl, and frankykeno for your very warm welcome, kind words, and good advice. I love how useful forums are to learn, and this one seems very, very useful as well as frendly. I've seen some that were hostile, so I was a little cautious. Plus I've read some people's frustrations over people who get snakes without first researching (and realized I was guilty here...so I didn't know how the reaction would be to my post). Thanks for cutting me some slack ! Ok, let's see. In a year or so I will see if I'm satisfied with just one snake or if I want more snakes...and look into a possible rack (good advice). I havn't seen any black specs, but due to your good suggestions, I've changed the aspen in the new home to paper towels for now. 2-3 weeks without holding him/her seems long, but good point 20-30 years is enough time to make up for it! So I will take your advice and give him some space...thanks! Can I use flexwatt with rubbermaid? Does a thermostat work with human heating pads? or should I just get the flexwatt. I'm not sure how much he/she ways, lenght, or girth. Petco didn't seem to have a good idea on how old they were when I bought him/her. I'd say my snake is a little over a foot to a foot and a half. Petco said they were feeding him/her a f/t fuzzie every tuesday. I'm not all sure if I'm doing the f/t correctly...but I've read some posts here to help out...and any other advice is welcomed. The fuzzies do look a little small for him/her, but not sure if an adult mice would be right. A local pet store (appears to be the best one in my city) told me to feed him two fuzzies. I'll try once a week, alternating f/t and live. Thanks again for everything! I feel truely blessed to find this place!!