new ball python

[dimoz]

yesterday (less than 24 hrs ago) i bought a ball python at petco.

i brought him (or her?) home in a sock, bought a 20 gal aquarium, some aspen bedding, a half log, under tank heater, a water dish, a fake bendable stick, and this wierd plastic half log with plant patterns etched into it.

i havn't named him yet, cant think of anything. i will have pics up soon.

i read that they sometimes won't eat, but just 20 mins ago i bought a frozen feeder mouse, thawed it in warm tap water, and mr. snake ate him right up.

now do i just leave him alone for a couple days? when will he stop striking at me when i reach in to hold him? i've only tried to pick him up from his tank a couple times, and he hisses and snaps at me! did i get a mean one?

i assume he was just hungry. i havn't tried to pick him up after he ate, because i guess they will throw up their food.

will the ball python exhibit any particular behaviour when he is more comfortible with me/ his habitat?

[joepythons]

yesterday (less than 24 hrs ago) i bought a ball python at petco.

i brought him (or her?) home in a sock, bought a 20 gal aquarium, some aspen bedding, a half log, under tank heater, a water dish, a fake bendable stick, and this wierd plastic half log with plant patterns etched into it.

i havn't named him yet, cant think of anything. i will have pics up soon.

i read that they sometimes won't eat, but just 20 mins ago i bought a frozen feeder mouse, thawed it in warm tap water, and mr. snake ate him right up.

now do i just leave him alone for a couple days? when will he stop striking at me when i reach in to hold him? i've only tried to pick him up from his tank a couple times, and he hisses and snaps at me! did i get a mean one?

i assume he was just hungry. i havn't tried to pick him up after he ate, because i guess they will throw up their food.

will the ball python exhibit any particular behaviour when he is more comfortible with me/ his habitat?

Congrats on your new snake.He is striking at you because he thinks you are going to eat him lol.Give him a week or two to get used to his new home before you try to handle him.Also this gives him time to digest his meal and then some.Yes they will regurge if stressed after eating a meal.

[Sputnik]

He ate already, sounds like you got yourself a good bp! I don't handle juvies that have eaten for about 3 days.

Being you just got him, I'd follow joe's advice. Let him get used to his new home for a week or so.

And CONGRATS!!!

[Wolfsnaps]

My new BP struck out at me when I tried to handle him the day after I got him (I knew better but I was excited!!) SO I learned my lesson. Let them get used to their surroundings. If you want him to get to know you, a good thing to do is put in a used (but not gross!) shirt or something so that he can get your smell, and get used to that smell and associate it as being "safe". I put an old shirt I slept in and I found my guy curled up on it.

My BP also struck when he was hungry. SO the combo makes the snake look mean, doesn't mean he is tho.
I tried to handle my little Stryker (fitting name for a docile snake huh?) yesterday. HE was acting funny, slithering away really fast trying to get away from me (not typical of what I have seen of him). Well, I caught him and thats when I saw he was in blue, his eyes were all glazed over. No wonder he didn't want picked up! HE couldn't SEE! SO yeah, hopefully he sheds soon.
Anyways, give your snake a little time, I know its hard but do it for him.
Then, at first keep the handling sessions short. No need to completely stress him out at first when you want him to trust you....as much as snakes CAN trust.

[Miss_Ann_Thrope]

CONGRATS!!! Your going to love him/her. You'll need to pick up a thermometer/hydrometer to measure temps (you can get one at walmart, dont get the ones at pet stores they suck), if you don't already have one. But other then that it sounds like you have every thing covered. When it settles down you might want to check for mites because some pet stores suck at taking care of snakes and they tend to have them. If it does you can get some prevent a mite (I think its called that) or go to the vet (to get it probed also if you want it sexed) and get mite spray from them. If you chose to go to the vet take some poop with you though, it will save you some money.

Okay I think I'm done rambling. Good luck! Oh and post pictures when you can, everybody here loves pictures.

[brainman1000]

....and mr. snake ate him right up....

I say you already named it...