Hi Im A Bp Newbie

[Lovessnakes07]

I Bought My Bp Snake The Sat Thats Just Passed Walked In Teh Pet Shop Guy Showed Me The Bp I Wanted I Picked It It Was On My Arm For About 20 Mins Took It Home Set Up Its Cage Everything Good.. Took Em Out A Little Later Took Some Pics... Didnt Touch Em On Sundday...n Yesterday Monday I Took Em Out He Was On My Left Hand Jus Exploring As I Typed With My Right Hand I Had Em Our For About 30 Mins... N He Struck At My Right Hand That Was Typin But I Moved I Thought It Was Nothn N Then Bout 10 Min Later He Was Still Wrapped Around My Left Hand N He Bit My Knuckle Now It Did Not Hurt It Bit My Knuckle N Im Jus Sittin There Lookin At It ( Not Smart) N After About 5 Minutes I Grab Its Head To Pry It Away By This Point There Is A Little Blood.. N To Pry It Away Hurt A Little Bit

So After About 10 Mins I Finally Got Him Off N Back In The Cage...

Now Is It Bad That Snake Tasted My Blood? My Pet Shop Guy Said No
And Said That The Snake Is Jus Aggressive Cuz Its Belly Is Full.. The Last Time It Ate Was Thurs

Also I Have A Heat Lamp N A Heat Pad Both On The Same Side... Now When I Turn The Heat Lamp On Its Reaches Up To 97 F N Usually The Snake Leaves Out The Hide By Then.. But The Petshop Guy Said To Leave The Lamp On All Day N Turn It Off At Night.. Now Even When The Lamp Is On The Temp On One Side Is Always 83-85 My Room Is Warm N The Pad Is There.. So That Means The Otherside Of The Tank Is About 75-78 N The Snake Spends A Good Amount Of Time There.. N When I Handled It Yesterday At First It Did Feel Cold?

So Help Plz

[Chase13]

I would help, but i had to go get ibuprofen halfway through your thread. I'm not sure why you insist on making sure every word is capitalized but try and make it easier to read with better puncuation and better capitalization. I'm not sure how to answer this cuz i really did get lost in your post buy uhh, no its not bad that your snake "tasted your blood". It may have been stressed from the handeling or from its environment. If your are having trouble with your temps, i suggest a thermostat to even things out. Rancos are good and helix are even better IMO. Try Reptilebasics.com for a good t-stat.

[rabernet]

First, welcome to BP.net.

First, you need to not be handling your ball python at all his first week as he gets acclimated to his new home. You are, and will always be a predator in his world. You may become a predator that he comes to know doesn't bring harm, but you're still a predator.

Please describe your set-up a little better (if you don't type in all caps, it will read a little easier to your audience, the filter turned the all caps into just capping the first letter of every word).

Are you using a dial stick on thermometer or a digital one to measure your temps? Where is your thermometer located? At the ground level or up on the side of the enclosure? What are your temps on your cool side? How many hides are you offering your little guy? Are they too big for him, or snug like he prefers?

Please read our caresheet if you have not had a chance to look at it yet:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

It also sounds like you may only be offering heat by lamps, and no belly heat with a UTH (Under Tank Heater) and a thermostat.

And don't handle the little guy for at least a week.

Good luck!

[casperca]

First of all, buy a thermostat for the UTH so you don't end up burning the crap out of your animal . While you are waiting for your thermostat to arrive, go to your local hardware store and buy a dimmer switch for your heatlamp and/or switch to a lower wattage bulb. Also, what size is the enclosure and what size is the snake?

[Lovessnakes07]

Sorry about my first post. I have a UTH, and its on the same side as my heat lamp.Also i have a them that is located on the side of the tank on the same side as the heat lamp as well as the UTH. I will be buying another therm today to put on the otherside.

My tank is 20 gal with a hide on the heated side, and water on the cool side. Should i get him bark? also my tank is clear should i get him some background to resemble a forest. I will post pics of my snake in its tank later on today. One more thing the last time it ate was on thursday, and the guy at the pet shop said i could wait till thurs or feed him earlier what should i do.

[Reptile_Man]

when i got my royal, i was told to feed her every 7 to 10 days which i knwo alot of people do.she hasnt eaten yet as i left her a week or so to settle in,and then she went into the shedding cycle so il have to wait untill she sheds to feed her(hope she sheds soon)
try feeding him thrusday, and if not then wait until sunday maybe?give him time to digest the last meal he had,if you can still see a lump in the body of the snake, then leave it a few more days before you try to feed him again.

[rabernet]

You should have two identical SNUG hides on each side, one on the warm, one on the cool side. The water dish can go in the middle. Lamps tend to suck out humidity, so keep an eye that it's not getting to dry in there.


A feeding schedule of once every 7 days is great, and remember no handling for 48 hours after he eats.

Covering up three sides will help your little guy feel more secure!

[kplunk]

He should have a hide on the cool and the warm side. BP's like to hide so its nice for him to have the choice of hiding in a cool spot or a warm spot.

Also if you buy a thermometer make sure its a digital one. Not sure where your from but if from the US you can go to walmart and pick up a digital thermometer called an accurite. It has a sensor on the unit and one on a cord you can put somewhere else. So you can just stick the unit on the cold side and run the cord to the warm side and put the sensor on top of the UTH that way you can measure the UTH's temperature accurately and make sure your not burning your snake and also see what the ambient temperature on the cool side is.

Do you mean bark for the substrate on the tanks floor? I don't use bark I use newspaper or paper towels makes it alot easier and cheaper to change when they do they're business. But there is alot of different options out there.

background pictures that would be just for you. If you want to put one on to make it look nicer go for it. But I don't think it will make a big difference to the snake. But then again I did go to a reptile zoo last week and the lady told me a snake whisperer came in and said her reticulated wanted more greenery.

[Lovessnakes07]

Ok im gonna buy another hid for him today n keep the water in the middle.. there is no lump in its belly. It ate on thursday it should be digested correct?

Also im gonna buy another hide for him today,and im a little weary of trying to handle him again after him biting my hand yesterday

[ReptiNut]

what is he crawling around on? the glass or do you have something under him?