New Snake Owner - Lots of questions

[Pandora]

Okay, so I bought 3 month old Pandora at a reptile exhibit exactly a week ago. I set up her 10 gallon tank (two identical hides, shredded aspen substrate, heating pad, thermometer with probe, hygrometer, 2 plastic plants, water dish, wooden log) and left her alone for a few days. I know most people recommend a week but she seemed very social and didn't mind being handled. I fed her a live rat pup (only a few days old) on Tuesday and she devoured that thing within a few seconds, so I figure she's doing fine.

Lo and behold, I pick her up on Thursday only to find her covered in tiny black dots. I flip out and my boyfriend and I go on a mission to find out if this is a sign of mites. Luckily, I think I caught it rather early before they got a chance to spread. So I washed out her tank and all the decoration with scolding hot water, bleach, vinegar, dish soap, renewed the substrate and baked the log in the oven and gave her a few good soaks. I grabbed something called 'Mite Off' by Zoo Med and sprayed her and the tank a few times and left her alone.

I went to pick her up yesterday and noticed her eyes seemed a little gray, so I figured she's probably about to shed. However, I wanted to handle her to see if the mites were gone and she very oddly curled up into a tight ball and almost made a (?)hissing(?) noise. I obviously got a little scared and just as I was about to put her in my hand, she twitched a little. I thought she was about to bite so I set her back down quickly (I didn't drop her). I'm a very anal and paranoid person though and I'm worried that the sudden movement of putting her back down might have scared her. I know that dropping a snake can be very traumatic and they loose trust in you. Today when I went to pick her up again, she curled up into a very tight ball which is not like her. I'm thinking maybe she is about to shed and just wants to be left alone but the sound she made yesterday threw me off quite a bit.

So, I'm basically just unsure as to what to do with her for the next few days and whether or not to leave her alone. If she is in the process of shedding, I don't want to pick her up and soak her if she's going to react the way she did. At what point in the shedding process should I be soaking her anyway? Also, I'm hoping somebody can tell me if her behavior is normal. She spends quite a bit of time in her hide and I want her to move around her tank a bit more. Obviously I know this comes with time but I'm just thrown back by her not letting me handle her.

I was also planning on feeding her on Monday, but now I'm not so sure.
Looking forward to replies =]

- Helena

[RoyalGuardian]

sounds like she is going into shed. Go to the husbandry threads and you will find a sticky about BP shedding. Congrats on your little Pandora! Hope everything goes ok from now on. I would leave her alone while she sheds.

[Pandora]

sounds like she is going into shed. Go to the husbandry threads and you will find a sticky about BP shedding. Congrats on your little Pandora! Hope everything goes ok from now on. I would leave her alone while she sheds.

Good stuff, thanks for the advice

[danthony428]

dont be too worried about a bite, it happens sometimes and you just gotta take it if you wanna have this hobby, ya know, when i first got my pastel, he was kind of hissy, but it was all talk, everytime he hissed i made it a point to pick him up right after, to show him that i wasnt scared, and he never hisses anymore, just throwing in my 2 cents

[Tosha_Mc]

1. If she is in shed leave her alone for a while - once she is done shedding you can check for mites and treat as needed -- I would suggest you pick up some Black Night instead of the stuff from the pet store.

2. You don't need to soak a ball unless it's had a bad shed - just make sure you have fresh water and proper humidity in the tank and let nature take it's course. You cn provide a humid hide as well.

3. Balls hiss and they ball up - especially babies -- yeah they will even nip at you. It's what they do -- if you show it fear it will pick up on that -- chill and the snake will chill - bites don't hurt.

4. If you want to see a snake moving around it's tank a lot -- you picked the wrong species -- a happy ball is one that is hiding. They will tend to be more active at dusk and dawn -- but for the most part balled up in a tight hide is what they do.

Good luck!

[JayBP]

I went to pick her up yesterday and noticed her eyes seemed a little gray, so I figured she's probably about to shed. However, I wanted to handle her to see if the mites were gone and she very oddly curled up into a tight ball and almost made a (?)hissing(?) noise.

Like someone said, she's probably in shed. You can still handle her, but most(including myself) like to leave them alone until they are done with this process.

I obviously got a little scared and just as I was about to put her in my hand, she twitched a little. I thought she was about to bite so I set her back down quickly (I didn't drop her).

You don't want to get into the habit of putting her down every time she hisses, granted she might be shedding. If you put her down every time she hisses, then she knows that's all she has to do to get you to leave her alone and then you'll never be able to handle her without her hissing or threatning to bite. Like someone said, getting bit kinda comes along with the territory.

I'm a very anal and paranoid person though and I'm worried that the sudden movement of putting her back down might have scared her. I know that dropping a snake can be very traumatic and they loose trust in you. Today when I went to pick her up again, she curled up into a very tight ball which is not like her. I'm thinking maybe she is about to shed and just wants to be left alone but the sound she made yesterday threw me off quite a bit.

She'll be fine. They are called Ball Pythons for a reason. Lol. My first one used to curl into a ball all the time, but after a few weeks are consistent handling he is great and doesn't do it anymore.

So, I'm basically just unsure as to what to do with her for the next few days and whether or not to leave her alone. If she is in the process of shedding, I don't want to pick her up and soak her if she's going to react the way she did. At what point in the shedding process should I be soaking her anyway?

Soaking is only nessecary during the shedding process if the animal has stuck shed. Let her shed on her own. Just bump the humidity up to abot 70 or so if you haven't already

Also, I'm hoping somebody can tell me if her behavior is normal. She spends quite a bit of time in her hide and I want her to move around her tank a bit more. Obviously I know this comes with time but I'm just thrown back by her not letting me handle her.

They are most active at night and spend most of their time in their hides during the day, so it's completely normal. I usually don't see mine during the day unless I take them out for a handling session..

I was also planning on feeding her on Monday, but now I'm not so sure.
Looking forward to replies =]

She should be fine for you to feed her.

[JayBP]

1. If she is in shed leave her alone for a while - once she is done shedding you can check for mites and treat as needed -- I would suggest you pick up some Black Night instead of the stuff from the pet store.

2. You don't need to soak a ball unless it's had a bad shed - just make sure you have fresh water and proper humidity in the tank and let nature take it's course. You cn provide a humid hide as well.

3. Balls hiss and they ball up - especially babies -- yeah they will even nip at you. It's what they do -- if you show it fear it will pick up on that -- chill and the snake will chill - bites don't hurt.

4. If you want to see a snake moving around it's tank a lot -- you picked the wrong species -- a happy ball is one that is hiding. They will tend to be more active at dusk and dawn -- but for the most part balled up in a tight hide is what they do.

Good luck!

I guess I should have refreshed the page before I wrote mine. Lol. Sorry!

[Pandora]

dont be too worried about a bite, it happens sometimes and you just gotta take it if you wanna have this hobby, ya know, when i first got my pastel, he was kind of hissy, but it was all talk, everytime he hissed i made it a point to pick him up right after, to show him that i wasnt scared, and he never hisses anymore, just throwing in my 2 cents

So the hissing is normal and not a sign that she's about to murder me?

[Pandora]

1. If she is in shed leave her alone for a while - once she is done shedding you can check for mites and treat as needed -- I would suggest you pick up some Black Night instead of the stuff from the pet store.

2. You don't need to soak a ball unless it's had a bad shed - just make sure you have fresh water and proper humidity in the tank and let nature take it's course. You cn provide a humid hide as well.

3. Balls hiss and they ball up - especially babies -- yeah they will even nip at you. It's what they do -- if you show it fear it will pick up on that -- chill and the snake will chill - bites don't hurt.

4. If you want to see a snake moving around it's tank a lot -- you picked the wrong species -- a happy ball is one that is hiding. They will tend to be more active at dusk and dawn -- but for the most part balled up in a tight hide is what they do.

Good luck!

So what exactly is a humid hide?

[Pandora]

Like someone said, she's probably in shed. You can still handle her, but most(including myself) like to leave them alone until they are done with this process.



You don't want to get into the habit of putting her down every time she hisses, granted she might be shedding. If you put her down every time she hisses, then she knows that's all she has to do to get you to leave her alone and then you'll never be able to handle her without her hissing or threatning to bite. Like someone said, getting bit kinda comes along with the territory.


She'll be fine. They are called Ball Pythons for a reason. Lol. My first one used to curl into a ball all the time, but after a few weeks are consistent handling he is great and doesn't do it anymore.



Soaking is only nessecary during the shedding process if the animal has stuck shed. Let her shed on her own. Just bump the humidity up to abot 70 or so if you haven't already



They are most active at night and spend most of their time in their hides during the day, so it's completely normal. I usually don't see mine during the day unless I take them out for a handling session..



She should be fine for you to feed her.

Great! Perfect answer. Thanks for the reply and the advice, I'll definately keep it all in mind. I think I worry too much