Soon-To-Be New Owner, Need Help!

[patm1313]

So, a distant relative of mine has had a BP for about a year, and he no longer wants it because he realizes that he's not taking care of it adequately. His mom, knowing that I already own a snake (a corn snake) got a hold of me and asked if I would want it. I have yet to reply, but I'm going to say yes.

What should I see when I pick this guy up? He's a year old, so how big is he going to be? What size mice should I feed him?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, I'm going to look up some care sheets after I post this. I'm a long time corn snake owner, but I have no experiences with BPs.

[dreese88]

At around a year old they should be ~1000 grams and you should be feeding between 10-15% of the snakes body weight or if you don't have a scale about as big or a little bit bigger around than the snake itself.

...don't quote me on the size, hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[starmom]

Yeah- snakes grow at their own pace! I have a year old female ball who just tipped the scales at 512g and another year old female who is 1500g

You just don't know until you see the snake.

If you're feeding live then get a few mice and see how many the snake wants

[dreese88]

Thanks for the back up

OP - Take her word over mine...She's been at this a little bit longer than I have been.

[mainbutter]

size, especially for a snake that hasn't been taken care of adequately, could vary enough to make predicting difficult, but 1000g is probably a pretty fair guess for a year old snake.

This care sheet from this very website is pretty great: http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59

I'd expect a BP at a year old to have moved on from mice to rats. A good way to judge size to feed is feed a rodent that is as thick as the snake's widest part. As dreese88 mentioned, another common method people use is feed 10-15% of the snake's weight.

When you pick this guy up, look for signs of being sick(respiratory infections in particular can be caused by improper husbandry), look for stuck shed, look for mites. Make sure to quarantine the BP from any other reptiles you have for a few months, I don't know how transferable BP infections can be to corn snakes but it's better to not take the risk.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know!

[patm1313]

Thanks mainbutter, and everyone else, for the useful info. I can't wait to see this new guy and set up his enclosure.

[hawaiianice99]

i wouldnt count on it being 1000g, i have a 18month or so thats just about 800g and has been eating small rat for about 6months strong.

[starmom]

...I'd expect a BP at a year old to have moved on from mice to rats....

Remember that it is not necessary to switch from mice to rats. Lots of keepers continue to feed mice throughout a balls life; they just feed the snake multiples of mice

[patm1313]

Sweet guys, thanks for the help. I'm really getting a steal with this guy, he's already a year old, and everthing that he needs comes with him, and best of all, it's all FREE!

[patm1313]

I will probably pick him up this weekend, can't wait.

Any more tips?