Semi-new BP owner. 8 questions and a wanted review.

[Nezumi]

Ok, so first I would like to state that I don't know much of Ball pythons. Only what my own little girl have taught me herself and what I learned at a longstanding reptial breeder/pet store owner whom I bought her from.

So I'll give her six month history and then my questions will be next. I wpuld like a review on how I've cared for her so far and any tips would be awesome.

My boyfriend got me the ballpython for christmas, knowing that I had wanted one since I was little. We went to the pet store together and I got to pick out of three 1 week old babies. The first two they had were pretty pastels but both seemed very irratable. Then there was my female that was darker then the rest and much more social and calm. So I picked her. She was 11 inches at the time.

I named her Will'O Whysp after her tiny size and the orb markings on her.

I've had her 6 monthes now and she's by far smarter then I would have ever given credit. She's 22 inches now. I did run into trouble when she got a bad mouse bite on her neck and went though the stress of her getting stiches. She has healed fine though and her neck is all better. (My new vet loves her. he says she's well behaved and he's plotting to steal her. ^^) I was unaware of the dangers of adult feeder mice.

Tank: She's in a basic 20 gallon tank with a heating pad under nether. The tempature ranges 90-80. I only have one hide. it's on the warmer side. I use the coconut shavings for bedding and do have a shallow bowl in the middle of the tank.

I feed her 2 chubby hoppers once a week as she still has 2 stitches. They come out in a week.

I never had trouble with her eating habits. She doesn't seem to care about color, size, or amount. I do tend to keep the color of the mice varied.

Questions-

My boyfriend has fallen in love with her and I'm tired of him stealing my snake. We were thinking of getting him one but we only have one tank and no room for another. Everything I read is confusing as to weather bps can get along well. So, can two females live together?

I do take Whysp out with me alot, on my neck or wrist. and I have noticed that there is something about the smell of paper/books that she seems to like. Weather it's a book I'm reading at home that she likes to crawl all over, or at a book store were she tries to move from my hand to a bookshelf. It's only in book stores that she'll try and escape my person. Any thoughts/ideas?

Both by boyfriend and I have noticed that she's head shy. Is that normal?

We have also both noticed that she doesn't tend to like other people. She prefer to smell them from afar but when they try and hold her she balls up and won't move till we take her back. Normal?

When are females mature and do their personality's change at all?

Is a bp likely to try and eat a cockatiel of parakeet? (This one is more for my wonderment. I would never let my snake near my birds)

How well is their sight compared to ours?

I'm reluctant to buy frozen mice and I don't want her to have stiches again. How do you freshly kill a mouse?

hmm, I think that all my questions for now...Though more may arise when you guys post.

[Nezumi]

Forgot to ask. How fragile will the skin/scar tissue be where her stitches were? I've been told that scales don't grow back.

[blackcrystal22]

Ok, so first I would like to state that I don't know much of Ball pythons. Only what my own little girl have taught me herself and what I learned at a longstanding reptial breeder/pet store owner whom I bought her from.

So I'll give her six month history and then my questions will be next. I wpuld like a review on how I've cared for her so far and any tips would be awesome.

My boyfriend got me the ballpython for christmas, knowing that I had wanted one since I was little. We went to the pet store together and I got to pick out of three 1 week old babies. The first two they had were pretty pastels but both seemed very irratable. Then there was my female that was darker then the rest and much more social and calm. So I picked her. She was 11 inches at the time.

I named her Will'O Whysp after her tiny size and the orb markings on her.

I've had her 6 monthes now and she's by far smarter then I would have ever given credit. She's 22 inches now. I did run into trouble when she got a bad mouse bite on her neck and went though the stress of her getting stiches. She has healed fine though and her neck is all better. (My new vet loves her. he says she's well behaved and he's plotting to steal her. ^^) I was unaware of the dangers of adult feeder mice.

Tank: She's in a basic 20 gallon tank with a heating pad under nether. The tempature ranges 90-80. I only have one hide. it's on the warmer side. I use the coconut shavings for bedding and do have a shallow bowl in the middle of the tank.

I feed her 2 chubby hoppers once a week as she still has 2 stitches. They come out in a week.

I never had trouble with her eating habits. She doesn't seem to care about color, size, or amount. I do tend to keep the color of the mice varied.

Questions-

My boyfriend has fallen in love with her and I'm tired of him stealing my snake. We were thinking of getting him one but we only have one tank and no room for another. Everything I read is confusing as to weather bps can get along well. So, can two females live together?

I do take Whysp out with me alot, on my neck or wrist. and I have noticed that there is something about the smell of paper/books that she seems to like. Weather it's a book I'm reading at home that she likes to crawl all over, or at a book store were she tries to move from my hand to a bookshelf. It's only in book stores that she'll try and escape my person. Any thoughts/ideas?

Both by boyfriend and I have noticed that she's head shy. Is that normal?

We have also both noticed that she doesn't tend to like other people. She prefer to smell them from afar but when they try and hold her she balls up and won't move till we take her back. Normal?

When are females mature and do their personality's change at all?

Is a bp likely to try and eat a cockatiel of parakeet? (This one is more for my wonderment. I would never let my snake near my birds)

How well is their sight compared to ours?

I'm reluctant to buy frozen mice and I don't want her to have stiches again. How do you freshly kill a mouse?

hmm, I think that all my questions for now...Though more may arise when you guys post.

The only way you should humanely kill a live mouse is with a gas chamber and using CO2. Do not hit them on a table or such, this usually only stuns them and if done wrong can cause them more pain then the snake would.
It's unusual for a snake to get bitten by a mouse. I have fed all my animals live rats and none have been bit, as well as many large scale breeders with hundreds of snakes could say the same.
I recommend buying frozen. You can get a bulk order online and not pay the ridiculous prices of petstores. You may want to be feeding her extra small/weanling rats at that point (frozen suggested). The prey your feeding her should be about the same thickness as the thickest point on the body.

I do not recommend keeping two snakes in one cage. There are many reasons why don't recommend it and I can tell you if you'd like me to. All my snakes are separate and it keeps peace of mind and health for the animals.

The scales may or may not grow back depending on the amount of scar tissue present. Even if a scar shows up, a mouse bite does not sound like something that would make a large scar or anything.

You should have your temperatures more accurate than that.. What are you using to control the UTH? If nothing, that is extremely bad. What are the temperatures below the substrate in the cage, directly on the glass?

If you are using dial thermometers, trash them and get some digital probe thermometers for your cage. You need something to control that UTH because all of them get far too hot for the animals. They can get over 100F and when that temperature is on the surface of the glass under the substrate, the animal can burrow down and burn himself severely. A proper thing to get to control it is a good thermostat. They are one of the most expensive parts of keeping these animals, but it is very important.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html

Handling her a lot is fine. Though I doubt theres a relation to the paper or books, some just show interest to new smells. Make sure to wait 48 hours after feeding to hold her though.

Also, you need another hide for her. I don't know what kind of hide you have, but if you have log hides, I suggest getting rid of it because they are very insecure for ball pythons. I use these hides from reptile basics:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Hide-Boxes-p-1-c-282.html
They like small, tight, hides that touch them on all sides. One on the cool and warm side is important so they can choose what temperatures they want.

[Nezumi]

So your answer seemed rushed to me and I didn't understand some of your abreveations. Please remember that I've only been a Bp owner for 6 months.

So, what is UTH?

Yes, I want to know the reasons for not keeping two balls together. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want all the information.

My snake DID get to mouse bites. Both going down to muscle. The vet and myself confimed it. I saw it happen the second time.

I'm using a normal heating pad. Like the 50 dollar ones you get at target to sit on. I'm using a electronic thermometer. Similar to the ones for food.

I know enough to not use the tunnel hides.

And as I said. Everytime I go into a book store. After 15 times at the same store it stops being a coincidence.

[Neal]

Ok, so first I would like to state that I don't know much of Ball pythons. Only what my own little girl have taught me herself and what I learned at a longstanding reptial breeder/pet store owner whom I bought her from.

So I'll give her six month history and then my questions will be next. I wpuld like a review on how I've cared for her so far and any tips would be awesome.

My boyfriend got me the ballpython for christmas, knowing that I had wanted one since I was little. We went to the pet store together and I got to pick out of three 1 week old babies. The first two they had were pretty pastels but both seemed very irratable. Then there was my female that was darker then the rest and much more social and calm. So I picked her. She was 11 inches at the time.

I named her Will'O Whysp after her tiny size and the orb markings on her.

I've had her 6 monthes now and she's by far smarter then I would have ever given credit. She's 22 inches now. I did run into trouble when she got a bad mouse bite on her neck and went though the stress of her getting stiches. She has healed fine though and her neck is all better. (My new vet loves her. he says she's well behaved and he's plotting to steal her. ^^) I was unaware of the dangers of adult feeder mice.

Tank: She's in a basic 20 gallon tank with a heating pad under nether. The tempature ranges 90-80. I only have one hide. it's on the warmer side. I use the coconut shavings for bedding and do have a shallow bowl in the middle of the tank.

I feed her 2 chubby hoppers once a week as she still has 2 stitches. They come out in a week.

I never had trouble with her eating habits. She doesn't seem to care about color, size, or amount. I do tend to keep the color of the mice varied.

Questions-

My boyfriend has fallen in love with her and I'm tired of him stealing my snake. We were thinking of getting him one but we only have one tank and no room for another. Everything I read is confusing as to weather bps can get along well. So, can two females live together?

I do take Whysp out with me alot, on my neck or wrist. and I have noticed that there is something about the smell of paper/books that she seems to like. Weather it's a book I'm reading at home that she likes to crawl all over, or at a book store were she tries to move from my hand to a bookshelf. It's only in book stores that she'll try and escape my person. Any thoughts/ideas?

Both by boyfriend and I have noticed that she's head shy. Is that normal?

We have also both noticed that she doesn't tend to like other people. She prefer to smell them from afar but when they try and hold her she balls up and won't move till we take her back. Normal?

When are females mature and do their personality's change at all?

Is a bp likely to try and eat a cockatiel of parakeet? (This one is more for my wonderment. I would never let my snake near my birds)

How well is their sight compared to ours?

I'm reluctant to buy frozen mice and I don't want her to have stiches again. How do you freshly kill a mouse?

hmm, I think that all my questions for now...Though more may arise when you guys post.

I would not let 2 snakes live together. Being the tank is only a 20 gal, i'm sorta confused about the lack of room?

Be mindful about taking your snake out in public too much, especially around a lot of people. It can stress a snake out.

A lot of balls are head shy, heck a lot of snakes in general are head shy, it's something some over-come as they mature.

Snakes have a very good sense of smell, and the new smell could be different to your snake thus scaring her.

I'm sure it could try to eat your bird, but the likelihood of that happening, is rare, especially since you don't let your snake near.

Their vision to ours isnt the best, they're noctournal and go off of heat pits, although they can see a bit. Your diournal(spelled wrong probably) snakes can see very well.

As far as frozen, it's fine. Just fully thaw out the mouse and make sure its nice and warm for the snake to see, and make sure its the appropriate size.

P.S. Get your snake another hide, you should have 2 hides, one on each side.

And to freshly kill a mouse, I hold it by the tail then I pluck it hard, most of the time it kills the mouse, very few times it'll knock it out but by the time the mouse comes to, my snake already has it. I do it that way because I don't have any type of co2.

[Nezumi]

I would not let 2 snakes live together. Being the tank is only a 20 gal, i'm sorta confused about the lack of room?

I meant in our apartment..^^ sorry

[Neal]

There isn't any kind of place you can put a 20 gal? I at one point in time had 32 scorpions, and random 10-30 gals and a lot of kritter keepers in my room. If you don't have a place to put another tank though, I wouldn't recommend housing 2 snakes together, one will get stressed, or possibly even both for constantly having to try to get the better hide, the better spot and such. A happy snake is a long lived snake.

[Sarin]

I know I will say things that have been said already but here are my opinions.


- Your hide is fine as long as it isn't too big, you just need another one for the other side so she can thermoregulate. (meaning if she is too warm, she can go to her cool side hide, and visa versa.) You don't want her having to choose between security and comfort.


- The human heating pads aren't entirely suitable for her. Get a reptile-specific stick-on UTH (under the tank heater). Or you can get some flexwatt heat tape from places like reptilebasics.com. (he even wires it for you if you ask).


- Also, your warm side fluctuates way too much. It should be between 92-94 degrees F. To do this I suggest to first get the flexwatt or the UTH, (which'll only run you $20-$30) and have that plugged into a Thermostat. A Thermostat regulates whatever you plug into it. If you are strapped for cash a really cheap Thermostat is the Zoo-Med Reptiptemp 500R. It is only around $25 and works great for 1-2 enclosures. I use it and it only fluctuates 1 degree at the most.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=75


- As for housing two or more BP's together, I would personally never ever do it. If you have two BP's in one enclosure, you'll never know who poops, sheds, or pee's. If one snake gets sick, the other will too and that doubles your vet bills. They would also have to share the best spots in the tank and to me that wont equal a happy BP. I have heard there may be dominance and eating issues although it isn't exactly proven, why take that risk?

Some alternatives I can suggest to you are:
- Have 1 BP in a tub. Very cost efficient and doesn't take up much space at all.
- Split your 20 Gallon (If it's a long) into two. (temporary)
- House one BP in a 10 gallon. (temporary)


- As for the book smell, she could just be interested in it. I second that you should be careful where you bring her. I personally wouldn't bring a snake anywhere but the safety of my own house/yard and pet stores. People are insanely scared of snakes and when people are in fear they do some pretty stupid things. Also some store owners/managers may not appreciate it very much.


- BP's are very head shy. She should grow out of it once she gets used to it.


- It's normal that she is nervous around other people. In my opinion BP's can sense other people's emotions to a point and they seem to be more nervous around people who are nervous around them. Plus, it's a new scent to them.


- As far as I know BP's personality doesn't really 'change' as they mature. A female BP is usually sexually mature by their second or third winter.


- I've heard of people feeding their BP's birds like quail so if she is hungry enough and comes across your budgies, (or cockatiels when she is big enough) she may try to go for them. My Pastel seems to have an interest in my cockatiels scent for sure. I am not worried, he'll never be small enough to fit into their cage plus they are too big of a meal for him right now!


- I'd assume their sight isn't all that well since they are nocturnal and rely on their heat pits to find their prey.


- Why reluctant to buy frozen? I love frozen, I feel content that I can always find the right size at the right time right in my own home every feeding day. It's hard to get some to switch but I suggest at least trying! As far as science goes there is no proof that frozen is any more or less healthy for our snakes. But if you really want to go for pre-killed, and you feel fine killing a rat/mouse every feeding day, I'd say go for a homemade Co2 chamber. I don't feel there is any more.. 'humane' way to do it honestly if it has to be done..


Phew... I hope this helped. !

[Nezumi]

Thank you Sarin for taking the time to answer everything. ^^ I do appreciate it. And you didn't make me feel stupid either.

What could I use to separate my 20 gallon till we move to a bigger place?

[Sarin]

No problem!

A snug piece of plexiglass would work perfectaly. Don't use anything porous like cardboard.. it'll harbor bacteria and will smell after a while.

Just remember if you do split the tank they will outgrow it eventually and you'll need an extra 2 hides, and an extra UTH.