Another new guy!

Hi, im Cory from sunny California and i recently bought my first normal Ball Python (Ralph), ive always been into keeping fish like arowanas,gars, stingrays and large catfish and my local pet store (not a chain) had a python and did my basic research before getting one. Now have him in a 36qt tub with aspen and a good hide and im HOOKED on snakes. Unlike fish you can actually pick'em up. His set up is good with humidity 78 and temp during the day 83 and night low 73. Still young i believe hes little larger then a foot and a half. I plan on taking Ralph to the vet just to see if he is boy or girl. He loves to hang on these ledges in the tub which are there so you can pick the tub up and i caught him drinking water last night. Few questions a begginer has....Thanks! glad to be on this bp fourm!

1. Do i feed him when he starts to shed?
2. He has a dent in his right eye small but noticeable if you look carefully,is this okay?
3. When i handle him some of his scales(i think thats what their called on snakes too) tend to snag on me. I can feel it catching on pricking me.

Some pictures (when i try to resize the images dosn't seem to work)
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...8/Snake011.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...8/Snake009.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...8/Snake004.jpg

Congrats...sounds like your new boy is getting ready to shed. Or, if not, he could be dehydrated or have a stuck eye cap. Also...read over the caresheet on here...his hot spot should be between 88-92 degrees. Welcome to the forum :)

I personally don't offer food when mine are shedding. 9 times out of 10 they don't take it anyways.

Congratulations on your new baby, and welcome! :welcome:

1. Most ball pythons don't seem interested in eating when they are nearing shed. You can offer food if you want to, but don't be surprised if he refuses it.

2. A dent in the eye usually means dehydration, but can also mean a stuck eye cap from a previous shed. I would give him a 15 minute soak in a tupperware container with an inch of lukewarm water (lid on, no air holes). I would do that once a day for 3 days and then see how his eyes are looking.

3. Sometimes their scales can get a bit ruffled. It doesn't sound like anything to worry about.

Thanks for the advise, yeah ill start doing that