Newbie Introduction and questions abound!

Hi everybody, I'm Doyle! I've been lurking forums and being shy for a while now, but I finally worked up some guts to make an introduction post!
I only recently became a ball python owner after falling madly in love with my boyfriend's 7yo normal, Marla. The boyfriend got me my first ball python, a 290g spider girl we named Wendy, roughly a month and a half ago, and a couple weeks ago we added Grayson, a baby axanthic boy, to our family.

Before I got either of them, I was watching ball python videos and absorbing information from care sheets and forums. Priming myself to be a paranoid snake momma. We got Wendy from a local owner around the end of September. Maybe a week and a half ago, I noticed she was elevating her head, yawning a bit, and heard I a bit of popping-- and so I took her to the vet immediately. They've been giving her an injection every two days. I've noticed she is no longer elevating her head or yawning, but I think there is still an occasional "pop" when she breathes-- I am not sure if this is still the case, as she's in the middle of shed and I've been leaving her alone the past couple of days. She's had five injections now.

I've been diligent in cleaning her setup and anything she might have come into contact with, as well as hands before/after handling, but I'm a little worried about the new baby. We just got him a few weeks ago from a breeder. He is 50g right now (I don't think my boyfriend expected him to be sooo tiny!), and I'm worried about him getting sick despite efforts. He's yawned a couple times (once he only kinda half-yawned?), which has turned me from paranoid to crazy paranoid. Just how contagious is an RI?
Also, is it typical for babies like him to be difficult to feed? Wendy has been a champion throughout everything, and he's been a little brat :P


I welcome any advice at all for a beginner, seriously anything at all. Anything a new owner should know or expect, things that people don't tell you, etc. I adore these guys.

Welcome! Did you quarantine the new baby?
And what do you mean by being a lil brat exactly, has he eaten at all for you?
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Unfortunately, needing to quarantine the new baby was one of those things I wish someone had told me.
He has eaten a fuzzy for us twice, but he shies away from them more often than not, and hasn't "struck" that we've seen.

He might just want some privacy to eat. Balls are private animals. Put something over his cage when you put food in. Don't watch him eat for a while. RI is contagious and can run rampant if not treated. Also baby balls are prey so they are naturally shy. Keep your parameters just right amd pray he doesn't get RI because of not quarantining him. If you start seeing liquid around hos mouth then take him in. Relax and enjoy your new baby.

I wanted to update on here that both Wendy and Grayson are symptom-less, the baby Grayson has since showed a fantastic feeding response to weaned rats (maybe he just wanted something bigger? :) ) and he looks like he might go into his first shed with me here soon. Of course I'll continue to keep a close eye on the two and have fixed the quarantine issue juuust in case.
Thanks so much :)

Hi, glad to see I'm not the only one who is freaking out about every little thing. I've had my baby bp for about 4 weeks now. Tiki is an awesome little dude, but I am constantly worried that something I don't know that I don't know yet is going to end up causing problems for him.

Glad to hear that your two babies are doing better!

Glad to hear all is going well!! Enjoy them, they are sooo cool aren't they?? :)

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If we have mever been around snakes before of course we're going to freak about every little thing. When I first got my girl I was calling everyone I knew that knew anything about balls at least 2 times a day for about a month lol. Her humidity wemt down some I freaked, her temp rose I freaked. I never has a problem with feeding her which was good but there were times I worried about not feeding her enough. It's almost like having a new puppy when you never had one before. I wish everyone good luck with their scaly pets.