Bud the Normal

Bud is my 7 year old, 3.5ft ball python. I got Bud on September 23 2006, as my late 12th birthday present. Unfortunately, me being 12 and my father being ignorant on the care of animals, his care was less than satisfactory. Luckily, the physical problems were limited to bad sheds and winter fasts. Outside of the winter, he was a pig despite being so exposed in his enclosure and was probably a bit chubbier than he needed to be now that I know more about snake care. In 2011 I decided I wanted to get another snake, but I wanted to step up in size and get a slightly large snake. It was during my research on the care of boas (I was now almost 16 and so I was a bit smarter and figured I should probably research) that I decided to look at the care of ball pythons as well, because so far snake care in general was a whole lot different than what my father taught me when I got Bud. I very quickly implemented changes in his enclosure. Before, I had this treated wooden hide that had a heat lamp that was screwed to it, which was a major burn hazard. I took it off of the hide and lifted it to the top of enclosure, which was 3-3.5ft tall (I'm not sure of the measurements anymore as it's since been destroyed) so that he could not get to it. I was using ReptiBark, which didn't hold humidity good enough so I switched to EcoEarth. After just two sheds, his spotty scales went away (ones that looked dried out and stood out as white against the rest of his scales) and his discoloration went away to show this beautiful snake I never even knew existed. His first shed was still a little spotty, but his second one came off all in one piece including eye caps. I'd spent years gently rubbing stuck sheds off with a wet wash cloth and holding wet cloths to his eyes to gently remove stuck eye caps without any knowledge that snakes should shed whole pieces, so that I thought it was normal. Because of the extended period of bad sheds and poor humidity, a few of his scales (just one or two) have completely lost pigmentation and some of his scales are deformed, unfortunately. I'm lucky he didn't get an RI because other than one heat lamp, he had no other heating elements. I suppose this is thanks to our wood stove, which must have kept his enclosure just warm enough.

Soon after that, we moved to my grandfather's house where Bud and Cloud stayed in Sterilite tubs until I built two 6x2x2 wooden enclosures with my father. I decorated Bud's enclosure very heavily so that he would feel as secure as possible. These enclosures are of a similar size to Bud's old enclosure, except his may have been 4.5ft long rather than 6ft. It was while he was in this enclosure that I saw his feeding improve. He went from 1275 grams to 1530 grams in just 3-4 weeks. He could have been just under 1500 grams, though, as I'm not sure if the last measurement was while he was empty or not. Now he's back in his tub, since we can only fit one of the enclosures here and Cloud needs his more. He is unsexed, but I've always assumed he was male, so that's his unofficial gender.

Another success that I've had with him is a switch from live to f/t. He ate live his entire life, but after almost a year of attempting to get him to eat f/t I finally managed to get him to take it. I started trying switch him after he had his bad eating habits; I figured, he's already refusing to eat, why not try to switch him at the same time? I just had to find the perfect method! I set out my rats overnight in the same room as the snakes to thaw out, and I feed them in the morning. I can just throw it in for Cloud, but Bud requires a hot spot so I boil water on the stove. I've tried hot tap water, letting it run over the rat's head for at least 15-20 mins to make sure the whole head becomes heated thoroughly, but it doesn't work. He waves his head in the air and looks around for it, but never takes it. I boil water and leave the rat's head in it for 30-60 secs and I stick the rat's head physically in whatever hide he happens to be in so he has no choice but to come face-to-face with it. Within minutes, it's drug into his hide and swallowed.

Anyways, without further ado, here he is!

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d68b495.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9afe5e1b.jpg

In the middle of a shed:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps89255efa.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0c8f7968.jpg

Making a break for it:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pseab6670e.jpg

Accidentally startled him and he pulled back his head:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b1b690f.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps29ddcdfd.jpg

In his wooden enclosure, exploring:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2f201332.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps41aa4be2.jpg

Great story!

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And a good looking fellah as well. :)

He's a great looking guy! I hope my normal boy grows up as good looking as Bud. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Garnet

He's a great looking guy! I hope my normal boy grows up as good looking as Bud. :)

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I'm sure he will!

Nice story, shows that even with some mistakes on our part ( and who hasn't made those )
these animals can bounce back and lead strong and healthy lives!
continued success to you and your animals.

Thanks everyone! I always feel so bad about the care I gave him, but I'm glad I smartened up and he's doing really well.

Here are some more of my favorite photos I've taken of him.

This was what he looked like before his weight gain.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps80d7e6a1.jpg

I know it looks weird, but this is actually pretty close to what he looked like at the time. He looks like a different snake every time he sheds, it's crazy.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4de9d5fd.jpg

Bud climbing up the doors. The enclosure is looking a bit under-decorated because it was during the time I was experimenting to see how much decoration was best. I eventually got it to 8-9 hides (there were about 4 or 5 when this photo was taken but you can only see 2) and that seemed perfect for him.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps44928fd7.jpg

In blue:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psd18f46eb.jpg

His little chubby tail.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps65fe4b16.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5a01d46b.jpg

He gets a bit confused sometimes.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psadc4fed5.jpg

Just lounging. His hot end was 88-90F, so I'm not sure why he was doing this, but came home to this after school one day. You can see Cloud's old tub behind him.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psac9e7a4d.jpg

Some good pics...Bud appears nice and goofy. I really like your periscope pics. You should submit one for the bp of the month contest....they are cool. Regarding the rat he has by the butt....he is not confused...he is just hanging onto him.

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Originally Posted by h20hunter

Some good pics...Bud appears nice and goofy. I really like your periscope pics. You should submit one for the bp of the month contest....they are cool. Regarding the rat he has by the butt....he is not confused...he is just hanging onto him.

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He is goofy. He's my personal de-decorator; he never fails to clear off surfaces for me so that I can clean up the floor.

Maybe I will at some point. :) lol Ok, but this was after he killed it (before the switch to f/t) and was looking for its head. He got the butt instead. lol

Bud gives me hope that my snake will grow up to be as big as he is :D

He looks so sweet! My ball python, Cave sometimes does tail first. Which gets annoying when he does. xD