Soaking in water after eating

I just fed my Ball Python for the first time since bringing it home, which was about a week ago. Nearly immediately after it swallowed the mouse it soaked in it's water bowl for a while. I was wondering if this is normal? Also, I'm feeding it little pinkies but they are a bit smaller than its widest point, should I buy a bigger size? http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/17/e6yhe7en.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/17/ma5ypuqu.jpg

I was wondering if anyone had a rough guess on how old it was by just looking at its size? The pet store had it advertised as 'baby ball python' but I asked how old it was and the girl said she didn't know

I'll probably annoy people with this, but it is my opinion that Ball Pythons generally don't soak, if your husbandry is spot on.

If its soaking, I would always try and rule out mites, humidity problems, and hide problems first.

If its only ever just after a meal, it *could* be a querk to your particular snake, but generally it's not habitual.


Also it's really hard to tell its proper size / length from those pictures. See if you can get more up, but don't hassle her if she's just fed.


And if you don't know it's sex. Lets call it a her =P I was taught by my father to always give things female names. That way you will always remember to respect them :D

Hi!

Buying a snake from a local pet store (especially commercial ones like Petco/Petsmart) comes with downfalls. Not a lot of stores keep specific records of their animals, especially reptiles, when it comes to age, birth/hatch date, weight, etc. So you will have to guess on some parts. That being said, a lot of snakes in stores are wholesaled from breeders. This looks like a hatchling, no more than a couple months I would say. But I can't really see the entirety of the animal, if you can take full body (stretched out if possible) or a size reference photo I'm sure I, or a more experienced keeper can give you a more accurate guess.

As far as the waterbowl thing goes. What is the temperature and humidity in the cage? It may be too hot or not humid enough.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/17/umunajej.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/17/7u5e5ade.jpg
I've never seen it soak until just yesterday after eating, I'll watch carefully to see if she soaks anymore. I haven't seen any signs of mites. The temp on the cold side is around 80 and the hot side 90-95 with the humidity 60-65

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/17/aga3y9ap.jpg
This is kind of a size reference photo, I don't have many of it

Looking at the photos, it should be able to take adult mice to rat pups. Weigh the snake in grams and you will get a better answer.

Agree with the above poster. Looks to be a yearling at least.

Do you think I should try feeding it again since I only gave it a little pinkie? I'll be able to buy some larger mice or rat pups towards the end of this week to try.