Chuck Norris the Killer Pied.

I can't hold the anticipation any longer!

backstory: I own 5 ball pythons, all of which I have bought from people on craigslist that were getting rid of them.
I bought a normal 2 years ago when he was a neglected hatchling, all dried up! I nursed him to health and now he is a large, vigorous male! Recently I bought a whole rack of snakes from another guy on craigslist that was getting out of the hobby. I ended up with some cool morphs, one of which is a dazzling female piebald.

After much thought and research, I decided to special order a snake from a pro breeder for the first time. I decided I want to breed my female piebald to make pastel piebalds, and found that Justin Kobylka is one the best known pastel piebald breeders on the market. I ordered a super pastel piebald (killer pied) from J. Kobylka and he arrives tomorrow morning! So psyched!

I'm naming him "Chuck Norris" since I have bold ambitions in breeding this little stud.

First photo tomorrow! I am getting his new home ready. Have to get some wee little hides set up!

I just bought a female piebald off cl im picking her up this weekend [emoji7] keep me (and everyone) updated on this and I want pictures as soon as possible [emoji216]

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

I just put a deposit down on a piebald from Justin Picking it up at tinley in a few weeks

- - - Updated - - -

I just put a deposit down on a piebald from Justin Picking it up at tinley in a few weeks

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...71372ac823.png


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just arrived! He is so little, I never had such a young baby! I only took one photo and then put him in his tub, as he seemed a bit terrified. He was smaller than I expected, barely larger than a golf ball.
I had to construct some quick makeshift hides out of little tea boxes, that fit him, because the ones I had were a bit too large.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5/IMG_0560.jpg

Any advice from experienced baby ball keepers is appreciated.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Godzilla78

Just arrived! He is so little, I never had such a young baby! I only took one photo and then put him in his tub, as he seemed a bit terrified. He was smaller than I expected, barely larger than a golf ball.
I had to construct some quick makeshift hides out of little tea boxes, that fit him, because the one I had were a bit too large.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5/IMG_0560.jpg

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Godzilla78

Any advice from experienced baby ball keepers is appreciated.

---

congrats!!! anything from J.K. is a living piece of art. :gj:

some general baby beep advice: did you get a weight on him (just curious)? babies do better with a slightly lower hot spot temp; i keep Coffee Bean's spot at 88-89° F instead of the typical 90-91° F. husbandry issues are the #1 reason babies won't eat, so you gota keep his husbandry on point and ensure he feels secure.

If you could go back in time and tell me 5 years ago that I would spend this much money to buy a baby:snake: snake... I would have thought you were crazy. :rolleye2:

Very nice pickup! He's super cool! 😎

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Godzilla78

If you could go back in time and tell me 5 years ago that I would spend this much money to buy a baby:snake: snake... I would have thought you were crazy. :rolleye2:

---

Lol!!! I feel exactly the same haha 😂

Omgosh hes pretty look at that face thay pattern everything [emoji7][emoji7][emoji7][emoji7]

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

can you take a picture of him in your hand? just so we can see the scale of how big he is?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Godzilla78

Any advice from experienced baby ball keepers is appreciated.

---

Concentrate on his security as you go forward. Very tight hides are the best. Clutter the tub with plenty of substate and or balled up paper towel. A cardboard paper towel roll end stuffed with paper towel at one end so there is only one way in and out. Grats on the acquisition. That's a amazing example of the morph.

omg, how CUTE...

I LOVE the babies, LOL !!!

You have already gotten wonderful advice. If you can, get your baby out one more time and get a good weight on him. You can make a quick pic in your hand.
This will help you going forward, to monitor the weight and size of your little one.

After that, let it rest ;)

Has Justin told you when it ate last, or how often it has eaten and what it has eaten? Start keeping records, esp. with the little ones.

Once he has eaten a couple of times, you can slowly start handling for short periods of time. Before you know it he is big and you wonder where that cute lil baby snake went :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dylan815

can you take a picture of him in your hand? just so we can see the scale of how big he is?

---

I am not going to handle him until he is settled into his tub and he has eaten one meal. Then he will come out fora bit. To put it in perspective, when he is balled up in a sphere, he is bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a billiard ball. Somewhere in that realm of size. My hands are large, so he will appear even smaller in my palm!

Thanks for the advice BP crew! You are all really supportive and helpful and I love it! :grouphug:

One thing is for sure, he is my baby:snake: and I will keep him for life. :love:

So I email J. Kobylka and he told me that the snake at a live rat fuzzy 7 days ago. I have a bunch of frozen rats, so I tried one. I got it nice and thawed out, then got it nice and warm under the heat lamp, and dangled it by the tail near his hide.

He struck it within seconds, :mouse2: and I left them alone immediately, he didn't constrict it right away though.. I will know for sure by the morning if he ate it or not, but getting the rodent "hot" with a heat lamp or blow dryer, (after thawing it out) seems to be the TRICK to switching to frozen/thawed. So far, every time I have successfully switched a snake to thawed out rats, I have done so using the heat lamp to get them up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit before trying to feed.

Anyway, if he did eat, I will be taking him out for photos soon. If he did not, I will buy him a live rat fuzzy tomorrow. Either way, Chuck Norris the Killer Pied is getting his photoshoot soon guys!:salute:

On a sidenote, I have switched all my snakes to thawed rats, EXCEPT Ghost. Ghost acts either curious about the dead rt, or he acts scared of it... he won't strike it. He hasn't eaten in 10 days, and I will keep trying. I left it in his tub for now, I will check on him and Chuck in the morning.

Might take you a bit of hard love, but it's likely Ghost will switch as long as you're willing to put in the extra effort needed to make the food items seem enticing. Heating with the blow dryer until the body is about 85F and the head 100F has worked wonders on my boy's weak feeding response.

Essentially, what I did with him was:

• Thaw the rodent in water.
• Wait until rodent insides feel loose/head isn't cold (signs its completely thawed).
• Dry rodent off, first with towel then blow dryer.
• Keep heating until fur is dry.
• Focus-blast the head until its warm to the touch of your fingers.
• Offer immediately.
• Repeat and reheat about 4 times in one sitting, bodies don't hold heat too well.
• If the snake strikes, wait for it to entire its "trance" and make it "struggle" with some gentle pulling.
• If it doesn't after attempts to make the heated rat seem lifelike (zombie dance)...
• Leave snake for a week, possibly two if body weight is holding well.

With that above-and-beyond (as I've been told, for some reason...) effort, he's gone from timidly staring at his food and taking up to an hour to figure it out and get it down (and was only eating every other week for the breeder, likely due to him being so slow to eat) to an animal who all but lunges out of the enclosure once he knows I'm getting the rat in his reach and can have it completely swallowed in a span of about five minutes.

Edit: Worth adding that the addition to plant clutter to allow for roaming out of sight was another factor, I'd believe. Now he spends most nights camping in the cover outside of his hide, watching everything.

thanks hollowlaughter, that was encouraging advice. I will keep trying with ghost, as he has a good body mass right now, and certainly isn't starving.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Godzilla78

thanks hollowlaughter, that was encouraging advice. I will keep trying with ghost, as he has a good body mass right now, and certainly isn't starving.

---

Yeah, it definitely requires you to out-patience your snake sometimes.

A trick I've heard for the F/T transition is waiting until you see signs of shed in your animal (dulling out, vaguely milky eyes; the stuff before it even blues), then cutting off the food supply until its done. Offer a rat well thawed and heated once the animal is done shedding, immediately if possible.

They seem to be ravenous post shed and at their most "garbage disposal" mood when it comes to food.

Might help to try if Ghost is scheduled for a shed soonish?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Godzilla78

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5/IMG_0560.jpg

---

Very nice I've never seen such a low white killer pied.

Subscribing for future pics!

I am 99% sure that Chuck gobbled up the frozen/thawed rat fuzzy. He had no discernible lump in his belly, but the rat was a small baby. I did not see the fuzzy anywhere, so unless Chuck buried it deep beneath the cypress mulch, I am pretty sure it is in his belly! That is 5 snakes now that I have successfully switch to frozen thawed in the last 6 months. 2 of them hatchlings! The key seems to be the dead rodent's body temperature, and a lack of fear response when I slide open the bin.

Honestly I thinK I need to get better hides for my 2 subadults, and 2 hatchlings.

Since Chuck ate almost immediately after receiving him, I will post photos this weekend, he is a bit snappy since he has secured himself in the back of the tub behind the hide. He doesn't like when I slide the tub out and disturb his peace.:angered: Exactly like Snappy the HET pied, It seems to be a baby snake thing.

Congrats on the switch! I planned on switching but now I am not entirely sure if I want to. Looks as though he lives up to his name lol I bet his little strikes are cute though! So if he is snappy when the time comes are you going to give it a go anyways or just wait it out in hopes of him "growing out of it"?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Misternewbie

Congrats on the switch! I planned on switching but now I am not entirely sure if I want to. Looks as though he lives up to his name lol I bet his little strikes are cute though! So if he is snappy when the time comes are you going to give it a go anyways or just wait it out in hopes of him "growing out of it"?

---

I am taking him out this weekend for sure! That is the best way, to get right to it! His strikes are pretty cute at this tiny stage.

My piebald is my favorite snapper. She is totally docile, she has never snapped or acted aggressive around me, but she has a fiercely powerful feeding response! :hungry: Flame lives up to her name, and eats like a dragon, and was the easiest by far to switch over.

pics of Chuck Norris the Killer tomorrow!

Lol awesome. Can't wait to see more of him! My guy is so funny because he is so docile and chill, super curious too but when it's time to feed he is a savage and means business!

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...k/IMG_0591.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0581.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5/IMG_0601.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0596.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...k/IMG_0589.jpg

He's looking soooo amazing!!! Awesome snake dude!

Oh BEAUTIFUL !!!! WOW !!!

And I don't see any blood dripping down your hand, hehe. Looks like he was a good boy for you ;)

I gave Chuck a variety of hides to choose from, and he settled down into his favorer, like a hermit crab finding their favorite shell.

It turns out an Otter Box plastic packaging box was the right fit! Holds humidity too.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0602.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5/IMG_0603.jpg

Wow, I have never thought of using an otter box case as a hide! Huh, I guess a lot of things can be used as hides

Missed this. He looks great!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Misternewbie

Missed this. He looks great!!

---

Thanks, these first pics are just quick snaps, I will get some higher quality ones soon, to bring out more color and such.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0636.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0625.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5/IMG_0630.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...5/IMG_0631.jpg

What a pretty boy...

He is gorgeous!

He's such a little baby! So iddy-biddy adorable when compared to the giant adults! it is like I'm holding a soft rubber ball. Does anyone remember MAdBallS in the 1980s?
I see why the name BALL python is more common now than the original name ROYAL python.

I still like Royal Python better, aka python regius.

No photoshoot with Chuck Norris today, but a look at his future brides! Check these hot ladies out!

Future Mrs. Chuck Norris, #1: GODZILLA the queen of carnage.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...k/IMG_0540.jpg
I emailed John Berry to see if he knew where I could get any more Araza morphs, but he said he sold that project awhile back. I showed him the photos of her, and his reply:

Quote:

---

Could be an Araza. I would breed with an Orange Dream or Enchi or Super Pastel, etc basically something very light. Good luck.
BerryZoo
www.berryzoo.com
www.facebook.com/berryzoo100

---

The great part is, that Godzilla's future husband is a SUPER PASTEL! Araza is a dominant gene, so if that is what Godzilla is, then it should show in some of her babies regardless of the pairing.

NEXT UP< Chuck Norris future bride #2......

FLAME, the fiery piebald dragon python...(below)
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0642.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...k/IMG_0655.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...k/IMG_0657.jpg

Chuck eating a rat fuzzy
(I'm so proud how I switched him to frozen/thawed on the first try! This is his second feeding so far with me.)
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...Q/IMG_0664.jpg

Awesome! You need to get Chuck out in that natural light too, to let him shine!
Just saw the new feeding pic, he is slick!!

Chuck Norris training martial arts: Python-Judo style.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...G/IMG_0746.jpg

Flame, the future bride, training next door...
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...G/IMG_0761.jpg

I had to move Chuck Norris to a maximum security prison, as he escaped his current jail. I have a homemade rack and the shelves aren't all completely even, and they all have a tiny air gap on the top. Well, apparently Chuck did some judo-ninja :ninja: moves and squeezed though, because I randomly went to check on the snakes and found this....
:colbert:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...w/IMG_0795.jpg
:colbert:
Bad CHUCK! lol. This has never happened to any of my snakes, but I had to switch Chuck's tub to the tightest shelf, and put FLAME in his shelf, as she is a larger sub-adult, and shouldn't able to squeeze through, like baby ninja Chuck.
:ninja:

Glad you found him !!!

What a little stinker, LOL. Keeping you on your toes..

I was browsing through Justin Kobylka's website, when who did I stumble across but my very own Chuck!

Here is a link to his clutch, Chuck is the very bottom left snake.
http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/Uplo...-47901_lrg.jpg

And here is Chuck the Killer Pied.
http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/Uplo...-85194_lrg.jpg

Love the coloring. Congrats our your bouncing baby boy. LOL

Shy boi! Sunshine to show his colors.https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...R/IMG_0966.jpg

Chuck Norris being Chuck Norris.
https://image.ibb.co/j6abxb/IMG_1058.jpg

Well, Ragnarok refused a meal again, going on 8 weeks now. I didn't want to throw it out, so I decided to dangle it in front of Chuck the Killer Pied, and he constricted it immediately. I don't know if he will actually get the rat down, if he gives up, I will just toss it.
So far he hasn't figured out that he has to release the neck and attempt to swallow it nose first. :rofl: I doubt he will be able to eat it, but it made for a good photo op!
https://image.ibb.co/jGETzb/IMG_1178.jpg

OMG! He managed it! Must be 20% of his weight he is devouring. Little action hero.https://image.ibb.co/n46oXw/IMG_1179.jpg

https://image.ibb.co/ctMspm/IMG_1345.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/dLrgh6/IMG_1338.jpg

Chuck's second shed. it is like a toddler birthday!
https://image.ibb.co/bJBqVR/IMG_1392.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/cSrDjm/IMG_1389.jpg
https://image.ibb.co/fGq64m/IMG_1382.jpg