Hello from Florida

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lance

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Originally Posted by Jamielvsaustin

I do want to feed her tonight but I don't have a separate cage to put her in to feed. The pet store I was at last night didn't have anything I thought was big enough-any suggestions?

I have a ton of questions :)

Can I give her a bath? If she was in that cage for a year I'm sure she needs something. She has a water dish, but it is too small for her to completely soak in. Last night she was doing sections of her body at a time.

Can she be chipped? Spayed? Does she need vaccines?

I'm pretty sure I saw her yawn last night-do snakes do this?

How humid do I need to keep her?

The set up she came with seems pretty basic. I would like to improve it. The piece of log might have been good for her when she was little, but she can't fit all the way under it now...and the water dish seems too small. Do pythons like to hang on branches and such? There is a heating lamp, but its set directly on the metal mesh top. I don't really like that idea. Any ideas on a set up for that?

I was under the impression that heating rocks and pads were bad for them, that they could burn themselves...is it true or a myth?

I think that's all for now. I'm sure there will be more.:D

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I just read this morning and let me see if I can help a bit... She will need taken to a vet to get checked for parasites, mites, and any disease. She was severely neglected so this is something important to get on top of as soon as you can.

She doesnt need another cage to feed in. And if she has been scarcely fed start out small for her size, like a fuzzy. Many debate on live v thawed so its up to, what she maybe used to or what your comfy with. I find thawed myself to be best (no risk of injury to her). You can use tongs and dangle it in front of her.

Def get a bigger water dish, doesn't have to be an expensive thing, just something big enough for her size. Clean it daily or every other day.

I do not know about any vaccines for snakes, and have researched and owned them. If I am wrong someone plz let me know.

She needs to have two areas in her set up, a hot side and a cold side. 80-88 on hot and 75-80 cooler side. I like to keep water on cooler side. I find heating pad under the hot side works best for me. humidity between 60-80%. A water bottle to mist the tank a bit helps out greatly. Heating Rocks can run a risk to burn them, but if a pad is place under the tank on half of it helps and lift tank a bit from it if worried about heating too much. With the light set up a simple clip on one, or one with a base raises it off the mesh (tank).

You need a water dish, bedding, heat source, humidity, hiding spot, and if you like something for her to climb on. BP like to climb and bask :) They are a bit calmer than some other snakes and may not move as much. Like previously said... look for care sheets. You can pick up a python care manual for roughly around $9, but there are a lot of care sheets on sites for free to help with any other questions. :) Hope this helps, and good luck with your new family member.

Thank you all again for the advice.

We changed her water dish last night. Sadly it's a Pyrex pie dish, but I don't think she minds. It's big enough and shallow, so I think it's a good deal for now. Also I want to put a clay pot in there for her to hide in, but the store I was at last night didn't have any. I bought a plastic one and she's been hanging out in it since I put it in there. I'll get a clay one this weekend. I do want to take her to the vet, if something is bothering her, I want to do whatever I can to help.

I also want to get an UTH, but again will have to wait until the weekend (that whole pay day business). I don't know that she's ever had one, she's 10. I think her set up has aways been very basic. Heat lamp, water dish, one hide, bedding.

I'm reading different opinions on the feeding in/out of the tank. Some say if you feed her in there she can get tank aggressive. If you take her out then she'll think every time you take her out it's time to eat. However, I've found out that with the bedding we have in there now I have to take her out. If she ingests it, it can cause an obstruction. So I'll do that. And maybe next month I'll change the type of bedding.

Personally I think we will feed her live. But I don't want her to get hurt while she's eating, so maybe we'll stun the prey for her. I'm not worried about her food eating her, I'll make sure that doesn't happen. I don't want to stare at her while she eats, but I'll make sure she's in control of the situation before I leave.

I have more questions, but I'll post them else where, just to give the welcoming crew a break. :)