New to Balls and this forum

Thank You All for your warm welcome and helpful advice. Last night I reached in to handle him and bam he struck a few times. he is too small to hurt me but it startled me. I held him for a while and put him back.
He seems very happy as he moves all around his tank. The setup I have came with a gauge to read the humidity. It seems to stay between 20 and 30% which seems low. The temp seems to stay at about 85 and drop to 80 at night. I think he was striking at me because of his instinct to fear things coming from above. I am going to purchase one the boaphile cages that open from the front in the next few weeks.

I will try a fuzzie this Sunday to see if he eats. The breeder told me all of the babies have been eating every Sunday without a problem. I know that at 4-5 months old he has been used to being handled and I want to become best buds with him before he gets too big. He is about as long as a basic computer keyboard, perhaps a bit shorter. Is this an avg size for this age? All 8 of the babies I chose from were the same size, except one was girthier compared to the rest.

I know it may take a while for him to know my smell and get used to me.

Howdy! Just wanted to add my welcome to the many above! Good to see you here Dback

Welcome to the site :)

I am by no means an expert, but I would defiantely would want to get the humidity up to 50-60%. My hubby has duct tape covering the top of screen lid, to help with the humidity. Also you want a wam hide and a cool hide. The warm side should be about 90 degrees or so and the cool side around 80 (I believe). The experts can offer better advice. The care sheet on this sight is wonderful and full of great info.

Edit:Also welcome to the forum.

You can use some workmans gloves if you are scared. When you go in to reach in to grab him dont hesitate they will track the suddeen movement and strike. Make sure he feels secure in his house lots of times they will strike because they are scared. Be sure he has plenty of hides. Sometimes some foliage layed on the ground will help because they can pass from one hide to the other and feel safe. These guys can be a bit nippy when they are small because they think everything is out the get them. With regular handling they will get used to it.

You should definitely get your humidity up to 50-60%.

I also agree with Mrs.MacWin about temps. You should have a warm side that has temps of about 90 degrees. What are you using to heat the tank, and what are you using to measure the temperature and humidity? You can get a digital thermometer/hygrometer for 15$ at walmart that accurately measures temperatures on both sides of the tank and measures humidity.

Also I would suggest not handling him again until he is eating regularly. Handling can further stress him out and cause him not to eat. Even if he's used to handlng, he needs time to get used to his new home. There will be plenty of time to get to be buds with him after he is acclimated and eating successfully. Just give it time.

I think you said you were going to try feeding him today(Sunday). If he does not eat, I would suggest taking a week to get your set up just right and stay away from handling him before you try to feed again.

Welcome to the forum, and let us know how it goes. :)

He did great this weekend, no attempts to strike. I think he is calming down now. At this size he doesn't scare me, but I would imagine when he is large those teeth could sting a bit. I am sure he will be fine now as I held him a lot this weekend and he was very relaxed. I am going to feed him a frozen-thawed fuzzy mouse tonight.

Glad to hear he's calming down for you. By the time his teeth might worry you, striking at you should be a thing of the past unless he feels seriously threatened (such as possibly when giving an injection). Good luck with tonight's feeding!

Welcome to this wonderful Ball-Python land! We are glad to have you.
I have to congratulate you on etting your BP from a reputable breeder. It will probably be more healthy than one bought from a pet store, that's fresh from Africa. I have found that my captive-bred BPs are much better feeders overall than my wild-caughts. You are on the right path, my friend! Any more questions, never hesitate to ask. The people here rock. :)

As far as a BP calming down i think thats true. Because sometimes Coconut loves to be handled and the next day he is bumping you with his nose as if saying "go away". Sometimes it seems like they wake up on the wrong side of the tank.LOL. I am sucker for wild caughts maybe because i feel sorry for them i have not had any major problems with them yet. Jojo had a tick not to long ago but i have no idea where he got it because i have had him for more then 2 years. Imports are not always doomed for failure but it is best for a beginner to get a quality captive bred ball python. Happy Herping.