New owner with a few questions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SekiMoshu

Thank you everyone for all the fast responses and advice. My roommates lately are more worried about me than the snake since I've been stressing out over him so much. I tend to scare myself because I find every little thing that could possibly go wrong and then fret over it. This is him by the by.
http://i57.tinypic.com/1zqg4fd.jpg

---

For some reason the original post's picture turned into a bus. O_o;

I would replace the hide on the right with something more secure, that's probably why he's favoring his left side one if temperatures aren't off. Also, you should replace those dials on the side with digital thermometers and hygrometers. The dials are notoriously inaccurate. Actually, I think the left hide looks a little too open as well, but if he likes it, that's perfectly fine.

Personally, I like the hides from Reptile Basics, but they aren't very realistic (http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes). If you want something realistic, you can try making your own hides for him. Here's a thread with some information on that (http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...tic-quot-Hides). They're cheaper than the ones in stores, and they look really nice.

And you don't need to worry about getting him a new cage anytime soon, he looks like a baby. It'll take him a little while to outgrow that. Pumpkin champagne, huh? Where did you get him? I love champagnes, don't have any yet, though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Penultimate

I would replace the hide on the right with something more secure, that's probably why he's favoring his left side one if temperatures aren't off. Also, you should replace those dials on the side with digital thermometers and hygrometers. The dials are notoriously inaccurate. Actually, I think the left hide looks a little too open as well, but if he likes it, that's perfectly fine.

Personally, I like the hides from Reptile Basics, but they aren't very realistic (http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes). If you want something realistic, you can try making your own hides for him. Here's a thread with some information on that (http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...tic-quot-Hides). They're cheaper than the ones in stores, and they look really nice.

And you don't need to worry about getting him a new cage anytime soon, he looks like a baby. It'll take him a little while to outgrow that. Pumpkin champagne, huh? Where did you get him? I love champagnes, don't have any yet, though.

---

I was going to get an identical hide for the right side when they came in stock in the store. I know he's a 2014 hatch and his breeder said it should be about a year before he would really need a new one. Though I may have to try that home made hide box myself, it looks really good and sounds like a lot of fun. I do a bit of crafting/painting and such myself and make my own clay already. I also do plan on getting the digitals. I did a lot of research before getting him but the temp gun and digital probes were something I discovered after he got here sadly. I also just purchased a scale online for him and the other pets in the house (We have a cockatiel and a cat as well) so we'll always know their weights. I'm not entirely sure what I should be feeding him either. I know he's about an inch and a half thick in the middle and about a foot and a half long. It's hard to get an accurate measurement of how long he is without getting him out because I've been trying to give him his space for the first week and at least until I can get him to eat the first time. What I heard from his breeder he's about 250-300 grams right now and will take f/t mice or rats.

I went to the local reptile shop to inquire about some feeding tongs because I don't want to use my actual fingers. I'm not scared to get bit at all but the girl said that 'i don't need feeding tongs for a ball python and that I shouldn't be scared to get bit. But that I also need to get him on live and that's probably why he's giving me a hard time eating.' I explained to her that's not a good idea since I live in an apartment and I'm pretty sure my landlord wouldn't approve of it she only said 'Why? It's just being used for food.' Fact of the matter is, if he doesn't want to eat it, I'm then stuck with a rat/mouse that's alive in my apartment. I live in a city, I'm not gonna be able to release it outside because it will breed and cause problems for others. I prefer not to have the scent of mice/rats on my hand if I don't have to so he doesn't have a reason in the first place to strike at me. Also I live in an apartment, I'm pretty sure my landlord would flip out if there were live mice or rats in the place. She was a little unsure about the snake but after I showed her pictures of how small the bigger sized ones were, and how docile they were she agreed and he's now on my lease. He's a sweet little guy and has been really patient with us so far and I'm more worried my hand close to his face would scare him out of the idea of food more than the idea of him mistaking my hand for the food and then she kinda bullied me into a sale of a weanling rat that kinda looks on the big side for him. Needless to say by the time I left I was a little frustrated and I don't believe they will be getting my business again so I think I'll be ordering his food online from now on. People on this forum seem to favor The Big Cheese and Perfect Prey. Any others I may want to consider? I'm staying far away from Rodent Pro because of the craziness that went on from some people's babies getting sick. I won't take that kind of risk with mine.

The breeder I got him from was Vesper Ball Pythons. I think they only have a facebook page for their sales but they were very nice and professional. Got a receipt for him when I put down the down payment, took extra pictures of him for me. And actually suggested I get him since he was gonna be my first snake since he was well started on food. In the future after I've had him for a few years I'd like to get one of their coral glows as my wife seems to have an eye for them. From what I heard there will be more pumpkin champagne babies this summer. :D
https://www.facebook.com/VesperBallPythons

Sorry for the super long post.

It is pretty fun. Definitely worth the time. As for feeding, I would just pull him out very briefly. Don't make it a long handling session, just take him out long enough to check his size. Don't worry, this shouldn't stress him too much.

That pet shop girl is nuts, haha. Don't need feeding tongs? Umm... right. I'm not putting my hand in the tank when I know I'm likely to get bitten. It doesn't hurt, but why take a bite for no reason? I don't really know about online rodent suppliers, I get all of my frozen locally.

Cool! I'll have a look at them. :)

Yeah, use tongs for sure. You don't want your snake associating your hands with feeding, just handling. Pet store employees are not the brightest or most knowledgeable (not all, but the majority). It's like so many things, these days, - know what you want/need and go get it. I do most of my research on the internet and then go find the best price or deal. I also have found a network of snake lovers/owners in the area that help with supplies, etc.

P.S. Beautiful ball, by the way!

Yea I'm going to attempt to feed him tonight since it's still my day off. I'm just worried I scared him now again because when I opened his tank I guess he was napping on top of his hide at around 9-10pm. When the last clasp came off it was a little audible and he was already making his way down so he jerked his head and I guess he did it a little too fast because the rest of him went tumbling down to the bottom of his tank. It was only about 2-3 inches but he fell upside down. He righted himself right away but he was in his hide before I could even think about it. I felt so bad cause usually he's super graceful about climbing and such. Only good thing out of it I know for sure he doesn't have IBD so that fear is put to rest once and for all. Pretty sure he was fine but it gave me a mild heart attack. Got a nice pair of feeding tongs from petsmart yesterday too. I think I may attempt in tank feeding to see if he takes. Fingers crossed!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SekiMoshu

Yea I'm going to attempt to feed him tonight since it's still my day off. I'm just worried I scared him now again because when I opened his tank I guess he was napping on top of his hide at around 9-10pm. When the last clasp came off it was a little audible and he was already making his way down so he jerked his head and I guess he did it a little too fast because the rest of him went tumbling down to the bottom of his tank. It was only about 2-3 inches but he fell upside down. He righted himself right away but he was in his hide before I could even think about it. I felt so bad cause usually he's super graceful about climbing and such. Only good thing out of it I know for sure he doesn't have IBD so that fear is put to rest once and for all. Pretty sure he was fine but it gave me a mild heart attack. Got a nice pair of feeding tongs from petsmart yesterday too. I think I may attempt in tank feeding to see if he takes. Fingers crossed!

---

Just to clarify I don't think he's unhealthy, it's just my paranoia of the worst always happening. Heck my cat coughed up a hairball and I was worried sick for him for a few days and on hyper lookout for any vomit of any kind.

I think that you should just relax a bit and take it easy on yourself. I bet your snake is fine (probably worried about you, though!) and is settling in nicely. It takes some time for you and your snake (mainly husbandry) to get in tune with each other. I've had my boa for three weeks now and we are still getting used to each other but I'm not going to get overly upset about things just focus on keeping the temperature and humidity at a proper level. I think that one of the key aspects of taking care of a snake is to monitor things closely at first to ensure that you have it right.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BWB

I think that you should just relax a bit and take it easy on yourself. I bet your snake is fine (probably worried about you, though!) and is settling in nicely. It takes some time for you and your snake (mainly husbandry) to get in tune with each other. I've had my boa for three weeks now and we are still getting used to each other but I'm not going to get overly upset about things just focus on keeping the temperature and humidity at a proper level. I think that one of the key aspects of taking care of a snake is to monitor things closely at first to ensure that you have it right.

---

Yea, you're right. I'm pretty sure every new snake owner has probably gone through fretting and worrying over their first baby. I caught him in his cooler hide today though because I was up at the weirdest time of day that I'm never usually awake at and he was curled up with his head poked out looking up at the top of the cage. So it seems he has been using it... Just... When I'm normally asleep. He was in there for a while and then went back to the bigger and warmer hide. So hopefully it means he'll eat soon. :D Also got him out to measure him today. He's an inch and a half thick at the thickest part and pushing almost 2ft long.

How's he doing?