I'm new, and need veteren help!

ok sounds good.

minor question

should i take her out at night? during the day when she is more docile and less active or what?

and if i open the cage and she goes into the feeding position and does strike me and bites..will she coil as well? and if so, how much is a bite going to hurt? how hard is it to get her off of me if she coils? or is she going to immediately realize there is no way she can take me down and just bite and retreat?

If she just gets really frightened and goes into a ball, should i still pick her up, or should i take it is a sign that she would like to be left alone, and try again later?

Should i try to move my hand in front of her cage to see if she is going to get ready to strike?

all stuff to make sure i don't get bit and make sure she doesn't get scared :)

P.S.
could you guys recommend any good thermometer/humidity guage combos? a good way of getting an UTH and having her not sit on it and get burned? and anything else i might need...basically make me a little list of stuff i need to make her better suited.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NCKarlov

ok sounds good.

minor question

should i take her out at night? during the day when she is more docile and less active or what?

and if i open the cage and she goes into the feeding position and does strike me and bites..will she coil as well? and if so, how much is a bite going to hurt? how hard is it to get her off of me if she coils? or is she going to immediately realize there is no way she can take me down and just bite and retreat?

If she just gets really frightened and goes into a ball, should i still pick her up, or should i take it is a sign that she would like to be left alone, and try again later?

Should i try to move my hand in front of her cage to see if she is going to get ready to strike?

all stuff to make sure i don't get bit and make sure she doesn't get scared :)

P.S.
could you guys recommend any good thermometer/humidity guage combos? a good way of getting an UTH and having her not sit on it and get burned? and anything else i might need...basically make me a little list of stuff i need to make her better suited.

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I would suggest starting out in the evening with short handling sessions, but first and foremost get those temps up. You can go to any local store like Target/Walmart/Lowes etc. and pick up a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. The ones at Walmart are made by Accurite and can measure the humidity (hygrometer) as well. It has one main unit with a probe that you can put on the warm side of the tank. They work much better than the dials and strips.

Any under tank heater that you get will need to be controlled by a thermostat (not a thermometer) which is simliar to the device that controls your heating and cooling system in your house. You could even use a lamp dimmer as well, but they require more monitoring and temps will vary a bit more with as the room temp changes. You might want to search the forums a bit for thermostats, as there is a ton of info there.

Oh and one last thing... http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k1.../welcome41.gif

well i would put a towel over her tank when your friends are over if they can't just leave her alone. something else which i personally prefer is using a plastic tub (sterilite or rubbermaid) for an enclosure. this way, it gives the snake some privacy and they feel safer. also, it really keeps your humidity levels up.

welcome to the forum!!! :D

and if you choose to keep your snake in a tank... then cover three of the sides with paper or something (like a fish tank background) so your snake feels more secure. ;)

Sounds like you are a really committed owner and that's the first and best thing for your snake...good for you!

Just some thoughts and suggestions here.....

First off this is a young snake and pretty new to your home and it's new environment so you need to sort of think like a snake. When young BP's are as much prey as they are predators, so they are highly defensive (after all who wants to be somebody's dinner right? LOL). They react strongly to perceived threat and you are basically just a big, warm predator in it's little and basic snake brain. It will never bond with you like a "regular" pet but you can overtime, with patience, show it you mean no harm. Develop habits and routines that are basic and always the same when it comes to feeding, handling, cage maintenance, etc. This will help the snake come to know that these activities are not harming it.

It is a snake though so it will always have the potential to hiss, jab at you or bite. Most times it does this, it will be your fault LOL. Sometimes it will just be that at that moment the snake just can't be bothered putting up with you, or it's in shed or hungry or whatever. Eventually you will come to know what is what...if a hiss or strike is really serious or just an instinctive reaction. Every snake is different and every situation is unique.

As far as the head poking of the hide and striking...this is called "lurking". BP's are ambush hunters so this is a perfectly normal thing. It's checking to see if a nice juicy rodent will wander by. It can indicate hunger or just a snake being a snake (they are very opportunistic feeders). When lurking some snakes will be quite jumpy so best to not trigger a strike at that time.

As far as feeding whether you feed live, frozen/thawed (f/t) or pre-killed (p/k), do your research, ask questions, read threads and learn the best way to do whichever you choose. All are accepted methods but do have "guidelines" on the way to do it safely for your snake. A regular once a week feeding (evening hours are usually best) of 1 or 2 appropriately sized mice will do your snake beautifully. If you feed 2, just wait for the first to be completely swallowed (well past the skinnier neck area) then offer the second one. Always, always quietly supervise live feeds but do not hover over the snake (puts you into the predator position and may scare the snake off eating). When they are eating/swallowing they are very vulnerable so lots of quiet, little movement and even low light helps (we have a snake that won't eat if it isn't full dark in the snake room).

30 gallons is a larger enclosure. Try covering three sides in dark paper to minimize the exposure for the snake. BP's naturally live in places like termite burrows so they feel very exposed in a lot of open space in a bigger glass tank. Fake vinery can also help (watch it though, they will poop and pee on the stuff). You can also add crumpled up newspaper, not pretty but a perfect way to make a snake feel safe and settled in quicker. Remove slowly over time as the snake adjusts.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ickTopView.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ckSideView.jpg

To monitor temps and humidity hit Walmart. The Acu-Rite for around $12.00 (plus one AAA battery) is a winner. Put the actual unit on the cool side, run the probe on it's thin wire either out of the tank and back in or well under the substrate and tuck the probe inside your warm side hide. Push a couple of buttons and you get IN temp (cool side - what the unit is reading), OUT temp (warm side inside the hide - what the probe is reading) and overall humidity. Works like a charm!

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...g/Acu-Rite.jpg

The overhead lamps will suck out humidity so you may want to consider underbelly heating. Any good UTH (undertank heater) will work though it must be controlled by a t-stat. Flexwatt and a tstat are your best bet (do a search here on "flexwatt" for tons of threads).

Hides are next. These shy snakes love tight dark hides. Identical is best as they will choose their favorite hide over thermoregulating. You don't need to spend a fortune on hides (especially with a young growing snake). Anything easy to clean, dark and barely bigger than your snake coiled up will work (basically once the snake's in the hide there should be no room for anything in there but the snake). Here's some hides I use as examples...

Baby/Hatchling hide.....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...chlingHide.jpg\

Another baby hide.....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...lingBPHide.jpg

Juvi hide....
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...dultBPHide.jpg

Handling should be reasonable. Snakes don't need to be handled to be happy, handling is something we humans want so consider it a gift from the snake and you'll do fine. Don't handle for 48 hours after they eat or on the day you are feeding (they tend to be anty that day). Make handling very short for now, very quiet. Don't force the snake out of it's ball, let it come out on it's own, don't move quickly or mess with it's head much (a lot are head shy), try a gentle rub under the "chin" area. Develop handling habits so that when you remove and return the snake it isn't a stress filled experience for either of you. Our handling routine is....open enclosure, lift hide slowly if snake is in there, stroke the snake down it's lower body, watch for reactions, gently lift snake from it's home and sit down quietly with it. With enough repitition the snakes know this routine and are very easy with it. If I'm doing cage maintenance I don't touch them...so again they recognize the difference and basically ignore me while I change water or remove waste products.

Snakes may not do higher math but they do recognize simple routines if they are done over and over again.

Hope this huge post helped somewhat LOL. Don't worry that everything isn't perfect, it appears you are committed to doing your best. Remember that any changes, even for the best, will upset these shy snakes so don't worry about that...just do what needs done and expect a few problems but they will smooth out as you and your snake become used to each other. You've got a scaley buddy for the next 20 years or so, nothing needs to be rushed as you get to know each other.

as usual jo... you created an informative excellent post!!!

oh and one more thing... ball pythons are imprint eaters. so you have to choose what to feed them. mice or rats.

an adult ball python will do fine on one or two adult mice once a week (skipping a week here and there is very healthy for them by the way... so be sure to do that every {approx} 6 weeks.

hi and welcome to the site :)


IMHO, i know that this is your first BP and you will be keeping it in the tank so yes by all means go with a UTH and all the other great info you have been given so far... search the forum you will find even more useful information you will be needing as time goes on and you and your new addition will be much happier for your having done so.:D

also you might want to loose the red light, not sure if that has anything to do with it at all... but my female when i first got her (as a baby) i used a red light on her and she got that way then one night she just started darting about in her cage as if the devil himself was after her, i got her out and checked her out she was fine, put her back and she flipped again then went into her hide and would not come out.

i then flipped took her to the vet had her checked, she was fine the vet asked about my set up and told me to loose the red light.

saying that they tend to get little spots on them where the red dosent take on the glass so it leaves a bit of white light showing at all times and there for it acts as if the light is on at all times to the poor animal and more or less drives them nuts not getting any kind of day night cycle.

those little spots may not be enough to where we (humans) would pay any attn to it but for the animal who lives just inches away from it could drive them a little nuts till it is gone.

the vet sugested to go with ceramic heat bulb and a black light that could be picked up at any dollar store and not to use a white light at all, that the light in the room would be more then enough.

i did just that and have never had a problem like that again.

PS:
also, after having found this site learning more and more, i switched to the UTH and a black light and then into totes and come spring when the weather gets nice i plan on building a rack and going that route with them.
:oops: i really should have got a house with a garage so i could build things :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NCKarlov

wow you guys are quick when you wake up in the morning. i post this. run outside and smoke a quick cigarette and i am back with 5 responses...

ok some more info.

yea i know that thermometer is a joke, and i know the humidity is definately off, i just didn't know how essential they were. apparently very essential eh? first thing i'll do when i get back from christmas break will be get a digital thermometer and do something about the humidity getting out. I can't stress enough how much i'd like this snake to grow up to be a model pet.

with some of you guys telling me about how i need to not mess with her for a while, i have had her 2 weeks as of last friday. so that gap has been crossed. Maybe she is comfortable now and a bit arrogant? i don' tknow the complete temperment of snakes.

Also, i am 18 years old, and though i am very mature in maintaining my snake, i cannot say the same for all of my friends. They like to get very close to her cage, take pictures of her, tap fingers on the glass, move quickly around her. I tell them time and time again to be slow around her and not to mess with her. They think this means tap slowly and only jump once every minutes rather than twice a minute. I know there isn't much i can do about that...but would putting up some kind of visual barrier around the glass be beneficial at all? *sigh*

So what i have gathered...
1. feed her only once a week, but make it a fat one
2. get my temp and humidity fixed ASAP
3. try handling her a bit more, take her out of the cage

Anything else?

Side note, right as you guys responded, she came out of her hide box, looked right at me and just passed by, got a drink from her dish (first time i've seen that, and is just resting on the cool side of her cage

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Actualy i was half asleep when i first responded to helping you lol.I would be point blank and tell your freinds "if you tap on her cage i will SLAP you in the back of your head"! Then ask them if they liked it! Now onto your snake.When i mentioned the size of rodent i meant it should be equel to the size of her midsection.Try not to feed to large of a rodent as it could cause her to regurge.Not a good thing at all.Yes the correct temps and humidity a VERY important to keeping your snake healthy and happy:cool: .

To give you an idea of what your female is capable of looking like after a couple years of TLC.This is my female Elvira,she is 5lbs+ and around 5ft mark.Elvira is around 4yrs+ as i am unsure of her correct age. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...vira112006.jpg

I use Exo-terra UTH on the tanks and i use this thermostat(first one $25 in the link provided) to control everyones temps. http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cPath=30_74

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NCKarlov

but would putting up some kind of visual barrier around the glass be beneficial at all? *sigh*

So what i have gathered...
1. feed her only once a week, but make it a fat one
2. get my temp and humidity fixed ASAP
3. try handling her a bit more, take her out of the cage

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I've had my snake for 5 months now and well, what I learned is a lot. Fixing temps to maintainable digestive temps is the first key not feeding. 80degrees is low, thats like th ecool end of the tank. And you should fix that first. O possible digestive problems can occur like vomiting the food, back digestion, and causing bacteria to come in and kill the snake because it didnt have proper temps. Then you need to have her on a weekly feeding, handling her while she may be hungry and cold may stress her out.

I know Im a odd ball, but what I found best to get my Chester adjusted to me was right when I got him, I stuck him soemwhere where he can alway sget used to my scent, yes my bra. And he now loves it in there and will try to go in there whenever I have him out. lol. But also he goes around my neck too, and if your a guy that is a good idea where to hold him. On your always move arm or something may scare her.