Help with problem Ball Python

I do use aspen, but it still gets in the way a little. She should be able to get it out of her mouth with a little time. mine rubs on her hide is she gets a little stuck. Papertowls are wonderful too.

She really doesn't need a stick, or branch. They rarely use them, and when they do it's a short time. They forget they aren't tree snakes, and fall off. I had to lower mine. If your humidity is right she shouldn't really need something to coarse to rub on. Mine just shed in her hide this morning, and its a cereal bowl. You can fill her tank with big pieces of wood, or green things. I'm just repeating the thread above. lol.

You should be able to take her to the pet store to weigh her too. Or buy a food scale from walmart. Like Kaorte said (again).

Hope this broken record helps. :rofl:

if they eat some aspen its not horrible

Well I've read that if you drop the snake it looses confidence in you and might strike at you, and you need to get its confidence back.....i would also recommend to buy a hide that touches all its sides so it can feel more secure(thats probably why it is striking). But i really dont think by changing it from its cage to another to feed it it gets stressed because if you"ve done it for a while then it should of already get use to it

Ok so, when I said cedar like chips, i just meant the look of it, i didnt know what it was called. After finding the care guide and looking at the substrates i have found that it is called Repti-bark. Another possibility of her craziness may be the heat, I dont remember if the pet store told me, or if I read it somewhere, but I had been turning off the heat source at night, so the cage would be getting down to about room temperature at night.

You shouldn't have any temp fluctuation.
It sounds like you aren't to sure on your temp gradient. Can you tell us what you are using for heat, how you are controlling it and with what kind of thermometers are you measuring it?

A picture would also be awesome :)

you should really get an uth

Woooey. Sounds like no fun over there at all.

Bronco, I will recommend a few things.


First, get her off cedar! The oils in cedar are toxic, it's no wonder she is grumpy, her airways and skin must be burning.

Second, fill up her enclosure with newspaper balls or decorations. This will help to create a smaller space, and help her feel secure.

Third, get some digital thermometers like an Acu-rite Digital indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer. Make sure her temps are spot on! (90 hot, 80 air temp, 60% humidity)

Fourth, get her some small,tight fitting, uber claustrophobic, "I don't think she'll fit" hides. One on each end of the temperature gradient.

And finally, bump her up in her food size. The prey should be approximately the same size around as her widest point. Trust me, she can handle it. ;)

Try not to handle her yet, meaning, wait two full weeks after you have updated her cage. Making sure her husbandry is up to snuff and she feels secure is key. A secure and well fed ball python will be far easier to work with than one that is stressed 24/7 because it's enclosure is in adequate.

My two cents.

And please read through our caresheet and change whatever to follow as closely as possible.

http://ball-pythons.net/modules/Sect...warticle&id=59