Identity crisis!

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Originally Posted by angllady2

I can understand your reluctance to feed live. I went through the exact same thing. My daughter raises pet rats that I play with daily for Pete's sake!!

However, over time, faced with feeding refusals and wasted frozen rodents that cost me money and stress and what not, I got over it.

By all means, search out a supplier of frozen rats, buy online if you must, just be prepared for outrageous shipping prices, and do what makes you comfortable right now.

I will give a bit of advice on F/T. If that rodent isn't HOT most snakes won't touch it. What I do is thaw the rodent at room temp for a few hours, submerge it in a thin stream of running hot tap water for 30 minutes, towel dry the rodent then dry it with a hair dryer. Once it's nice and dry and toasty warm, grip it with feeding tongs, heat JUST the head for about 30 seconds, then offer it.

Make sure you don't shove the rodent in the snakes face, I offer it on the opposite side of the tub from the snake. If you did things right, that rodent will be putting off a massive heat signature, which is how snakes hunt. And BAM! No more rodent.

Your girl is indeed thin, and you should step her up to at least rat pups ASAP. You new boy will need at least a week to relax and settle in before trying to feed him. Make sure you read and re-read the caresheets, because a 40 gallon tank is huge for one of those little guys, and you are going to need to be on your toes to make it an ideal home. By the way, even from your pictures I can tell your boy is almost certainly a fire. Fire's are a subtle morph, but he'll get more beautiful as he grows. If you want your mind blown, visit http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs and have a box of tissue's ready for the drool.

Gale

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Iggy is in a 20L and seems happier.
[with all her hides, water bowl and whatnot, I don't know how she can move but she seems to like it better]

The 40 gallon was a bad choice in hindsight, purchased in reaction to other ball python information pages but this winter, with hubby's help, I'd like to make them a more appropriate free standing enclosure, somewhat like an "entertainment center" sort of thing but built to snake specifications.

For him, I bought new "furniture" [same as her generic PetCo/PetSmart stuff though...my selection is quite limited, here] cleaned out the tank and changed out the bedding, adding the new cypress bedding which I think looks grungy but they love.

All "her stuff" went into the 20L.
I bought yesterday but haven't put her new background up yet so she doesn't have her "visual security screen' going.
I searched everywhere, didn't find and can't remember where I got her turtle shell hide so he doesn't have one of his own.

He had no idea what a "hide" was as he's pretty much lived in a closed, barren drawer all of his life and now that the tank's cluttered up with all his "new junk", he's calmed down quite a bit.

Since he's figured out what his hide is for, he's been balled up in there during the day and came out to climb and roam a bit late last night much more calmly and curiously.
He seems to enjoy laying on the new resin "tree" he just got.
He doesn't move or act like he sees me when I go by so I think he's sleeping on it.

I bought two of them but Iggy's really not up to having that in her tank, yet.

[I also switched his light bulb from the red type to the black "moon" type]

For at least a week, I'm not doing anything with him except to monitor his breathing, general welfare, etc and change his water.

Iggy seems to have grown a little already because she's having a much harder time squeezing her whole self into her beloved paper towel tube.

They were out of rat pups so we got the larger mice instead.
Maybe next show....:-\

She's an eager eater [a little glutton, really] and I thawed at room temp/warmed up with hot water and she is fine with that.
She currently weighs 166 grams for a net gain of 32.

I will try the "hot head" hair drier trick for him since he's the 'difficult' one.
Sounds like a great idea...:)
It might even prompt Iggy's "aim" to improve as she just grabs *wherever* and starts to swallow.

I'm looking forward to him settling down so I can handle him some and find out what his personality really is.

Being a snake bought from a breeder who does this as a hobby/extra income, he's not been personally or regularly handled at all.
He was all "hugs and kisses" at the show after I got him out of the tiny display box he was in but now he's freaked out, I'm sure.

[I also think he was probably a bit chilled at the show...it wasn't very warm in the building and few people had any heat sources on their snakes]

He's very slippery and fast, trying to zip out of my hands and take off to who knows where.
[I had to change something in his house that required briefly removing him from it...that was intense]

I'm just going to let him chill out for a while.

Iggy immediately decided that she liked being a lap snake but I think he's possibly going to be less inclined.

I suppose that's normal considering he's gone from a year of being fed/watered/not handled to suddenly becoming a person's "pet".

Thanks for the website link...you're right....it's mind blowing and the snakes are gorgeous!
[drooooooool!]....:D

You seem to have a mis-conception about breeders and how they keep their animals. I started with a pet ball python in a 20 gallon long tank in 2005. After he went on an 8 month fast, I finally broke down and moved him into one of those tubs that your posts seem to abhor.

Within a week, once he was in an enclosure that was more close to what he would have chosen in the wild (tight and small) he began to eat with vigor.

Since they live in termite mounds and rodent burrows most of their lives, the decorations and extra stuff are to make the owner happy, not the snake. :)

I had a rocked out enclosure, but lugging that tank into the bathroom each month to thoroughly clean it got old fast, and besides, the snake was happier in a tub. And I was happy to get rid of the glass tank. It did get used for a brief while to breed mice.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Last I checked, this man is a woman! :P Yup - just checked, I'm still a woman! LOL

OP - did you put the fire in the same enclosure as your other snake? Some of the decorations look identical, which is why I ask.

I don't expect that your fire would eat the same day that you bought it, and I expect it even less if it's constantly exploring. A content ball python is one that is NOT restless and that you will never see during day light hours (because it's hidden inside a hide). A stressed ball python is one that is constantly roaming and stretching to the top of the enclosure.

A forty gallon enclosure is HUGE - two of them must be a pain to completely break down and disinfect every month or so. I hope you have two, one for each snake. :)

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No, they're not in the same enclosure.
Everything I read here said "NEVER! do that" so I didn't even consider it.
As far as either of them are concerned, the other one doesn't exist.

Iggy's in a 20L I keep on hand for emergencies.
[I have both pet rats and tropical fish and you never know when you'll need a "hospital"]

The decor is identical because all we have is PetCo and PetSmart so you can choose between all 5 of their non-specific hides/decoration selections to purchase.
[I wish I were kidding but sadly, I'm not]

It's pretty monotonous for them to have identical 'furniture' but that's the way it is, here in the boonies.

I guess they really don't care, though....:)

Now that he knows what a hide is for, he's much better.

He was calmly looking around/laying on his branch/rooting under the bedding last night and then went back to bed.
[this was repeated several times with decreasing lengths of time spent active]

If "invisible" equals calm, Iggy must be the happiest python on earth.

She sleeps, comes out for a stretch or a drink and goes back into her tube.

Her last feeding didn't even see her coming even halfway out of the tube to maneuver her supper.

[grab, swallow, back up, go to sleep again]

At night, her level of activity increases to simply uncurling and letting her tail hang out one end of the tube her head out of the other, looking around a little and acting very content.

Since I can't stay up all night and stare at her, she may be doing other things I haven't seen, such as burrowing because the new bedding was all messed up and furrowed as though she'd been plowing her way under it.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

You seem to have a mis-conception about breeders and how they keep their animals. I started with a pet ball python in a 20 gallon long tank in 2005. After he went on an 8 month fast, I finally broke down and moved him into one of those tubs that your posts seem to abhor.

Within a week, once he was in an enclosure that was more close to what he would have chosen in the wild (tight and small) he began to eat with vigor.

Since they live in termite mounds and rodent burrows most of their lives, the decorations and extra stuff are to make the owner happy, not the snake. :)

I had a rocked out enclosure, but lugging that tank into the bathroom each month to thoroughly clean it got old fast, and besides, the snake was happier in a tub. And I was happy to get rid of the glass tank. It did get used for a brief while to breed mice.

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It's not an issue of abhorring the general concept but from what I've seen of the breeder since I got the snake, I suspect his snakes are handled as little as possible, save moving for breeding/cleaning/showing to buyers.

That makes it a little hard for those of us who buy them for pets, expecting to be able to at least hold them once in a while.
[my real life has always been dog rescue/rehab and I'm probably thinking in "dog think" too much...time to recalibrate to herp-speak]...;]

I'll probably end up with tubs like most others do eventually but you have to wonder why snakes don't die of sheer boredom.

Imagine 20-40 years of living in a Rubbermaid storage box, never seeing anything or going anywhere....I'd go completely insane inside of 20 days....LOL

[who am I kidding? as antsy and ever-in-motion as I am, it would be from Rubbermaid-to-rubber room, 2 days, tops]

As far as the tubs go, I can see a huge advantage in the never-ending battle for Truth, Justice and The Perfect Heat/Humidity.....:P

Thanks to whomever posted the tinfoiled-lid tip, I can stop running out to check both variables every 20 minutes.

[truth be told, I've already started eying some really nice lock-top containers at Wally World....just in case]...LOL

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Originally Posted by Salamander

I'll probably end up with tubs like most others do eventually but you have to wonder why snakes don't die of sheer boredom.

Imagine 20-40 years of living in a Rubbermaid storage box, never seeing anything or going anywhere....I'd go completely insane inside of 20 days....LOL

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Snake perception seems to be vastly different than human perception.

To us a dark closed in place would be boring and/or frightening. Snakes seek these very same conditions because it makes them feel safe and secure.

We would probably go nuts if we had a one-item menu year after year. Most of our ball pythons demand it.

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Originally Posted by Redneck_Crow

Snake perception seems to be vastly different than human perception.

To us a dark closed in place would be boring and/or frightening. Snakes seek these very same conditions because it makes them feel safe and secure.

We would probably go nuts if we had a one-item menu year after year. Most of our ball pythons demand it.

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Believe me, after watching Iggy eat her first meal here, I have never been happier to not be a snake!

Frankly, I was worried to death the whole time that somehow, the fuzzy would 'get stuck' or strangle her and I had no idea how to help her, if it did.

Not even 2 weeks later, the local snake shop guy tossed her a fresh killed adult mouse probably 5 times bigger and she dispatched that with great skill....while she was curled up in a snap-top food storage box on the checkout counter of a busy store in broad daylight.

I underestimated her vastly.


I still can't believe how fast supper slides all the way back to her stomach.

Just...wow.

[but I still wouldn't want to have to get my nourishment like *that*]....:O

I just went out to my art studio and measured a lovely pine armoire that is currently housing my airbrush equipment/supplies and various papers and other art substrates.

Wouldn't you know....the top half is the perfect size to retrofit into a really nice 'snake hutch'.

The doors are on double-action hinges for easy access and even closed, would offer plenty of air circulation plus it would eliminate a lot of heat/humidity regulation issues.

Day/night can easily be mimicked by simply opening or closing said doors.

The smaller bottom section is perfect for housing all their supplies.

It would be easy to clean since it's polyurethane sealed clear pine that I *might* add a sheet of vinyl flooring over to make it even more sealed.

A good wipe down or spray with dilute disinfectant overall would do it for sanitizing.

Now I have to figure out how to put sliding glass doors and a partition *or* hinged 'flap' windows that latch at the top in it.

It would be a like a cozy horizontal "burrow" but I could still see them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by angllady2

Your girl is indeed thin, and you should step her up to at least rat pups ASAP. You new boy will need at least a week to relax and settle in before trying to feed him. Make sure you read and re-read the caresheets, because a 40 gallon tank is huge for one of those little guys, and you are going to need to be on your toes to make it an ideal home. By the way, even from your pictures I can tell your boy is almost certainly a fire. Fire's are a subtle morph, but he'll get more beautiful as he grows. If you want your mind blown, visit http://www.worldofballpythons.com/morphs and have a box of tissue's ready for the drool.

Gale

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This is a picture of Iggy today at 166 grams.
For the lack of a more technical description, she just looks "rounder" to me and her tail end seems thicker.

http://file.walagata.com/w/the-salamander/ig1.jpg

And her new "spooky background"...pardon the flash glare.
[I wish they'd had that in the 18" tall size....I really like it much better than the "petrified wood" theme I used on the other tank]

http://file.walagata.com/w/the-salamander/ig3.jpg

And Himself last night.

http://file.walagata.com/w/the-salamander/newsnake4.jpg

He must've been asleep up there because neither my presence or the flash caused him to react at all.

He seems to like the fake tree.

He wraps his back half tightly around the one branch, rests his head on the other and just lays there.

As I said, I suspect he's sleeping when he does that.

Love Iggy's colors, beautiful! :)

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Originally Posted by AZ_Equine

Love Iggy's colors, beautiful! :)

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Thanks!

[doesn't she look just like tasty, golden brown, yummy caramels?]

Hmm...maybe I should go eat something....LOL