Plop: The unexpected rescue... (lots of pics)

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Originally Posted by Gizmo

Yay! Glad i could make you smile. :) He is such a neat little guy.



Thank you so much! :) I hope so too.



I have an 18x18x18 exoterra... Should i move him to that and THEN the 40? or.... ?

Also thanks so much! X3

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I'd move him to the exoterra first then the 40...just make sure the 40 is nice and cluttered up...Ball pythons prefer tighter more enclosed spaces- as they typically inhabit abandoned burrows and holes in their native ranges.

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Originally Posted by OsirisRa32

I'd move him to the exoterra first then the 40...just make sure the 40 is nice and cluttered up...Ball pythons prefer tighter more enclosed spaces- as they typically inhabit abandoned burrows and holes in their native ranges.

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Okay! Thats great anyway, gives me time to set up the 40 just how i want it anyway. Im going to go all out and make it beautiful, a real show stopping piece for display in my livingroom. And while i am working on it, he can have plenty of room in the exoterra lol. :)

What you did was amazing and your doing a great job.

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Originally Posted by Nick_bp

What you did was amazing and your doing a great job.

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Thank you, i really appreciate the comment. :)

This is the most amazing and heartwarming rescue story I've read. He looks fantastic and so happy! Thanks for sharing and I hope to read updates in the future. :)


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Originally Posted by _Victoria

This is the most amazing and heartwarming rescue story I've read. He looks fantastic and so happy! Thanks for sharing and I hope to read updates in the future. :)


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Well im doing what i can for him. :) He is going to be soooooo spoiled.




Im moving Plop from 3 pinkies to a single (rat) hopper at feeding now that he has some girth, i dont want to support my local chain stores, but no one seems to have the right size, what is a good web option for buying rats where it is not required to buy in bulk?

I've lurked on these forums for a while but finally had to join up when I saw this post! Great Job!

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Originally Posted by Gizmo

Well im doing what i can for him. :) He is going to be soooooo spoiled.




Im moving Plop from 3 pinkies to a single (rat) hopper at feeding now that he has some girth, i dont want to support my local chain stores, but no one seems to have the right size, what is a good web option for buying rats where it is not required to buy in bulk?

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Depending on your location, you may have local feeder breeders that can do custom order sizes. Join local reptile groups on Facebook, and check your local Craigslist for feeder advertisements. :gj:

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What a heartwarming story. Would you believe I once rescued a baby ball that was almost as bad as him? 8 months old, and it weighed a mere 70 grams. Which is what a lot of newborn balls weigh. His lovely owners fed him a single pinky mouse a month.

It really is amazing just how resilient these guys can be, although not every one we see in this condition survives.

Take your time about a bigger enclosure. A 40 gallon tank is big even for an adult female, that poor little lamb would be lost in something that huge. What he is in right now will be fine for a while, and I prefer to increase enclosure size gradually so I don't stress one out.

One word of caution about the show tank. Keep in mind they are a beast to keep clean. I learned that the hard way. Nothing like trying for 3 hours to get the poo your snake was kind enough to leave over half the tank bottom and then thoughtfully crawl though and smear over most of the decorations clean. :D

I wish you and your lovely pastel baby all the best. I think you two will have a long and fulfilling life together.

Gale

Wow! What a stunning change! Good job!
To answer some of your questions:

-Don't use human hand warmers or heat packs. They get too hot and can cook him. Look up the company Ship Your Reptiles. They sell reptile-specific heat packs that last 48+ hours and are safe.

-40 gallons is WAYYYYY too big for a baby BP. Even my 1500g breeder girl isn't in a 40 gallon because she stresses in anything bigger than a 20 gallon (I use tubs for most of mine, so the equivalent for her). 10 will last you a good while and then a 20 after that will work for a long time and possibly permanently if it's a male and stays fairly small. My 4' 1300g male is in a 20 gal and doesn't need anything bigger. 40 gals are typically only used with large females. Also, you need to keep the humidity around 60% normally and 70% when he's in shed and that's going to be virtually impossible in a large tank. Humidity is hard to keep right in even a 10 gallon tank, which is why most experienced keepers recommend tubs or snake-specific cages. I live in a really humid area and still have to mist my tanks several times per day. My tubs don't have that problem. :)

-If you're on Facebook, I recommend the Ball Python Owners group. A lot of people from here are on there and it's geared toward educating new owners. It's a good place to start in addition to this forum.

-Definitely get a thermostat. Your hot spot should be about 90* give or take a few degrees. I've tested unregulated heat mats and had them get over 130* which can kill your snake. You can find cheap ones on Amazon that will work in the short term. Your cool spot should be between 80 and 85*. Also, I recommend an Accurite indoor-outdoor thermometer-hygrometer. It has a probe you can use for the hot spot and the main unit monitors ambient/cool side temps and humidity. And they're cheap and work really well. Analog ones are horrendously inaccurate. I had an analog and it read 10% humidity when it was actually 70%. I was over-misting and could have made him sick.

Plop is adorable. :) You're doing great!