questions

I don’t know if this is the right place to post this

I got a normal bp 2 days ago, my first snake
He is said to be about 4 months old
His name is Connor :)


Anyway I fed him a regular mouse (it was the biggest mouse I could find at my pet store) yesterday morning, at like 10, and he killed it immediately then left it, and about 5 minutes later he finally started to eat it
But I picked him up at 4 and he looked mad at me and he just stayed curled up the whole time he was out of his tank and he hides his head, anytime I take his hide away he starts breathing really heavy (well I think its heavy)

I took him out and put him on my bed with a large branch and he stayed curled up for 15 minutes with his head under his tail and then he finally started to come out, but then I touched him and he went back into hiding

Is it just because I’m new, or does he have a shy personality
And how do I know if he is still hungry?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22..._3831106_n.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...-03-05_108.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...-22-11_499.jpg

He is stressed out, being in a new place he has to adjust. 2 things come to mind...first, don't handle him just after feeding. This is very stressful to him, give him a few days to settle down and digest. Second, get rid of the half log hide. He needs something he can get in and feel like he is completly hidden. I would also suggest you give him more time to get used to his new home before handling him.

Welcome to BP.net :colbert2:

You snake is doing waht Ball pythons do, please take the time to read over the care sheet listed in the forums.

After a snake eats they feel very vulnerable and will regurgitate their prey. You need to give your snake 24-48hrs to digest.

Not knowing his exact size at 4mths a mouse every 5-7 days should be fine, but you should think about switching over to rats and a weanling or crawler should be a good size for him or you will be feeding multiple mice every week soon.

The tucking his head in is how they got their name and is a defensive posture, most are shy.


lol while I was typing others replied! All good advice

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FatBoy

He is stressed out, being in a new place he has to adjust. 2 things come to mind...first, don't handle him just after feeding. This is very stressful to him, give him a few days to settle down and digest. Second, get rid of the half log hide. He needs something he can get in and feel like he is completly hidden. I would also suggest you give him more time to get used to his new home before handling him.

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I moved him from a 10 gallon to a 29 gallon and put a rock cave thing but he always stays under his log
I just don’t want him to get used to not being held

Quote:

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Originally Posted by llovelace

Welcome to BP.net :colbert2:

You snake is doing waht Ball pythons do, please take the time to read over the care sheet listed in the forums.

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Thank you
I work at a Petco and I’ve read everything I could find on ball pythons, but I will read that as well :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rperry03

After a snake eats they feel very vulnerable and will regurgitate their prey. You need to give your snake 24-48hrs to digest.

Not knowing his exact size at 4mths a mouse every 5-7 days should be fine, but you should think about switching over to rats and a weanling or crawler should be a good size for him or you will be feeding multiple mice every week soon.

The tucking his head in is how they got their name and is a defensive posture, most are shy.


lol while I was typing others replied! All good advice

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Should I feed him rats every 5-7 days?
The guy I got him from was feeding him every 8-10, which I think is too long of time

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nicole<3

Should I feed him rats every 5-7 days?
The guy I got him from was feeding him every 8-10, which I think is too long of time

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Looking at him he looks healthy, only you know his size and the size of the prey you gave him. You will be able to tell when he is looking for food...his head will be peaking out his hide or maybe a little bit grumpy.

I feed my 350 gram a 35-45 gram rat every 7-10 days. Sometimes he will eat on the 7th day, other times he will refuse and eat on the 10th.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rperry03

Looking at him he looks healthy, only you know his size and the size of the prey you gave him. You will be able to tell when he is looking for food...his head will be peaking out his hide or maybe a little bit grumpy.

I feed my 350 gram a 35-45 gram rat every 7-10 days. Sometimes he will eat on the 7th day, other times he will refuse and eat on the 10th.

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When I fed him the mouse just barley hit the ground and he had already grabbed it
Does that mean they waited too long to feed him?
So if I give him another mouse he wont eat it unless he is still hungry?
(I mean it wont hurt him to eat so much)
This is going to sound stupid but do they like baby rats or adult mice
I will have to get him weighed

Hey! Welcome to BP.net! I also recently got a Ball Python and the Care Sheet provided here is really good and helped me set-up ; http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Also, you should probably give Connor at least 1 week 'alone', where you only go into his space to change water / spot-clean. This will give him time to adjust to his new home and to feel safe. At least that seems to be the general consensus in these forums- I left Khal alone for 2 weeks and now he has no problem with me picking him up and handling him, although I've been doing it gradually.

Some BP's prefer one or the other, but it's better to get them on rats, because that way when they grow older you won't have to worry about feeding multiples because you can get some pretty huge rats.

I hope that helps at least a bit! Have fun with your new pet!

You will find on here that there are a lot of differences in peoples opinions. Just remember that every snake is different and one set of rules doesn't always apply.

If your snake has a lump let him chill for a few days, if he still looks the same consider feeding again.

I don't always follow the let him settle in for x amount of time, a few I have. I tend to feed right away and then let them digest for a few days.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fr3nchvanilla

Hey! Welcome to BP.net! I also recently got a Ball Python and the Care Sheet provided here is really good and helped me set-up ; http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Also, you should probably give Connor at least 1 week 'alone', where you only go into his space to change water / spot-clean. This will give him time to adjust to his new home and to feel safe. At least that seems to be the general consensus in these forums- I left Khal alone for 2 weeks and now he has no problem with me picking him up and handling him, although I've been doing it gradually.

Some BP's prefer one or the other, but it's better to get them on rats, because that way when they grow older you won't have to worry about feeding multiples because you can get some pretty huge rats.

I hope that helps at least a bit! Have fun with your new pet!

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I just worry about him because he hasn’t come out all day and he went into hiding at 10 last night
I put him back in his 10 gallon he came in just too maybe keep the smells the same
I just don’t want him to be hungry, but I will find rats the same size as the mouse he had

Every little bit of information helps, thank you :)