Need piece of mind.

Okay, first off i would like to Say Hello again, and sorry mods if this is in the wrong place. Like the title says this is my first Bp and from reading the forums here i have a few Questions.

1. My Bp never uses it hides, it just sits next to them. Is this normal or am i not meeting its needs.

2. That leads into the second question. I bought it at Petco as a "Baby ball Python", and from reading it suppose to eat 1-2 times a week. My bp hasnt eaten in 15 days. Part of the moving hunger strike or due to its living conditions?

3. when ever i do see it move, it tries to climb the walls. Is this because its the Terriarum is to big? (i read something about crumbled paper on the forum but i cant find it >.< )

Info: Lives in a 20g long Glass terriarum. Has two hides, one a rock shape and the others cut out bowl. Has a water dish and is heated by a heating pad with some assistance from a heat lamp. The temp on warm roughly 88-90s and low side is 82-84. humidity is usually around 53%. I have pictures of the set up if needed. Thanks in advance, and this is my first bp so i made this thread mainly for piece of mind. o ya, When i try to feed it, i feed it pinkies and tried once every 3 days.

A 20 gallon is awefully big for a baby ball python and that's probably stressing your guy out, thus the not eating part. I'd aim for a ten gallon.

Also, humidity would be better off around 60%- 70%.

Other than that, the set up sounds quite good to me :) and welcome to the world of keeping bps, they're awesome!

Would blocking off half of it be alright? or would/should i go out and buy a 10gallon?

You could, but buying a smaller cage would be easier. How big is ur lil one?

Also, to keep stress down until it's feeding you should avoid handling the baby as much as possible, and offer food every 5-7 days.

i havent had a chance to weigh it yet, but if it helps Etnie is about 12"-14" inches long

Ok, a 10 gal size would be great!

sweet..to the petstore i go....when it opens ><

There is nothing wrong with blocking off half of the 20L. Just dont use cardboard. It will get nasty when the snake pees and sucks humidity.

I would like to see the pictures of your setup. I could give you a lot more suggestions with that :)

You can feed something bigger than a pinkie too. As soon as a BP is born it can go to a hopper. I had the same problem and and luckily happened to know a herp specialist and he filled me in on that when I started. Good luck!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gknight

You can feed something bigger than a pinkie too. As soon as a BP is born it can go to a hopper. I had the same problem and and luckily happened to know a herp specialist and he filled me in on that when I started. Good luck!

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Missed that part!

Exactly right. A pinkie is way to small for a ball python (even a hatchling). Its like us just eating one potato chip or something.

Move it to a 10 gallon.

Put in a few pieces of crumpled newspaper.

Wait a few days.

Offer hopper, and good luck.

You wanna make sure the hides are nice and snug too. If the hides are too big he may feel insecure but you could easily make a smaller hide with some dollar store bowls or stuff some paper towels/newspaper to make him feel more comfy.

As far as piece of mind goes, when I got my first ball he wouldn't eat the first three weeks. It can be normal for a new move.

Just keep the stress as low as possible.
Don't handle him unless necessary.
Keep him in a low traffic area away from loud noises.
You might even want to "blind" the front of the cage by taping some paper to the front.

Also, I don't know how often you are trying to feed him but when my ball was not eating I made the decision not to offer him food every day since I thought that might turn him off to eating even more.

Increase the humidity. Use a smaller cage or add lots of cover (or both).

Make sure the hides are small--only just big enough for the snake to curl up inside tightly. Make sure you turn off all the lights at night--you can use a red light or a blue light if you want to see, as they won't disturb the snake. Daytime is sleeping time for ball pythons.

Make sure that you do not handle the snake any more than is necessary for cage cleaning. Don't handle it until it's started eating. If there's a lot of commotion in the household, put the cage in a low-traffic area. Consider covering it if you think there is too much foot traffic or people looking in on it.

After you make these changes, wait 3 days. Once night falls, and all is silent, offer him a live hopper mouse.
If he doesn't take it, I suggest you consult a reptile veterinarian. Sometimes imported captive-hatched baby balls aren't in very good condition, and it's important to determine whether the little one is healthy and just being a bit stubborn, or if it's actually quite ill and needs treatment quickly to survive.

post your pictures please.

Are you using the analog or stick on type thermometers to measure humidity and temp? If you are they are EXTREMELY inaccurate. They can be off by 10 degrees or more in either direction.

What kind of hides are you using? If you're using a log hide that could be why your snake isnt using it. BPs dont generally do well with half log hides because they're too open. Try using a more appropariate style of hide, if you want something that looks nice there are little half coconut hides that my snakes love. Personally i use black plastic bowls i got from the party supply store, i soldered a door in them. They're affordable and pretty good if you've got more than one snake.

Check the sticky posts, theres a ton of good info in them :)

I am using 2 flukers (sp?) digital therm//humidity combo. Currently, the snake is in my room, which is the lowest possible traffic area, because im gone all day with college and work D: . I think the hides might be too tall and was think about putting plastic to make them smaller or just replace them. As for live feeding, i have been looking for places on google and through forums where to by live in Nj (im like 5 min from philly so if you know a place).
This is my basic set up, but im getting a 10g from a friend so im going to clean it and then switch Etnie ( ya finally thought of a name :D) to the 10g
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/a...icktars004.jpg

You need two identical hides and you need more stuff like plants or crumbled newspaperto clutter the tank. You don't need a smaller tank, I use a 20 gallon tank for my baby. It took him 3 weeks to eat and all he did was try to escape but he will settle in it just takes time. Mine wouldn't touch a pinkie but loved mice for the first few feedings then I switched to rats. You only feed once a week not twice a week. Don't handle him and completely isolate him until he is eating well. Just be patient, he will eat!

I just found a place that sells more than just pinkies :D. So ill pick up some small plastics bowls and more fake plants. Im still going to switch to a smaller tank because it was free. Later when its all done ill post of the pictures of the new tank. Thanks for all the helpful responses everyone!

okay, just got back and set up the terrarium. I didnt get a 10g but i bought a small half log (not for a hide but just to be in the tank). 6ft of vines (only used about 2ft), a hollowed tree thing, and two bowls for new hides.

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/a...b/newbp002.jpg

This pictures doesnthave the side covers on the tank. And i might cover the front. Is it a Good or bad idea to help Etnie get used to his new enclosure.

hey, so although u couldnt find the crumpled newspaper thread, the vines are good to add foliage and decrease stress in ur BP.
half logs arent usually recommended here, but since u still have ur original hides, it shouldnt be too bad.

Hi, welcome to this forum and the world of BPs! I'm still pretty new, having gotten our BP only 2½ months ago, but I've been through what you're describing and have learned a lot on these boards.

I don't know if this is "the" newspaper thread you're talking about, but I started a thread about my BP's behavior that was similar to what you described, and it turned into a newspaper solution. Click here, starts at post #11.

Although I got my BP from someone else, they had bought it from Petco only 2 months prior and were still feeding it hoppers, which I discovered were waaaaaayyyyyyy too small. Our snake was so thin, it was shaped more like a narrow eel than a round BP, which it now is. Pinkies would barely be a snack, let alone a meal. I get the frozen mice from Petco/Petsmart, which ours has done well on.

Re. being out and not using hides, casual cruising at night (they're nocturnal) is normal, but doing so all day long isn't. Usually they're in their hides. And yes, covering the sides does help. :)