Im new and I have alot of questions

Hey everybody
Last week week I got my first BP im not used to pet snakes, anyway its formal owner said it doesnt have eating problems and its very calm and sweet but i should be gentle with it other wise it might bite! so i got scared, anyway
when I first put it in the tank it moved around i tried feeding it a mouse but it didnt care so i thought maybe it needs to adapt.. but ever since the first day it doesnt leave its house sometimes it sleeps on the heating pad for couple of hours and then back to its house again.. I read its normal.. but I dont know how can i get it out ?? I think removing the house everytime i want to play with it would make Squeeze feel insecure...
second think I didnt play with it yet I feel scared specially when it gets up.. does it bite??
the guy I baught it from said its about 100cm long I didnt check cos i didnt want to scaree it..
anyway her eyes got white and I thought its shedding time so I got her out to have a bath today but I dont think she liked it and when she tried to come out of the tub and saw me comming itfreaked out is that normal??
anyway when i put it back in its tank she ran into her house! i was scared to dry it:(((
I also couldnt find a UV light in my area and im using the light that came with the tank 2 lights written on each of them F15w i dont know what that is would it hurt squeeze??

Wow, that's a lot to take in.

First of all, when you get a new snake and move it into a new environment, you should give it a week without bothering it to become accustomed to everything. You can't expect an animal as skidish as Ball Pythons to just be able to move from place to place and love doing it. It's not a cat or a dog. This would also explain why it wouldn't eat for you. As he's probably scared, expect him to stay in his hides for long periods of time. It will come out when it's ready to.

Secondly, if the eyes are turning a light blue color, leave it alone. That's a sure fire way to get bit. You don't need to bathe it at that point. If anything, you can spray it with some mist and let him take care of the rest. Make sure you have the humidity up to 70% at this point to ensure a proper shed.

First off I'm wondering why it has a heating pad and a house? The house should be on the heating pad a another house on the other side in the cool area.
Pictures of your enclosure would be helpful so we can help.
When you think he is going into shed all you need to do is mist or up the humidity some how to 70%+. I up mine to around 90%.
And about the biting, if he hasn't bitten you yet being as scared as he is, he's prob not going to.

I was going to ask for pics, but honestly, I was scared as to what we may see lol. As for the biting, I wouldn't say it won't tag her if it hasn't already. If she keeps bothering it in mid shed, she'll get tagged real quick.

If a concern is being bit, two of the best rules to follow are to leave the snake alone as soon as you realize it's in shed and after feeding, wash your hands before picking the snake up for whatever reason.

Also, ball pythons don't require UV lighting - they're nocturnal animals. Have you reviewed our caresheet yet?

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

FWIW, I never soak my animals during a shed process.

justinsane heey why are u afraid of what you would see its not like im having snake slaughter:P and I doo know animals like BP wont move around but the first day she was moving alot and the next days it did go out but now its not doing that... and I bathed it because I found something on google that says u bathe ur snake when theyre in shed ahh this snake is giving me hard time <- Im starting to wonder who is giving the other a hard time now
my poor BP i didnt know i was scaring it

MitsuMike I'll try to raise up the humidity level... would spraying water every couple of hours and putting the water bowl next to the heating pad going to help?? and those are the pictures
http://www10.0zz0.com/2010/02/12/15/933806763.jpg

http://www7.0zz0.com/2010/02/12/15/153120568.jpg

and I was looking for some plant or a little plastic bush for the inclosure I didnt find one yet

^^Ok first off he needs a hide like this:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes/

They can be anything really. I use the things that catch the water under a pot. OR another thing for a bigger bp would to buy the cheap plastic flower pots and cut it to height.

One needs to be on the hot side and one needs to be on the cool side. Also what are you using for heating. And to add to all this where is your temp guage? Thermostat? And is that SAND?

Lose the plastic thing in the first pic on the left side. Put a hide on each end/corner and put the big tree and the water bowl in the center.

He is prob not eating cuz he doesn't feed secure with the lack of hides. OH and also he help add some more of that background to the sides of the tank too.

SORRY :( I didnt get the temp gauge yet and for heating im using one of those heating trea stump and the thing on the left side is not plastic its made of clay i dont know what its called fictile i think? and that where the snake spends most of its time should i remove it?? and yes im using sand as bedding is that bad?? I try to add more hiding places but dont u think the enclosure isnt big enough for more hiding places?? I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO to be honest I got the snake as a gift and i feel lost I dont wanna hurt it

http://www13.0zz0.com/2010/02/12/20/137310303.jpg

Told you I was scared as to what I'd see. You should've read over some more care sheets before getting the snake. You don't use sand as bedding. Take that out and use either newspaper, paper towels, aspen, etc... Care sheets go into detail as to what you should use. Secondly, you need two hides that are exactly the same on each side of the tank. You need to have gauges for temps to measure the hot side, cold side and ambient air temps as well as one to measure humidity ESPECIALLY IF IT'S ABOUT TO SHED. How can we tell you what will help with the humidity if you don't even know what the humidity level is?

Something that bugged me though was you said that for heat he uses the tree stump...Is that some sort of equipment that gives off heat like a heated rock?

justinsane why are u maad at me what do u want me toooooo dooo my cousin gave it to me as i gift i cannot give it back or away and im not expert with snakes and the stupid formal owner said sand is the best thing to use!!!!! HOW can i take it out u said i shouldnt touch it before its done with shdding! and about the tree stump when i got it i went to a pet shop and told me to use this as a heater for reptiles thats a clearer picture
http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/i...esize&p=150x80

Forget what everyone else has said to you previously about caring for this animal. Especially pet store employees.

Unplug the tree stump right now. It is the equivalent to a heat rock and will cook your snake if it sits on it too long.

You really have a lot that you need to fix. I know you probably don't want to hear it, but many things that you have purchased are useless and you will have to start almost completely over which means spending more money. I understand that completely de-doing the setup can be frustrating since you have read and heard many different things, but please, take into consideration the suggestions given on this site.


First order of business is heating:
Heat rocks, heat tree stumps, and lamps for that matter, are not an appropriate way to heat your ball pythons enclosure. An under tank heat mat (UTH) is the preferred method of heating.

With any heat source you use with a ball python, you need a way to control it. You will need a reptile thermostat or a rheostat for temporary use. A proper reptile thermostat will be very hard to find in stores. You will most likely have to order one online. For a single setup I recommend the reptitemp 500r thermostat. A google search should find a few of these for around $20.

In the meantime, go to a local pet store and pick up a heat pad. I prefer the zoo-med heat pads. Your next stop is Home depot or lowes. Ask someone to help you find a piggy back light dimmer: http://www.westsidewholesale.com/med...05928-1_10.jpg .

The other thing you want to pick up at the home depot is a indoor outdoor accurite thermometer. It looks like this:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/...08150cba43.jpg
It should be in the gardening or outdoor section.

When you get home, follow the instructions on the heat pad for putting it on the bottom of your tank. Plug the UTH into the rheostat light dimmer and plug that into the wall. (Make sure the snake is not in the enclosure while you make these changes). The accurite thermometer has an external probe. It has a little adhesive pad on the bottom. Stick this right on the glass inside the enclosure over where the UTH is. You want to measure the hottest possible point your snake can get too to prevent burns. Place the rest of the accurite unit on the opposite side of the tank, or the "cool side". The "outdoor" temperature will read your hot side temp and the "indoor" temp will measure your cool side temp. Adjust the rheostat until the hot side temp reads between 90-92*F. You might have to adjust it a few times a day to keep it steady. Your thermostat will replace the rheostat and you won't have to adjust it at all after you set it.

Substrate:
Sand is just not suitable for ball pythons. My best suggestion is paper towels. You can use aspen bedding if you want but paper towels are easily found and I think they look rather nice. A few layers of paper towel should do the trick.


Hides:
Your ball python need two identical tight fitting hides. They don't need to be fancy. I use plastic bowls I found at the dollar store and I cut a small entrance in the side (see the picture with the thermometer). If you want something more natural, the exo-terra rock cave hides are the best.


The cool thing about the accurite weather station is that is also measures humidity! So you don't need any other thermometer or hygrometer in the tank. Make sure your humidity is between 50-60% normally and 70% when your snake is shedding.


Ball pythons are very secretive animals and will RARELY come out of hiding. This is a good thing! Roaming, cruising, slithering around, is generally an indication of stress. Your snake should be hiding all day and only come out occasionally at night.

I hope this can put you on the right track! Good luck! :gj:

I would hardly say I'm mad lol. However, if you listen to what has been told to you here, especially that detailed list in the previous post, the snake will be ok.

I appreciate the fact that this snake was something you weren't ready for and it's a shame your cousin would do that to not only you but the snake.

Try not to feel too bad. I am a new owner, and I had been told to use sand as well. I just changed to aspen bedding today. Pet stores seem to have little useful information...they pretty much set me up all wrong. :( Be sure to change the sand, my snake may have some damage to his head from the sand.

I hope you manage to get things all straightened out. Try to keep your chin up about the situation. I am glad you sought out reliable information from experienced people! (I am glad I did too!)

Kaorte thanks aloot i'll do everything u said but its hard to find these stuff in my country but i'll try to order them
justinsane82 yeah i love BPs but i always knew im not ready thats why i didnt get one myself
koulgurl thanks alot u made me feel better

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MiSsLeSs

Kaorte thanks aloot i'll do everything u said but its hard to find these stuff in my country but i'll try to order them
justinsane82 yeah i love BPs but i always knew im not ready thats why i didnt get one myself
koulgurl thanks alot u made me feel better

---

Just do all that stuff and you'll be fine. No need to worry. Everything doesn't have to be EXACTLY what we tell you. hides and stuff can be as simple as a upside down bowl with a cut out entrance with paper towel bedding. Once you get them set up you will be all good. :gj:

Don't worry, everyone was new to this at one point or another. The care sheets do help alot. I also highly recommend changing the sand out. While changing around the set up and all, put your snake in a pillow case, preferably one that zips up and make sure theres no holes in it!! Then you can set it on your bed or somewhere it won't mistakenly get sat on or stepped on while doing the rearranging and/or cleaning. If you don't have one that zips, make sure it's a big pillow case and just tie a knot in the open end. When done, you can slowly and very carefully slide the snake out of the case into the cage without having to pick it up.