feeding queston

alright so i got a ball python friday and the store i got her at said they all ate last monday. i tryed feeding her saterday and sunday and she didnt take it but im just woundering how many times can i thaw out a mouse before it gets bad?

You should leave her alone for at least a week to a week and a half, no feeding, no handling, just forget she's even there unless your changing water or cleaning something. I would only thaw out twice before I throw it away, meaning buy it, thaw it once, refreeze if it's refused and thaw out one more time before I throw it away.

Yep. Let her rest for a good week before you feed her. What is her tank/tub set up like? Hot side/Cold side? Humidity? Just covering the bases before we work our a resolution. And, if you change anything in her tank she's going to need a few more days to adjust to it.

Welcome!!

not sure on the hot side cold side. and i had about a 20 gallon tub for her but she was about to escape from that so she is now in a 10 gallon. theres a water bowl and a real dark hide in there for her.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ballpython20s

not sure on the hot side cold side. and i had about a 20 gallon tub for her but she was about to escape from that so she is now in a 10 gallon. theres a water bowl and a real dark hide in there for her.

---

So...you don't monitor temps?? Do you use a UTH? Anything?

what are you using for heat:confused:

Ok. Caresheet:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Read through this and make any changes you need too. She will need a hot side, a UTH regulated by a dimmer, or thermostat. A lamp would even work short term. You will risk her getting ill, and maybe a respiratory infection without some warmth.

Keep this thread updated if you have any questions on setting up a proper home for her. :)

no i havent checked the heat in the tub yet. and its a zoo med heat mat. also i didnt answer the humidty question but the tub is sprayed twice a day

OP, you need a thermostat or a rheostat to regulate those heat mats, I have the SAME heat mat and it reaches over 130-150 degrees, you're going to end up with a burnt snake. I'd also invest in a digital thermometer or a temp gun, it's really important to have something on that heat mat....

i never said i didnt have a heat source for the snake she has one but im sure not sure what the temps are. the mat is under the hide like it should be with the water bowl on the cool side

depending what size mat you bought it can get well over 140 degrees. It needs to be regulated to 88 to 95 with either a dimmer or t-stat

i do have a heat gun. but its with my dad right now i will get it from him when he gets home

its a 10 gallon mat

I can already tell you that it's getting too hot, I live by my heat gun, you need a thermostat/rheostat....the temp gun won't prevent the mat from burning your snake.

Edit: It's the 10-20 gallon heat mat from ZooMed...I use the same one and without my thermostat it reaches over 130 degrees on the bottom of the tank...not even the mat itself....

yeah i know it wont stop from burning the snake................. its just gonna tell me what the temps are is all lol. and just be the feel of it with my hand its the same temp as my leos cage and its about 90

How old is the snake? baby/juve/adult? Did they feed F/T at the store? How many times did it feed while they had it? Was it on mice or rats? I assume Petco?
These are all questions you will need answers to...did they inform you of any of the husbandry needs for the snake?

There's no way with the mat being unregulated that it's only 90 degrees. And a heat mat won't be hot to the touch, your body runs on average 98.6 degrees, so 110, even 130 won't feel too hot to the touch. Unless there's something wrong with the heat mat, it's running far too hot.

If your temps are more than a few degrees off, the snake isn't gonna eat. Also, the human body temp is 98 degrees....what feels warm to you is probably too hot for the snake.

the snake is a almost 3 weeks old. its a baby. im not sure if it was F/T. it had only ate once before that. it was a mouse. and your assumption would be wrong

like i said ill find out soon as my dad gets home at 6. you guys will be the first to know

I can tell you now, you can not tell what temp that heat mat is by the touch. Unless you are holding your hand to it constantly. They fluctuate terribly, and you have to account for the temp of your house.

This is why a dimmer/thermostat/rheostat is required (not recommended, but required with all heat mats). Dimmers are fairly cheap at any hardware store. They aren't hard to hook up either. I don't understand why you don't want to use it.

If you have a heat gun, have you ever tested her cage since you brought her home? You can even get a thermostat from Amazon for $30.

I'm glad my assumption was wrong...
Anyway, the baby may not want F/T right away. Sometimes they can take a while to move over to frozen.
At 3 weeks, at best, it's only eaten 2-3 times, most likely only 1-2 times. Call em up, ask em if they fed it f/t.
Get your temps and humidity right, give the little guy at least 2 or 3 days to get used to his new digs, with no handling. Then give it a try, if it doesn't eat, do the same again after a couple more days. If that doesn't do the trick, try a live hopper mouse...

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ghlight=repeat

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LGray23

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ghlight=repeat

---

How lovely.... Geez.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jasbus

How lovely.... Geez.

---

I'm not making it up lol...

Whose assumption is wrong? Every answer you have gotten is spot on correct.

I don't have to say any more about the strict requirements of heat, humidity, digital thermostat, and probed digital thermometer for ball pythons. These things are absolutely required for this species.

BPs are notorious for not eating and quickly getting respiratory infections (which can kill and are expensive to treat) if the husbandry stats are not met.

Such a young baby will not fare well without the proper set up. If you purchased it from a chain pet store, even if they told you it ate, chances are it has not. If that baby was a wholesale captive hatched baby from Africa, like most baby BPs at chain stores are, it was shipped to the pet store before it ate. The stresses of the trip and inadequate husbandry at these stores would mean the baby would not have eaten for them if they tried.

No one is bashing you. They are trying to help. Otherwise you will most certainly have a sick and eventually dead baby on your hands.

Follow the care sheet. It's not very expensive to get these things.

again.... i never said i didnt want to hook one up. all i have said is i dont have one hooked up and i do have a heat gun. ill have to wait for my dad to get home though and i held my hand to both the bottom of my leos cage and the snakes cage for around 1 minutes my leo has a thermosate and it says about 88-90 and the bottom of the snakes tube feel about the same. and yeah i got the snake at southern agriculture and all the ones around here take care of there animals the sale. atleast 99% of them

if you read in a later post jasbus says. i assume its from petco? and i was just say no his assumption is wroung it was from southern agriculture. and why are you guys saying im not willing to follow the care sheets? i would appreciate it if you didnt put words into my mouth.

The assumption was he got it at Petco....
Yes, almost all the BP's bought from Petco and Petsmart are captive born, a catchy little way for them to say that sounds like they're born from breeders in captivity...

Hey, we're all just trying to get you set up and going with a good start...
I assumed, and I apolized for that....

I own a pet store, I get "assumptions" all the time...

yes i understand this and am thankfull for it

also does anyone feed the snake chicks? is it okay for a treat? id also like to appolgize cause i was fairly rude earlier in the post. so i do appolgize for how i acted i understand you guys are just trying to help i will change what needs to be changed

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ballpython20s

if you read in a later post jasbus says. i assume its from petco? and i was just say no his assumption is wroung it was from southern agriculture. and why are you guys saying im not willing to follow the care sheets? i would appreciate it if you didnt put words into my mouth.

---

No one is saying that, it just appears that any kind of advice or info we give you, you are arguing that the heat mat is not hot to the touch, or you're waiting for your dad to get there with a temp gun. Most of us are speaking from personal experience, and it's a real PITA when some people ask a question and myself and a lot of other very helpful and knowledgeable people give advice and info they are blown off.

im sorry if you think im blowing the information off you guys are giving me cause i am not. im gladly takeing all of it lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ballpython20s

im sorry if you think im blowing the information of you guys are giving me cause i am not. im gladly takeing all of it lol

---

I wish you luck with your new snake, I hope you take the info you've received and put it to good use. As someone else said, as soon as you have the husbandry down and give her some time to relax and get comfortable, you should have no problems feeding. Balls are known to be picky, but if you're patient and know your husbandry is correct she'll eat for you. I usually always have at least one that doesn't eat, but with only one and her being a baby you shouldn't have too many issues once she gets the hang of it.

okay thank you sorry for the miss understanding cause you guys are willing to give me information on something that is new me so im diffently going to put it to good use. when it comes to lizard set ups i know whats up but with snakes it a new things so im still learning. sorry for me being rude and the miss understanding again

I see now that you're open to everyone's suggestions. :) Which is a great start here. So, I recommend going to a hardware store and purchasing a lamp dimmer, around $10. Hook up the heat mat to it, you'll have to measure the temp with your infrared thermometer several times over a 24hr period, tweaking the dimmer until you get the proper surface temperature on the warm side.If you can, I'd also suggest purchasing an Accurite thermometer, or at least just a digital hygrometer to keep track of the humidity in the enclosure since you already have a temp gun.
After getting the husbandry up to par, leave him alone for 5-7days before offering a meal. You may want to try live or pre-killed mice since he's still so young it is important to get him eating regularly. Just be sure to never leave a live mouse unattended for more than 10-15mins if your snake is uninterested.

yes i am. i understand you gotta listen to though who know more then you or youll never better your self. ill diffently get everything you guys have said. next time you here back from me hopfully youll be pleased with the progress

And the Accurite thermometer is also about $10 at Walmart. With this you put the entire thing inside the tank. The unit sits on the cool side while the probe sits on the glass directly on top of the heat mat. The display will read both the hot and cool (ambient) side temps plus the humidity. This way you will know how much adjusting you need to do to get the stats right.

If it's too cool in there, cover most of the top with something to hold in heat and humidity. Tape, foil, poster board, etc.. They only need a few inches of a gap at the top for ventilation.

mkay thank you :). but no one answered the chick question? would that be considered a treat?

I think the rodents are definitely more nutritious for them, but I don't see any harm in a chick once in a while as long as the ball python is big enough for it.

Things like birds can cause a BP to refuse anything else ever again. I recommend first getting it eating on a regular schedule on rodents. Even as a treat, a BP that is slamming rodents every 5-7 days may suddenly stop taking them if you give it a T-bone steak (birds).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

Things like birds can cause a BP to refuse anything else ever again. I recommend first getting it eating on a regular schedule on rodents. Even as a treat, a BP that is slamming rodents every 5-7 days may suddenly stop taking them if you give it a T-bone steak (birds).

---

Good to know, I never thought of that. I wouldn't have given my bp a bird because I don't see much of a point if they are eating rodents regularly...but still good info to know! lol

alright thank you guys so much. i was just woundering cause i know with the other 3 reptiles i have( leo, bearded dragon, and green iguana) varied is a good thing. but i suppose its not for a BP. also im very glad you guys told me to check my temps. cause the BP was 95. and the bottom of the tank was 103. its pretty hot in my room as it is with all the lights for the other lizards. but the mat is off the snake for the time being and i will get a demmer for the mat tomorrow! again thank you guys for all the help

alright thank you guys so much. i was just woundering cause i know with the other 3 reptiles i have( leo, bearded dragon, and green iguana) varied is a good thing. but i suppose its not for a BP. also im very glad you guys told me to check my temps. cause the BP was 95. and the bottom of the tank was 103. but the mat is off the snake for the time being and i will get a demmer for the mat tomorrow! again thank you guys for all the help

If the room is warm and your ambient temp (cool side) will consistently stay above 85, then when you get a dimmer or thermostat to control the heat mat, maintain it no higher than 88-90. With an ambient temp that high, you don't need much additional heat for a hot side.

alright its about 80 right now in there

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ballpython20s

i will get a demmer for the mat tomorrow! again thank you guys for all the help

---

Remember to check the dimmer often till you get it dialed in, a small movement can make a HUGE difference.:gj: