New BP owner and future potential breeder :)

Hi everyone :) I have been looking around the forums for some time now and wanted to make an introduction ...

I picked up a baby female normal at 85g about 15 - 20 days ago. She looks so healthy and is very friendly. She loves exploring. Have fed her once and no sheds yet, nor signs of a shed.

Anyway, Here is a pic!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5079/...2c2dd91805.jpg
IMG_6527 by muffywrx, on Flickr

Welcome to bp.net... She is a pretty looking girl....:gj:

Very pretty little girl, congrats and welcome to the forums :)

Welcome to the Ball Pythons Pokemon Gang:gj::gj::gj:
Dont hesitate to ask questions we are here to help You out :D

Thanks everyone :)

My hopeful plans are to get a pair of pieds as babies and grow them up, or maybe a pied and a 100% het pied. I am guessing I should get them from different sources to prevent inbreeding or is that not a bad thing in the snake world?

I would also like to get some sort of dominant gene morph to breed with my normal girl, but unsure which morph I want to get :) Not looking for anything TOO high end. But would like something that looks completely different than a normal :)

Anyway, got a pair of mice tonight so I can start saving up some pinkies, hoppers, etc for my future stock :)

I am thinking about building some sort of tower that will hold tubs. What size tubs are recommended for breeding/babies and how many snakes per tub etc etc etc :) :)

Am still researching all the time :)

Thinking maybe a butter. Would be really neat to hold back any butter offspring and try for blue eyed leutistics. Thoughts? Again, I read about this, but I have no idea on the ethics of inbreeding with snakes.

Welcome to BP.net :)

Thanks :) I'm thinking about ordering a baby butter male from constrictors unlimited.

Should I put off ordering the butter until my female is about 2 years old so they will mature at the same time or would it be okay to make the butter wait a while before he breeds?

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Thanks everyone :)

My hopeful plans are to get a pair of pieds as babies and grow them up, or maybe a pied and a 100% het pied. I am guessing I should get them from different sources to prevent inbreeding or is that not a bad thing in the snake world?

I would also like to get some sort of dominant gene morph to breed with my normal girl, but unsure which morph I want to get :) Not looking for anything TOO high end. But would like something that looks completely different than a normal :)

Anyway, got a pair of mice tonight so I can start saving up some pinkies, hoppers, etc for my future stock :)

I am thinking about building some sort of tower that will hold tubs. What size tubs are recommended for breeding/babies and how many snakes per tub etc etc etc :) :)

Am still researching all the time :)

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Pretty ball.

For dominant/co-dom morphs, spiders are easy to come by and have lots of potential and are very easily distinguished from normals. You can pick them up very cheap too.

As for the mice, don't bother. Get your ball on rats ASAP!!! Even the smallest baby balls have no problem with rat pinks. They are far more nutritious than mice and its much easier to start baby balls on rats than trying to switch an adult ball that was raised on mice. Any breeder or someone who has kept a number of balls will tell you the same.

The towers you refer to are usually called racks. They are the way to go if you're going to keep lots of snakes. For adult balls most people use between 28qt and 41qt tubs, sometimes larger in the case of exceptionally large balls. For hatchlings/babies, a shoebox sized tub works great. You want them small enough that they feel secure.

One snake per tub. Period. The only exception would be when you're pairing up two adults for breeding, but that is only temporary.

Thanks for the awesome info! I just read the part about one snake per tub, lots of research left to do :)

And for the suggestion on rats - great! I can do that. Mine is on F/T right now, mice. Do you think she will take F/T rat babies easily? Otherwise, might have to keep a batch of mice babies to freeze while I try to wean her off.

Can I put a pair of rats in a 10 gallon (without babies, have their own enclosure in the future)? I wouldn't think so, but can find an enclosure easily if this is the case.

Awesome awesome info. Think I might build my own. Am building a 314g aquarium stand at the moment already ^_^

Will probably make it a nice shelving system with baby shoe boxes on another smaller rack perhaps.

Any thoughts on the butter I mentioned?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Thanks for the awesome info! I just read the part about one snake per tub, lots of research left to do :)

And for the suggestion on rats - great! I can do that. Mine is on F/T right now, mice. Do you think she will take F/T rat babies easily? Otherwise, might have to keep a batch of mice babies to freeze while I try to wean her off.

Can I put a pair of rats in a 10 gallon (without babies, have their own enclosure in the future)? I wouldn't think so, but can find an enclosure easily if this is the case.

Awesome awesome info. Think I might build my own. Am building a 314g aquarium stand at the moment already ^_^

Will probably make it a nice shelving system with baby shoe boxes on another smaller rack perhaps.

Any thoughts on the butter I mentioned?

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Switching now will be much easier. Most stubborn balls can easily be pursuaded to take rats with a little scenting (simply rub the mouse on the rat).

10 gallons is a little small for adult rats, although I keep females in 10 gallons with her babies until they start to become mobile. A 20L or even better a 55 can usually be had on CL really cheap. Again, racks work great if you're dealing with large amounts. If you're only going to keep a few balls, its cheaper and easier to just order your feeders from a breeder. Rodent Pro has always done us right, but there are lots of others to choose from that offer high quality feeders. We only deal locally (never shipped frozen feeders), otherwise we would gladly match online prices. If you do a little research there is probably a rattery close to where you live that will give you a good deal and you can forego the shipping costs.

If you need any help building a rack, hit me up and I will send you some of my own plans and some of others so you can find what works best for you. Most people here would laugh at our racks. I built most of ours when we were just starting out and they are very ghetto and were usually built from shelves we picked up at yard sales/thrift stores, but we have yet to have a single escape. Only two were built from scratch.

Butters are great. I haven't personally worked with them, but my wife and I have been discussing playing with them next year providing we find one that we like. As I said with the spiders, butters also have lots of potential. Pastels are a great co-dom to work with as well and can make some killer combos. Its really all about what you like and your willingness to experiment.

Alright thanks!!! As I said I am looking at a baby butter from constrictors unlimited ... Would it be best to just wait until my female is a bit older or am I okay to make the male wait a couple of years to breed?

I'm assuming rats are too chewy to keep in plastic tubs?

Would love to see your plans :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Alright thanks!!! As I said I am looking at a baby butter from constrictors unlimited ... Would it be best to just wait until my female is a bit older or am I okay to make the male wait a couple of years to breed?

I'm assuming rats are too chewy to keep in plastic tubs?

Would love to see your plans :)

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Constrictors Unlimited has some amazing animals and I've only heard good things about them. Not sure what all he has in at the moment (more than he has on his site, though), but Tim Koppenhofer @ Special K Reptiles has some excellent quality critters as well and great prices. We've dealt with him many times and the pictures on his website do not do any of his animals justice. To top it off, Tim is a really nice guy. Should check him out as well.

As far as age, I wouldn't worry about that too much. For females I would wait until they were at least 2-3 years and at least 1,500 grams. The bigger the better. For males, as long as they are 500g or bigger, they usually have no problems breeding. I've talked to lots of people who have bred males at 6 months old and less than 500g! But if you get a male now, getting him to breed later on shouldn't be an issue. I've got a male that is at least 8 years old and he is hands down the most aggressive breeder I've ever seen. I almost feel bad when I pair him up because he doesn't even bother sweet talking the ladies. He takes advantage of them in a way that only James Bond could compete with.

Some rats are, some aren't. Most people who keep them in racks use black cement mixing tubs (Lowe's/Home Depot). The biggest thing is getting a heavy duty tub with no sharp angles that a rat could get its teeth into. So far we've never had one chew out out a tub, but I suppose its possible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AK907

Constrictors Unlimited has some amazing animals and I've only heard good things about them. Not sure what all he has in at the moment (more than he has on his site, though), but Tim Koppenhofer @ Special K Reptiles has some excellent quality critters as well and great prices. We've dealt with him many times and the pictures on his website do not do any of his animals justice. To top it off, Tim is a really nice guy. Should check him out as well.

As far as age, I wouldn't worry about that too much. For females I would wait until they were at least 2-3 years and at least 1,500 grams. The bigger the better. For males, as long as they are 500g or bigger, they usually have no problems breeding. I've talked to lots of people who have bred males at 6 months old and less than 500g! But if you get a male now, getting him to breed later on shouldn't be an issue. I've got a male that is at least 8 years old and he is hands down the most aggressive breeder I've ever seen. I almost feel bad when I pair him up because he doesn't even bother sweet talking the ladies. He takes advantage of them in a way that only James Bond could compete with.

Some rats are, some aren't. Most people who keep them in racks use black cement mixing tubs (Lowe's/Home Depot). The biggest thing is getting a heavy duty tub with no sharp angles that a rat could get its teeth into. So far we've never had one chew out out a tub, but I suppose its possible.

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Awesome, you've been a lot of help. I will check out Special K as well :) Can't wait to add another bp :)

Lol, your male sounds crazy :)

Ordered the male butter :) Can't wait for him to get here, on Wednesday.

Butters are cool! And I hope my normal looks that when I get her! Personally my favourite morph is the Mojave, I'm not sure why but I think they're awesome, just so expensive here...

My ball python just pooped on me.

At least I don't have to clean her cage!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Ordered the male butter :) Can't wait for him to get here, on Wednesday.

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Make sure to post pics when you get him! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

My ball python just pooped on me.

At least I don't have to clean her cage!

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Only times I ever had a ball poop on me was after soaking or washing them. Colubrids... On a daily basis... Why do I bother? :rolleyes:

Welcome to BP.net! Congrats on contracting the fever... It gets worse as you get more involved. I started with one... now I have over 250. :)

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

I started with one... now I have over 250. :)

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And I thought we were bad... :O

Hahah :)

I fed my girl tonight. She still needs a name >.<

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Hahah :)

I fed my girl tonight. She still needs a name >.<

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Hello Jessica, and :welcome: to BP.Net. You could always name her after yourself... J-Loe... :gj:

Haha that is sure a cute suggestion... Could name her butter mate "Glow" ...

I just ordered 2 more babies :) A bee and a fire.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

I just ordered 2 more babies :) A bee and a fire.

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Hopefully you got a 1.1 of those. Make some firebees! *drool*

I most definitely did :) Can't wait!

Lol, your definitely hooked, good luck! They are very addictive! As for names, my poor rescue boys didn't have names for a whole year! (My husband makes fun of me as I take forever to find a name that "fits".)

Right :)

I am building a really really ghetto rack right now. Ordered some heat tape. Am going to get some nice 15 qt baby tubs for now to go inside... I had to take a break cause I hammered my thumb and boy did it hurt ;)

Almost passed out but drank some milk and feeling better ... going to put the last piece on in a couple minutes ... :)

Welcome to BP.net :salute: Any questions you may have please feel free to ask!! Good luck with the rack :gj:

Damn you just piling them up, lol, very cool! I hope I can resist these urges when I get my first one, I'll bankrupt myself!!!

I know ... it's bad ... LOL

Jess I didn't know you were in this site....glad to see you! :)

Kevin Bullis

Thanks ;) Was lurking for a while ... :D

All I ask is that you make me beautiful babies! ;)

Blue eye lucys that is. :p

Kevin Bullis

Listed as breeding project #4 :)

What are your plans for breeding project #1,2,3?

Kevin Bullis

Normal x butter, fire x bee, and butter x bee

Lucky you to be able to buy so many at once!! And such possibilities!! I'm waiting to get more until I get my girl up to breeding size, I've got some big plans for her.
Although I can't decide what I'd want to mix with a Spider. There are soooo many different "___-bee"'s that it'll be hard to choose what I want to go for first.

Of course we caved and rescued a Red Tail Boa and we're about to move, so it doesn't look like I'll be up to the breeding level anytime this year. :( Good news, the place we're moving to will mean I'll have a "snake room" just for my scaly babies. :D

She is 99.2 g today :) She ate 2 days ago. She was 85.0g when I weighed her a couple days after I got her, maybe around the 14th or 15th. I have been feeding her F/T small mice. Hopefully will get her on rats/ASF soon.

She is really friendly even more so than before. Love this snake and can't wait to get my others!!

The fire actually did eat already once and ate again today so I should get him and the bee at least by Tuesday the 12th :) :) :)

SO excited :)

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

Lucky you to be able to buy so many at once!! And such possibilities!! I'm waiting to get more until I get my girl up to breeding size, I've got some big plans for her.
Although I can't decide what I'd want to mix with a Spider. There are soooo many different "___-bee"'s that it'll be hard to choose what I want to go for first.

Of course we caved and rescued a Red Tail Boa and we're about to move, so it doesn't look like I'll be up to the breeding level anytime this year. :( Good news, the place we're moving to will mean I'll have a "snake room" just for my scaly babies. :D

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I Love bees so much. Grats on your new place :D :D

Here are pics ... courtesy of Constrictors Unlimited ... this is one of my butter's butter brothers... hehe (not my actual snake)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5195/...59b5ae21_m.jpg
butterballpython-f1-2-1-1 by muffywrx, on Flickr
And courtesy of liberty reptiles, these are my fire male and bee female snakes hatched in may :)

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5152/...12a52645fb.jpg
2011 Fire male fi2209m by muffywrx, on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5267/...2f33bebb4c.jpg
2011 Bumblebee female bee0622f by muffywrx, on Flickr

Love the bee....sexy sexy! *drools*

Kevin Bullis

Ughhh 2 more days for the butter to get here!!!!