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 :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nicole<3

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 :)

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It's obvious that you care about him and that's awesome! Ball Pythons hide, I barely ever see Khal wandering around. I read on here that "A Hiding BP is a Happy BP". Of course all snakes are different, but if he's wandering too much and looking for an escape it could be an indicator that he's stressed out. I'm glad I could help, this website has helped me a ton and I hope it can be a useful tool for you too!!!:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rperry03

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.

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When I was feeding him I did watch just to make sure the mouse wasn’t too big or didn’t attack him but once he eat it I followed the mouse down and once it hit the thickest part it like disappeared and he doesn’t have a big lump, I was going to go get a little rat tomorrow

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fr3nchvanilla

It's obvious that you care about him and that's awesome! Ball Pythons hide, I barely ever see Khal wandering around. I read on here that "A Hiding BP is a Happy BP". Of course all snakes are different, but if he's wandering too much and looking for an escape it could be an indicator that he's stressed out. I'm glad I could help, this website has helped me a ton and I hope it can be a useful tool for you too!!!:)

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He’s perfect, in my opinion of course
I was looking at him yesterday and I found a black heart in one of his brown spots

I have 2 6 month old baby Sulcata tortoises in the tank next to him and they just look at him all day
Could they be scaring them?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nicole<3

He’s perfect, in my opinion of course
I was looking at him yesterday and I found a black heart in one of his brown spots

I have 2 6 month old baby Sulcata tortoises in the tank next to him and they just look at him all day
Could they be scaring them?

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That is Adorable! Do you have a picture of the little heart? I don't know about the Tortoises thing, I don't think they would scare him, maybe someone else can chime in on that note but I doubt it.

His heart
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...-32-26_950.jpg

This is how he is every time he is out of the tank
He came out of hiding and started pushing on the top of the tank so I took him out
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...-32-56_976.jpg
You can see his heart in this picture as well

Ok here's the thing: Listen to Fat Boy's advice, he's completely right; and read those care sheets!
I'll add:
* Leave your snake alone for a week to settle in. I know, it will be a very hard week, but trust me on this. Your snake will be happier, and as a result will eat better, and ball up less.
* Cover 3 sides of the tank so he feels more secure (at least during the acclimation period). Contact paper would work nicely, but ONLY on the outside.
* Don't feed during the acclimation period.
* Ball pythons are nocturnal, it is expected that they will stay in their hides all day.
* I'm unsure if the sulcata's scare the BP, but for future reference, practice quarantine. That is, any new reptiles should be kept away from your current collection for 90 days or more (but that's an over-simplification).

You have a lot to learn, but congratulations on your new pet! Maybe after you learn a little more, you can improve things for the reptiles at your petco.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LizardPants

Ok here's the thing: Listen to Fat Boy's advice, he's completely right; and read those care sheets!
I'll add:
* Leave your snake alone for a week to settle in. I know, it will be a very hard week, but trust me on this. Your snake will be happier, and as a result will eat better, and ball up less.
* Cover 3 sides of the tank so he feels more secure (at least during the acclimation period). Contact paper would work nicely, but ONLY on the outside.
* Don't feed during the acclimation period.
* Ball pythons are nocturnal, it is expected that they will stay in their hides all day.
* I'm unsure if the sulcata's scare the BP, but for future reference, practice quarantine. That is, any new reptiles should be kept away from your current collection for 90 days or more (but that's an over-simplification).

You have a lot to learn, but congratulations on your new pet! Maybe after you learn a little more, you can improve things for the reptiles at your petco.

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Thank you I will try my hardest not to hold him for a week if possible more
Will he be more active once he’s settled in?

I also did move him to the other side of the room from my tortoises

He might be more active, but he should really only be active at night. A happy, and healthy ball python will hide all day, out of sight. If he's active during the day, that is cause for concern.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LizardPants

He might be more active, but he should really only be active at night. A happy, and healthy ball python will hide all day, out of sight. If he's active during the day, that is cause for concern.

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Yes last night he was trying to get to the top of the tank, is he looking for food or just checking things out?

Probably trying to escape actually. If you just fed him recently I'd leave him alone. I don't always agree 100% with the leave all snakes alone for a week rule, but I believe in it when a snake is showing signs of stress. Daytime roaming is always the biggest indicator that something is wrong. Usually it's my indication that my snake has gone to the bathroom and wants her tank cleaned, but she's been with me for a year and is pretty settled in.

Snakes can go a while without food. Even if she truly is hungry, waiting for her to acclimate to the new tank isn't going to starve her or do any serious damage. But feeding a stressed snake can cause a regurgitation, which is very bad for your snake.