Completely New! Need help!

Hey guys! My name is Jack. I am currently volunteering at my local pet store. I help out with the fish, and the reptiles. We currently have 5 BPs. One is big (4'), another is medium/large (3'), the other big one is 3' too. There are also two small ones that seem pretty young to me. They are only about 20". So far all I've been doing is feeding and cleaning whenever told to. The tanks used to be bare with only wood chips on the bottoms but after some research I learned they need more than that. I have recently placed (in the tank with the small ones) two bottom less shoe boxes with holes on each side. One closer to the heat lamp and the other on the other side. I also put in a rock directly under the lamp. This stays warm and she likes to lay on it. I also put a long stick from the bottom left corner to the up to the right corner up high in the back. I recently claimed the female (and named her "Amarillo"). She's still for sale though. I'd like to do the best for her.
Here are my questions:


1. We feed all the snakes every 3 wks. The bigger snakes get small-medium rats (4-7 in depending on the snake). The smaller ones get hopper mice (they're a little less than an inch). Ok, so what I've read is that the young ones should be fed 1-2 times a week. Is every 3 wks a bad idea?
2. What else should I do to make the snakes more comfortable.
3. Any other tips?


So in the end, I actually don't OWN any snakes, I just care for them.

When mine were small I feed them every 5 days.

There is a care sheet on this site. It is a very good beginning to learning proper care. Glad you came to the right place for advice! There are a number of things wrong with your setup. Please read that care sheet, then let us know what questions you have.

Welcome to BP.net!

Every 3 weeks is not enough food. They really should be fed at least once a week. Many of us feed every 5 days for younger bp's to bulk them up, but it isn't really necessary.

Thanks everyone! I am checking out the care sheet right now :) I will start feeding them once a week. Is once every 3 wks not enough for the big ones even?

No. Once a week. Care sheet should help you a lot.:gj:

Glad you are trying to do right for these animals.

Thanks! I'll start feeding everyone once a week.

Don, when you said there are a few things wrong with the setup, what things do you mean? Thanks again :)

Under the tank heaters with thermostats would be much better. Ditch the rocks. No need for a stick. Ball pythons are not climbers. They live in rodent burrows and termite mounds, not trees. Feed approprite size food once per week.

If they are laying on the rock, your temps may be off. These snakes typically are not baskers. rocks getting too hot could burn them. Also, the heat lamp will lower humidity.

Didn't want to be critical. Hopefully, the care sheets covered these things.

Thanks a bunch! You're not being too critical, I need to know these things.

It is great to see someone new willing to take advice. To many people take offense to it....:gj:

The only thing I'm worried about is telling my boss all this. I don't want to sound like a know-it-all (I honestly know nothing other than what you guys just told me), also, I don't know how he's gonna feel about all this other stuff (UTHs, thermometers, etc). He has it all in-stock but I don't know if he will want to use it... :(

All you can do is offer the advice. Maybe print out the care sheet for him to look at and see how it goes...

Using the proper tools is cheaper than vet bills to fix RIs. That may be one way to present it. Good luck!

I'll try both. We'll see how it goes.

Also, pitch it to him from the "people will trust us more when they see us using proper husbandry techniques, therefor buy from us more" angle.

Hey man to me it sounds like the pet shop is trying to save a little money. Do your snakes and the future owners a favor and feed them snakes once a week. Get them going on a weekly diet and they should do alright. Its really cool your doing your research because when I had bought my first ball, the pet store clerk had no idea what he was talking about and was just trying to make a sell.

So glad you are here and want to do what is best for these animals!

As stated, once a week feeding is a good schedule. The prey's hips should be as wide as the widest part of the snake. Little snake, little food, big snake, big food.

Ball pythons need humidity between 50-60%, and up to 75-80% while they are in shed. If you are using a heat lamp exclusively, I can almost guarantee the humidity is too low.

BPs MUSTMUSTMUST have a water dish, like all animals. The water should be changed daily to every other day, or as soon as the snake gets it dirty. If you can only provide heat with a lamp, place the water dish under the lamp to increase humidity. Switch to an under tank heater on one side if you can.

Make sure they have a heat gradient, a hot and cold side, and a place to hide on each side. The hides should be JUST big enough for the snake. They like to cram themselves into tiny places to feel secure. Shoe boxes are fine for the bigger ones, but try something smaller for the little guys. If the are at a pet store, there should be plenty of hides for sale! Grab some off the shelf and say it's good marketing to show them in the display habitats. :) It is!

I applaud you for caring! Pet shop animals NEED keepers who research and care about their well being. A healthy snake is much more likely to be adopted. Maybe even one of them by YOU, trust me, they win you over fast!

Good luck!

Hello, and :welcome: to BP.net. Good job on doing the research to try and improve their situation. I realize that, being an employee, there is only so much that the managers/owners will allow you to do. I also know the the goal of pet shops is to make profit, so they aren't going to invest in expensive set-ups.
Just do the best that you can with the available resources. It might be better if you just make small changes here and there without making a big fuss over it. That way, you can acieve your goal of improving these snakes quality of life, without losing your job over it.
Your first task might be trying to educate and influence your boss without them knowing it, since they will be the ones making the decisions on how far you can go in changing the snakes set-ups.
You can try things like printing off a care sheet or info on Ball Pythons and taking it to work. When you have some slow time during the day just kind of say something like," You know, since I've started working here with reptiles, I wanted to learn a little more about them. Did you know Ball Pythons come from West Africa, and they normally live underground? And it also says here that they normally hide and sleep all day and are most active at night. Hmmm, I wonder if our guys have a little python party at night while the other animals are sleeping?"
Here is what you just accomplished:
- You taught them 3 things about Ball Pythons.
- You expressed interst in your job.(they will notice that).
- You did it in a lighthearted way that didn't come across as too forward or condescending.

It's also common for snakes at pet stores to have stuck or retained sheds due to low humidity. There is a thread that shows a fairly easy way to deal with it, and all you need is a $6 plastic tub and lid from Wal-Mart, a towel and water. Or, if you have some old aquariums in the back, you could use one of those. The next time one of the snakes has a bad shed, just show it to your boss and say something like,"Look at this. I noticed this little guy has some stuck shed. Do you mind if I take him in the back and work on it so he will look good for the customers?" You never know, they may be interested enough to watch you do it. Or, if not, just show them the difference in the way the snake looks when you are finished. If you see the opportunity, say something like," these stuck sheds are probably caused by low humidity in the tanks. Did you know that if you covered the the screen with aluminum foil, it could help prevent this?"
Now you are fixing a problem, presenting the cause, and offering a solution, but,at the same time, leaving the decision to do it, up to them.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hed-No-problem.

When it comes to thermostats for controlling temperatures, most of the commercially available ones like Herpstat, Helix, and Vivarium Electronics may be out of the first time owners price range, but there are some fairly inexspensive basic ones that are made by reptile supplies companies. And while they may not be the fanciest on the market, anything is better than nothing. You could suggest that by saying something like," I noticed that we sell Zoo Med and Zilla reptile supplies, but I see that we don't have any of their thermostats or rheostats for controlling the temperstures. What do you think about maybe stocking some on the shelves to sell with the tanks?" If they go for it, then the next step would be when they come in to ask your boss," Do you mind if I hook a couple of these up on our tanks, to learn how they work? Then I would be able to show customers how to set them up and operate them, and help me illustrate why they really need to buy this for their tank." If they agree to that, you're in. Now you are slowly making the improvements that you want, and using potential sales as the catalyst. Plus, you really can educate customers on proper husbandry items and techniques. Just remember, when dealing with Supervisors, tactics will get you alot further than force. Good Luck...

Quote:

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Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something that you want done, because he wants to do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

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^^^^ Lots of awesome information there =)

Thank you SO much!!!! I will try all them. I may buy some stuff for the snakes, bring it in, and ask if he wants to use it. Then if when he notices how happy and healthy the snakes are, he might start to do it himself. Hows that sound?
:snake::snake::snake:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Emily Hubbard

So glad you are here and want to do what is best for these animals!

As stated, once a week feeding is a good schedule. The prey's hips should be as wide as the widest part of the snake. Little snake, little food, big snake, big food.

Ball pythons need humidity between 50-60%, and up to 75-80% while they are in shed. If you are using a heat lamp exclusively, I can almost guarantee the humidity is too low.

BPs MUSTMUSTMUST have a water dish, like all animals. The water should be changed daily to every other day, or as soon as the snake gets it dirty. If you can only provide heat with a lamp, place the water dish under the lamp to increase humidity. Switch to an under tank heater on one side if you can.

Make sure they have a heat gradient, a hot and cold side, and a place to hide on each side. The hides should be JUST big enough for the snake. They like to cram themselves into tiny places to feel secure. Shoe boxes are fine for the bigger ones, but try something smaller for the little guys. If the are at a pet store, there should be plenty of hides for sale! Grab some off the shelf and say it's good marketing to show them in the display habitats. :) It is!

I applaud you for caring! Pet shop animals NEED keepers who research and care about their well being. A healthy snake is much more likely to be adopted. Maybe even one of them by YOU, trust me, they win you over fast!

Good luck!

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I guess I forgot to add, there are water bowls and the water is changed daily.

One more thing.
The snakes don't seem to under-weight to me, despite their feeding. I don't think I could get a weight on them but here's a pic of one. http://www.eandopets.com/669_500_csu...g?u=1311273848