Help with Pastel ball python

I am new to this website and I am unsure of how to get information from others. I am hoping this works. I have had my pastel ball python for about 2 years already and this is the first time that he hasn't eaten since Nov. 17th. I did however bring home a new albino ball python that night. They seem to be getting along just fine. The sleep together, they lie together, they soak together, they just will not eat since Nov. The albino doesn't seem to have anything wrong with him and doesn't seem to be losing body weight. My guy the pastel however doesn't seem to be doing to great. His under belly scales that are normally pure white are turning brown and feel a little crusty. Also he seems to have lost some body weight within the last couple of days. I'm unsure what to do at this point and I am nervous for his health. He does seem fine besides the scales on his belly and him being a little leaner. He is active at night and gives a good fight when I want to put him in a container to soak him. If anyone can help me that would be wonderful!!! Also i just switched them over to the reptile carpet instead of the wood chips I was keeping them on for about a month or so.

Pictures of the belly would help us in determining what is wrong with the belly. Most of us on here do not put more than one ball python per enclosure. This is because it can stress out the snakes. Which may be the reason that they are not eating. Another issue with having more than one snake per enclosure is that if one is sick both can end up sick.

If you can provide more information on your setup would be appreciated. Please include temps, humidity, hides, and enclosure size.

The only reason why we got another snake for my guy was that his original buddy passed on. My snake was, what I would call in distress about it. He wouldn't stop looking for the other snake. I figured that getting him another friend would work. But now he isn't eating, well they both aren't. The tank is a 75 gallon. It is very simple. They have a huge water bowl, big enough that they both can both very comfortably soak together. Then they have a ceramic tree that lies down in the center. Then there is a big hide that they both fit with much room to spare. I will take a picture of his belly and send it as soon as i figure out how to.

Putting more than 1 snake in the same cage can have tragic consequences. It is most likely cause of your snake not eating. Ball pythons are solitary creatures. from the time they hatch they go out on their own. no interaction with siblings or their mother. Forcing 2 snakes to live in the same cage can cause stress/transmit illness/cause one to eat the other/ etc...

This is never recommended and almost always ends badly.

What are you using to heat the tank, what are the temperatures, and how are you measuring the temperatures?

You might want to read this: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Also Soaking Ball Pythons is not recommended. all it does is stress them out, and can even cause a bad shed.

The temps are done by a very large heating pad on the hot side of the tank with the water bowl is about 95 degrees and the cooler side of the tank with the hide is currently about 82 degrees. The only reason I soaked mine was I was told at the westchester reptile show today that my snake may have urine burn. they told me to soak him,pat dry, and put triple antibiotic ointment on his belly to help him heal. If you guys truly believe that my guy is not eating because of the other snake I have no problem separating them. I just felt bad because his first buddy, which he grew up with and never had any issues such as this past on.

It seems that no one has mentioned yet that cannibalism does occur in snakes, however rare it may be. Size doesn't seem to be a factor either.

If they're lying in the same spot, they could very well be competing for the best hiding space/ heat source. They don't "cuddle."

Also if you are using an Under Tank Heater and you don't have it on a thermostat then the brown crusty scales could be a burn.

I hope things work out for you.

Edit: If you could post pictures of his stomach it would also help.

How do I post the pictures. I took them and I can't figure out how to get them on here to show you guys. If anyone can tell me how to do it that would be wonderful. So far all the information that I have been getting is great and I had no idea about.

I was thinking that it could be a burn. While he was on wood chips they both moved the water bowl over and got onto the heating pad without anything between. Also, i hate the fact that heating pads don't have thermostats on them!!! Someone needs to make one. I fixed it the next morning when I noticed it to change the lights from night to day.

I have always had my snakes in pairs and this is the first time that two of them are having problems. Today they haven't been anywhere near each other as far as I noticed but normally they are curled together. It never occurred to me that they may be "battling" for the same warm location.

You can post the pictures onto photobucket and then copy the "IMG" code into your post.

There are a few good thermostats that you can get, Hydrofarms are only 30 dollars or so from Amazon.

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...derbelly-1.jpg

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...underbely1.jpg

here is two photos of the belly

could be a burn if the uth doesnt have a thermostat to regulate heat

I you are still using triple antibiotic stop using it. Anything like that will turn the scales into mush. It actually does more harm than good. Unfortunately not many people know this. What you should use instead is Betadine (which can be purchased at most pharmacies over the counter.

Heating pads get far too hot, without a thermostat to regulate they can easily get to 150 + degrees this is hot enough to kill your snake.

no one thinks that it could be scale rot right? I brought him into my local pet store and had the reptile guys take a look at him. They told me it could be a form of scale rot. But if everyone thinks its a burn then i will feel a bit better. Also thank you so much for letting me know that there is a thermostat for the heating pads. They always made me so nervous with them being uncontrolled.

The website that told me to join here said everyone here was knowledgeable and they are right.

Also does anyone recommend a certain book to read up on ball pythons. At this point I feel like I don't know anything. And I should do me research since he is a big part of my life.

I haven't put anything on him I soaked him and that was it. While he was soaking I joined this website and asked my questions. Right now he is back in his tank.

Ok. I would start off by getting some Betadine and soaking him in a diluted solution (water temp in the mid-80's) I believe the correct water to Betadine ratio is 10 parts water to 1 part Betadine. It should be a light tea color if diluted correctly.

Keeping the cage in the proper temperature ranges (78-82 degrees on the cool side, 88-92 degrees on the hot side. No part of the cage should ever get above 95 or below 75. The cage humidity should be right around 60% and make sure that the substraite isn't wet.

ok. thank you so much. They are on the zoomed carpet. But you believe that separating them will be the best thing?

Personally I would never house any 2 of my snakes together unless I was breeding them. Then they would only be together while they are breeding. Housing them together can cause just to many problems for me to want to risk it.

Based on your pictures that looks like a burn to me. Reason it didn't happen with the wood chip substrate is because it was thicker than the reptile carpet. That carpet over an unregulated UTH can easily hit over 120 degrees.

You need to turn off that UTH until you can get it on a thermostat. You also need to separate your snakes. They each need their own enclosures with thermostat controlled heat, hides and water bowls. That should solve your eating problem as well.

You already have the info on where to find Betadine and how to use it. I would suggest you put your snake on paper towels or newspaper until that burn heals. That reptile carpet is very hard to completely clean, and can hold some really nasty bacteria in it. That's not what your burned snake needs right now.

As far as ball python books, there are a couple of good ones out there, but to be honest, you have found the place where you can get the most up to date and interactive information.

also what do i do about the whole eating thing. They haven't even been interesting in anything that I try and feed them. Whether is live or dead. Rat or mouse.

Now after he heals what kind of substrate should I put him on? At this point I want to put him on what ever is going to be best. I did have them on coco-soft but where I got it from had a major problem with mites and I now refuse to use it. I will not put all 4 of my snakes through that again.

Also what is best for red-tails to be on in terms of substrates?

Seperate them, and I bet you a dollar to a doughnut they start eating again. But, don't be suprised if your injured snake goes off feed for a while. Sometimes they do that when they're healing.

When it comes to substrate, there is no one best. The best one is the one that works for you. The topic has been debated here many times. A quick search will show you several threads on the topic.

I would personally separate the two. The only time that snakes should be housed together is when you are breeding them, and that is only for a short amount of time. Also check the other snake for any medical problems that may have spread to the other snake. Is the new snake captive bred? Also what is the size difference of the two snakes?

Really the snakes should be separated and place in their own enclosures. Once separated make sure your husbandry of the animals is on point. You want to make sure the animals have what they need to live a healthy life.

Best of luck with them, but get them separated and make sure you have all their needs met.

The size difference isn't to much as far as I know. The pastel is about 2.3 pounds and the albino is 3.2 pounds. I had them both sexed and they are both male. The original snake that the pastel was housed with was a little smaller then him. Do know if that makes a difference.


Also just tried to feed them. I put a rat into there enclosure, which I NEVER DO. They are normally feed in a separate box. But just to see if either snake was willing to eat at night versus the day. Now both of them are on the other side of the tank wanting nothing to do with it. It's like the rat is diseased and they are running from it. They have done this to everything that I have put in front of them since Nov.

JenGirl, I'm gonna' tell you straight and honest. The size of your BPs does not matter. Housing them together is not a good idea. It's never gonna' be a good idea, and is most likely it's the cause of your current feeding problems.

Take the rat out now and don't try to feed them when they are in the same enclosure. Really bad things can happen.

I feed mine in their cages all of the time. It usually does have better results than back when I fed in a separate container. There really is no reason to feed anywhere else except their cages.

What are you feeding? was it live, pre-killed, or frozen? and how big was it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JenGirl0146

I put a rat into there enclosure, which I NEVER DO.

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If you NEVER do it, why in the freak did you just do it now? With a burnt snake and one that is obviously stressed? Bad idea.

Is your UTH still on?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

I feed mine in their cages all of the time. It usually does have better results than back when I fed in a separate container. There really is no reason to feed anywhere else except their cages.

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Aaron, she still has them both in the same tank. Feeding like that is not a good idea, Bro.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slim

Aaron, she still has them both in the same tank. Feeding like that is not a good idea, Bro.

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That is true, but in the future when they are not it really helps get a BP off feed back onto it.

Here's some more advice too:

Until you can get a thermostat and really cheap and quick fix to regulate that UTH is a lamp dimmer. You'll need to check temps consistently as it won't regulate the UTH to a certain temperature but it might be a good fix for the time being while you're waiting on your thermostat.

Also not sure if you quarantined your albino from your pastel, but QT is VERY important to keeping healthy snakes and is essential if you plan on introducing new animals to your collection. Here's a good thread on QT: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...antine-process

Number one, SEPARATE YOUR SNAKES. As everyone has said, housing together has no benefits other than convenience, and can cause aggression, stress, and transfer of disease, and also makes it more difficult to monitor snakes based on stool samples and things like that.

Go get a second tank and some more hides and move the albino to the new one. Ball pythons are not social and don't "bond" to each other. They don't get lonely or anything like that. I promise you he's not missing the old snake and was probably looking for something completely unrelated.

Now, once you've done that, and ONLY once you've done that, give them two or three weeks. Try feeding them as usual but don't freak out if they don't take it right away. Afterward, if they're STILL not taking them, try braining the rat (cracking the skull of a frozen rat so the brain cavity is exposed; just a tiny hole usually does it). It makes the scent extremely strong and triggers their feeding response. It works wonders on my boa, who's a very finnicky eater.

And if they STILL don't eat it and you're getting desperate, you can always try assist feeding. There are a few good Youtube videos on how to do it safely.

Also, in regard to reading books and getting up on your research: Honestly, you're better off just talking to people here. Personal experience is always better than books, I think.

The people here are exceptional, and I think you're in good hands trusting their experience.

I think you would be well advised for the future to stop asking pet stores for information. Pet stores are notorious for following bad practices and dispensing horrible advice.