New to Balls and this forum

Greetings!

I have been gaining lots of great knowledge on this website and through this forum. I just got my first ball last night. "Jack Sparrow" (wish I knew if he is indeed a boy) is about 4-5 months old a little over a foot long.
I need to measure exactly and begin keeping track. I got him from a local hobby breeder who has several snakes. He is in good health and very friendly. My set up is a 20 gallon tank with a screen top. I chose reptile bark for the substrate, I think it is Aspen Fir. I made two hides and put one at each end. I have a heater pad underneith the tank and a spot light on top. I picked up a decorative water dish that looks like a rock. He has been raised on mice, pinkies and fuzzies and has been eating once a week. Sunday is feeding time, I am wondering if I should attempt to feed him or should I wait since he is still adjusting to his new home. Since bringing him home last night I have not handled him at all.
I have been wanting a ball python for a while and read lots of books on them prior to actually getting one.
Another question is can I feed him twice a week? Say Sunday and Wednesday to fatten him up and help him grow?

Welcome, DBacker! I'm relatively new the hobby myself, but the general rule of thumb is to wait at least 2 weeks before handling and/or feeding your BP. This gives them time to acclimate to their new surroundings as they can be somewhat 'shy' animals.

As far as feeding, the general rule there is to feed once a week. Keep in mind that you do have to be careful about overfeeding as captive BP's are prone to obesity if fed too much. Obesity can lead to health problems and ultimately a shorter life span (in extreme cases).

Glad you found us!! I've learned a great deal since becoming a member here and I'm sure you will too. This is a great community with very knowledgeable herpers! :D

i fed mine 3days after i got him and he ate. it is a general rule to wait at least one weak, but i dont see the problem with trying. you shouldnt feed him twice a week, never. hatchlings 5-7 days, adults 7-10 days. also if he doesnt eat for a while its ok unless he looses a significant amount of wait. after feeding him, you will want to wait 48-72hrs until you handle him to avoid regurgitation. if he does regurgitate, check temps/humidity and do not try to feed for two weeks. if he keeps regurgitating, seek vet help. to measure your snake, its probly easiest to downlaod the snakemeasureing program in the downloads section of this site. dont handle him for at least one week, but perferbly 2-3 weeks unless necassary (cleaning). also, when he goes into shed, it is not a good idea to handle him since it is a stressful time. you said hes friendly, so you probly wont have the problem i have with mine. mine sometimes strikes at me, and has bit me twice. it just feels like a pin prick, or a bee sting. if yours does, unless in a shed, keep trying, dont let him think he can avoid handling by snapping or hissing. some say not to feed during a shed, but i fed mine when he was in shed and he has no problem. as far as i know of, the substrate you are using is ok. i use astroturf, since its easy to clean and change. im fairly new, so i hope i helped. i got my 1st BP, Rex, on 3/22/04. welcome to the forums, always great to see new members!

I must admit, I fed Sophie a week after we got her (she had just eaten the day before), and didn't wait 2 or 3 weeks before handling.

She is going into shed (eyes cloudy since yesterday), so I haven't been handling her at all. I did try to feed her yesterday though, but she wasn't interested--but as Rex pointed out, that's normal when they are in shed. It is also common for them to go off feed sometimes, and as Rex pointed out, unless they are losing weight, no need to worry.

She has never been aggressive, which is good, but when handled she does move a lot which can be a sign that she's not at ease or nervous, so I've been leaving her alone a little more lately.....in any case, good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine.

Welcome, and congratulations on your new snake! It's generally best to wait a week or two before feeding to give them time to settle in, but if you wanted to compromise and go for Monday night (5 full days since you got him) it will probably be fine if he's otherwise satisfied with his setup. He should be eating small adult mice or at least fuzzies, though, as pinkies are too small and nutritionally inadequate. It sounds like you did your homework when setting up his home, and that's great to hear. How are you monitoring his temps and humidity?

Again, welcome and congratulations!

Welcome to the forum. And its great that you have shown so much interest in the well being in your snake. I myself just got a baby ball python sunday before last. I fed him a Fuzzy mouse two days after and he ate like a champ. It could be a good idea to let your little BP gain some weight just incase he goes off feed. I fed him on that tuesday and fed him again on sunday. Two close feedings IMO should be enough to get him started but i wouldnt do this all the time. Just feed the appropriate size prey item and you should be ok. Just keep us posted if he goes off feed or shows any signs or if you just have a question. There is no such thing as a dumb question around here because its for the well being of your herp.

Again welcome to the forum there are many experienced herpers here.

My little guy ate the night I got him. I didnt have to wait 2 long(Plus i was anxious to see him eat) and he took the mouse like a pro. You should try feeding him as soon as your next sunday comes by. Like someone had mentioned in this forum before, " its amazing how balls have there own unique personality" so a 100% accurate caresheet cant really be written. I would suggest that if your ball refuses the mouse just wait till the next day or so. And dont make the same mistake I did.. Get drunk and think your snake is happier livin in a tree in ur room, he will get lost and mostt likely end up with RI (like mine did) or some expensive disease or parasite that will be a burden on you till your little guy heals. Best of luck with your new ball--

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maniac

And dont make the same mistake I did.. Get drunk and think your snake is happier livin in a tree in ur room, he will get lost and mostt likely end up with RI (like mine did) or some expensive disease or parasite that will be a burden on you till your little guy heals. Best of luck with your new ball--

---

hahahaha, oh my god.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by maniac

I would suggest that if your ball refuses the mouse just wait till the next day or so.

---

If you want him to eat for you and he refuses a meal, wait until the next regularly scheduled feeding time before trying again. I'm pretty sure there are several of us here who have made this mistake at one time or another and learned the hard way that feeding attempts too close together just put more stress on the snake and result in its being less likely to eat.

I agree with marla i had a rescue that refused meals everytime but i tried to feed him every day. I waited a week and he fed with no problems. Stress plays a role in the well being of your animal or for anyone for that matter. If you were stressed out constantly and did not get a chance to relax then you would start having health problems.

Thank You All for your warm welcome and helpful advice. Last night I reached in to handle him and bam he struck a few times. he is too small to hurt me but it startled me. I held him for a while and put him back.
He seems very happy as he moves all around his tank. The setup I have came with a gauge to read the humidity. It seems to stay between 20 and 30% which seems low. The temp seems to stay at about 85 and drop to 80 at night. I think he was striking at me because of his instinct to fear things coming from above. I am going to purchase one the boaphile cages that open from the front in the next few weeks.

I will try a fuzzie this Sunday to see if he eats. The breeder told me all of the babies have been eating every Sunday without a problem. I know that at 4-5 months old he has been used to being handled and I want to become best buds with him before he gets too big. He is about as long as a basic computer keyboard, perhaps a bit shorter. Is this an avg size for this age? All 8 of the babies I chose from were the same size, except one was girthier compared to the rest.

I know it may take a while for him to know my smell and get used to me.

Howdy! Just wanted to add my welcome to the many above! Good to see you here Dback

Welcome to the site :)

I am by no means an expert, but I would defiantely would want to get the humidity up to 50-60%. My hubby has duct tape covering the top of screen lid, to help with the humidity. Also you want a wam hide and a cool hide. The warm side should be about 90 degrees or so and the cool side around 80 (I believe). The experts can offer better advice. The care sheet on this sight is wonderful and full of great info.

Edit:Also welcome to the forum.

You can use some workmans gloves if you are scared. When you go in to reach in to grab him dont hesitate they will track the suddeen movement and strike. Make sure he feels secure in his house lots of times they will strike because they are scared. Be sure he has plenty of hides. Sometimes some foliage layed on the ground will help because they can pass from one hide to the other and feel safe. These guys can be a bit nippy when they are small because they think everything is out the get them. With regular handling they will get used to it.

You should definitely get your humidity up to 50-60%.

I also agree with Mrs.MacWin about temps. You should have a warm side that has temps of about 90 degrees. What are you using to heat the tank, and what are you using to measure the temperature and humidity? You can get a digital thermometer/hygrometer for 15$ at walmart that accurately measures temperatures on both sides of the tank and measures humidity.

Also I would suggest not handling him again until he is eating regularly. Handling can further stress him out and cause him not to eat. Even if he's used to handlng, he needs time to get used to his new home. There will be plenty of time to get to be buds with him after he is acclimated and eating successfully. Just give it time.

I think you said you were going to try feeding him today(Sunday). If he does not eat, I would suggest taking a week to get your set up just right and stay away from handling him before you try to feed again.

Welcome to the forum, and let us know how it goes. :)

He did great this weekend, no attempts to strike. I think he is calming down now. At this size he doesn't scare me, but I would imagine when he is large those teeth could sting a bit. I am sure he will be fine now as I held him a lot this weekend and he was very relaxed. I am going to feed him a frozen-thawed fuzzy mouse tonight.

Glad to hear he's calming down for you. By the time his teeth might worry you, striking at you should be a thing of the past unless he feels seriously threatened (such as possibly when giving an injection). Good luck with tonight's feeding!

Welcome to this wonderful Ball-Python land! We are glad to have you.
I have to congratulate you on etting your BP from a reputable breeder. It will probably be more healthy than one bought from a pet store, that's fresh from Africa. I have found that my captive-bred BPs are much better feeders overall than my wild-caughts. You are on the right path, my friend! Any more questions, never hesitate to ask. The people here rock. :)

As far as a BP calming down i think thats true. Because sometimes Coconut loves to be handled and the next day he is bumping you with his nose as if saying "go away". Sometimes it seems like they wake up on the wrong side of the tank.LOL. I am sucker for wild caughts maybe because i feel sorry for them i have not had any major problems with them yet. Jojo had a tick not to long ago but i have no idea where he got it because i have had him for more then 2 years. Imports are not always doomed for failure but it is best for a beginner to get a quality captive bred ball python. Happy Herping.

Hi there! Welcome to the forums!

Everyone seems to have pretty much covered the feeding issues, but I wanted to touch on the humidity and temps. Like MrsMac says, you want that humidity quite a bit higher than it seems to be, and you want a good temperature gradient, rather than just one ambient temp throughout the whole cage. But if you're reading these with those little analog dials that stick to the side of the tank, you could very well have NO idea what your true humidity and temps are. Those dials are notoriously inaccurate.

Walmart has an "indoor/outdoor" unit that digitally measures temperatures on both sides of the tank (warm and cool) and also measures humidity. It also keeps track of the minimum and maximum readings, so you can see if the temps are dropping too much at night, for instance. The whole thing is only about $15, give or take a buck. It could be the best $15 you spend on your snake.

Welcome to the forum. A baby ball, cutest thing. He will calm down over time. Just don't handle him for a couple days after he eats. Sounds like you did your homework. Thats great. I had to learn to keep them all over again, I mean, I am old school, when heat rocks and WC's were "in". This is a good site. Great caresheets too. Good luck w/ him. :)