Look everyone! I've got my first Ball Python!

Hello everyone! My names Nathan. I'm new around these parts and hope to fit in nicely. I've chosen to purchase my first ball python yesterday. I have been looking around online for breeders, local reptile stores, etc. Anyway, I was at the local Petco in Lakewood, WA running a routine dog food and treats run for my purebred German Shepherd. (Blue Buffalo, only the best!) I usually scope the tropical fish and reptiles to just window shop and WHAM-BAM! There it was. A gorgeous Pinstripe Ball Python. ($299.99) I know, I know... Its not too exciting for all of you seasoned python veterans. BUT, to me, this is the most beautiful snake that I've seen in person. No local pet stores around here carry anything other than normal balls. I immediately summoned an employee and asked, 'Can I touch it?' The Petco employee (Dave) chuckled a bit and asked me to hold on a moment while he went to go get the key. I was eyes to glass, looking under the dark hide at what i knew was going to be mine. Dave came back and while he was unlocking the rack he let me know that they were unsure of the sex, when its last feeding was (August 23rd) and that this hatchling pipped on June 12th, 2013. I couldn't believe it. Thats actually MY birthday. Almost destiny. He pulled the drawer out and opened her viv. I asked if it was ok if I got it. He said 'Absolutely!' I reached in and lifted the hide and quickly noticed that he/she was in deep shed. The eyes were completely clear and the skin on the sides of the head were removed. Not the least bit shy, happy to see I'd assume. Immediately poked its head up when i flipped the hide. Almost like it was like 'Hey! YOU seem pretty damn cool!' Effortless first pick up. No balling, outstretched, showing what it's momma gave it! Almost like it didn't care it was in shed. I was not in the least bit concerned that it was even remotely thinking that it wanted to flee, hide, or defend itself for that matter. It wasn't difficult to make out the pattern. It looked great, just very dark and somewhat dry. I, ever-so-gently turned its tail over and effortlessly 'popped' the BP. Its a girl! 'I'll take it!' David hinted to me if I mentioned 'the coupon that the cashier has' that she would gladly give it to me. It was for the Labor Day Weekend Sale, 25% off your entire purchase... One left. I was like 'WHAAAAAAAT?!' I asked Dave to box my new girl up while I shopped for her viv. I got the 29 gallon snake starter kit from 'Zoo-Med'. Pretty much everything extra I got was from that brand. It seemed to be the highest quality stuff there. I've posted pictures below of the finished product. Needless to say I saved a TON of money on everything and couldn't be happier. I went strait home. Took her out and weighed her (97.67g). She was so far into shed that I decided to help with her a bit to reduce the stress of the shed on top of the move. I prepared a nice humidity box at a nice warm 88*F. Bowl of luke-warm water. and a couple clean old wet washcloths. A half hour later after I had set up the viv, warmed it up, and got humidity levels right; I opened the bin and BOOM, she skillfully shed most of the skin. Some remained on her head and neck. (As seen in pictures taken today) She's already got most of it off since I took these pictures tonight. Enough blabbin' check it out!

Now, let me introduce to you.. The newest member of my family... Ofelia the Pinstripe Ball Python!

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps244e7bfb.jpghttp://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1b6e056c.jpghttp://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378011999http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012001http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps554bdec9.jpghttp://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...psfc4f8ba0.jpghttp://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012023http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012024http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012041http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012048

Here is her new viv.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012049http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012050http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378012051

Hopefully in the near future I can find another sweet BP to pair up with this one. Mayyyyyybeeeee have a clutch or two in the future... Who knows?

Thank you everyone for checking out my new snake! Comments are greatly appreciated since i've yet to make any friends around here yet.

Welcome to the site!

Here are a few threads you should check out if you haven't already:

Care: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Cage Heating: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

If you ever have any questions feel free to ask.

Epic first post, man. :D

Congrats on your new little girl. It's obvious that you have her best interests in mind. Don't hesitate to ask questions about anything that comes up. This community is pretty incredible.

Welcome to BP.net (and your new addiction)!

Congratulations! She is stunning!! :D I am so excited for you. She was meant to be yours ;)

Congrats! You are one proud Pappa. And should be!

Enjoy!

:snake:

Congrats and welcome:D very nice setup! :gj:Just a warning tho, bp's are addicting. :snake::snake::snake:

She is beautiful! Congrats and welcome to the site! :D

Congrats! Very nice looking gal

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:welcome: aboard!

Like the story behind the purchase. Congratulations on your new addition!


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I have seen petco selling normal and pastel but never seen them selling pinstripe. And very nice snake! I hope you have fun raising her. Really nice looking enclosure btw you mustve spent alot of money in that:eek:

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She is a perty girl!!!! Set up looks really nice, she'll be all comfy in no time.

Welcome to the madness....

Wow, wasn't expecting such quick responses! Thank you everyone!

Just in case anyone was curious on how much I spent for my entire setup, I'll go ahead and list everything I got with prices. Hopefully this will give an idea on how much it would cost to jump in to the hobby like me. *REMEMBER* I was lucky enough to snag the last 25% off coupon from the Petco cashier. (SCORE! I know, right?)

Ofelia, my Pinstripe BP (Female) - $299.99

Zoo-Med 29 Gallon Snake Starter Kit - $179.99
(ALL INCLUDED)
-Zoo-Med 29 Gallon
-Zoo-Med Sliding+Locking Full Screen Lid
-Zoo-Med Large Single Light Fixture
-Zoo-Med Day-Blue UVA/UVB Bulb 100w
-Zoo-Med Medium Sized Heating Pad
-Zoo-Med Aspen Substrate
-Zoo-Med Faux Stone Water Dish
-Zoo-Med Habi-Hut / Medium
-Zoo-Med Vine Display / Medium
-Zoo-Med Repti-mometer (Thermometer)

Zoo-Med Dual 2 in 1 Fixture - $29.99
(I liked the option of 2 bulbs, one fixture. Opted to use this one with the hanging stand instead of getting a second fixture and having two large ones on the lid.)

Zoo-Med Night Time Bulb 100w - $8.99

Zoo-Med Light Fixture Hanging Device / Large - $19.99

X-Large Faux Bonsai Tree & Stone Hide - $59.99

Zoo-Med 2 in 1 Thermometer/Humidity Gauge - $14.99

Zoo-Med Tropical Cypress Substrate / Large Bag - $11.99

2x Zoo-Med Small Tropical Plant - $9.99 x 2 ($19.98)

Zoo-Med Large Tropical Plant with wooden base - $14.99

Zoo-Med Repti-Wood Drift Wood / Large - $14.99

Zoo-Med Feeding Tweezers - $9.99

Digital Climate Readout with two probes (Temperature/Humidity/Wind/and everything else not pertinent to my viv, lol. But, still very nice, and ACCURATE!) - $17.99

Background scenery - $8.99

3x Packs of 3-count Fuzzies (Gourmet Rodent brand) - $1.99 x 3 ($5.97)

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Grand Total: $703.83 ($767.17 with tax)
With 25% off I paid only: $576.04!!!
Saved $191.79 with coupon!
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Can't beat that with an ugly stick, huh? I couldn't pass up the opportunity on such a good deal.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I hope this could be some help to someone thinking about the purchase. Now, even being a brand new Ball Python owner.. Don't let that fool you. I'm by no way an expert but, I have done copious amounts of research on the care and nature of Ball Pythons. That, my friends, is absolutely priceless. Not only does it help with the confidence with reptiles but when something comes up, you already know what to do OR know where to get the information that you need.

As far as this post goes... Questions, comments, concerns.... All appreciated! I would be more than happy to chit-chat!

Think this is a good nomination for 'PETCO SNAG OF THE YEAR'? I think I got one hell of a deal.

What do you guys think?

Congrats on your first snake! I loved your intro post. Super enthusiastic!
My first BP was a pin as well :3

And gorgeous first set up.

Welcome to the forum! Hope to see you post about your girl often.

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Congratulations on your new girl, sounds like your addicted just like most of us. Good luck and have fun.

Congrats on your pinstripe.

She's a cutie and I love the story, sometimes it's just meant to be.

Thank you again, everybody! Ofelia is doing well today. I'm thinking about offering her a fuzzy f/t mouse today. She hasn't eaten in nine days according to Dave, the Petco rep. I just thought it would be best, yesterday, to not overwhelm her with the move/shed/feed combo. Heh. But anyway, she seems content in her viv, currently exploring around. Maybe she's hungry? Looking for food? I'm going to give it a shot in a few hours. I'll let all of you know how it pans out.

Welcome to the forum!! Very pretty little girl!!! I just love the pinstripe morph!! And awesome looking habitat!!

Glad you are letting her settle in. She's gonna check things out until she feels all comfy. Best to let her do her thing for a few days before introducing anything else to her.

Feel free to ask any questions you need... Tis what we all are here for.

Congrats, she's awesome! I love her enclosure, it's set up really nice! I have that same tree too :) Welcome to the site!

Congrats man! My normal is also from a petco. Yours looks well maintained an your husbandry looks amazing! Everyone on here is really helpful so if you got any question feel free to ask.

Congrats on the pin :gj::gj:

What are you getting next??;)

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

Glad you are letting her settle in. She's gonna check things out until she feels all comfy. Best to let her do her thing for a few days before introducing anything else to her.

Feel free to ask any questions you need... Tis what we all are here for.

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Haha! Unfortunately MsMissy, I had offered her the mouse before I had seen your post. She was moving all around her viv today. A somewhat on/off cycle. She would be busy for a bit, then nap, busy, then nap, etc. lol

But anyways, I placed a mouse inside her viv a little while ago. I immediately noticed her moving out from the vines around the tree. She was like a heat-seeking missile! Went strait for it, reared back, and... SLAM! She hit the poor, already deceased and freshly thawed fuzzy mouse like a diesel train. From the time it was presented inside the viv to the strike was less than 60 seconds. I'm absolutely enthused!!! I think i may have found a keeper! lol Not shy, very friendly, gorgeous, and on top of all that, she eats well! I hope it lasts! She will be amazing!

Now, for what I thought was a little odd about Ofelia's first feeding here at home...

Ok, now I am not trying to expose her little mistake to dock cool points, BUT, she did in fact strike at the rear-end of the mouse and devoured it tail first! Is that normal? She had not one problem getting it down it seemed. It was rather quick. My feeders were a little on the small side so I had prepared two for this occasion. Just in case! I had placed the second one in the viv in the same spot after she had retreated from her last 'kill'. She came out, sniffed it a bit, made a full lap around the viv, and... WHAM! She decided she was still hungry! This time a little different.. Ofelia decided to drag this one under the vines and save it for later? It was in there for a good 15-20 mins and she completely lost interest in it. Needless to say, I removed the feeder mouse and she is happily basking on the driftwood in plain sight!

Here are a few pictures of the occasion! Enjoy!


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087876http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087882http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087891http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087897http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087903http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087909http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087915http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087920http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087925http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087931http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087936http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087942http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087947http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087953http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1378087958


Thanks for looking everyone! NOW, I plan on leaving her alone for sure for at least 24-48 hours before I handle her again. I CAN'T WAIT!

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Congrats on the pin :gj::gj:

What are you getting next??;)

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I am not entirely certain yet. There are so many flavors!!!! We shall see. i don't have my eye on anything in particular just yet. But, I plan on finding a gorgeous and well suited male for her. One with a fantastic morph for sure. Maybe a Piebald? I dunnnnnnnooooooooooo..... LOL

For her next feeding, you may want to think about something a bit bigger. You want to aim for prey just slightly larger around than she is at her widest girth. She's a little girl but even hatchlings start with bigger than pinky's.

Yeah, I got jipped. I bought 3x packages of 'Gourmet Rodent 3-count Fuzzies'. Every single one was a pinky with no fur. I decided to keep one package and feed her one. I will take the other two back to Petco in exchange for a larger one. Maybe I got part of a shipment that missed Quality Control? Haha! Yea, I knew they were small, I prepped two to see if she would take it but I think after one down the gullet she decided it was time to rest. Understandable. It looks like a lot of work getting that down.

Well she's certainly not a shy eater! :D

Don't worry about the eating food backwards thing, they figure it out eventually (my backwards boy took 6 months but he got there in the end). I agree wth MsMissy though about bigger items, although if you already have a bunch of frozen that are all small, offering two (like you did) is also acceptable, just pick up something a bit larger when it's time to replenish your supplies.

Oops, was writing while you were posting, disregard! ;)

My baby girl <226gr> takes two adult mice every Monday. I let her get one down, rest for 30 and then the second. She lets me know she is still hungry, if she chooses against dessert, i do keep a tank for it to live in for a week.<you'll figure that out in time.> How much does the little darling weigh?

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Originally Posted by Badgemash

Oops, was writing while you were posting, disregard! ;)

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No worries! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MsMissy

My baby girl <226gr> takes two adult mice every Monday. I let her get one down, rest for 30 and then the second. She lets me know she is still hungry, if she chooses against dessert, i do keep a tank for it to live in for a week.<you'll figure that out in time.> How much does the little darling weigh?

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Ofelia weighs 97.67 grams before the feeding and shed. I weighed her right when I brought her home so i could record it. Im sure she lost a gram or two with the shed. I kind of figured if she left her 'kill' on the other side of the viv to hang out on the warm side that she wasn't interested. I left it in there for a little while and even gave it a little dangle in front of her before i removed it. She turned her cheek at me. Maybe she wants to keep her girly figure? lol! I was even thinking of keeping what I already have and just feed every 4-5 days if she will take it. Shes young; Needs the nutrition. I don't think that will hurt her. I've seen quite a few people on here post that they feed on a shorter schedule when they are young.

It looks like she has a fantastic new home. It's crazy how some things seem meant to be, isn't it? Congratulations, this much be an extremely exciting time for you :)

And I'm late to it, but welcome to the community.

Very nice pickup. Like other have said, ask all the questions you need to so that you're able to provide her with the best care possible.

Grats on a gorgeous little girl and welcome! :)

Congrats on the pick up!

Congratulations on your first BP, may as well start buying more cages or a rack because you wont stop at just one.

Haha! Yeah, I'm already shopping for a male counterpart. Maybe this time next year I'll be posting pictures of my first clutch! :D

I guess this doesn't make sense. Why are you trying to sell it on craigslist??
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/pet/4044275904.html

Yeh kinda confused?? And you wouldn't be having a clutch next year

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Lol wtf???...

Sure hope................... I don't even know how to say it :confusd::confusd::confusd::confusd:

Well I hope ya'll don't get the wrong idea, I actually just recently found another pinstripe online with a nicer pattern. Just my personal preference. I've already found a buyer thats experienced with snakes. This one is also a girl. She has no breaks in the pinstripe, a little lighter, and far more reduced pattern on the sides. She's also about the same age and weight. Not to mention came from a breeder. I just was kind of kicking myself since I saw one that I liked more 3 days later. It's no big deal. She's going to a good home and I still will have a gorgeous pin. :) Don't freak out people, jeez!

I will post pictures once I pick her up. Im still thinking about keeping them both but I have a wife that I just coaxed into letting me get 'one' not two. Would like some feedback on 2x female pinstripes in one tank for the time being. At least till I get another viv set up this week. (if i keep 2x)

So if you paid $299 for her why sell her for $200. You lost $99 plus the purchase price for 2nd one.

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It's a bad idea to keep them together.

Get the tank set up first, then get the snake. Doing it the other way around is, well...backwards.

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

So if you paid $299 for her why sell her for $200. You lost $99 plus the purchase price for 2nd one.

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Not trying to be rude... just saying if you had to convince your wife to get one... if I were her I'd be pretty mad at the waste of money.


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Whoop whoop, congrats!

I paid about 220 for her with my labor day coupon. I figured I'd give someone a good deal. I'm not sweating the 20 bucks lost.

As far as 2x in the same viv. Thats what I thought, that it was not a good idea. I know people that do have more than one in the same viv though and swear that its ok. I just wanted to get confirmation. I was just curious if it was going to be ok for the night until her new owner comes to get her.

My neighbor has a 20 gallon aquarium setup for his sons old bearded dragon. I've got a heat lamp nighttime 100w bulb, some makeshift hides, water bowl, the hydro/thermometer that came with my startup kit, and substrate. Don't worry people they will be separated! I trust you guys! Thanks for the fast feedback!

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Not trying to be rude... just saying if you had to convince your wife to get one... if I were her I'd be pretty mad at the waste of money.


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Not trying to be rude... Its none of your business what I do with my money, nor any of your concern of what my wife thinks about it.

Really, its not a big deal. I'm a responsible adult and can make my own decisions. I just choose to share them with you. Prying into it deeper and making it personal is not what this forum is about. Thanks for your concerns.