General Questions about new BP

Hey guys,

New to the ball python game, I've had mine for about 2 months. I don't know how old it is, it has shed once (rough shed, pretty much had to help entire shed and remove two retained eye caps). I'm try to up the humidity, any idea on what I should aim it for? I generally try to keep it at 60-75%. He/she (will refer to as she lol) is on fuzzies right now, when should I switch to medium mice? I have a pic on my profile. Since the shed, shes been very healthy! She's just a wee bit skiddish since I had to soak her for a little bit for a few days and she did NOT like it lol. Any tips for a newbie?

How are you measuring your humidity?

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks!

I have a humidity gauge centered in the cage. Also, something i forgot to add, she was "yawning" a lot and today she seemed to be breathing heavy a lot.. could that be an issue? Perhaps I'm just being paranoid lol

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Originally Posted by hanen

Thanks!

I have a humidity gauge centered in the cage. Also, something i forgot to add, she was "yawning" a lot and today she seemed to be breathing heavy a lot.. could that be an issue? Perhaps I'm just being paranoid lol

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I'm not sure about the yawning or breathing...did she just eat? Do you hear a noise when she breathes?

What kind of guage?

Nope no noise, I was just told to watch the yawning since the cage was previously to dry.. grreat choice hygrometer

I'm not sure what kind that is? Is it digital or is it just a little dial? The little dial ones are verrrry inaccurate.

Pythons yawn a lot when they are hungry or when realigning their jaws after eating. She may be breathing heavy when you look at her because she is scared. BPs will breath heavy when scared like any other small creature.

it is a dial one.. guess I need to invest in a digital one then?

It's been about 48 hours since she's fed, I haven't seen her yawn in quite a bit. I was also wondering when I should switch to the small mice? Seems like shes only been on fuzzies for a couple of months but her width is pretty much that of a small mouse.

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Originally Posted by hanen

it is a dial one.. guess I need to invest in a digital one then?

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You can get a digital one at Wal-Mart, Acu-Rite brand. There is a probe on it,
that measures the hot spot. You put the unit itself on the cool side, so that you know the highest temperature your snake is exposed to, as well as the cool side temperature. It also measures humidity.

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Originally Posted by hanen

It's been about 48 hours since she's fed, I haven't seen her yawn in quite a bit. I was also wondering when I should switch to the small mice? Seems like shes only been on fuzzies for a couple of months but her width is pretty much that of a small mouse.

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Switch to mice now, fuzzies are too small, even hatchlings start on hopper mice.
Actually since she's already a few months old I'd go to rat pups.
Get something equal to widest part of her girth



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Okay cool, thanks for the tip!

What are the differences between mice and rats? Are rats nutritionally better or something?

Rats get bigger. When you're feeding a 2000 gram snake it'll take a lot of mice compared to an appropriate sized rat

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One more question, how many mice should i be feeding her at a time? I feed her one mouse every four days, should i feed two every 4-5 days?

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Originally Posted by hanen

One more question, how many mice should i be feeding her at a time? I feed her one mouse every four days, should i feed two every 4-5 days?

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None! Feed her rats :) If you have a bunch of mice in stock, I'd use up those, but it's much more economical to feed rats in the long run. At her age, she could easily take two.

The issue is that some balls won't take more than one item per feeding. I have one like that. I also have one that eats everything you throw at her. Try offering her seconds after she's gotten down the first mouse. If she doesn't take two, she might be a one-item-per-feeding kind of gal.

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Originally Posted by MootWorm

None! Feed her rats :) If you have a bunch of mice in stock, I'd use up those, but it's much more economical to feed rats in the long run. At her age, she could easily take two.

The issue is that some balls won't take more than one item per feeding. I have one like that. I also have one that eats everything you throw at her. Try offering her seconds after she's gotten down the first mouse. If she doesn't take two, she might be a one-item-per-feeding kind of gal.

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In the first paragraph I believe Moots saying yours could eat two mice not two rats. :)
It sounded to me like it could be confusing.

Yes try two at next feeding, when you are out of mice try moving to rats

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Thanks guys! :)

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

In the first paragraph I believe Moots saying yours could eat two mice not two rats. :)
It sounded to me like it could be confusing.

Yes try two at next feeding, when you are out of mice try moving to rats

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Haha yes, thank you for clearing that up! It was late :p