Bud the Normal

Bud is my 7 year old, 3.5ft ball python. I got Bud on September 23 2006, as my late 12th birthday present. Unfortunately, me being 12 and my father being ignorant on the care of animals, his care was less than satisfactory. Luckily, the physical problems were limited to bad sheds and winter fasts. Outside of the winter, he was a pig despite being so exposed in his enclosure and was probably a bit chubbier than he needed to be now that I know more about snake care. In 2011 I decided I wanted to get another snake, but I wanted to step up in size and get a slightly large snake. It was during my research on the care of boas (I was now almost 16 and so I was a bit smarter and figured I should probably research) that I decided to look at the care of ball pythons as well, because so far snake care in general was a whole lot different than what my father taught me when I got Bud. I very quickly implemented changes in his enclosure. Before, I had this treated wooden hide that had a heat lamp that was screwed to it, which was a major burn hazard. I took it off of the hide and lifted it to the top of enclosure, which was 3-3.5ft tall (I'm not sure of the measurements anymore as it's since been destroyed) so that he could not get to it. I was using ReptiBark, which didn't hold humidity good enough so I switched to EcoEarth. After just two sheds, his spotty scales went away (ones that looked dried out and stood out as white against the rest of his scales) and his discoloration went away to show this beautiful snake I never even knew existed. His first shed was still a little spotty, but his second one came off all in one piece including eye caps. I'd spent years gently rubbing stuck sheds off with a wet wash cloth and holding wet cloths to his eyes to gently remove stuck eye caps without any knowledge that snakes should shed whole pieces, so that I thought it was normal. Because of the extended period of bad sheds and poor humidity, a few of his scales (just one or two) have completely lost pigmentation and some of his scales are deformed, unfortunately. I'm lucky he didn't get an RI because other than one heat lamp, he had no other heating elements. I suppose this is thanks to our wood stove, which must have kept his enclosure just warm enough.

Soon after that, we moved to my grandfather's house where Bud and Cloud stayed in Sterilite tubs until I built two 6x2x2 wooden enclosures with my father. I decorated Bud's enclosure very heavily so that he would feel as secure as possible. These enclosures are of a similar size to Bud's old enclosure, except his may have been 4.5ft long rather than 6ft. It was while he was in this enclosure that I saw his feeding improve. He went from 1275 grams to 1530 grams in just 3-4 weeks. He could have been just under 1500 grams, though, as I'm not sure if the last measurement was while he was empty or not. Now he's back in his tub, since we can only fit one of the enclosures here and Cloud needs his more. He is unsexed, but I've always assumed he was male, so that's his unofficial gender.

Another success that I've had with him is a switch from live to f/t. He ate live his entire life, but after almost a year of attempting to get him to eat f/t I finally managed to get him to take it. I started trying switch him after he had his bad eating habits; I figured, he's already refusing to eat, why not try to switch him at the same time? I just had to find the perfect method! I set out my rats overnight in the same room as the snakes to thaw out, and I feed them in the morning. I can just throw it in for Cloud, but Bud requires a hot spot so I boil water on the stove. I've tried hot tap water, letting it run over the rat's head for at least 15-20 mins to make sure the whole head becomes heated thoroughly, but it doesn't work. He waves his head in the air and looks around for it, but never takes it. I boil water and leave the rat's head in it for 30-60 secs and I stick the rat's head physically in whatever hide he happens to be in so he has no choice but to come face-to-face with it. Within minutes, it's drug into his hide and swallowed.

Anyways, without further ado, here he is!

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8d68b495.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9afe5e1b.jpg

In the middle of a shed:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps89255efa.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0c8f7968.jpg

Making a break for it:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pseab6670e.jpg

Accidentally startled him and he pulled back his head:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b1b690f.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps29ddcdfd.jpg

In his wooden enclosure, exploring:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2f201332.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps41aa4be2.jpg

Great story!

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And a good looking fellah as well. :)

He's a great looking guy! I hope my normal boy grows up as good looking as Bud. :)

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Originally Posted by Garnet

He's a great looking guy! I hope my normal boy grows up as good looking as Bud. :)

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I'm sure he will!

Nice story, shows that even with some mistakes on our part ( and who hasn't made those )
these animals can bounce back and lead strong and healthy lives!
continued success to you and your animals.

Thanks everyone! I always feel so bad about the care I gave him, but I'm glad I smartened up and he's doing really well.

Here are some more of my favorite photos I've taken of him.

This was what he looked like before his weight gain.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps80d7e6a1.jpg

I know it looks weird, but this is actually pretty close to what he looked like at the time. He looks like a different snake every time he sheds, it's crazy.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4de9d5fd.jpg

Bud climbing up the doors. The enclosure is looking a bit under-decorated because it was during the time I was experimenting to see how much decoration was best. I eventually got it to 8-9 hides (there were about 4 or 5 when this photo was taken but you can only see 2) and that seemed perfect for him.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps44928fd7.jpg

In blue:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psd18f46eb.jpg

His little chubby tail.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps65fe4b16.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5a01d46b.jpg

He gets a bit confused sometimes.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psadc4fed5.jpg

Just lounging. His hot end was 88-90F, so I'm not sure why he was doing this, but came home to this after school one day. You can see Cloud's old tub behind him.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psac9e7a4d.jpg

Some good pics...Bud appears nice and goofy. I really like your periscope pics. You should submit one for the bp of the month contest....they are cool. Regarding the rat he has by the butt....he is not confused...he is just hanging onto him.

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Originally Posted by h20hunter

Some good pics...Bud appears nice and goofy. I really like your periscope pics. You should submit one for the bp of the month contest....they are cool. Regarding the rat he has by the butt....he is not confused...he is just hanging onto him.

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He is goofy. He's my personal de-decorator; he never fails to clear off surfaces for me so that I can clean up the floor.

Maybe I will at some point. :) lol Ok, but this was after he killed it (before the switch to f/t) and was looking for its head. He got the butt instead. lol

Bud gives me hope that my snake will grow up to be as big as he is :D

He looks so sweet! My ball python, Cave sometimes does tail first. Which gets annoying when he does. xD

For bud what you can do is hit it with a blow dryer and warm him up a bit then you can offer it to him so you don't have to run the rats head under any hot tap water.

Nice snake though.

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Originally Posted by Wheatley

He looks so sweet! My ball python, Cave sometimes does tail first. Which gets annoying when he does. xD

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Both Bud and Cloud have tried, but they haven't been successful so far. lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neal

For bud what you can do is hit it with a blow dryer and warm him up a bit then you can offer it to him so you don't have to run the rats head under any hot tap water.

Nice snake though.

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I think I may have mentioned it, but I boil water instead. I only put the head in, and only long enough to warm the head up, maybe 30-60 seconds. We don't have a blow dryer, though I've tried it before with Cloud. It stunk too much. If the blow dryer can get it hotter than hot tap water, it might work. Tap water doesn't get hot enough for him, so that's why I boil it.

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Originally Posted by CloudtheBoa

Both Bud and Cloud have tried, but they haven't been successful so far. lol



I think I may have mentioned it, but I boil water instead. I only put the head in, and only long enough to warm the head up, maybe 30-60 seconds. We don't have a blow dryer, though I've tried it before with Cloud. It stunk too much. If the blow dryer can get it hotter than hot tap water, it might work. Tap water doesn't get hot enough for him, so that's why I boil it.

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Well with just thawing them out at room temp they're not going to be the temp that they'd normally be if they were live. That's why you're having issues with your BP not taking it unless you dip the head in boiling water. Boas have insane feeding responses and they rarely if ever go off feeding like BP's can and sometimes do. They wouldn't really require the rodent be heated up before they take it.

One concern about letting the rats thaw out overnight is that they can quickly decompose. My method which I've found works the best for me, and I would think it would work really good for anybody, but I can't say for sure. I take the rodents out that need to be thawed. I put them in a ziploc bag for 3-4 hours and let them sit. Then after that depending on if they're still not fully thawed out I will run hot water from the tap in a shallow sterilite container and fill it nearly to the top then I'll put the rodents in there and let all the air out to make sure because the water will push the air out. Then I put the top on there so it helps retain the heat. Once the water is getting cool I take the rats out put them on my reptile plate which has paper towels on it then I lay the rodents on it and put them in an empty tank with the heat lamp on and let them sit under there for 30ish minutes. I do put a few things under the plate to lift it slightly above half way to the light. Then once the time is up I'll put the plate on the floor grab the blow dryer(some Revlon one I picked up off ebay for like $12-15). Then I hit it with the hair dryer for about 30 secs - minute until I see my snakes come to the front or I at least see one coming, then I know the scent is well in the room. I forgot to mention the empty tank that heats the rodents up under the light is in the same room with the snakes. So after that I just get the tongs, grab the rat by the tail and wave it in front of the snake. All my snakes are eating f/t, though my lesser pastel is a shy eater and won't take it off the tongs, so I leave the rat pup near him and close the tub and usually within 20-30 minutes it's gone.

Everything else will take the rat from the tongs. In fact my Sable Pin usually eats 2-3 rat pups, because I heat extras up for my females since I went back to a 7 day feeding schedule because of winter. She's a pig. While the process I do isn't time consuming I've tried many methods of feeding f/t and this works the best. I can upload the feeding videos I've done if I still have them if you'd like to see?

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Originally Posted by Neal

Well with just thawing them out at room temp they're not going to be the temp that they'd normally be if they were live. That's why you're having issues with your BP not taking it unless you dip the head in boiling water. Boas have insane feeding responses and they rarely if ever go off feeding like BP's can and sometimes do. They wouldn't really require the rodent be heated up before they take it.

One concern about letting the rats thaw out overnight is that they can quickly decompose. My method which I've found works the best for me, and I would think it would work really good for anybody, but I can't say for sure. I take the rodents out that need to be thawed. I put them in a ziploc bag for 3-4 hours and let them sit. Then after that depending on if they're still not fully thawed out I will run hot water from the tap in a shallow sterilite container and fill it nearly to the top then I'll put the rodents in there and let all the air out to make sure because the water will push the air out. Then I put the top on there so it helps retain the heat. Once the water is getting cool I take the rats out put them on my reptile plate which has paper towels on it then I lay the rodents on it and put them in an empty tank with the heat lamp on and let them sit under there for 30ish minutes. I do put a few things under the plate to lift it slightly above half way to the light. Then once the time is up I'll put the plate on the floor grab the blow dryer(some Revlon one I picked up off ebay for like $12-15). Then I hit it with the hair dryer for about 30 secs - minute until I see my snakes come to the front or I at least see one coming, then I know the scent is well in the room. I forgot to mention the empty tank that heats the rodents up under the light is in the same room with the snakes. So after that I just get the tongs, grab the rat by the tail and wave it in front of the snake. All my snakes are eating f/t, though my lesser pastel is a shy eater and won't take it off the tongs, so I leave the rat pup near him and close the tub and usually within 20-30 minutes it's gone.

Everything else will take the rat from the tongs. In fact my Sable Pin usually eats 2-3 rat pups, because I heat extras up for my females since I went back to a 7 day feeding schedule because of winter. She's a pig. While the process I do isn't time consuming I've tried many methods of feeding f/t and this works the best. I can upload the feeding videos I've done if I still have them if you'd like to see?

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Ah, yeah, the main reasons I started leaving them out was because it was so time consuming to thaw them out in water once Cloud got on mediums and then they just get absolutely coated in bedding no matter how much I dry them off. Impaction isn't likely because they have nice high temps, but I just prefer to lower the amount of bedding ingested as much as possible to make it easier on them. Bud also has a bad habit of just burying the rat if it's soaking wet. With it being set out overnight, I remove it within an hour if they don't take it (which they usually take it pretty much as soon as I set it in - that is, when Bud actually eats), so hopefully that's well before it goes bad.

When I was kicked out, my father wouldn't let me come back and get the rat out of Bud's enclosure later that day because...well, let's just say he's not that good of a person. I came back later the next day and it had bloated, so I have at least 24 hours after I put it in. The food I offer to the boa is just so large (270-290 gram rats and now 1lb rabbits), it would take well over 3 hours to thaw in water. Bud takes mediums, so it may take 2-3 hours to thaw out that way.

That's awesome! He's beautiful!

Here is a video I made a couple of weeks ago. Ignore my commentary to get bit as I was recording for a friend who said his ball python sometimes eats out of his hand and then all the sudden it started biting his hand instead of the rat. Now granted I told him that it's because he had the smell of rat on his hand, that or bad aim. So I tried this with one of my snakes that have a killer feeding response and I in all seriousness thought I was going to get bit. I wouldn't recommend anybody trying this as I don't want to see anybody get bit and especially if you panic and the snake gets injured in the process. I also was just getting my voice back as I had been sick for the new years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruck_MW1pbk

I had two snakes in here that won't eat off tongs, they only eat if the food is left in there, but I've sense gotten one of them to take off the tongs now. I used to do weekly feeding videos but I stopped because I don't think anybody really paid attention to them, lol.

He's a butt bitter like mine. Lol. It's funny to watch sometimes. Haha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neal

Here is a video I made a couple of weeks ago. Ignore my commentary to get bit as I was recording for a friend who said his ball python sometimes eats out of his hand and then all the sudden it started biting his hand instead of the rat. Now granted I told him that it's because he had the smell of rat on his hand, that or bad aim. So I tried this with one of my snakes that have a killer feeding response and I in all seriousness thought I was going to get bit. I wouldn't recommend anybody trying this as I don't want to see anybody get bit and especially if you panic and the snake gets injured in the process. I also was just getting my voice back as I had been sick for the new years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruck_MW1pbk

I had two snakes in here that won't eat off tongs, they only eat if the food is left in there, but I've sense gotten one of them to take off the tongs now. I used to do weekly feeding videos but I stopped because I don't think anybody really paid attention to them, lol.

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One of mine prefers to be fed by hand. Granted he doesn't strike. He just gently grabs it and pulls it into his hide to eat. My other one on the other hand if he smeels food he strikes at everything. Lol. Been bit by him with thongs and all. Lol.

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Originally Posted by jasonmcgilvrey83

One of mine prefers to be fed by hand. Granted he doesn't strike. He just gently grabs it and pulls it into his hide to eat. My other one on the other hand if he smeels food he strikes at everything. Lol. Been bit by him with thongs and all. Lol.

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Yea, I don't generally hand feed because I don't want to stress the snake by having to uncoil him or spray him with a bottle of water to get him to let go, I was just doing it as to show my friend. He's not big enough to really do any damage so I probably would of just let him uncoil on his own.

The ironic thing is the one that I hand fed in that video nailed me yesterday. He overshot the tongs and the rat and caught my palm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Neal

Here is a video I made a couple of weeks ago. Ignore my commentary to get bit as I was recording for a friend who said his ball python sometimes eats out of his hand and then all the sudden it started biting his hand instead of the rat. Now granted I told him that it's because he had the smell of rat on his hand, that or bad aim. So I tried this with one of my snakes that have a killer feeding response and I in all seriousness thought I was going to get bit. I wouldn't recommend anybody trying this as I don't want to see anybody get bit and especially if you panic and the snake gets injured in the process. I also was just getting my voice back as I had been sick for the new years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruck_MW1pbk

I had two snakes in here that won't eat off tongs, they only eat if the food is left in there, but I've sense gotten one of them to take off the tongs now. I used to do weekly feeding videos but I stopped because I don't think anybody really paid attention to them, lol.

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Nice video, I wish Bud had a good feeding response, but it's almost non-existent. It was starting to build up before I moved and when I got him eating regularly, though. He sent a hide flying one time. :O The smallest movement while he eats and he'll drop it and won't take it again. I was trying the "rat dance" with him at first, but it scares him really bad. His enclosure was about at eye level (5ft) and I was trying to feed him on a step ladder. He was fear-striking and I was giving it one more twirl to see if he would change his mind and take it before I gave up. He climbed up the rat, hanging out of his enclosure staring right at my fingers. I reached for the snake hook get him off the rat and he nailed me. The only bite I've ever gotten from him the entire time I've had him. No pain, but I got a few thin scratches and a good bruise, but it all healed up in a few days. Never did the dance again, though, because it obviously stressed him out. I normally don't tong feed, I just set the rats in the enclosure for them to get. Sometimes I'll dangle the rat over Cloud, but usually I just set it somewhere random and he goes and gets it.

I took a video of Bud and I. He kept going for that window...I didn't want him getting into the tape, though, so I had to turn the stubborn guy around so he wouldn't get himself in trouble. He was being well-behaved - for him - in the video at least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwG1K85s66s

A short video of Bud outside from last summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsh-Pk45ixw

Another of him outside last summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVlw...ature=youtu.be

And him on my hand from this winter, with the light being let in through the door. Snakes love cameras. >.>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcuv6...ature=youtu.be

I don't post many photos of Bud, since he's usually left alone, but here are some from the past month or two. :)

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10ae5c6b.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pseec621c2.jpg

Bud's stumpy, shiny butt.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps00aec9e9.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pse5e46fd3.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps57b25460.jpg

I took this photo yesterday night, while I was expanding EcoEarth to replace his old bedding. I had him on one arm because I didn't have anything to hold him in (Cloud was in my only holding bucket) and no one was there to take him. He insisted on getting back into his tub, so I let him crawl into it while I rinsed off my arms. I came back out to the goof doing this. lol The photo was taken from far away, which is why it's not the best quality.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pse9dcfac3.jpg

I haven't posted anything of Bud in a long time because I mostly leave him alone due to him being a problem eater lately.

A few months ago he broke an 8 month strike where he may have eaten once or twice before eating nothing for about 5 months after we moved into my mom's apartment. During this whole time I was attempting to feed him f/t rats, but at the end of his strike he had lost weight, going from 1400-1500 grams (I don't remember exactly as I don't have it in my records but I could probably dig it up from somewhere) back down to about 1277 grams. He still looked to be a healthy weight, just a bit on the thin side. I gave in and started feeding him live mice to get his appetite going and put some weight back on him. He ate live for 3-4 feedings before I switched him back to f/t (mice), which he took with no hesitation. From there, he went up to 1282 grams after about a month, and now he weighs 1416 grams after about 2.5-3 months. Right now I'm giving him one jumbo mouse every two weeks because they're roughly the size of a small rat on the larger end. I tried to feed once a week, but he hasn't been wanting to eat that often. If I feel that the jumbos are too small by themselves, I may start giving him 2 at a time. He's had one jumbo mouse so far, so I plan on weighing them for his next feeding (which is today) to see if I need to start doubling them up.

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...ne-d84c8y8.jpg

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...ne-d84c8ya.jpg

Bud has been staying steady at 1380 grams for the past few months now, with maybe a 2-5 gram difference. His weights were jumping back and forth before so I don't think I was catching him empty. He's still eating regularly and has only refused two meals, but has always taken them on the second offer. With any luck, I can get him eating small rats again instead of one or two jumbo mice. He seems to take two every other feeding, but won't take two every time, so maybe two jumbo mice are right at the end of what he feels is enough food?

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...832e64f82a.jpg

Otherwise, things are good and it's starting to look like we'll be making enough room for his 6' enclosure, so I can get him out of his tub again.


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Well he's begun another strike now that I'm trying to get him back on rats. I had used mice to break him from an 8 month strike, but I guess he's become hooked. I was feeding him 1 or 2 jumbo mice every other week. The smallest was 25 grams give or take a few grams, and the largest was like 73 grams or so. Most of the Layne Labs shipment's jumbos averaged 40-60 grams. The jumbos from Big Cheese are half that size, so I'd need to feed him 5-6 of the current ones, which means the poor guy has no choice but to be switched. So far it's been 49-50 days. Gonna give it another try today or tomorrow. Holding steady at 1380-1390 grams, last I weighed him he was 1386 grams.

After so long of good feeding, it's back to this again. ;.;

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...0491a338b3.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...b6c7b2a681.jpg

I normally don't handle him much because of how stress-prone he is, but I figured I rarely ever take photos of him, and he was already out so I could dampen his bedding, I snapped a few outside real quick.


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Nice pictures and video.
What's the temperature when you take him outside?

I like Bud, he's a good looking snake. Sorry that you are having trouble with him.

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Originally Posted by The Golem

Nice pictures and video.
What's the temperature when you take him outside?

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I take my snakes out when it's 75F at least.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reinz

I like Bud, he's a good looking snake. Sorry that you are having trouble with him.

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Yeah I've been having a lot of trouble with him over the past three years. He's very stress prone, so he's gone off food every time I've moved and each time he's moved enclosures. I've also switched him from live to f/t, and now mice to rats. Lol


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Well he decided to eat today. I gave him a mouse first, intending to set the rat in his mouth behind the mouse so he just continues eating and eats the rat. He pulled back to keep me from doing that, but he struck and coiled the rat with mouse still visible in his mouth! I tugged on the tail a bunch so that he'd be so preoccupied with killing it maybe he wouldn't realize "Oh wait this is a rat, I'm not supposed to want to eat this." He "killed" it and ate it! So yay, a victory! I'll do this a few more times and then hopefully he'll take a rat by itself.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...a5bf009115.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...b58ba008d7.jpg


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There's not usually much to update on for this guy.

I posted a thread concerning his health last year, when he fasted for 3-4 months and lost ~13% of his weight. He's been eating weekly regularly since September, with his last couple of feedings being 14 days. He is still slowly gaining weight back, and as of the end of January, he still hasn't reached 1,300 grams. His normal weight is 1,380 grams. He ended his fast at 1,198 grams.

Here are few of those rare shots of him, from last month.

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pszgoquggm.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pso89aaheo.jpg

Pretty snake. He has a nice, clean pattern.

that's a nice looking boy. glad to hear he is back on track and eating again. :gj:

Yeah he eats well when he is eating, but unfortunately he's really sensitive to stress so he goes on fasts rather often. :( He's also picky about his food sometimes. He's a pain but he's been with me for a long time so I gueeeess he's here to stay. Haha


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Looks like Bud is in shed. He's been in his PVC enclosure for awhile now, I've dialed in the temps, but the humidity is still off the walls, I've let the bedding dry but there's still condensation and dusty EcoEarth is no good. So, I'm thinking of switching him to aspen once he sheds, and currently a little over half the bedding is aspen to try to bring down the humidity but I'm leaving a bit of EE to make sure he has enough humidity to shed. Although the heat from River's cage (he's stacked on top of her's) isn't making it hot in his enclosure (it's 80-85F on the bottom half and 85-90F on his basking shelf) since I've lowered the temps, the heat is enough to evaporate the water in the bedding, which is why I'm getting condensation in his enclosure and not her's.

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psuse3btiu.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psy69xdvha.jpg

The flash wiped out most of the pink in his belly.

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psykmxylkc.jpg

He's also borrowing one of Cloud's hides while I wait to get him his own. I'll be looking to see if LLL or Reptile Basics is in stock again this weekend.

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psdi1zrnbn.jpg

Bud is deep in blue now, and his and River's hides finally came in! I'm going to weigh him once he sheds, he looks like he's finally getting back to a normal weight, but I won't know until I get him on the scale.

Here you can see how I've split up the bedding, switching out aspen on one end has helped the humidity tremendously!

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psk6mlbqvy.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psjvtqgt7v.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pscjpvozrx.jpg

Bud came in at 1,332 grams before his last meal, so he's nearly back up to weight. Now that he's done shedding, he's gone back to using his basking shelf and exploring at night.

All I've got are medium rats, but if he takes one of them I'll order him small rats. The mediums aren't physically too big for him, but they seem to be too much food for him to eat regularly as he was only eating every 2 months of his own choice when I was feeding him mediums before.

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5mkcukdt.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...pstj4ik2oz.jpg

http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/...psbylj3zua.jpg

Wow! He's really a handsome fellow. You should consider breeding him. Bet he would make some fantastic hatchlings with whatever you pair him to. Congrats.

I don't even know his sex for sure. Lol The lack of hemipenal sheaths on his sheds and his stumpy tail make me think he's a she.

I don't really have any interest in breeding him. One ball python is enough for me, I don't really want any more. Lol


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Great looking classic fella you have there!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CloudtheBoa

I don't even know his sex for sure. Lol The lack of hemipenal sheaths on his sheds and his stumpy tail make me think he's a she.

I don't really have any interest in breeding him. One ball python is enough for me, I don't really want any more. Lol


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Hemipenal sheaths are very thin walled tissues that cover the hemipenes and basically dissolves during the shedding process as the shed goes over the cloaca. It usually is not visible either way. There may be times when remnants may show up but usually not. The definitive way to sex him would be probing or popping but it's neither here nor there in your case.

Yeah my adult BCI and checkered garter often have hemipenal sheaths in their sheds, the garter more often than the boa.

I've been thinking of probing him just to know, but as you say it's not important if I'm not breeding, and I've thought he was male for 10 years almost so not like it will hurt anything. I've been hearing more stories than usual of older females (10+ years) becoming eggbound, even ball pythons so maybe I will anyway....


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Well I've successfully gotten Bud to take 2 rats now, but unfortunately they were mediums and not smalls so I think the prey size has caught up with him as he refused this last meal despite me waiting an extra week for a 3 week waiting period. Last time I had him on medium rats, he would only eat every 2 months, but I had hoped just 3 medium rats wouldn't be too much. :/ I will be ordering a new shipment of rodents here soon, so he'll get the appropriate small rats. Maybe not the next time I try him, but not long.

The refusal could also be because I tried to feed him at night and he was more preoccupied with finding a way out than eating, as he showed a slight bit of interest once he settled down and sat in his hide, but still didn't eat.

He's nearly back up to weight now, he was ~1340 grams last I weighed him I think. His normal weight is 1380.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1477/2...276c08bb_b.jpg

Some other photos I missed as well:

This was taken before I got the humidity stabilized in his enclosure, I don't see any more condensation now.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1527/2...92583e89_b.jpg

He really does seem to enjoy the basking shelf, at least he uses it regularly.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1481/2...24a3b55f_b.jpg

While he was still on 2 jumbo mice (normally he'll eat 3-4 but for awhile there he wouldn't take more than 2):

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1625/2...d8e81000_b.jpg

And the most recent picture of his body tone:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7646/2...097e51fc_b.jpg

He's a handsome dude!

Maybe a bit late to the party, but I see a few people joined recently-
He's looks handsome! Although, I think he is a she too, but that's just what I think.
Also, his body reminds me of my first BP, Ryuu, but his story with the feeding issues reminds me of my second BP Orochi lol.
Anyways, good luck in the future and nice shirt in your profile pic.

Bud is eating regularly on small rats now, and has begun striking at me through the glass again. I can hardly walk into the snake room to use the bathroom in there without him tracking my movements or hitting the glass. Until he calms down, I've been trying to use the other bathroom when possible so he doesn't hurt himself, but last time he went through this phase it didn't last long. He did this once before right after a fast, and I have a feeling it's just him getting stimulated from the increase in food intake, as aside from the couple medium rats, he's been refusing to eat more than 2 jumbo mice since he first started eating again, which probably is why it's taking him so long to regain his lost weight (his fast ended almost a year ago - jeez a year of straight good feeding minus one refused medium rat, it's surreal), he normally gets at least 3, if not 4 jumbos. I haven't weighed him recently, but with this increased vigor I will probably do that sometime soon. He broke 1,300 grams just ~5 months ago, and then dipped down to like 1,290 or something while he was eating the medium rats (the weight is while empty after he ate his last medium rat of course), so I'm hoping his weight is going back up again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nitewolfie

Maybe a bit late to the party, but I see a few people joined recently-
He's looks handsome! Although, I think he is a she too, but that's just what I think.
Also, his body reminds me of my first BP, Ryuu, but his story with the feeding issues reminds me of my second BP Orochi lol.
Anyways, good luck in the future and nice shirt in your profile pic.

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No worries, I seem to have lost track of this reply amidst the other threads, as I don't really do many updates on Bud. I rarely ever handle him, and every day pretty much consists of making sure his humidity stays good, changing his water, and the occasional feeding, so nothing interesting going on with him, he's pretty much a hands-off snake.

I bought a probe kit earlier this year at a Repticon, so I'm kinda hoping to have someone teach me how to use it so I can sex Bud myself. I may see if my vet can show me.

Thanks, I think I still have the shirt somewhere but it might have gotten lost, I seem to lose and find shirts all the time. That picture is a good 4-4.5 years old, but I hardly ever take pictures of myself, so it's not recent but I liked it.

It's a learning process for sure but it's worth it, bud looks happy and healthy.

Well Bud shed a few days ago and is no longer striking at the glass, tomorrow I plan on feeding everyone as well. I plan on giving him a few more meals before I attempt to weigh him again.

I figured he was shedding when I walked into the room and he didn't so much as stick his head out. lol Then when I got home from work one day I found his shed stretched out behind his water dish. With all the theatrics he's been putting on, and the year of good behavior, hopefully he continues to eat well for me.

He's currently weighing in at 1,245 grams, he may not make it back up to 1,380 grams again. I may see about feeding him weekly for a time in the spring since they're more likely to fast in the winter, to help him get back up to weight, but if he doesn't get that heavy again even after a few months eating weekly I won't worry about it too much. He's stopped striking at me when I walk by, but still comes out to see if food is coming. I'm just so glad it's been about a year and he's only had one refusal, and that was while eating medium rats. He's mostly shedding every 2 months, with the occasional 3 months.

He loves his basking shelf, he lays under the heat panel every night.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...a660127c_h.jpg

And a close up to bring his colors into focus.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...dde1296d_h.jpg