a couple questions

hey, i just got a ball python from a pet shop, and the ignorant pricks didnt know nethin bout it so i was hopin u guys could help me out a bit.

i dont know how old he is but i measured him and hes bout 3 and a half feet long. is he fully grown if not how old do u think he is?

also 1 of his eyes are silver im guessing its from a shed they did say he recently started shedding. will this go away on its own or is there some way i have to remove it?

do i have to give him a bath?

they said hes been eatin 2 small mice 1nce a week does this sound good for a snake of this size?

sorry for all the questions but this is my first snake, and i dont want the poor guy to get messed up, they werent takin very good care of him so i wanna make sure i do a better job.

Thanks,
Sean

Sean:
By silver, what do you mean? If it looks cloudy, it may be an unshed eyecap from a former incomplete shed. You can soak a q-tip in mineral oil and try to gently slide it off, or just up the humidity for the next few days until he sheds again.
In terms of baths, most snakes will soak on their own if they feel too dry. Not much active bathing is needed for him.
2 small mice for a snake that size sounds like WAY too little. I would move him up to a medium or large rat.
Not sure about the size/growth, every snake is different.

Yeah that silver eye sounds like a retained eyecap to me too. I just hope it wasn't from a long time ago or it could be permanent, and from the way you describe the people who owned it before, it just might be.
If he is 3 1/2 feet long he is most like between 1-2 years old though could be older. Make sure you have a big enough tank for him, I think 30 or 40 gal tank is ok, most likely 40gal. Also make sure to get at least 1 digital thermometer/hygrometer to measure the humidity and temps in the tank. Please ask any other questions you have, even if you think they are silly to ask. The more you ask the better off your BP will be.

definitely move your new guy up to eating rats--he's probably hungry! do you have any pics of his tank? we like to check out eachother's setups, and it also enables us to give you feedback and ideas. i hope you can get that eyecap off pretty easily. welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new snake!

hey guys thanks a lot for the great replys.

i took my snake to the tub ang gave his eye a gentle rub with a wet q tip. and the eye cap came right off, im sure hes just as relieved as i am.

As for pics i posted 1 in the pictures section but none with the whole cage. ill go take a few pics now and post em in this thread, u guys can tell me what i need to fix.


Thanks again for the replys,
Sean

what a relief on the eyecap. i'm so glad it come off easily for you. i'll check back soon for your tank pics. :D

https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...ormal_tank.jpg

here it is.

https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop...l_refrence.jpg

heres a pic wit a standard cd as reference.

ok, here are my ideas :) :

1. like Alkaurkharim said, you definitely want to pick up a digital thermometer/hygrometer to measure your temps and humidity. you can get the accurite model at walmart for $15. it will give you a much more accurate reading. you want to create a heat gradient in the tank, with the cool side being around 80 and the hot side being around 90. also humidity should be about 50-60% except when your snake is in shed, at which time you should raise it to 70-80%.

2. what kind of bulb do you have in the light? looks like maybe a black light from the reflection on the water dish? if it is a black light then that is a good choice. you can also use a red infrared bulb. since bps are nocturnal, they do not require any kind of daylight or incandescent bulb.

3. many people like to use a heat pad to achieve the correct temps on the hot side of the tank. this also provides belly heat which helps the snake digest its food. you can get this from walmart for about $10. just make sure you get one that does not have auto shut off.

4. ball pythons appreciate small, tight hiding places. the log you have looks like it might be a little big. you can make your own hide out of a cereal box, a plant pot, or other stuff you find around the house. the bowl you have is good--a lot of people's snakes like them a lot. just make sure to always have 2 hides--one on the cool side and one on the warm side.

5. your choice of the astroturf substrate is good. i like to keep a second piece on hand for when i am cleaning the first one.

6. if you want to add more interest to the tank you can add fake plants, an aquarium background, or any plastic decorations or hides. some people's snakes like to climb, so the vines and plants give them a place to do that, plus it looks nice for you :wink: .

well, i think i have gone on for quite long enough here :) . let us know if you have more questions. :D

mlededee hit it pretty good. I'll add that i would cut that piece of astroturf/carpet to fit inside the tank. If you do end up getting a heating pad you wouldnt want your little guy to be able to crawl under one of those flaps, get on top of the heating pad, and burn himself. I would also definitely get the digital thermometer/hygrometer to measure your temps and humidity.

Welcome to the site! Glad you joined us :)

Welcome to the site! As usual, the advice already given has been very good, so there's not much for me to contribute. I would mention that if he's been eating 2 mice a week, your ball python could be almost any age. Males don't usually get much over 4 feet as a rule. You could still see some growth, though, especially after switching him over to rats (please feed pre-killed or frozen/thawed for his safety!). Also, one of my balls has a water dish like that and likes to use it as a hide, but he is smaller than your guy and you may need to add a second hide if he can't fit under the dish. Glad to have you join us. :)

Thanks everyone.

Im gonna consider doing pretty much everything you guys have suggested. Today i started off by cutting my astro turf so its now an almost perfect fit. :lol:

I went to walmart to look for the thermometer and heat pad but couldnt find em so im going to go to petsmart this week to pick them up along with a new hide and some nice decor.

Thanks again,

Sean

well i dont think you will find them at petco bein that they sell mostly animal supplies and these things are used for humans .....well you could buy a reptile heating pad but the thermometers are in the hardware (you know, over by the paint) and just look in the aisles for the thermometer section, you will find it. dont worry, it took me a while too, were you looking in the pet suplies area ?

yup thats exacly where i looked :(

haha well try the hardware section, im sure you will find it :)

yes, the accurite thermometer is where the outdoor thermometers and mailboxes and stuff are. the heat pad (mine is a dunlap) should be in the pharmacy section. sorry--i didn't really specify that it was a human heat pad. :( oh and also--i found a cool tree trunk-like hide for my bp in the fish section at walmart. it was cheaper than similar stuff at petsmart. :D

ok cool. i have a question bout the heat pad, where do i put it? under the entire tank or under the astro turf?

I like to get my hides from there too. I'm working on a new tank setup for my VB now with a plastic kid's army helmet as a hide and plastic shotgun "shells" with the metal bit removed as cage decoration. I call it the Apocalypse Now setup. ;)

you put the heating pad underneath the entire tank. you will want to raise the tank an inch or so up off of the heating pad too for air circulation. i use a few pieces of wood for that. also you might consider getting a thermostat to regulate the heat pad. since i got one i don't have to mess with constantly adjusting the heat. i like this one: ESU Reptile Electronic Temperature Controller
i know you can get them for less than listed there at other places online, if you are interested i can post some links to those sites for you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UberAlice

I'm working on a new tank setup for my VB now with a plastic kid's army helmet as a hide and plastic shotgun "shells" with the metal bit removed as cage decoration. I call it the Apocalypse Now setup. ;)

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that sounds awesome! you gotta post some pics when you get it all set up. 8)

i JUST bought a digital temp/humidity guage. they're next to the light bulb section in wal-mart.

I think they're at different places in every Walmart. At my local Walmart, their digital thermometers were in the house alarm section. :? Sadly, they didn't have any decent digital thermometers, so finding the Acurite one I wanted is out of the question. But that's solved...my Mom's friend online lives in US so she said she'd pick us up one and send it our way and we'd just send her the money for it. Until then I'm just using some cheap knock-offs of Acurite thermometers, lol.

Wal-Mart

Thermometers: Over in Hardware as was already suggested. It might be in the outdoors supplies section too, where they have like lawn ornaments and sundails and crap like that :) Make sure to get the Acurite one with Thermometer/Hygrometer, its 15$

Heatpad: Over in the health section, with vitamins I believe, at least at my Wal-Mart. Get a Dunlop without auto-turnoff, it should be 10$.

I also suggest getting a Thermostat to regulate the temps of your Heatpad. If you are lucky you can get a cheap one from your local Petsmart or Petco on clearence, like the ZooMed 500R one. Make sure whatever thermostat you get, it has a probe! You can also get one from lllreptile.com I personally went there and got their A-Life thermostat, and let me tell ya, it works AWESOME, and its pretty cheap too, only 24$

I know some off the info in this post has already been covered, but I figured I'd make it as detailed as possible.

https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop.../normal_12.jpg


thanks for everyone who helped.

i just want to let u that Vito is now doing great, i fed him today and he ate like a champ, and from what ive heard thats a good sign.

i put up an updated pic. u cant see but i got a heat pad for under the tank turns out i had an old 1 my mom used laying around.

i still plan on adding more stuff but i think for now hes pretty happy and so am i.

Thanks,
Sean

Just make sure that old heat pad still works good and doesn't have an auto-shut off. :)