Getting the Ball Rolling

And yes there was pun intended with my title. I am also sure around these parts it was not very original.

Now to the point. I am currently researching the purchase of a ball python. I owned a Burmese Python during my college days for a few years, but I have very little experience. That was 20 years ago and it seems practices have changed. Not to mention I only had him for a few years as my X ran off with him when the relationship ended.

This is something I will be doing with my 16 year old daughter. It actually is something she wants as her own pet, but as a responsible parent I am going into this knowing when she goes off to college, probably this time next year at the rate she is going, it will likely become mine and my husbands for at least 4 years if not for the life of the snake. My husband is also interested.

I really want to do all the possible research and get this right the first time. A few years back we went to petco and got a lizard for my son. A few days later it wasn't looking so good and when we started doing some research on-line it turned out everything petco sold us and told us was wrong. And I mean everything from substrate, lighting, heating, humidity, supplements, and feeding, all wrong. We had to spend a bunch of money replacing every thing, purchasing a mister etc. and we were to late, he died shortly after his upgrades were complete. Who knows it is likely that the lizard they sold us was not healthy enough to live much longer then it had even if we had done everything right in the first place. Lesson learned, petco is only for dog food and supplies you have researched first.

We live literally in the "middle of nowhere" montana, so aside from petco there are no stores that sell snakes or local dealers/beeders and no shows any where near us. I have done my fair share of internet research, but have found it difficult to find reviews of reputable ball python breeders.

We are both interested in the pied ball pythons and my daughter is also considering an albino. I don't really like the albinos nearly as much as the different pied's, but have not ruled it out. I am thinking we will end up with the pied as we both like it and I am paying for this venture.

Just a little while ago I sent emails to eclipseexotics.com and jkobylkareptiles.com. From what little I was able to find about both, they seem to have good reputations. But any additional suggestions are more then welcomed. Or of course any ones experiences with either of them.

I also have some concerns about the current pets in our home. 2 small beagles, 2 labs and 2 cats. From past experience I don't believe I have to worry about a snake getting loose and eating any of the other pets as long as it is well fed and never left to be hungry. And I think even the small beagles (25 and 29 lbs) would be a little big to interest a ball python, please correct me if I am wrong. I am however for the safety of the snake as much as the safety of the other pets in the home concerned with a set up that will be escape proof. Not sure how freaked out a snake would be if 4 dogs and 2 cats decided to gang up on him, I would imagine overwhelmed at the least.

Also I read several posts that a baby should be in a 10 to 15 gallon and an adult in a 40 gallon enclosure. I assume the smaller enclosure for the baby is for security and it would not be good to just start out with the 40. How long will the baby be in the smaller enclosure? I have a 75 gallon glass aquarium and 150 gallon acrylic aquarium. It sounds however that even if I could find a lid for either, these would be to big.

Any help or advise is appreciated!

Hi Moorea, Welcome to the Forum.

i was in a similar situation. My daughter went off to school and I inherited her 9 yr old Ball at the time, three yrs ago. I had no real interest at time, but being the animal lover that I am, I have become quite attached.

As as far as the size of enclosure, I bumped him up from a 20 gal tank to a large reptile enclosure which is 40-50 gals. It has internal locks on all openings- VERY IMPORTANT!! These guys are escape artists!

As far as other family pets: my first dog , which I inherited as well, i let her hang out with me and the snake. The dog is large, a Rottweiler mix. She was excited around the snake, but I calmed her down. I let the snake crawl around on his own and he could care less about the dog. The dog is gone now, my daughter took her back.

I tried keeping the door closed to the snake's room to keep the cat out. No good. This just made the cat more curious so that whenever I opened the door, she wood shoot right in between my legs. So I leave the door open and I placed lightweight, bulky items on top of the cage so that the cat could not jump on top and then come crashing down inside.
This has worked well, no curiosity at all.

I live alone now but have family members from out of town visit regular with their dogs. I now have a dog as well. I have made the decision not to expose the snake to all of these different dogs. No need to flirt with disaster or add stress.

If you feel that you are in a stable environment that can be controlled, you may feel comfortable going another direction. As far as the snake being aggressive with you cats and dogs, no worries.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Hi Moorea, Welcome to the Forum.

i was in a similar situation. My daughter went off to school and I inherited her 9 yr old Ball at the time, three yrs ago. I had no real interest at time, but being the animal lover that I am, I have become quite attached.

As as far as the size of enclosure, I bumped him up from a 20 gal tank to a large reptile enclosure which is 40-50 gals. It has internal locks on all openings- VERY IMPORTANT!! These guys are escape artists!

As far as other family pets: my first dog , which I inherited as well, i let her hang out with me and the snake. The dog is large, a Rottweiler mix. She was excited around the snake, but I calmed her down. I let the snake crawl around on his own and he could care less about the dog. The dog is gone now, my daughter took her back.

I tried keeping the door closed to the snake's room to keep the cat out. No good. This just made the cat more curious so that whenever I opened the door, she wood shoot right in between my legs. So I leave the door open and I placed lightweight, bulky items on top of the cage so that the cat could not jump on top and then come crashing down inside.
This has worked well, no curiosity at all.

I live alone now but have family members from out of town visit regular with their dogs. I now have a dog as well. I have made the decision not to expose the snake to all of these different dogs. No need to flirt with disaster or add stress.

If you feel that you are in a stable environment that can be controlled, you may feel comfortable going another direction. As far as the snake being aggressive with you cats and dogs, no worries.

Good Luck and Enjoy!

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Thank you for your reply. I do plan to my best to keep the dogs away from the snake. Only because as I mentioned we literally have a pack and when one gets excited things can get a little bit crazy. My main concern in the event there is ever an escape neither the snakes or dogs getting injured. My instinct says the dogs are kind of wimpy and keep their distance, my hopes is that a snake would as well. I know my Burmese was always well fed and would not have paid much attention to a dog.

Yup, as soon as I heard "Mom I want a snake...." my husband and I discussed it and decided if we say yes it would likely be a long term commitment for us. At any rate even she takes him back after college, it is a nice family project.

I am currently considering one of the PVC cages from Animal Plastics, but if you have a link or name of the 40 to 50 gallon with locks that would be great, I can seem to find anything like it!

Well as for snake attacking animals highly unlikely, they'll ball up and become a chew toy.. if not be hidding somewhere unknown!

As far as Tanks, scrap that idea, "You can if you'd LIKE too" but a PVC enclosure is much more escape proof then a tank (in my opinion atleast) Its just the "cost difference" from a 100$ tank to a 250$ pvc enclosure!

Another good option would be a Tub, and or a small Rack system They work very well. Snakes will Thrive in them as they are more secure and you can get small system with 3-4 levels only!

Reason i say that is you don't want your cats/dogs to walk or jump on the enclosures and pummel them around when rowdy, a nice rack system will look very clean and will give snake best bang for buck! (just no visual stimulation for humans of actual snake, thats were handling them comes in tho!) And hey you can even then get your Pied AND albino!!!! haha

Just make sure NO matter what Housing you choose to Get yourself a GOOD Thermostat... If one thing is required the most that will be it! Herpstat 1/2 or Vivarium Ve-100/200 They will be your biggest asset and biggest ease for keeping your snake happy!

So in the end housing all can make your snake happy, it just depends what you yourself will visually like.. and if youd like to expand from 1 snake (Which always happens i find, they are addicting!!! like Lays chips! cant have just one)

And as far as breeders You got good ones your looking at and will get amazing quality animals. There is Also BHB you could look at! But if you want a amazing pied, Justin is YOUR man! (good thing with pieds is i find they are more lazy calm snakes then most)

Something else you'll want to consider is Male/Female how big will you want your guy to be!

Do you want a:

Male: 1200g 4ft Snake (avg)

or

Female: 2000g+ 5-6ft Snake(avg)

Anyways no matter what decision you'll enjoy them like no other pet! they may not love us, but they sure are amazing pets to have, i spend less time cleaning/maintaining all 17 of my bigger snakes, and 25 babies, then my Mom takes care of her 70gal fish tank! :D always a plus with how easy they are... and NO CRICKETS(I HATED THOSE THINGS WITH MY GECKOS/BEARDIES)

Best of luck! and when you do get them Pics!!!! i do love my Pieds! best snake you'll get!

Moorea, Corbin has given great information. However, the tank I described will cost about the same as the tub he described, unless you find it on sale.

I'm not going to argue tub vs tank. For I can tell you that when I let my snake out to play alone in his locked room. I find him hiding in the strangest places the next day. And trust me, he is very comfortable in what appears to be the most uncomfortable places and does Not want to be disturbed!

Thus, I know they could care less if they live in a tub or a tank. However, he is MY pet and I want to ENJOY him. That's why I prefer a tank over Tupperware.:) I want to walk by and glance at him or stop and observe a while. Not pop the top or slide the tub out and "possibly" disturb him.

This is what works for me. I am not trying to sway anyone. Nor am I judging tub users. Both methods are humane in my opinion as long as you are doing your job with proper husbandry and feeding.

Moorea, to answer your question as to where to buy the tank. I bought my 36x18x18 at PetsMart. I believe it is an Exo Terra. It has lockable front entry doors and a lockable screen top. I think it was normally $239-249 , but I got it on sale for $199.

if you search Amazon. Com for reptile cages some Exo Terra's will show up.

I also believe there are sponsors on this site as well with enclosures. If possible please support them.

I use an ipad, so I don't know how to do links.

Hope this helps.

Seems like you're on the right track if you've already found Animal Plastics.

An Animal Plastics T8 is large enough for even a female BP for life, and probably a bit bigger than a male needs (although I'll be keeping one per enclosure myself).

As people have said above, the BP will pose no threat to your pets, only the opposite is possible. Beagles especially (as anti-pest dogs) I could see attacking a snake.

But the good news is that if you get an AP cage, you can put a lock on it. I'd highly recommend doing so. This will guarantee that nobody gets in or out, and even if a lock is practically unnecessary, as somebody else pointed out here, you know that if it is locked, your cage isn't accidentally left open or something.

I would highly recommend looking up faunaclassifieds.com BOI (board of inquiry) reviews on any reptile dealer you're considering ordering from. You'll have to create an account on faunaclassifieds to do so, but it's worth it. And I usually browse for actual snakes to buy on kingsnake.com. Once you've found something you like on there, you can look up the breeder and go ahead if you'd like.

Thanks again for all the replies and useful information.

The first choice we made when we decided to get a snake is Male!

So here is where I am at now.

I have decided to go with the PVC enclosure (enclosure, just sounds nicer then cage). I think the PVC enclosure is the best comprise between tub and glass, you can still view the snake, which we will very much want to do and get the benefits of easy heating and humidity. Plus the PVC enclosures have locks to avoid escapes as stated above.

I have done a ton of research. While American Plastics does come highly rated, I just can not find a single bad thing that any one had to say about Constrictors Northwest (http://www.constrictorsnw.com). All reviews for Constrictors NW are glowing, easy to clean, no warping, no discoloring good customer service. And after a long talk on the phone with Ed, I am already very happy with customer service. So I am going with 36 x 23 x 12. I am also considering a 36 x 23 x 18 just because I think it will be nicer to have the extra space and bigger opening for cleaning and maintenance. And Ed says they are escape proof so I am hoping that is correct.

I live in NW Montana and it gets very cold here. Every week we have at least a week of negative 30 degrees, sometimes colder. It is not uncommon during the winter for our house to get as low as 50 - 55 degrees. So I think I am going to go with Radiant Heat and an under tank heat system just in case it is needed. I have contacted Pro Products (http://pro-products.com) to get information on Pro Heat Radiant panels. I am fairly certain this is the way I will go once they reply.

I am still unsure what the best heating option is for under the tank, or if it is even necessary.

I did see in several posts last night that Herpstat 1/2 is the way to go. I haven't even started researching that yet, as I want to know what I will be using to heat, just RHP or RHP and Under tank so I know what I will be plugging into it.

I have done zero research on thermometers and other small stuff, but I imagine that will be fairly straight forward.

Eclipse Exotics has gotten back to me and it looks like I will not be able to get the beautiful baby I wanted. :mad:

He can be seen here: http://www.eclipseexotics.com/showanimal.cfm?id=193

She was very nice and helpful, but I will have issues in feeding him that I am hoping will not be a problem with other snakes I might find. It seems he was a difficult starter but is now feeding regularly for up to a month, misses a week and then goes back to feeding regularly. He will only eat live rat pups. I have zero problems with this and actually wanted to feed to live. The issue is the only feeders we can get locally for small snakes are frozen mice. So not only would I have to hope he will eat frozen I will have to get him to go from rats to mice and she does not know if he will.

So I am really hoping that Justin replies to the email I sent last night or I am back to square one as far breeders go.

And that is as far as I have gotten!

I am wondering if I do want to feed live and my optional for the snake while it is still only able to eat very small rodents is frozen, will I be able to switch to live after he gets to a size that he can eat bigger prey.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moorea

Thanks again for all the replies and useful information.

The first choice we made when we decided to get a snake is Male!

So here is where I am at now.

I have decided to go with the PVC enclosure (enclosure, just sounds nicer then cage). I think the PVC enclosure is the best comprise between tub and glass, you can still view the snake, which we will very much want to do and get the benefits of easy heating and humidity. Plus the PVC enclosures have locks to avoid escapes as stated above.

I have done a ton of research. While American Plastics does come highly rated, I just can not find a single bad thing that any one had to say about Constrictors Northwest (http://www.constrictorsnw.com). All reviews for Constrictors NW are glowing, easy to clean, no warping, no discoloring good customer service. And after a long talk on the phone with Ed, I am already very happy with customer service. So I am going with 36 x 23 x 12. I am also considering a 36 x 23 x 18 just because I think it will be nicer to have the extra space and bigger opening for cleaning and maintenance. And Ed says they are escape proof so I am hoping that is correct.

I live in NW Montana and it gets very cold here. Every week we have at least a week of negative 30 degrees, sometimes colder. It is not uncommon during the winter for our house to get as low as 50 - 55 degrees. So I think I am going to go with Radiant Heat and an under tank heat system just in case it is needed. I have contacted Pro Products (http://pro-products.com) to get information on Pro Heat Radiant panels. I am fairly certain this is the way I will go once they reply.

I am still unsure what the best heating option is for under the tank, or if it is even necessary.

I did see in several posts last night that Herpstat 1/2 is the way to go. I haven't even started researching that yet, as I want to know what I will be using to heat, just RHP or RHP and Under tank so I know what I will be plugging into it.

I have done zero research on thermometers and other small stuff, but I imagine that will be fairly straight forward.

Eclipse Exotics has gotten back to me and it looks like I will not be able to get the beautiful baby I wanted. :mad:

He can be seen here: http://www.eclipseexotics.com/showanimal.cfm?id=193

She was very nice and helpful, but I will have issues in feeding him that I am hoping will not be a problem with other snakes I might find. It seems he was a difficult starter but is now feeding regularly for up to a month, misses a week and then goes back to feeding regularly. He will only eat live rat pups. I have zero problems with this and actually wanted to feed to live. The issue is the only feeders we can get locally for small snakes are frozen mice. So not only would I have to hope he will eat frozen I will have to get him to go from rats to mice and she does not know if he will.

So I am really hoping that Justin replies to the email I sent last night or I am back to square one as far breeders go.

And that is as far as I have gotten!

I am wondering if I do want to feed live and my optional for the snake while it is still only able to eat very small rodents is frozen, will I be able to switch to live after he gets to a size that he can eat bigger prey.

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Bigger isnt always better, Go with the AP T8 (look here for set up http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-With-Pictures! Did an amazing job)

Aswell here for your Thermostat THIS is your BREAD AND BUTTER to owning a snake, I cannot stress enough this is the best investment you will make and 99% of users will agree (http://www.spyderrobotics.com/produc...tat1Basic.html)


Other then that I wish you luck with your snake =) and with the t8 you can use divier (while hes young to lower space=lower stress) and 1 open up as he gets to 800+ grams OR get your Albino aswell! for other side!

Good luck =)

Well I am starting to wonder if I will even be able to buy a snake. Every snake I have looked at is eating live. Which would be awesome if I had a source for live prey here, but like I said the only option available to me for small prey is the frozen mice. Not sure what do next. But I clearly cant buy a snake that I can't feed. I have considered breeding mice, but I really don't want to go that way. From what I have read is I will have more baby mice then the 1 snake can eat and they will grow to a size they can not eat faster then the snake can eat them. Then what do you do with the larger mice? I really don't want a ton of rats/mice for pets! What am I missing?

Well mice, you dont want, bcz your snake will eat more then they can reproduce since such small meals, you want to get on Rats.. Secondly MOST big breeders feed live simply bcz they do have rats breeding, but iv pruchased a few live feeder snakes, and its not hard at all to make a transition, in the end they will eat to live, as they are opportunistic eaters, They wont starve themself to die...Like i said if your able to look for up coming Reptile Shows 1-2 hours away if not closer, Many people there feed F/T (it took me 1 live rat pup to transition my 1 250g bp to transfer from live mice to f/t rats aslong as u keep them dry wile thawing, warm the face up a lil more with a lightbulb/hair dryer and zombie walk it snake most likely will strike) but as i said at the reptile show alot of breeders there smaller ones feed F/T (from what iv found) as its easier to stockpile and worry free for snake... Although there are some snakes that well just never even look at F/T

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moorea

Well I am starting to wonder if I will even be able to buy a snake. Every snake I have looked at is eating live. Which would be awesome if I had a source for live prey here, but like I said the only option available to me for small prey is the frozen mice. Not sure what do next. But I clearly cant buy a snake that I can't feed. I have considered breeding mice, but I really don't want to go that way. From what I have read is I will have more baby mice then the 1 snake can eat and they will grow to a size they can not eat faster then the snake can eat them. Then what do you do with the larger mice? I really don't want a ton of rats/mice for pets! What am I missing?

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Aswell you dont need to keep the mouse colony together, you can have separate tubs with males/females and a breeding tub when you need extra! IF you wanted to go that way.

I wish there were shows close to me. as it is the Grocery store is a 40 minute trip and everything else is even further. If I had to take a guess the closest show would be about 8 hours in the tacoma/seattle area. Maybe a little closer in spokane, but still a very long drive.

Well, maybe the issue with the guy I was looking at is he was slow to start feeding and is picky. So you are suggesting that if I purchase a snake that is eating live, it will not be hard to change it frozen. Will it be hard or unhealthy to then change it back to live once it is big enough to eat what they offer at petco that is live? If they accept both can you go back or forth in the event that petco is out of one or the other? Or is that unhealthy and confusing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moorea

I wish there were shows close to me. as it is the Grocery store is a 40 minute trip and everything else is even further. If I had to take a guess the closest show would be about 8 hours in the tacoma/seattle area. Maybe a little closer in spokane, but still a very long drive.

Well, maybe the issue with the guy I was looking at is he was slow to start feeding and is picky. So you are suggesting that if I purchase a snake that is eating live, it will not be hard to change it frozen. Will it be hard or unhealthy to then change it back to live once it is big enough to eat what they offer at petco that is live? If they accept both can you go back or forth in the event that petco is out of one or the other? Or is that unhealthy and confusing?

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Neither of the two are healthy vs unhealthy, but BP's are finicky eaters i will say that, and once you get them on something it becomes a creature of habbit, Most will NEVER have a issue with live, this also helps entise them out of "feed strikes" so that in itself wont be an issue, but if you do try to get back to frozen its more of a "pain" once on frozen most people like to stay that way. Iv only ever had to buy a live here and there to attempt to break a hunger strike of fasting females id like to use sooner then later, then after 1-2 I can usually manage to get them back on to FT but, if you bounce to many times frozen maybe 100% not happen as they do like live more it seems.

Just a suggestion if your not handy, these racks are inexpensive If you do choose this way

http://www.cserpents.com/C_Serpents_...Sub-Adult.html

http://www.apcages.com/home/

Just options, aswell they can make PVC cages if you do choose to go that route aswell. Or someone here could point you to a local reptile forum, (im canadian so mine is reptilescanada.ca but that will offer you little to no help)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moorea

Well I am starting to wonder if I will even be able to buy a snake. Every snake I have looked at is eating live. Which would be awesome if I had a source for live prey here, but like I said the only option available to me for small prey is the frozen mice. Not sure what do next. But I clearly cant buy a snake that I can't feed. I have considered breeding mice, but I really don't want to go that way. From what I have read is I will have more baby mice then the 1 snake can eat and they will grow to a size they can not eat faster then the snake can eat them. Then what do you do with the larger mice? I really don't want a ton of rats/mice for pets! What am I missing?

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I bought a yellow belly female from Justin Kobylka Reptiles and he feeds his snakes live rats the he breeds himself and she is my best water of f/t rats in my collection. She hasn't missed a meal. I also have another snake the was fed live that switched to f/t. I recommend buying one from Justin he has a large variety of morphs to choose from and he has a very vast knowledge/understanding of ball pythons. You can ask him about anything/tell him your concerns and he will help you out :) he's a great guy. Check out his site.

http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com

Edit: Haha sorry just realized you already knew about him. Definitely go with go Justin :) you won't be disappointed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Neither of the two are healthy vs unhealthy, but BP's are finicky eaters i will say that, and once you get them on something it becomes a creature of habbit, Most will NEVER have a issue with live, this also helps entise them out of "feed strikes" so that in itself wont be an issue, but if you do try to get back to frozen its more of a "pain" once on frozen most people like to stay that way. Iv only ever had to buy a live here and there to attempt to break a hunger strike of fasting females id like to use sooner then later, then after 1-2 I can usually manage to get them back on to FT but, if you bounce to many times frozen maybe 100% not happen as they do like live more it seems.

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Please excuse my ignorance here, but i am not 100% getting this. All of the breeders I am looking at are currently feeding live to whatever I get (in most cases pup rats) but I do not have access to anything that is live and small enough to eat. Only frozen baby mice. It sounds like your answer is saying that it is easier to go from frozen to live. So I will potentially have a problem feeding a young snake that has been eating live pup rats frozen mice. But will not have a problem switching him back to live once he is big enough to eat what is available to me (assuming he doesn't starve before he gets that big). I do not want to bounce to many times. I just want to be sure I can get a young snake who has been eating live to switch to frozen and when he is big enough to eat the live I do have access to switch to that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Just a suggestion if your not handy, these racks are inexpensive If you do choose this way

http://www.cserpents.com/C_Serpents_...Sub-Adult.html

http://www.apcages.com/home/

Just options, aswell they can make PVC cages if you do choose to go that route aswell. Or someone here could point you to a local reptile forum, (im canadian so mine is reptilescanada.ca but that will offer you little to no help)

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I'm getting some what frustrated as most of the breeders I have contacted have not replied and for the 2 that did 1 no longer had the snake and the other said that particular snake will not do well switching from live to frozen. BUT and this is of course assuming I find a snake, I have definitely decided to go with Constrictors Northwest for my cage and pro products has responded so I will be going with Radiant Heat. They say there is no reason to go with under tank heat as well.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AlexisFitzy

I bought a yellow belly female from Justin Kobylka Reptiles and he feeds his snakes live rats the he breeds himself and she is my best water of f/t rats in my collection. She hasn't missed a meal. I also have another snake the was fed live that switched to f/t. I recommend buying one from Justin he has a large variety of morphs to choose from and he has a very vast knowledge/understanding of ball pythons. You can ask him about anything/tell him your concerns and he will help you out :) he's a great guy. Check out his site.

http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com

Edit: Haha sorry just realized you already knew about him. Definitely go with go Justin :) you won't be disappointed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I have only read good things about Justin. He was my first choice. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed that he gets back to me!

It may take a couple days for him to get back to you but he definitely will! :D he will hook you up with an amazing little snake!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just specifically ask him for a Frozen eater, some breeders do have those, And reason they feed live, is its easier overall on them, and upper weights they switch to Pre killed i believe, bcz they have there own rat colony's. I do not understand what you mean tho you can only get frozen mice pinkies and only live "Xx" im sure if you ask to order them youll be able to get some, Aswell there are many Frozen rat places that deliver to your door! So you can feed frozen its entire life. Remember a frozen rat can hold its nutrition for over a year, And buying from them will be much cheaper then a pet store.... you could potentially plan ahead, and assume you can put on close to 50-100g month.. being 4 feeds a month. With someone like that you may also be able to ask if he can prepare it on F/T a local breeder does that for his customers who do payment plans. If they intend to feed F/T he "trains" them persay to do this, Now again this is different then a GIANT breeder like J.K but its worth a shot.

3 Months of rat pups=12 pups
3 months of rat weanlings=12 weanlings
X amount of Small rats = I feed all my males small this is when they stop being fed bigger, as they dont need to become HUGE like the females,

To make it simple you could do

20 pups
20 weanlings
10 Small

(50+ rats give nice deals and free packaging here)

You could rougly pick that up for close to 55+/-$+shipping so roughly 75$ tax's in

Thats 75$ that will feed your snake for 8+months! (assuming he doesnt hunger strike around 400-700g)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Just specifically ask him for a Frozen eater, some breeders do have those, And reason they feed live, is its easier overall on them, and upper weights they switch to Pre killed i believe, bcz they have there own rat colony's. I do not understand what you mean tho you can only get frozen mice pinkies and only live "Xx" im sure if you ask to order them youll be able to get some

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I'm sorry if I did not explain clearly, I am new at this. The only local place that sells feeders is petco. We called twice and the first time we called they said they only sell adult frozen feeders. I found this rather odd as they do sell baby snakes who would not be able to eat adult feeders yet, so I called back and asked for the most knowledgeable person they had on snakes. They told me and I am quoting as directly as I can. "For feeders the only things they sell are frozen mice pinkies and frozen adult mice and rats. They will not order in young live rats or mice. For live the only thing they have is their adult pet mice and rats."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CORBIN911

Just specifically ask him for a Frozen eater, some breeders do have those, And reason they feed live, is its easier overall on them, and upper weights they switch to Pre killed i believe, bcz they have there own rat colony's. I do not understand what you mean tho you can only get frozen mice pinkies and only live "Xx" im sure if you ask to order them youll be able to get some, Aswell there are many Frozen rat places that deliver to your door! So you can feed frozen its entire life. Remember a frozen rat can hold its nutrition for over a year, And buying from them will be much cheaper then a pet store.... you could potentially plan ahead, and assume you can put on close to 50-100g month.. being 4 feeds a month. With someone like that you may also be able to ask if he can prepare it on F/T a local breeder does that for his customers who do payment plans. If they intend to feed F/T he "trains" them persay to do this, Now again this is different then a GIANT breeder like J.K but its worth a shot.

3 Months of rat pups=12 pups
3 months of rat weanlings=12 weanlings
X amount of Small rats = I feed all my males small this is when they stop being fed bigger, as they dont need to become HUGE like the females,

To make it simple you could do

20 pups
20 weanlings
10 Small

(50+ rats give nice deals and free packaging here)

You could rougly pick that up for close to 55+/-$+shipping so roughly 75$ tax's in

Thats 75$ that will feed your snake for 8+months! (assuming he doesnt hunger strike around 400-700g)

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Yup, we have found a few sites that sell frozen feeders and I am considering that. My confusion was however that it seems from what I read hear it is easier to go from frozen to live then the other way around and all breeders seem to be feeding live. So how hard will it be to get a baby that has been eating live to go to frozen. I believe one reply here said not hard. Still a bit bummed because I wanted to feed live.

Its not ALWAYS under our control! some snakes take some dont, And feeding live trust me will loose is novelty i enjoyed watching it twice, for my very first snake, after i was like meh heres a frozen your safe, im safe, and frozen are cheaper! You could also contact small breeders with rats to meet you 50/50 and you could buy a few live at a time if you choose to feed live! or as you said breed your own, just set up 2 tanks 1 with males/1 females and a nursing tank. If you also choose that route!

I wasn't stuck on feeding live (although yes... there is the cool factor) My concern was the snake I was looking at that fell through apparently was picky and didn't take frozen (or mice for that matter) so it really limitted my options as I did not have access to live rat pups!

I how however finally found a breeder and a snake and will be paying for him shortly. He was eating live and is now eating frozen, so I will be able to feed him :)

He hatched on September 11 (I hope the events attached to that date are not omen) maybe we can come up with a good name that will pay respects to those who suffered on that.

He is currently 146 grams.

I am purchasing him from Scott Firth. I was not able to find as much info on Scott as I was on a few of the others. BUT I found nothing negative on the Fauna Classifieds BOI. The posts that I did find on the BOI were all from people who were very happy with their purchase and returned to buy more and would highly recommend him. I spoke to him for about an hour and feeding him will not be a problem, he started on live and is not eating FT so I will have resources to feed him. :)

I have purchased my enclosure, it should ship in 8 weeks as well as my Radiant Heat Panel. So things are falling into place.