Switched from a 10 gallon to a 96 qt sterilite

Topic ^^^^

My guy was born in July, got him on Oct. 11th. He is a normal, and hasn't eaten since I have had him. His temps are fine and so is the humididty, so I am hoping the switch will make the difernce, it has like 4 hides and fakes leaves and rocks, on paper towel subbstrate.

Any thoughts? DOes this sound good? Anyone ever had switching to a larger/ different tank had any luck with feeding response? Thanks

Normally the worst thing youc an do is change their envirenment when they go offfeed. Just one more thing to stress them out, especially a bigger envirenment. but, I guess you can't know for sure till you try. I hope he eats.

What are you trying to feed him? Frozen/thawed, pre-killed? What size of prey are you trying to feed and what was he eating before?

When I have young ball pythons go off feed in their first winter, I usually warm them up and put them into a smaller enclosure, with an extra small hide. Are you sure his temps are "fine"?

-adam

He was eating f/t normal sized mice, and I showed the breeder what I bought mice wise and he said that was the size he was. His warm end is 95 and cool is around 80. THere are hides in the cool end, warm and and middle, all differnet sizes. And since he pooped I know he was eating.

Are you trying to feed him in his cage or in a seperate place? Some bp's refuse to eat unless they're in a hide or something.

Ive tried both. Im not worried becuase he is really fat! But after I try in this big one, then Ill try moving him into a reall small shoebox rubbermiad, then try feeding there...

mine will only eat it in her cage

In my experience, it is very rare for a ball python under 1 year of age to go off feed. It happens, but usually not until they are a little older. I would definitely work on your husbandry. You can up the cool side to 84 and move to a smaller enclosure. Also, I have found that filling the smaller cage with crumpled newspaper (a trick taught to me by Kev@NERD) adds to the snakes sense of security and helps put him on the fast track to eating.

My only other thought is that you are not warming your mice enough after you thaw them out. Balls hunt by sensing the thermal differences between their prey and it's surroundings. The FT mouse should be warm, but not hot to the touch.

Hope this helps.

-adam

Are you sure your ball isn't getting stressed out? If you've been handling him a lot or making a bunch of major changes to his caging set up, he might be getting really stressed and then refusing to eat.

I haven't handled him at all. Hmmm Mayeb I can try to raise the temps some more...

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Originally Posted by NomadOfTheHills

I haven't handled him at all. Hmmm Mayeb I can try to raise the temps some more...

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If your warm end is about 95 and your cool end is about 80, raising the temps would be a bad idea. The warm side is a bit warm, IMO, but isn't hateful yet. Please tell me that you will handle him when you clean out his cage ;).

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Originally Posted by led4urhead

If your warm end is about 95 and your cool end is about 80, raising the temps would be a bad idea.

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Why would it be a bad idea?

-adam

My 55gal is heated so the cool side gets down to around 78 at night, and the warm side gets up around 93 in the day. Ball Python's enjoy basking temperatures around 90, but not as a constant temperature. I tend to find them on the cooler side during the day, then they return to the warmth throughout their nocturnal moving's about. I think raising the temperature's when he already has a solid 95 on the warm side would make it uncomfortable and more stressful for his BP.

Also, I'm curious how you switched caging without handling him. Even picking him up and placing him in a new cage when he's still fairly new to living spaces can be stressful, I'd be sure to leave him where he is for now, for at least a week before you try to press anything else on him. As for food, everyone else has solid ideas. Check the temperature you've thawed/warmed it to, or you can try pre-killed and dance them for your snake. I tend to remove my snakes from their enclosure prior to feeding so they don't assume I'll be feeding them each time I open the tank itself. The only problem I ever had with feeding itself, was getting my male to take pre-killed (switching him off live).

So for now I would leave him where he is to adjust again. Lower your temps slightly if you can. Make sure the humidity is around 60% or so. Also you should add a large flat tupperware bowl/pan filled with water for the snake to drink from/soak in (he'll need water if he hasn't eaten for a few weeks.

I'm pretty sure that he was talking about raising the temp on the cool side, not the hot side.

And please remember, everyones snakes are different. Just because something works for you, doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone. These are animals, not cars. I think that taking a little bit of advice from everyone, trying different things, and figuring out what works best for your animal is the way to go!

-adam

Ill move the light over to lower the hot side a little and raise the cool side. The ONLY time I handled him was when I made the move.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I'm pretty sure that he was talking about raising the temp on the cool side, not the hot side.

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No i wasnt. 80 is just fine on the cool side and

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Originally Posted by led4urhead

If your warm end is about 95 and your cool end is about 80, raising the temps would be a bad idea. The warm side is a bit warm, IMO, but isn't hateful yet.

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80 on the cool side and approx 90-92 on the warm side is the generally accepted optimal temps for a bp. Having said that, you said it best your self :

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

And please remember, everyones snakes are different. Just because something works for you, doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone. These are animals, not cars. I think that taking a little bit of advice from everyone, trying different things, and figuring out what works best for your animal is the way to go!

-adam

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Originally Posted by led4urhead

No i wasnt. 80 is just fine on the cool side and

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I apologize for the confusion, but I was not referring to your post.

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Originally Posted by led4urhead

80 on the cool side and approx 90-92 on the warm side is the generally accepted optimal temps for a bp.

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Accepted by whom?

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Originally Posted by led4urhead

Having said that, you said it best your self :

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

And please remember, everyones snakes are different. Just because something works for you, doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone. These are animals, not cars. I think that taking a little bit of advice from everyone, trying different things, and figuring out what works best for your animal is the way to go!

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Thanks!!

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Accepted by whom?

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http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBall.html

edit: It is generally accepted by most people you will talk to, and since you alread brought up NERD in this thread i thought i would post a link to their bp caresheet. You however put it perfectly. There is no exact science to keeping reptiles. Every keeper has to make the descisions for his/herself and for his/her own reptiles. All we can do is offer advice for what works for us.

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Originally Posted by led4urhead

It is generally accepted by most people you will talk to

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Not by the people that I talk to, so I guess it can't be too generally accepted.

As far as Kevins care sheet goes, I've been up close and personal with his balls and no way are they only 80 degrees! (wow, that didn't sound good) LOL

Here are some other sources that suggest keeping ambient temps for ball pythons warmer than 80.

http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/index.html
http://www.ralphdavisreptiles.com/ma...l_breeding.asp
http://www.vpi.com/8VPICareSheets/Py...lCareSheet.htm
http://www.bobclark.com/aAN_02.asp

... as well at the ball python manual.

-adam

There seems to be some temp controoversy... at least hes pooped and drank... :)

I don't think it's controversy, just a friendly discussion among people who are passionate about ball pythons! It's all fun.

I was just trying to say that I personally have better feeding responses as a whole by keeping ball pythons at around 84 with a 94 degree hot spot. Over the years I've tried a wide range of ambient and hot spot temp combos and that one seems to work the best. I know a lot of people with large and small collections that do the same thing successfully and it might be worth a try.

Or, you can just ignore me ... it's only the internet and opinions are like .... well you know.

Good luck with your ball, and have fun.

-adam

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Or, you can just ignore me ... it's only the internet and opinions are like .... well you know.

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LOL - no shortage of either on the internet. One of the things I like best about this site is that opinions can be shared in a civil manner (usually). Synthesizing a lot of the information/approaches you get is often the best way to find the approach that waorks best for you and your snakes (so long as vanity does not endanger them). I can see the argument for 80 as a cool side (perhaps especially heading toward winter here) as I would rather the BPs not skate around the 75 degree mark - a sharp dip in outside temps could easily drop that below the reccomended as our house is not the best insulated (1903) and there can be a good bit of thermal lag.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I don't think it's controversy, just a friendly discussion among people who are passionate about ball pythons! It's all fun.

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Darn right it is :). I dont think either of us were trying to slam eachother.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I was just trying to say that I personally have better feeding responses as a whole by keeping ball pythons at around 84 with a 94 degree hot spot. Over the years I've tried a wide range of ambient and hot spot temp combos and that one seems to work the best. I know a lot of people with large and small collections that do the same thing successfully and it might be worth a try.

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This paragraph, i think, sums up this entire discussion. Its all about what works for each individual keeper. It might take some time to figure out what works for you, but in the end there really is no right or wrong way to keep reptiles as long as they are healthy.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Or, you can just ignore me ... it's only the internet and opinions are like .... well you know.

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You can ignore me too, i'm mostly full of bs :P


Thanks for the discussion Adam!

Alrighty... so I should just keep playing with the temps till I find noe that suits mine best?

Yup, bearing in mind that you can veer into unsafe temp territory around the mid-low 70s and mid-high 90s. Of course, with a cage with enough floorspace and plenty of snug hiding area, a temp of 95 at one extreme end and 75 at the other would give a great opportunity for thermoregulation.

Okydokey, hot side is 90-93 and waiting oin coolside temps. I know i need a temp gun but I gotta wait on it...

It sound's like you've worked out a good system from all of our seperate opinion's. He'll tell you how your husbandry is next shed/when he feeds. It's always good to ask question's here, you'll get a wide range of answers that have at least one commonality: We all love and care for our snakes in the best way possible.

My cooler side was being weird so I switched my 60 watt bulb to a 75 see what the temps are now...