New to Snakes; worried about new guy?

Okay, so bear with me, as I am brand frickin' new to the whole snake thing. I've done my research, but of course the first time you have any issues, it doesn't matter how much you've read, I guess? So anyways,

Midas is my 2 year old male ball python. I got him from a breeder at a reptile convention in my city a week ago-- and I chose him because he was the most handled, tame guy they had. He's the snake they got out when kids/anyone wanted to hold a snake he was so steadfastly tame and un-head shy.

So I get him home Sunday after holding him for hours at the show-- he was adventurous and sweet and seemed to seek out attention from people. Now, I understand totally that he needs time to settle into his home. I tried to feed him about 3-4 days in and he just struck at the mouse but wouldn't eat. (understandable, it's all new. I was offering as a litmus test of how adjusted he was more than anything.) Now, it's almost been a full week, and I've handled him for the first times today since I brought him home-- when I held him this morning (10 minutes) I slowly touched his back and he like, jerked/lunged backwards and scared the crap out of me. I scooped him up and put him in his cage to stop any stress he was experiencing. This evening I had him out and he was contentedly sitting beside me on my bed for about 20 minutes, then when i reached down to pick him up and put him in his terrarium he started hissing at me! He just seems to be getting crankier and crankier.

His normal eating day was Tuesday, and we completely missed that with the housing transition and his unwillingness to eat. I've noticed he's getting adventurous and rooting around in his cage at night. Could this be a sign it's time to try to feed him again? Also does anyone have any advice/thoughts on him turning into a kindof cranky snake? or does that have to do with him being hungry? He's such a beautiful creature, I just want him to be happy and to be able to occasionally handle him without fear of him flopping backwards out of fear or hissing! :(

Any advice at all is appreciated here.

and now he is rubbing his face on the top and sides of his tank so intensely... he looks like he's dancing. He keep smelling the grate at the top. It's like he's looking for a way out. another sign of hunger?

All of this is more likely to be a sign of stress from being transplanted into a completely new environment after two years. Tell us more about your setup. Maybe take some pictures if you can.

Make sure all your husbandry is correct temps humidity etc. If your snake hisses at you, don't put him back or leave him alone.. carry on handling him so he doesn't associate hissing at you with you leaving him alone. Give him a full straight week of no touching or handling. After the week try to feed him then.

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Originally Posted by SRMD

Make sure all your husbandry is correct temps humidity etc.

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This. What are the temperatures on the warm and cool side? What are you using for heat and how is that heat regulated? What kind of thermometer are you using to measure the temperatures - some are wildly inaccurate. What is his humidity?

Also most breeders keep their snakes in tubs/racks due to space and easy-of-care considerations, if you take an adult that has lived in a tub since pipping and put it into a tank environment it's not going to be happy.

Ok! He is in a 20" by 20" terrarium with half an inch of aspen shavings substrate. I was told to go bigger after he adjusts to this since he is coming from a rack system to a normal "pet enclosure." The temperature of his terrarium is measured by 2 digital thermometers-- the hot end under the basking lamp stays around 89-91 during daytime and at night when the lamp is off his under tank heater keeps it around 85. The cool side of the tank stays about 78-80. His humidity has been at the most 55 and at the lowest 48, and I spritz and keep his water full to maintain that. He only has one hide at this time, as that is what the breeder recommended, and that's what he's used to, and he doesn't have any plants to hide in. (Which didn't stop him last night from throwing his party, but I can understand is a possible issue!)

did id I miss anything else needed?

You don't need to drop the temperature at night unless you're planning to breed, I am pretty sure.

Also how secure are your hides that you have for him? and do you have plenty of places for him to go where he can't be seen?

Ball pythons like to feel secure, safe and hide away.

Could you take a picture of your whole set-up and show us, maybe we would be able to help you more.

I'm at work, so I can't take a picture at the moment, but I will at home. His half log hide is nice and snug the way they like it. No he doesn't have much cover besides that. Hangon I may have a picture in my phone-

You should probably consider a better hide than a half log, as they don't offer much security.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

You can even buy things like those, they are more secure than a half log, try to find a hide that has only one exit/entrance, and is a nice tight fit.

These are my preferred hides:
http://www.bluelizardreptiles.co.uk/...s/015561228534

I have two, one on the cold end and one on the warm end.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...aec8e4070a.jpg

There's the setup before I added heat lamps and such. It's super simple atm, I wanted to kinda transition him from the Tupperware he was living in, you know?


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Yeah, I get where you are coming from. I had my BP living in his TUB for 3 years before I put him into his 3ft Vivarium.

I think your main problem, may just be not having enough clutter. My advice would be to get a more secure hide one entrance/exit, some plants or just anything to clutter the terrarium up a bit more, it will make your BP feel a lot more safer. Once you have done this try leaving him alone for a week, see how things go from there.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...93c0346d66.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...eed8509243.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...33079b334e.jpg

Some old photos, but this is how my BP lives, logs for him to hide in covered by plants and also two identical snug hides.

Thank you so much for all the advice! I'll get him a new hide and some clutter this weekend. So no one thinks all this could be related to him being almost a week off his feed schedule?


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If he is stressed he won't eat.

My BP has gone 10months without eating, as long as they don't drop too much weight and seem fine, he'll be ok.

Get some secure hides, clutter.. then leave him be for a week.. then resume his feeding schedule, do not get stressed if he doesn't eat.. give him time!

Goodluck:gj:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...6fac55f263.jpg

Here's a pic of Midas, I've talked about how pretty my boy is I thought I'd stick this up here too. I'll keep yall updated! Any other advice on a new snake/handler is welcome too. :)


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I think the importance of having clutter like fake plants is underplayed in a lot of care guides. Half the time mine isn't even in her hide, just out 'hiding' under her fake vines.

As far as hissing or jerking away goes, I basically just ignore it. I don't do marathon handling sessions or anything though, so I'm not worried about too much stress from five minutes of handling while I do maintenance stuff. If they're getting seriously freaked out by being handled, they'll make it very clear lol.

For the instance where you had him sitting with you then reached down to get him again; I think a lot of times they kind of 'forget' exactly what's going on if you don't actually have them in your hands handling them, so to him you reaching down to scoop him up was probably kind of a surprise and like you were starting a whole new handling session.

One recommendation I have found useful for new acquisitions to help them settle in is to cover three sides of the tank. I have thick poster paper that I cut to shape and stuck to the back and sides with double sided tape. This helps them to feel less exposed. I would definitely still pick up more ground clutter and a matching hide so that he has more than one to choose from. Really the more shelter and hiding spaces right now the better. Just look at the photo you posted of the initial set up and imagine how exposed you would feel in it, then do whatever you can think of to eliminate that exposure. Having just one side of the tank that they feel like a threat could come from seems to help them relax a ton. Do of course be careful to only cover the sides in a way that does not pose a fire hazard if you are using a heat lamp. :)

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Originally Posted by kiiarah

One recommendation I have found useful for new acquisitions to help them settle in is to cover three sides of the tank. I have thick poster paper that I cut to shape and stuck to the back and sides with double sided tape. This helps them to feel less exposed. I would definitely still pick up more ground clutter and a matching hide so that he has more than one to choose from. Really the more shelter and hiding spaces right now the better. Just look at the photo you posted of the initial set up and imagine how exposed you would feel in it, then do whatever you can think of to eliminate that exposure. Having just one side of the tank that they feel like a threat could come from seems to help them relax a ton. Do of course be careful to only cover the sides in a way that does not pose a fire hazard if you are using a heat lamp. :)

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That's a really good idea about the poster paper..I keep all my b.Ps in tubs so I don't have to worry.. But def a great idea for people who use glass boxes.

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http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...7db32be62c.jpg

Midas says thank you all. With a new enclosed hide and some little bushes and clutter, he's actually settled down a lot. We came home to him laying in his water bowl after dinner tonight quite contentedly. We also covered 3 sides of his terrarium with paper. Hopefully, after a week of this, he'll finally be hungry. But at least he's no longer spastic?


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Originally Posted by katdog

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/07...7db32be62c.jpg

Midas says thank you all. With a new enclosed hide and some little bushes and clutter, he's actually settled down a lot. We came home to him laying in his water bowl after dinner tonight quite contentedly. We also covered 3 sides of his terrarium with paper. Hopefully, after a week of this, he'll finally be hungry. But at least he's no longer spastic?


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Good job, not to kill your enjoyment. laying in his water bowl? This could be a sign of mites or that the temps are too high. invest in a temp gun just to be double sure of the temperature. it could also be nothing at all and he is just their maybe pre shed or something, I'm sure someone else will chip in.

good job though [emoji106]🏻

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Originally Posted by SRMD

Good job, not to kill your enjoyment. laying in his water bowl? This could be a sign of mites or that the temps are too high. invest in a temp gun just to be double sure of the temperature. it could also be nothing at all and he is just their maybe pre shed or something, I'm sure someone else will chip in.

good job though [emoji106]🏻

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Yep . I thought of mites when I read he was sat in his water bowl ..... Also she mentioned that he'd been rubbing his head on things which can be a sign they're going to shed I think .... that's how they start the process off sliding out of the old skin ..

Ok so he was just laying in bowl right after we put him in with new stuff, no dipping in now a day after. He refused to get into his new stone hide for the entire evening though. Also what do I do if he has mites?


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To see if he has mites, place a white washcloth over your sink drain and pour the water from the water bowl over it. If you see black specks, then you have mites. They also are usually found along the jawline and chin of your snake. I believe there is a sticky about how to deal with them.






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Sorry if I misread this but he had not eaten for you since you got him correct? If that is true then you should not be handling him unless you are cleaning his tank. Also if you have not seen a mite then don't worry. Bps soak for many reasons. He could be going into shed or maybe your humidity is low. Definitely clutter up his cage and maybe cover the 3 sides. Once this is done leave him alone for a week or two. Only get in there if you absolutely have to. Once he is comfortable he will eat. If he still doesn't, leave him be some more while you recheck your setup

Everyone else has given you some great advice, so I'm just going to chip in and say that Midas is beautiful. :D