Raphael <3

Just got my snake the other day, im new here and new to owning snakes i have no idea if my snake is a boy or girl but their name is Raphael and he/she is most friendly. Used to be held at childrens parties at the reptile centre i purchased him/her from. amazing temperament.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...59008232_n.jpghttp://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...46252681_n.jpghttp://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...58916158_n.jpg

Niec snake

Welcome to BP.net! Great looking ball python. Congratulations!

can any of you identify if it is male or female?

BPs can't be sexed visually. You'll need an experienced keeper with a probe kit to help you out.
You'll hear about a method called popping, but that usually works better with juvenile snakes.

EDIT: Just looked at your photos again. Your snake might not be to old for the popping method after all. But you'll still want an experienced BP keeper to do it for you.

i have been looking around the forum for a while. there is such a vast amount of information to do with snakes in general it amazes me. quite the information overload.
I had the same problem as many new owners here. who got the snake took it home and then got nervous about picking it up. so i came here looked at everyones responses and just went for it. He still curls up in a ball in my hand for a good couple of minutes then he will start squirming about a bit more.

its a good place to be here by the looks and sounds of it, glad i found it :gj:

Welcome to the forums! Beautiful little snake you have there. :gj:

thank you!!!

Infact i have another question its feeding day today, i have a little pair of tweezers to feed with about 15cm long is this suitable? i know about the 48 hour after feeding handling rule :)

Mine are still babies - but my tweezers are about a foot long. Haven't been bitten by a BP yet, but at only 15 cm long, that's not very much room for making sure a missed food strike doesn't find live hand-prey.

You will need longer Tongs for sure if you live in a town that has a Petsmart they usually have them or go online and try Reptilebasics.com you will find everything you need at their web store.
Welcome to the forum..[emoji4]
Sent from my SGH-T999

Welcome to the forum and we are glad to have you here! Great pickup in the good looking ball python. Try to find a breeder or someone capable of sexing your reptile.

Welcome to BP.net. This is a great place to come for newbies. This forum helped me so much. I myself have never been bitten by my snakes but my husband has. He said the strike scared him more than the bite hurt. He has also been bitten by a rat. He said the rat bite hurt like the devil.

The longer you have him the more comfortable you will be come with him. Don't be afraid to pick him up. Take it from a lady that used to hate and was terrified of all snakes you can do it. Nothing like having one of these guys wrapped around your neck just chilling:)

So hows your new Ball Python doing ? Did you find some at least 15 inch long ? Its fun learning your new snakes likes and dislikes lol Hope everything is good.

Sent from my SGH-T999

I just realized your Baby had the same name of my Sunglow Baby Boa Miss Raphael your Raphael is a cutie. I too was afraid of snakes my whole life I just misunderstood about them In My opion now I just love them and they are the easiest Reptile to take care of. Each one has a unique soul and overtime they get to know you and look forward to seeing you and All the Bonding stuff and trust.

Sent from my SGH-T999

Good morning,

Me and my girlfriend tried feeding him on Friday, and he just didnt seem interested at all. Until we realised that we had been defrosting his dinner wrong. we did it at room temperature. My girlfriend came back on here and checked out what other people had been doing so on Saturday morning we defrosted it in cold water for 15 minutes then dipped it in hot/warm water for 5 and he pretty much went for it straight away once we'd let it cool down a little bit.

There were two things we were concerned about;
1) he kind of got his tooth stuck on himself when he was constricting and went into hypo mode and started wriggling iv been checking him from outside his vivarium the past 2 days to make sure he didnt break skin. As far as i can see he hasnt done any damage to himself. the silly sausage.

2) I stupidly managed to drop the rat pup on the substate and a piece of bark about 2cm-ish in length managed to find its way down with the meal. I dont want this to cause him any issues with his digestive system.

Apart from that he is doing amazingly well, from a novice perspective. when we first got him i used to put my head down to his level and he used to hide from me, as if i looked like the elephant man. Now he see's me and slithers back and forth across the front of his vivarium haha. I fed him Saturday morning and im eager to handle him again would tonight be okay? or should i leave him another day? Bearing in mind it is his first meal in his new home.

When I feed some of my snakes in there tank I put paper over my Bark begore the feeding session it scared me one time my Borneo ate of piece of bark so I make sure no bark gets in there mouths. Im afraid it will get compacted in there systen and a Visit to the vet I have a vision of surgery. I for my self do not need a huge Vet Bill when the whole thing can be prevented.

Sent from my SGH-T999