Getting another BP need advice.

I got my first bp Jimmy in October and my husband said no more. Well I am getting another one tonight. She is a coming from a family who can no longer afford her. I am excited and scared at the same time. They said she is about 8 year sold. 4 feet long. They say that she has only eaten F/T so that is going to be new for me, as I fed jimmy love. Any tips on how to feed F/T and switching her to live would be greatly appreciated. Is there any thing different that I need to do for an older bp versus my 8 month old ? Any tips, suggestions, or general info on caring properly for an snake of that age and size is more than welcomed.

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Originally Posted by jimmysmom

They say that she has only eaten F/T so that is going to be new for me, as I fed jimmy love.

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Ive never heard of anyone substituting love for rats but if it works :gj:

As for switching to live, why do you want to? Its easier to feed f/t because you can have weeks worth of food and simply have to thaw it instead of sourcing live rats every week or taking care of rats to be fed off. Also there is no risk of injury from a dead rat, to feed you thaw and then use warm water or a hair dryer to heat up before presenting on tongs.

If you want to switch to live you can place the prey in with your snake and they will know what to do. But make sure you are there with a pair of tongs or something to intervene with if needed.

No reason for switching to live other than its what I am comfortable doing and have never fed F/T. Obtaining live rats would not be an issue. I have never fed with tongs before and that sorta scares me. Do I just dangle it in front of her? How often should a bp that size eat and shed? lol guess I should start feeding Jimmy something other than love lmao . But, I like him more than I like most people and treat him better than I do most people.

Make sure you quarantine the new snake in a different part of the house! I've heard around 3 months is good. Use all different supplies and tools with the new snake to avoid contamination.

Hi there!:)
Since she is an older snake, I do not recommend switching to live because she most likely won't constrict it as well since she has been on frozen and the rodent could harm her. This is how I prepare the frozen rodent for one of my ball pythons. I let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so and then put it in warm water so it can finish thawing. After it's thawed, I dry it with paper towel. Then, I shake it around in a box that has had a live rodent in it to get the live scent on it. Finally, I warm it up by using a hair dryer. Then I feed it to the snake.
I hope I helped and I hope you enjoy your new ball python:)

I intend to keep them in separate rooms. I will have her vetted the first appointment my vet has open, but I do want to wait a couple of weeks so that she is settled. Do I dangle the mouse iin front of her or can I lay it on a paper towel in her house? Thank so much for the tips and advice.

that sounds like a good idea:)
And it depends on the snake. One of my ball pythons won't take a frozen mouse if i'm dangling it. I just put it in her tank and she eats it. So, you could try both ways. My guess is since she has been on frozen, she'll take it if you set it in her tank. But that's just a guess.:)

This is how mine takes f/t. Just grabbing the tail by the tongs is the way I do it.

https://vimeo.com/155263021

The only reason I was jiggling the feeder is because I figure it makes it more exciting to hunt, but she's taken prey held still and also laid on the tub floor before. She's a good eater.

Also, I don't even thaw in the fridge- I just put it straight into hot water to defrost and warm it. The whole thing is less than 10 min waiting time for a small rat.

Cool video. I love to watch evolution in action !!I guess what my fear is, is her missing her target. Is there much difference in handling a juvenile bp and an adult? How often do adults go into shed? Are adults much stronger than juveniles?

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Originally Posted by jimmysmom

Cool video. I love to watch evolution in action !!I guess what my fear is, is her missing her target. Is there much difference in handling a juvenile bp and an adult? How often do adults go into shed? Are adults much stronger than juveniles?

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I wouldn't know about adults since I only have a juvenile, and she's my first.

As for her missing and biting you? Not likely to happen with tongs/forceps.

http://www.amazon.com/RecoAquaRep-Qu...+feeding+tongs

The ones I have are actually shorter than this (and I only just realized looking back at my video that I juuust had the tongs out of frame) but this shows you how far your hand will be from the actual rat. I do read on here occasionally about people who dangle the feeder with their hand and end up getting tagged when the snake misses. But I doubt it's possible for the snake to miss that badly with all that distance between the feeder and your hand.

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Originally Posted by CantHelpIt

Also there is no risk of injury from a dead rat.

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The sad cold truth about feeding frozen gone wrong. LoL
Make sure you get the whole rat/mouse thawed out and they are not still ice in the middle.
Yes a frozen rat can kill or injure your snake too.

No real need for a vet visit but QT in the other room is great.

So they just brought her (Lola) to me and her terrarium is filthy and I need give it a good cleaning. I do not have anything to put her in other than the big cloth bag they brought her in. Will she be ok to stay in the bag overnight? I don't want to stress her out or make her uncomfortable but it is going to take a pretty good long time to get her house cleaned properly and set up.

I'd leave her in the terrarium over night. Tomorrow go and get a plastic tub and put her in there while you clean and set up. I don't know if I'd feel comfortable leaving a snake in a bag overnight but that's just me.

I wouldn't leave her bagged either.
Get to work cleaning, its the weekend LoL

I have a green plastic tote that my son uses for his stuffed animals. Will that suffice while we are cleaning her house? I don't want her to smother in the bag while we get her set up .

She shouldn't smother in the bag as long as its breathable.
You can also use a pillow case.

I finally got her house cleaned up and set up partially where she can at least be in it. I still need to add more substrate and the rest of her plants and vines. I am going to attempt to feed her today. The previous owners said she was fed once a month and I m sure that is just not enough for a snake her size . I have never fed F/T before my Jimmy eats live, and to be honest I am a little scared of feeding her with tongs. Should I feed her once a week until she full or should I stick to once every 10 days? I just want her to be happy in her new home. Should I continue to set her house up today or allow her several days to adjust and settle in before messing with her and her house? Thank ya'll so much for patiently reading and answering my questions .:snake::snake:

1.0 Jimmy Normal
0.1 Lola Normal

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

The sad cold truth about feeding frozen gone wrong. LoL
Make sure you get the whole rat/mouse thawed out and they are not still ice in the middle.
Yes a frozen rat can kill or injure your snake too.

No real need for a vet visit but QT in the other room is great.

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That is true. But if taking proper thawing procedures the rat isn't going to bite your snake if you leave it in with them.
I don't believe any one has encountered any problems directly from unsafe amounts of bacteria but I personally would not take out a rat and thaw them in hot water or leave them on the counter. You are creating an environment for parasites doing that. I put food in the fridge to thaw before I leave for work in the morning and feed late at night when I get home.
Yes snakes eat tons of parasites and whatever else in the wild but these are captive bred animals who didn't ask us to cage them up. The least we can do is provide them a clean house and good food.

Op you can feed once a week if she looks skinny or you can feed every 10. She will be fine either way
If her house has hides and water I would allow her time to settle

She has one rock hide on the warm side and I used plants and a log to make a hide on the cool side. The previous owner said that she would not use any hides they put on the cool side but instead would curl up under the plants in the corner. If I lay the food in her house, how long should I wait before removing, if she does not eat? My smaller one does multiple feedings with about 20 minutes between meals. If she eats should I offer her another one?

1.0 Jimmy Normal
0.1 Lola Normal

I would attempt first to feed her off tongs and doing the zombie dance with the rat. She most likely will take it like that but if she seems reluctant to you can simply place it in the cage. You can leave it in overnight or for a couple hours depending on when you feed. If you leave it in i suggest not leaving it over the heat and not leaving it for more than 5-6 hours or you will have a nice smell when you open the cage
Also stick with one rat once a week for now, unless she looks visibly skinny with her spine protruding she shouldn't have a problem on a weekly schedule with appropriate sized prey

She ate with no problem. I ended up feeding her 2 med sized rats and a live small mouse. I have noticed that she never goes on her warm side. The temp there is 85 and the humidity is at 54%. AT first I thought the temps where not right. I called the previous owner and asked about her not going to the hot side and staying on the cool side. After a 30 minute convo I discovered the ambient temps in their house never go about 75. They kept her warm side around 82 and her cool side around 75, dropping down to 80ish and 72ish at night, and the humididty around 40 %. To me I feel that those numbers are very very very low. It makes sense why she stays on the cool side. She is not used to the warmer temps. How should I acclimate her to the warmer temps? I just don't know what to do ?

Edit: Oops, irrelevant message.

The temps and humidity she had before were indeed too low. You are right to have her temps set to the standard ball python numbers. I don't think you need to do anything about that, other than just letting her figure it out. The good thing about giving them a temperature gradient is that they can choose what they're most comfortable with. If she was really overheated, she would probably be trying to soak in her water bowl.

Also, that is a lot of food. I would really cut it down to one rat per week. They can get overweight just like any other animal, and digestion is a big process for their bodies. Take it easy on the food and she'll be fine. If she's not used to proper feeding schedules especially, it will be quite a chore to digest all that. Don't feel bad though, she will be fine eating a lot just this one time. Sounds like a good sign that she is an excellent eater!

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Originally Posted by cristacake

The temps and humidity she had before were indeed too low. You are right to have her temps set to the standard ball python numbers. I don't think you need to do anything about that, other than just letting her figure it out. The good thing about giving them a temperature gradient is that they can choose what they're most comfortable with. If she was really overheated, she would probably be trying to soak in her water bowl.

Also, that is a lot of food. I would really cut it down to one rat per week. They can get overweight just like any other animal, and digestion is a big process for their bodies. Take it easy on the food and she'll be fine. If she's not used to proper feeding schedules especially, it will be quite a chore to digest all that. Don't feel bad though, she will be fine eating a lot just this one time. Sounds like a good sign that she is an excellent eater!

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Agreed!

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Originally Posted by cristacake

The temps and humidity she had before were indeed too low. You are right to have her temps set to the standard ball python numbers. I don't think you need to do anything about that, other than just letting her figure it out. The good thing about giving them a temperature gradient is that they can choose what they're most comfortable with. If she was really overheated, she would probably be trying to soak in her water bowl.

Also, that is a lot of food. I would really cut it down to one rat per week. They can get overweight just like any other animal, and digestion is a big process for their bodies. Take it easy on the food and she'll be fine. If she's not used to proper feeding schedules especially, it will be quite a chore to digest all that. Don't feel bad though, she will be fine eating a lot just this one time. Sounds like a good sign that she is an excellent eater!

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I feed her that much food because they said she had not ate since Dec and they were only feeding her one med sized F/T rat once a month. I wanted her to have a full belly so that I could watch for signs of aggression that was not hunger related. The first night I had her she was about a 85 on a scale of 1 to 100 for aggression. I knew some of it was due to being moved to a new place and I was sure the rest was do to simply being hungry. Now that I am pretty sure she is not hungry ( I am from the south where we feed everything and food makes life better) I can watch her acclimate to her new place and get a more accurate display of her true nature and characteristics. I would like to feed her at least 2 med rats ( if she will eat both ) a week alternating with just one med rat for a month and begin to taper her to one med rat once every 10 days. I am not sure as to how much and how often I should be feeding a snake of her size. I have not had her vetted yet nor weighed. She is about 47 inches. And a lot bigger than my other bp

I wouldn't switch her to live, I'd switch Jimmy to f/t. it's rarely difficult to do. I've had well over 100 snakes in the past couple of decades and I've never had a single one refuse f/t including several who had been fed live for much longer than your new snake has. only the most stubborn of hatchlings are offered live in my collection and they all come around soon enough.

You really don't need to feed two medium rats a week. Large females only need a small/medium rat every 7-14 days. I could see feeding a medium rat once a week for a month but after that you don't need to catch up much more. And I'd probably give her a couple weeks without food with all that rodent in her belly.

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Originally Posted by jimmysmom

I feed her that much food because they said she had not ate since Dec and they were only feeding her one med sized F/T rat once a month. I wanted her to have a full belly so that I could watch for signs of aggression that was not hunger related. The first night I had her she was about a 85 on a scale of 1 to 100 for aggression. I knew some of it was due to being moved to a new place and I was sure the rest was do to simply being hungry. Now that I am pretty sure she is not hungry ( I am from the south where we feed everything and food makes life better) I can watch her acclimate to her new place and get a more accurate display of her true nature and characteristics. I would like to feed her at least 2 med rats ( if she will eat both ) a week alternating with just one med rat for a month and begin to taper her to one med rat once every 10 days. I am not sure as to how much and how often I should be feeding a snake of her size. I have not had her vetted yet nor weighed. She is about 47 inches. And a lot bigger than my other bp

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I wouldn't hold what they say in too much regard... Unless she came from a very reputable breeder. As said above, One good size medium rat is probably enough for her every week to 10 days. Don't worry about the aggression, it will fade. Keeping her on a set regular feeding schedule of one appropriate sized feeder is the best thing for her. Feeding her regularly, and letting her be (no handling) for a couple of weeks may be the best option.

So I have had Lola for a week now.. Got her Saturday night, fed her Sunday ( 2 med F/T, 1 smallish live mouse). I have not bothered with her much as I wanted to give her time to settle and digest a rather large meal. I have added plants and branches over the past week, and have changed water daily. I am wanting to bring her out Tuesday and handle her. My other (Jimmy) is only 325 grams and Lola . well.. she's a lil over 4 feet and heavier than Jimmy. I a reluctant to pick her up. Not that I am so much scared of her but more intimidated than anything by her size. She has not been out of her hide that I know of. I am sure she has drank and I know she moves around. She has stuck her head out and watched me as I went around the room. it maybe that she only moves in the late hours after I have retired for the night, and that Jimmy is out and about all hours of the day and night. Should I give any more time before bringing her out? As for getting her out, what would be the best way to move her hide off of her and picking her up? As I am sure it will take both hands to get her. Once she is out I am fine, it is something about pulling her hide off and picking her up that weirds me out. Ant adivce, tips, and tricks will be implemented.