Totally Clueless

I really don't know where to begin. How about the facts first. My teenage son (18), just happened to get a "deal" on an Albino Python. A guy he works for in the summer offered to sell him one, a young one, rather cheap I might add.
Not sure about exact age, it is approx... 14 to 16 inches long, orange, yellow and white (Albino, so I am told). I was totally against the thought of having a "python" in the house, but me being a big "animal lover" of any sort of animal, I want to make sure he is properly cared for, but I am at a loss, I have no idea how to "properly" care for a python. We have him in a 10 gallon aquarium with a wooden cover that has an 8 x 8 inch screen opening. We got a heat rock (as suggested by the Petsmart rep), now I am reading this is not a good thing to have. We had no idea about humidity control, until just while reading info in this forum. We live in South Texas where the humidity is about 90 % or higher, but the snake is kept indoors most of the time (house airconditioner is kept at 74 degrees), During the day my son sets the snake enclosure out on the front porch for most of the day and at night when it is brought back in, I cover the cage with a folded bed sheet.
The enclosure has "Snake bedding material", a bowl of water, an piece of an old tree limb, heat rock, and half of a plastic 1lb coffee can set upside down (the snake never goes in it though). He/She stays pretty much coiled up between the heat rock and tree limp.
Really I don't know what questions to ask, I am that "clueless".
The 2nd day we had "Gizzie" I purchased two very small mice (live), placed one in his cage, he did his thing and started to swallow the mouse, about half way down and much struggling the mouse was regurgitated. I was told that I should be feeding "Pinkie" mice to him/her. I purchased some from "petco" frozen. I thawed one in a cup of warm water and once a room temp I presented it to the snake, he accepted and it was completely swallowed with no problems...well that was two weeks ago and I have tried to feed him four times since then, but he does not accept it (I use cooking tongs to "dance" the mouse in front of him). Another thing, his skin was getting really dry and wrinkled, well 2 days ago he/she started sheding. Is this why he would not eat? His shed is about 1/4 down his body, which I found stuck to the edge of the tree limb (no single shed, humdity problem?).
I printed some excellent material from a group called "ball-python dot net" and see that there is a lot to do with raising and caring for these "pets".
I appreciate this forum and all the info and pics it has to offer. Hopefully I will be able to get on track and provide "gizzie" with a great place to "grow". I am just very apprehensive and worried that I am or will do something that will cause harm to him/her.

Greetings,

First off... get rid of the heat rock. Many snakes have been burned by them and it's not worth the trouble. Get an under tank heating pad and at least a rheostat to adjust the temperature.

Second... chances are you didn't get a Ball Python, but instead got a Burmese Python. Albino Balls will run about $2,000 and Albino Burms will run about $150. If it is a Burmese, you may want to rethink keeping it. They can get extremely large (over 20 feet) and will require a large enclosure, large food items, multiple people to handle it, etc.

Finally, mouse pinkies are much too small for most pythons, although I'm not familiar with the neonate requirements of the smaller species. You'll want to feed it a mouse or rat equal to the size of the largest diameter of the snake.

Good luck!

Welcome to the site!

does the 'python' look like the snake in this thread?
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=25690

.....If so what you have is a burm, not a ball python.....albino ball pythons sell for $2000+....while albino burms only sell for between 150-300. Since you sound like you have no previous experience with reptiles, I would suggest bringing the python back to the place you got it from and get a 'beginer level' snake to keep such as a ball python or corn snake. Burms can grow in excess of 20' and are not very good pets for beginners or even experienced snake keepers without giant python experience. Here is our caresheet for burms: http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=16

Dang Daniel you beat me to it. Are you sure that its a ball python and not a burmese python. Albino Balls are easily atleast 1500$ and more like 2000$ usually. Albino Burmeses are around 200$-300$. The first thing to do is get rid of the heat rock. They're crap and can and will hurt your snake. Get a UTH. Also leave the tank in one spot, moving the cage all around everyday can be very stressful. You'll also need to purchase a couple of thermometers. The best ones are Acu-rites from walmart. Make sure to get one with a humidity reading. Also i would advise against covering the entire top with a blanket. This would block ventilation and can lead to many problems. If it regurged lately, I would say to let it rest and dont feed for a couple weeks. The best thing to do is read caresheets. This site has a good one and kingsnake.com has a good one too.

First of all, welcome to the forums! Second of all... cut the cord to that hot rock and throw it away! PetCo doesn't know anything, trust me... it's sad how far they will lead you off the path just to make a buck.

There are many other options for heating a cage: an Undertank heater, ceramic bulb heater, or a red heat bulb. I prefer the UTH or ceramic bulbs because heat bulbs will simply dry out your enclsure faster, and you'll have to keep spraying the enclosure down to keep the humidity up.

The enclosure should be 90 degrees on the warm side, 80 degrees on the cool side, and have 50-60% humidty. I would get a thermometer/hygrometer to measure these---you can just leave it in the tank (they sell them fairly cheaply at Wal-mart).

To keep the humidity up in the tank, keep a bowl of water near the heat source, and mist with water bottle as needed.

He probably wasn't eating because he was in shed. If the shed hasn't come all the way off, a good thing to do: fill a rubbermade or sterilite container with luke-cold water halfway up the side of the snake. Put the snake in the container with the lid on for about a half hour. When you get him out, rub the stuck shed with a warm, wet cloth. The shed should come off pretty easily.

If you're going to feed live, don't put in more than one mouse at a time... while he's digesting the one, the other could take a bit out of him! I personally recommend frozen/thawed, but that's just me. Ball pythons can be picky eaters... and you gotta give them what they'll take.

Also, make sure the little guy has two hides, one on the cool side, one on the warmer side... this way he can regulate his temp without having to be insecure.

And, by the way, I'd get him a bigger tank. A rubbermade/sterilite with holes drilled or burned in works well, and is fairly cheap to make. They also hold humidity very well... and you can use newspaper or paper-towel for substrate---just a little time-saving, money-saving thing :) (P.S. beware setting a glass tank out in the sun... the rays through the glass could fry the poor little guy... it acts like a magnifying glass).

I'm sorry for the long post... if you have any other questions, please let us know. This is a great site with lots of info. And BPs are some of the sweetest little snakes... you'll soon love the little guy!

-------Of course, if I had read the post a little closer... this is ALL assuming you do indeed have a Ball python and not a burmese.

Welcome to our site! Please go through our different care sheets to learn more about the snake ur gonna purchase. If it turns out to be an albino burmese, I want you to know what you will be up against. Happy Herping :D

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0030315006.jpg

Milwaukee Public Museum

It sounds like he got a burmese python.http://images.search.yahoo.com/searc...t=587&ei=UTF-8

aww stupid picture:mad:

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Originally Posted by python kid

aww stupid picture:mad:

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ehh, whats so stupid about it?

I think he meant HIS stupid picture, not yours... that's a pretty cool picture there iceman...

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Originally Posted by iceman25

ehh, whats so stupid about it?

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They're not talking about your picture but the one he/she tried to post unsuccessfully.;)

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Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

I think he meant HIS stupid picture, not yours... that's a pretty cool picture there iceman...

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Oh, hehehe, I think I'm the clueless one now :P :D

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

Welcome to the site!

does the 'python' look like the snake in this thread?
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=25690

.....If so what you have is a burm, not a ball python.....albino ball pythons sell for $2000+....while albino burms only sell for between 150-300. Since you sound like you have no previous experience with reptiles, I would suggest bringing the python back to the place you got it from and get a 'beginer level' snake to keep such as a ball python or corn snake. Burms can grow in excess of 20' and are not very good pets for beginners or even experienced snake keepers without giant python experience. Here is our caresheet for burms: http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=16

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Yep, the little guy in the pic looks just like "our little Gizzie". So it's a Burm? Sorry for the confussion, like I said I am clueless.
Thank you for the excellent info.

To everyone who took the time to respond to this thread....THANK YOU.


I now know that I have a "Burm" and not a "Ball", and by the looks of the one in the picture, this little guy is going to get HUGE. Heat Rock.....out of here. I have a "personal heating pad" with 3 temp settings (Low, Med, High). I will put it under the cage (at one end) for the next few days, I have an analog (dial) thermometer in the cage, but I am not sure of it's accuracy, I will invest in a "Good one". I have a lot of work ahead of me, well actually my son has a lot of work ahead of him, I am just ensuring what needs to be done is done and done correctly. I have many "care sheets" printed, some from this forum and from other websites. I am very grateful that a forum such as this exist, thank you all for your help and words of professional wisdom. I will definatley update with status and hopeful some pics, once I get things right.

good luck with your snake! i'd order a couple books on burmese... there's a lot of info out there on them.

also, the funny thing about 'investing in a good thermometer' is that the digital walmart ones are half the price of the analog pet store ones. :)

Wow quite the difference between thinking your son got a deal on a ball python and finding out it is in actuality a burmese python!

I thought I'd show you a picture of the digital thingy from Wal-Mart that will read two temps and humidity for around $11.00. It's not specifically made for reptiles but works beautifully. Glad you tossed that hot rock. We are caring for a columbian boa that was almost badly burned by one and it's not at all nice having 3 feet of tender belly.

Best of luck with the baby burm.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../Accu-Rite.jpg

By the way you'll find these Accu-Rites in the outdoor thermometer/weather station area of hardware at most Wal-Marts. They take a AAA batteries (not included). They default to time, temp, humidity but a few pushes of the button gets you the two temps, humidity option. The probe is actually on a very long thin cord.

~~Jo~~

I'd definately make sure you're up for the responsibility of a burm. That ten gallon won't hold him for long---and is probably too small for him now. You're going to have to invest in a much bigger cage if you decide to keep him (whether you decide to build or buy). You're going to have a snake that will get up to 12-14 ft long (if not longer)---and it's going to do most of that growing in the first year or two. At that size, it will be eating multiple rabbits in one sitting.


I'd think long and hard about keeping the snake. It's a big responsibility with a lot of costs attached for a first snake. If your son really wants a snake, see if you can't trade in the burm for something a little smaller---say a Ball, or corn or kingsnake of some sort.

Hope this helps... please consider the well-being of the snake before all else :)

I didn't read through this whole thing, but I'll just tell you what I think..

Burmese pythons are NOT for the faint of heart. Full grown it will require large rabbits at least, some take pigs! Although, burms are one of the easiest giants to tame.

If you want to try to take care of this animal, I'd advise you to find a reptile vet and get it checked out, also find out the sex, as a male will grow to 10-15', but a female can top 20'!

They can also be 10' long in their first year. An adult will require an 8' cage.

whoa! 10' in there first year! i didn't know that. like i'm always saying... "you learn somethin new everyday"!

Do you think pet shops/dealers should be made to label their 'cute little baby' burm tanks with a sign saying "warning, adult snake may eat alligators". :)

I thought burmese python babies were like 20-25 inches when born.

Nick

They're around that size when born, yes.. but they grow several inches a month.. extremely fast. Now, not all reach 10' by the first year, but even 5' a year is nothing to sneeze at!

i think what he means is that the original poster said the snake was only 14-16" long... then again, it's hard to tell. mine looks like it's about 8-10" but it's actually 13".

another thing is... they live a looooong time!

Ah yeah..

and yeah they easily can live over 20 years.