My Ball python is a fatass! pics inside.

Alright so I had this guy for about 2 and a half weeks he is a 100% het for orange ghost. Everything is setup nicely.. I have him set up in a 20 long on aspen bedding, with a water bowl In the middle, a cold side log to hide in and a warm side bowl to hide in. The warm side averages about 92 degree, cool side about 76. Humidity is around 50. The snake seems very happy and very playful. Not aggresive at all and very calm. He is in shed right now. Well coming down to my question... In this 2 and a half weeks That I have had him... he already ate 6 mice! Every body is saying feed him a mouse a week, but I dont want to starve him especially in this important stage in his life that is most crucial to his growth. He is about 8 months now the breeder said. I fed him a mouse yesterday and offered him another today and he dint hesitate for more than a second to snap at it. Would feeding him every 3-4 days instead of every week be acceptable as well, or should I offer him mice in shorter times and see if he takes em? I was under the impression ball pythons are finicky eaters... I guess this is not the case with mine!

try to bump up the cool side temp to 80 deg. watch it closer in the winter too! just because the snake will eat daily, doesn't mean you should do it. imo, snakes need time to digest their meals fully and live without a constant full belly. you could try to feed multiple rodents once a week? and give the rest of the week to digest. i've had good successs and growth using this method.


vaughn

where are the pics??

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00026.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00035.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00039.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00040.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00022.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00027.jpg

Wow, you're right, he is a fat one! And very pretty :)
I really like the pattern on his head a LOT.

yea the pattern on his head is pretty sweet, I will take and post a pic of a better shot of him, sorry guys he is in shed right now so he doesnt look so great, but for a ghost het non-morph snake I think his color is pretty nice. I picked him up at a reptile swap for $120 bux.

Ah; I would work on getting that shed off of him! It really is not that hard; I had a female who came to me with worsely retained shed than yours has; I shut her in a Rubbermaid container for an hour or so with wet sphagnum moss and I had misted the inside of it with warm water; when I took her out, the skin peeled off in my hands. Since you did just feed him, I would wait at least 48 hours before attempting that thouhg; ideally you should have removed it after a settling-in period but before a feeding. I am sorry if it seems like I am jumping down your throat; just offering advice :)
Nice snake though; I too love the spot on his head.

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

Ah; I would work on getting that shed off of him! It really is not that hard; I had a female who came to me with worsely retained shed than yours has; I shut her in a Rubbermaid container for an hour or so with wet sphagnum moss and I had misted the inside of it with warm water; when I took her out, the skin peeled off in my hands. Since you did just feed him, I would wait at least 48 hours before attempting that thouhg; ideally you should have removed it after a settling-in period but before a feeding. I am sorry if it seems like I am jumping down your throat; just offering advice :)
Nice snake though; I too love the spot on his head.

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I put moist paper towels in his hot side hide for the past 3 days and I have been giving him warm baths every day for 3 days for 5 min at time. It got most of it off but just some on his neck and top front. Im going to go to the petstore and buy that shed aid stuff if it doesnt come off within a few days....

try filling the sink with water and let him swim around for a few mins. then let him squirm through your fingers and it should easily peel off on its own.

see if that works for you. thats what i do.
just trying to help!

julian

I will try to do that... Here are some more pix and btw his name is Jigsaw:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00055.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00053.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00052.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00051.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00047.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00046.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00043.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/DSC00042.jpg

Not to start &%*#, but you are overfeeding him because looking at his size 2 mice in one sitting only once a week should do fine. Think of your snake in the wild, K, do you honestly think that all he has to do is lay in a hole and every three days a bunch of mice come in and say "hey free meal all snakes in the hole come eat us." Go to the library instead of the "internet" , and maybe umm I don't know read some books by professionals. If you're not willing to do that for your snake, gim him to someone that will.

ummm, he did come here and get some good advice. the same internet place you are posting on! a little harsh wording don't you think?



vaughn

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Originally Posted by FPaul702

Not to start &%*#, but you are overfeeding him because looking at his size 2 mice in one sitting only once a week should do fine. Think of your snake in the wild, K, do you honestly think that all he has to do is lay in a hole and every three days a bunch of mice come in and say "hey free meal all snakes in the hole come eat us." Go to the library instead of the "internet" , and maybe umm I don't know read some books by professionals. If you're not willing to do that for your snake, gim him to someone that will.

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Easy there. The snake looks to be a good size. People will be much more receptive to your advice if you don't pound them with it. ;) As for the library, I wouldn't imagine a wealth of knowledge there. Most of that information will be outdated. The internet is a great way to pick the brains of people who have had these animals for years and years.

I agree that after your 48 hours of no touching after a meal, I'd soak in tepid water for 1 hour. Then it should be a piece of cake to remove the remaining shed. Good luck.

Let's all play nice. :grouphug:

My apologies, truly, I just got a tooth pulled today and I'm in a crappy mood.

I think truly though that he should've at least asked the previous owner the snakes feeding schedule or something before he just went and bought it you know?

Everyone makes mistakes. You'll accomplish much more by pointing out husbandry errors, than launching and attack. ;)

Sorry to hear about the tooth. I hope you feel better.

and another thing.... Lorcets aren't as good as Lortabs....lol

You're overfeeding that snake and you're going to get kicked in the balls (pythons) for it later.

1 adult mouse a week is more than enough for an 8 month old male ball python. If you continue feeding like you are, he'll start refusing food before long and then you'll be posting wondering why your snake that used to be such a good eater will no longer eat for you.

-adam

He looks a bit overweight...unless his belly is swollen with a freshly swallowed mouse. If that's the case, he should be resting in his enclosure, not being photographed and handled.

He looks like he's having a hard time shedding. Perhaps you should try switching your substrate to something that handles humidity better...like cypress or coconut husk. Or when you notice he's turned blue, make a humid hide for him and put it in the enclosure. I do that for all of mine and they all shed perfectly in one piece.

Cute little guy!

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Originally Posted by JenHarrison

He looks a bit overweight.

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Actually, he doesn't look "overweight", he just looks overfed. Once he digests the food in his stomach, he'll have a normal healthy appearance.

-adam

Also it looks as if you are feeding live. The reason I noticed this was because the mouse has his leg in one shot pushing on the snakes side/back. I'd switch to f/t'd mice they will be alot better for him in the long run health wise as far as parasites and injurys.

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Originally Posted by Shadrach

I'd switch to f/t'd mice they will be alot better for him in the long run health wise as far as parasites and injurys.

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Not true.

Freezing is not a 100% effective method for killing parasites. Also, feeding live, when done responsibly under close supervision is just as safe as feeding F/T or P/K ... I feed well over 250 live rodents every single week to my colony of ball pythons and have been doing so for 10+ years ... so that's ...

250 live rodents per week X 52 weeks in a year X 10 years = 130,000+ live feedings

... and I've never had a single bite, scratch, cut, or "injury".

There are some great threads on this site that cover the "truth" about live feeding and dispell all the myths ... the search function at the top can help get you started.

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with P/K or F/T, they are both also equally effective feeding methods ... my only point is that there is nothing wrong with feeding live if done properly ... my collection is proof.

-adam

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Originally Posted by Shadrach

Also it looks as if you are feeding live. The reason I noticed this was because the mouse has his leg in one shot pushing on the snakes side/back. I'd switch to f/t'd mice they will be alot better for him in the long run health wise as far as parasites and injurys.

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Sorry f/t isn't for everybody I feed live and have never injured one of my snake's.One more thing rodent's do not pass parasite's to reptile's.Now getting back to the thread you should feed one appropriately sized prey item and he'll be great and big in no time.If I were you though I would be going crazy with that bad shed , take everyone's advise to get that taken care of Good luck Buddy.

Yea, I would feed frozen, but to be honest with you I dont really feel like keeping frozen rodents in the same freezer I keep the food I eat and I also dont feel like waiting for those stupid things to unthaw, and then risking the snake refusing it cuz its not a right temperature, its more simple to just give him a live one and have him take care of it, That is one of the joys of having a ball; its watching it hunt and do what it would do in the wild. Anyhows, Yea he is fat because he prolly has about 3 mice in him he didnt poo out yet lol. I will raise my feeding period to every 4 days and see how it goes. He does have a humid hide right now, I put moist paper towels in his warm side hide box and the humidity is up to about 60ish. All of his shed is almost off now, it should be completely gone within a day or two. thanks for everyones comments and insight. I Plan on buying a female orange ghost ball python soon and will be breeding him to her in hopes of two 100% hets and two orange ghosts.

I feed live; there used to be a pretty big taboo against it, but I think that the admission of several breeders has nixed the stigma. I always closely supervise though, until the rodent is definately dead; I know how they can twist their necks round and bite a snake trying to kill them.

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Originally Posted by xnitromethx

...I will raise my feeding period to every 4 days and see how it goes...

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Once a week is plenty. Why do you feel like you need to feed so frequently?

I feed live as well. I've never had a problem, but I still stand by and watch just in case. I hate f/t rodents...it's gross to have them thawing in my sink, plus the blood that starts coming out of their noses as they warm up is nasty. And they reek. :O Plus the main reason I prefer live is because I can control what they eat prior to becoming food themselves...I like to give them fresh veggies, fruits, and grains in addition to their rodent diet.

It's all a matter of what the keeper prefers and what is easiest. :)

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Originally Posted by JLC

Once a week is plenty. Why do you feel like you need to feed so frequently?

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because I dont want to risk malnourishing him and I think a little more is better than too little; I dont want to stunt his growth. Also sometimes the mice I feed him are very small; the female ones at petco are very small compared to the male ones. Many people suggest that feeding him two small mice every week is better than feeding him one large mouse every week because it is easier for him to digest two smaller ones than one large one.

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Originally Posted by JenHarrison

I feed live as well. I've never had a problem, but I still stand by and watch just in case. I hate f/t rodents...it's gross to have them thawing in my sink, plus the blood that starts coming out of their noses as they warm up is nasty. And they reek. :O Plus the main reason I prefer live is because I can control what they eat prior to becoming food themselves...I like to give them fresh veggies, fruits, and grains in addition to their rodent diet.

It's all a matter of what the keeper prefers and what is easiest. :)

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I am also enjoying feeding my rat's all type's of food.I have a buddy who laughed at me and said to just do the dog food thing.Nah that's not me I'll give them some of the good stuff mixed with some dog food.I'll alway's take care of them as long as they give me what I need.

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because I dont want to risk malnourishing him and I think a little more is better than too little; I dont want to stunt his growth.

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Actually...less is more when it comes to ball pythons. I've got a couple nice sized girls, 2000+ grams, that eat just one or two small rats every 7 days. Since I switched to a lighter feeding schedule, everyone has eaten more consistently and as a result, I've observed greater growth over time. A ball python that eats more consistently grows faster than a bp that eats bigger items then takes breaks as a result.

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Originally Posted by xnitromethx

because I dont want to risk malnourishing him and I think a little more is better than too little; I dont want to stunt his growth. Also sometimes the mice I feed him are very small; the female ones at petco are very small compared to the male ones. Many people suggest that feeding him two small mice every week is better than feeding him one large mouse every week because it is easier for him to digest two smaller ones than one large one.

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Perhaps you misunderstood that they meant two small mouse per week at one feeding session (in the case of the mice being very undersized or something)? There's no reason to feed more frequently than once per week for a chubby 8 month old like that. Remember he uses up a LOT of resources to digest so it's going to stress him to be in and out of digestion every few days instead of once per week.

Don't worry about malnourishing him. He's obviously NOT thin and in the wild he would certainly not be eating anywhere near the volume of prey he's enjoying in captivity. BP's won't allow you to make them obese...they will simply stop eating and you don't want to deal with a fasting snake if you don't have to.

Live feeding, frozen/thawed or pre-killed...it comes down to what method you are best able to do and are happy with...but more importantly what the snake will take with a consistent, aggressive feeding response.

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Originally Posted by xnitromethx

because I dont want to risk malnourishing him and I think a little more is better than too little

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No, actually, a little less is better than too much ... ball pythons have extremely slow metabolisms and have evolved to be able to go long periods of time without food and be perfectly healthy ... in the wild, I'd be surprised if they ate 12 times a year ... after all, catching a live rodent without the use of arms and legs is no easy feat ... the majority of ball pythons in captivity (like yours) are way over fed ... once a week is MORE than enough for your snake.

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

ball pythons have extremely slow metabolisms and have evolved to be able to go long periods of time without food and be perfectly healthy -adam

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I bought an adult female last year that was supposedly LTC and eating. Well she hadn't eaten in 55 weeks, and just started eating again three weeks ago. I am now thinking that she was probably WC. The other two females that came in with her have been eating fine ever since I gat them, and have both put on about 400 to 500 grams. She has taken 3 mice a week for the last three weeks, and looks to be getting a little weight put on. She does look pretty thin, but has never looked weak. They are amazing animals.