i got my baby :)

i picked "it" up today. they said they couldn't tell if it was a male or a female because it was to young. here are pics, sorry if are big. i need more things for it to crawl on. i just got back from the store. hes like trying to crawl up the tank and get out. is that normal?

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCF0133.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCF0132.jpg

It look like one! Its a pretty little one! Your nearest herp vet should help. If all else fails give it a unisex name and go to a herp show and get a breeder to sex it for you! :rockon:

a not so accurate way to tell is how long the tail is from its....anal opening.... >_< if its long its a boy if short and stubby its a girl

thanks :) and its tail is long so im guessing is a male.

also i notice little little little tiny white things crawling on it. what is that?

cute royal!
a few things though , looks like the tank is too big for your baby royal also 2 hides of identical size is a must (one on the hot end and the other at the cool end) , i would ditch the stick on thermometer and get a digital one and wire up a heat pad or flex watt to a decent thermostat , hot end should be around 91/92 and cool end around 83/84 humidity around 60%
royals (balls) do better in smaller cages and can stress easily and will lead to non feeding
heres a good care sheet :) hope it helps
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

Edit: im not trying to be a know it all lol (im far from that hehe) just though id give out a little friendlty advice :)

hmm, i asked the guy where i bought it and he said that the tank is ok for it.

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Originally Posted by trumetal96

hmm, i asked the guy where i bought it and he said that the tank is ok for it.

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The place you bought it from also said it was too young to be sexed...which isn't true. They can be sexed at birth ;)

when i first got into royals (balls) i used tanks also and had nothing but trouble with them regarding maintaining correct temps/humidity , i now use tubs , but if your gonna stick with the tank id would cover the back and both sides with a dark paper and fill the tank up with small snug hides , some people use scrunched up balls of newspaper which makes the tank less barren and works a treat , but at least two snug hides of identical size each end of the tank is a must :)
id also leave it be for around 7 days for it to settle in before handling , it helps alot :)

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Originally Posted by trumetal96

also i notice little little little tiny white things crawling on it. what is that?

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Am I the only one that picked up on this?

oops missed that :oops:
not sure as snake mite arnt usally white afaik , could be from the substrate being used??
i would ditch the substrate and switch to newpaper until these things are dealt with

yeah it might be those little woodchip things. so you say i should just use news paper?

its up to you , i personally use newspaper as its easier and cleaner , but the downside is it dosent look as good :)

Doesn't look like you prepared very well for the arrival of your new snake. That snake is not going to thrive well in that huge tank, especially without hides and proper heating/insulation/measurement.

I would go get either a 10 gallon tank(which are for fish, IMHO) or a 15qt sterilite tub. There's plenty of room for 2 small hides, a water bowl, and newspaper. You definitely need a digital thermometer, an undertank heater if you don't already have one, and a quality thermostat.

i already have an undertank heater. and i know i need to get some hides for it.

Yes, but do you have a quality thermostat to prevent your undertank heater from failing and burning your snake? Do you have a digital thermometer to measure the temps and humidity? Is your screen top covered with a sheet of plexiglas or saran wrap/foil to prevent heat and humidity from escaping?

Having everything set up and running before you buy your snake would have been the responsible thing to do. It would have saved your snake alot of stress and possibly illness had you done that beforehand.

Oh, and get a can of Provent A Mite just in case your snake has mites(white crawlies you are describing are probably from the cypress, but it's always a good idea to pre-treat).

im going back to the store now. heres what i am, or supposevly am getting.

digital thermometer
provent a mite
some hides


also what is a quality thermometer? the aluminum foil is going to have to wait for like a day.

ThermoSTAT. You need one to control your undertank heater. Heater plugs into it, thermostat plugs into wall, you set the temp, and it keeps your temperatures in the enclosure within range. Prevents it from overheating and burning your snake, or causing a fire.

www.reptilebasics.com

ok, i got the stuff i needed. i went there and got 2 hides, i ditched the big rock that was in the cage. as soon as i put the hides in he went in them. as for the thermometer, the snake guy at the store told me a non digital one is fine, just leave it in its pack and put it by the heat pad inside the tank.
for the male/female, he said the other person didnt know what he was talking about, he said they can be told but it is harder when they are smaller. so i just said i will wait until its a bit bigger. here is the new tank.

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/7978/dscf0132zf7.jpg

I still strongly recommend a digital thermometer / hygrometer. Go to walmart and buy one, they cost 11 bucks, and have a probe for the hot spot. 88-92, and ambient should be at 80-82. The humidity should always be at 55-60 percent, and 70-75 percent for shed.

If the person at the store talked you out of a digital one, he doesn't know what he's talking about, and I would stop asking for advice from them. They very much contradict the husbandry requirements as said by many experienced keepers here.

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Originally Posted by trumetal96

as for the thermometer, the snake guy at the store told me a non digital one is fine, just leave it in its pack and put it by the heat pad inside the tank.

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The "snake guy" at the pet store was wrong. You still need to get a digital thermometer/hygrometer. You can get one like the one below at Walmart for $12.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...mageloader.gif


But kudos to you for going out and getting some more hides!

Anyone got the sticky to glass tank set up? I forget where its at, help this guy out.
Ah, I found it
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=32800

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I still strongly recommend a digital thermometer / hygrometer. Go to walmart and buy one, they cost 11 bucks, and have a probe for the hot spot. 88-92, and ambient should be at 80-82. The humidity should always be at 55-60 percent, and 70-75 percent for shed.

If the person at the store talked you out of a digital one, he doesn't know what he's talking about, and I would stop asking for advice from them. They very much contradict the husbandry requirements as said by many experienced keepers here.

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I'm always amazed at what horrible advise pet store employees will give. Get the digital thermometer/hygrometer from Lowe's or Wal-Mart. It's so much easier and it takes the guess work out of it. All it takes is a quick glance as your walking buy and you know whats going on. You don't have to bend down, squint, and pary its accurate. My eye site isn't bad I just added the "squint" for affect. :)

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Originally Posted by Royalherper

I'm always amazed at what horrible advise pet store employees will give. :)

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Oh Gosh, ain't that the truth. My local pet shop carries reptiles. No UVB on the bearded dragons, dirty tanks for turtles, snakes in cramped quarters, the list goes on. Bought some rodents there and the new corn snake babies I got got sick: one had runny bum and the other did a regurge. Freezer burnt I think.

I have only found ONE pet shop who knew reptiles and now will only go there regarding my snakes.

ok thanks. yeah we realized they didnt know much of what they were talking about. we are solving all of this tomorrow. i still dont know what these little white things are.

EDIT: my snake like loves his hide, hes in it all the time, is it normal?

it is normal bUt what is the size of the enclosure?

if it is 3ft then it is too big for the baby bp

you could try puting a guard of some sort through the middle to make the enclosure smaller but i dont know if it would work any help ? :confused:
:D :) :P

Yes, ball pythons are very shy creatures. He's going to spend about 90% of his time in those hides, especially since he is in a new place and scared. Once you get all the stuff you need for your cage, just let the little guy settle in for a week, with no handleing or anything. That will allow him to get used to his new home, and make sure he is'nt all stressed out. For most balls, if they are out and roaming around all of the time, they are stressed and looking for a place to hide, so if he's using those, it's a good sign ^_^

yeah, a person there that actually knew what he was talking about came down to my house because the snake got a tiny woodchip stuck in the back of his mouth from the bedding and he was spazzing. he got it out with a q-tip.
he/she is still a little shaky, the guy said its probably just sore so let it rest for a couple of days without handling it.

how did he get the wood chip in his mouth? while eating?

im not really sure, it might of just got it stuck in there.

Okay if those bugs are from the bedding, toss the bedding you currently have in the tank and replace it with multiple layers of Viva paper towels. These are a very cloth like quality pure white paper towel you can find in just about any grocery store for under $2.00. Then you can easily see if anything else crawls off this snake and also easily collect a fecal sample when and if you need one.

The rest of the cypress, before you use it, should be baked though personally if I had seen evidence of bugs in it, I'd toss it and go with something like a nice fine shred aspen or a mix of aspen and baked cypress.

That tank has a lot of open space and will leave the snake feeling very exposed and spazzy. You can add in more cage furniture like fake vines (make sure to cut off any hanging loops and check for exposed wires), more hides, etc. You can also cover the outside of the back and sides of the tank with some black paper or decorative tank backing to give the snake more privacy. These are very shy, very nocturnal snakes that don't do well as a display type snake.

Get an Acu-Rite (about $10 plus a AAA battery). Those dial things are pure crap, I don't care what the pet store instant-expert said, they've been proven to be up to 10 degrees off which is not okay for a snake. Also, the whole sexing thing...snakes can be sexed by probing or popping at any age. A herp vet, breeder or experienced hobbyist knows this....your pet store person apparently does not. They also should have sold you two identical hides. If they knew anything about ball pythons they'd know that they can pick a hide they like and refuse to thermoregulate and use the other hide because it isn't the same.

Sadly, you'll learn as you keep snakes that most pet stores - with the exception of a very few excellent ones - know squat about snakes and will either tell you the wrong stuff or sell you things that are just basically a waste of your cash. Oh and they will tell you "the people on snake forums don't know anything". Tell them from me and my 21 happy, healthy snakes...they can kiss our butts. LOL

the little things were from the bedding, he treated the bedding and i haven't seen them since. right now i have 2 hides in them, and a water bowl. i have a desert like background for the back of the tank. those little white things that we found, they said they would not harm the snake just to let us know that they werent anything bad.