Wc ?

hi i have WC female ball that has been with since sept. she has yet to eat .she weighs 1000+ grams. any help would be welcome.:snake:

you snake hasnt eaten since september? wow that seems like a terribly long time.. where did you acquire her from, if shes WC might she be rejecting living in captivity. what do you do at that point

strictly reptlies in FL

ouch... are you a wholesaler? how did you even get in there to get it? We have been there before but we had to go with someone. that can be part of your problem. they are known for getting from everyone under the sun, i wouldnt buy an animal from strictly's even if it meant i couldnt have the species... i hope you can get her to eat.. thats a long time (IMO) to not have anything in her belly..

do you know how long they had it before you got it?
did it eat before you got it?
has she lost alot of weight?

Are you a wholesaler? no i used work for with animal sanctury
do you know how long they had it before you got it? they said she just came in
did it eat before you got it? dont know
has she lost alot of weight? not really

Might be a stupid question, but have you tried gerbils, hamsters, and ASFs?

I'd suggest trying African Soft Furred rats if you can't get her to feed on anything else.

yes and yes

Do you have a copy of the Barker's book? They address WC's and how many of them have what they call LONHS (Lights On, Nobody's Home Syndrome) that many WC go through and how they acclimate them to get them to start eating.

nope not yet but if i need to get it to keep her alive i will

The Barkers do not have a good out look on imports at all.
The advise in the book is not the best, and judging from there success on breeding imported animals, it is not there strong point.

The best way to get a import to feed is to set it up in a dark rack system on cypress mulch with a ambient temp of 84*-86* and leave them along for 3-4 weeks. Give her water and other than that leave her be.
After 3-4 weeks offer a small live rat late at night, put a few lab blocks( for the rat to eat so it doesn't chew on the snake) and leave the room. Check back in a few hours or in the early am, (remember the rat has food) and the rat should be gone. If not let her go a few more weeks and try again. During this time do not bother the snake at all, fresh water that is it, do not handle her. After a few tries she should start feeding. The biggest problem people have with w.c balls is the set up. You cannot keep them in a freedom breeder on newspaper and offer f/k rats or they will never feed/breed. A dark small box in a rack system with cypress mulch and a few weeks off time with small live rats at night and every imported female we have set up has fed without problems. A lot of the females we have sold have breed the following year too, not all but a lot have so the 3-5 year time frame is bull.

Good luck with her and let her settle in on her own time. If your looking for more info on how to acclimate w.c females Ron Billingsly has a good article on imports that is a lot better than vpi's book.( Other than their w.c. info is a great book, but the w.c section is terrible)

Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by jnjreptiles

The Barkers do not have a good out look on imports at all.
The advise in the book is not the best, and judging from there success on breeding imported animals, it is not there strong point.

The best way to get a import to feed is to set it up in a dark rack system on cypress mulch with a ambient temp of 84*-86* and leave them along for 3-4 weeks. Give her water and other than that leave her be.
After 3-4 weeks offer a small live rat late at night, put a few lab blocks( for the rat to eat so it doesn't chew on the snake) and leave the room. Check back in a few hours or in the early am, (remember the rat has food) and the rat should be gone. If not let her go a few more weeks and try again. During this time do not bother the snake at all, fresh water that is it, do not handle her. After a few tries she should start feeding. The biggest problem people have with w.c balls is the set up. You cannot keep them in a freedom breeder on newspaper and offer f/k rats or they will never feed/breed. A dark small box in a rack system with cypress mulch and a few weeks off time with small live rats at night and every imported female we have set up has fed without problems. A lot of the females we have sold have breed the following year too, not all but a lot have so the 3-5 year time frame is bull.

Good luck with her and let her settle in on her own time. If your looking for more info on how to acclimate w.c females Ron Billingsly has a good article on imports that is a lot better than vpi's book.( Other than their w.c. info is a great book, but the w.c section is terrible)

Hope this helps.

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Have you ever produced one egg? Not from a wc. But have you actually bred ball pythons and produced eggs? Not trying to start anything, Just wondering out loud as usual..

We bred pastels a few years ago, and sold the group before the females laid.
Our business has always done well buying and selling large quantities of high quality animals, but we are breeding some balls, boas, and rainbow boas too.

We have a bummble bee ( my 5 year old sons snake) and some unproven odd ball males ( sable type, honey cinnamon, black pied, etc) breeding a bunch of female right now. Should have 5 - 10 clutches this year. Breeding has never been a big concern as up until this season we never had the room but we are looking forward to getting in on some cutting edge projects next year .

Should be working with black pastel ghost , Ivories, hypo bumble bee's and some other interesting combo's next year, and of course the sub Sahara projects.

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Originally Posted by jnjreptiles

If your looking for more info on how to acclimate w.c females Ron Billingsly has a good article on imports

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Do you have a link to that article? Or where does one get it?

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Originally Posted by kc261

Do you have a link to that article? Or where does one get it?

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Go to kingsnake.com and search for the name Thebigsquease

Now as to the Barkers not being able to breed WC animals, why are they credited with the first breeding of so many difficult species and morphs of more common ones? If your referring to the burgundy albino, I suggest a closer look at how many animals they have actually gotten WC and bred.

I have a WC, although the Billingsley method did not work for me, it does not mean it hasn't worked many times before. I started the Barkers method and my WC girl immediately ate within 2 weeks. We followed many suggestions for our WC girl for months and got no where with it. Try different things, but really think about how her security is, and the husbandry. I agree with Ron when he says that the reason they wont eat is 90% husbandry problems.

To the OP, there are many different ways to get them to feed, and not one way is right or wrong. If you give us an idea of your setup, and how often you handle, peek at, offer food etc. Any information will help us narrow down what you have done and what else we can offer.

Ok right now i have her in vision cage thats 28"W x 24"L x 24"H
she care fresh for substrate ,hide ,corkbark 3pcs ,water tub with inch of water, one heat pad thats at 95 degrees on 24/7,and lite that turn on in the day time. check on her every day but dont touch or pick her often.:) thank u any help welcome

If you change her set up to the following she will feed. Otherwise it will be a lot hard acclimation period.

Blanket box/ rack system - even if you have to put her in a 28quart sterilite from walmart with a heat pad set on a thermostat.

No light- it will just stress her even more.

Cypress mulch- it hold humidity better and is more natural, something about it just makes them happier.

Leave her alone - check on her once a week. Even peaking in is stressful she needs to feel alone and by herself to be comfortable enough to feed.

Not trying to be critical but if you follow those guide lines she will feed!

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Originally Posted by ozzypython

Ok right now i have her in vision cage thats 28"W x 24"L x 24"H
she care fresh for substrate ,hide ,corkbark 3pcs ,water tub with inch of water, one heat pad thats at 95 degrees on 24/7,and lite that turn on in the day time. check on her every day but dont touch or pick her often.:) thank u any help welcome

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95 degrees is kind of high for a 24/7 temp, how does that keep the ambient temps throughout the night?

between 80- 85 give or take

Suffice it to say-when in doubt or when there is a conflict in advice from different sources.......

BELIEVE THE BARKERS!

(And buy their book:gj: )

They will even tell you they haven't been very active on dealing with imports for 15 years so they are not the bottom line answer some people think, with c.b / and breeding maybe but imports not so much.

is the snake in good health? i know larger snakes can go aslong a 6 + mounths with out eating.&still be healthy. you could play with the tank temp. lower it in the night and drop the rat in.

For what its worth here is my recommendation. Though I am in no way an expert at it I have been able to get more then 10 WC girls setup and eating.

You have to replicate a WC's natural setup. So that means dark, moist and quiet. A small dark tub works best (big enough for them, a water dish and a small amount of floor space - mine can crawl around their water dish that is it), cypress (I keep my humidity levels at 60-65% till they eat a few times) Larger water dish (helps with the humidity - and for some reason they seem to soak more then CB animals). Temps in the upper 80's ambient. Once setup leave them alone - check the water daily but unless it is empty (or they pooped in it) don't mess with it (a little cypress in it won't hurt them). Wait several weeks then try a small rat/mouse (live). If they don't eat wait another 3 or so weeks try again...repeat till they eat. I had one girl go 13 months before she ate with no adverse issues so 6 months is nothing for a WC provided she isn't losing weight.

Oh...WC's are notorious for having ticks so you need to go over her with a fine tooth comb. It is my experience that even one will keep them from eating.

Hope this helps
Sean

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Originally Posted by jnjreptiles

They will even tell you they haven't been very active on dealing with imports for 15 years so they are not the bottom line answer some people think, with c.b / and breeding maybe but imports not so much.

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Let's see-that "15 years" takes us back to the mid 90s. Yet the Barkers (and, I might add, myself-obtained my first wc ball in 1977) have been working with wc since the 70s. So I'd say they still have far more experience than almost anyone else. Their advice in this case is sound.

Dave and Tracy will also tell you that the trade in wc ADULT balls is unsustainable, and should not be supported by U.S. herpers.

Finally, to me the advice of those who profit from wc animals is suspect. Of course it is in their best financial interest to minimize the considerable problems involved. Sorry, but that's my opinion after dealing with wc animals and their suppliers (both as a retailer and hobbyist) for three decades.

Yes, we should help those who already have wild caughts care for them properly-but we should strongly discourage anyone else from buying them.

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Originally Posted by BChambers

Let's see-that "15 years" takes us back to the mid 90s. Yet the Barkers (and, I might add, myself-obtained my first wc ball in 1977) have been working with wc since the 70s. So I'd say they still have far more experience than almost anyone else. Their advice in this case is sound.

Dave and Tracy will also tell you that the trade in wc ADULT balls is unsustainable, and should not be supported by U.S. herpers.

Finally, to me the advice of those who profit from wc animals is suspect. Of course it is in their best financial interest to minimize the considerable problems involved. Sorry, but that's my opinion after dealing with wc animals and their suppliers (both as a retailer and hobbyist) for three decades.

Yes, we should help those who already have wild caughts care for them properly-but we should strongly discourage anyone else from buying them.

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I agree, in the old days thats all you could get. Nowadays everyone is breeding BP's, ne need to deal with WC anymore.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BChambers

Yes, we should help those who already have wild caughts care for them properly-but we should strongly discourage anyone else from buying them.

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I agree...WC take a lot of work and require a very specific and dedicated setup/care to thrive. Stick to CB :gj:

ok she is in shed now. shuold i wait till she sheds to put her in the tub or set her up asap?

The sooner you get the snake set up, quiet and stable, the better. I would definitely set it up now, then leave it as undisturbed as possible.