Help with baby? no flames please

Hello everyone. I am new..

Heres a little back round.

My brother has FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) I adopted him and take care of him, even though he is older then i am.

Well twice a month he goes to a group for disabled adults, its kinda like play time for disabled people.

Anyways we dropped him off like normal, and when we go to pick him up, he has a baby ball python, I guess one of the mothers thought it would be a good idea to give away her baby pythons?

Well I always wanted a snake, my mom had a boa when I was growing up, but I never got too involved with it, because she wouldn't let me.

So after the initial shock and rage wore of that this A**hat of a women was just handing out baby snakes to whoever, not knowing if they could care for them. I googled and stuff, got him a 20 gallon tank, heating pads and a heat lamp, and a hideaway. bathing pool and water dish.

Hes pretty tiny, and she never told my brother the last time the snake ate, just that he ate frozen pinkies, well I got some of those, took him out to eat, and nothing, he just plows over it to investigate stuff.

The thickest part of him seems to be as thick as my thumb so I am guessing a pinkie a week isn't enough for him? maybe he should be on fuzzies? will feeding live tempt him more to eat?


Please don't flame the ?s, I know people who are not ready for a snake shouldn't have a snake, but we are eager to learn, and willing to do what we have to do.


I do think he is pooping, its not really a poop looking thing though, just brown streaks on the flooring of his tank.

Here is a picture of Juno the snake.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...omany/Juno.jpg

Nah...no flames here!

Looks like a really pretty little baby based on what we can see in the picture. I think a hopper-sized mouse would be good. A pinky is definitely too small.

After the trauma it has been through being transported however this person transported them...handed around to strangers...carried home to your house....put into a new home eventually.....he may not eat for awhile.

Check out our caresheet:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

Make sure your temps are stable and well controlled (don't want any burned bellies!)....and then just leave him alone for at least a week. Then try feeding again. If he refuses...give him another week of alone-time before trying again.

Good luck! And don't hesitate to share more pics and ask as many questions as you need to to get comfortable with it all.

Hi,

Well lets see if we can help you get things set up for the lil guy.

Have a look at our caresheet - it should give you some good ideas and possibly help refine any questions you have as well.

I would get the enclosure dialed in right before worrying about the feeding as long as he is not losing a lot of weight or anything like that - it shouldn't take long.

Pay particular attention to the line about getting a good digital thermometer with probe as that is going to be the most important tool in getting everything set right.

It's also important to make sure the heatmat isn't getting too warm at the moment as they can get burned with some makes uncontrolled.

**edit**

Lol Judy types faster than I do :bow:

**end edit**


dr del

I didn't know anything about snakes when I got my first one either. :rolleye2:
You are already pointed in the right direction. Be patient with feeding.

You don't have to worry about people "flaming" you lol. Not around here. You rescued the little guy! I agree with Judy, he'll probably need some time to settle in and get comfortable before he will eat for you. In the mean time just make sure that you read and follow the advice on the care sheets available and do a little browsing around this site!

He's in good hands now :gj:

Welcome to ball Python Parenting! This site is awesome for you to learn and grow! I would say that if your ball was actually pooping you would know... they look like little logs and smell! Snakes poop and they have urates which look like little white hardish blobs sometimes they are yellow and have liquid with it that smells of ammonia.

just so you know when I click on both of your links it tells me invalid article, I will look around and find it though :) thanks a bunch for welcoming me and for not yelling at me for keeping him lol.

I am super nervous now about the temperature.. if i mess it up is he going to croak on me? I hope not, hes super cute.

On one side we have the heat lamp on medium and its shining down on the cage, not in it, the temp gauge says 85 and the other side the sticky thermometer says 79.. is that way too low for him?

also he won't go into his hideout, he is like, underneath his substrate.. is that normal?

i hope you don't mind the ?s You all rock :bow:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gsx2ts4u

just so you know when I click on both of your links it tells me invalid article, I will look around and find it though :) thanks a bunch for welcoming me and for not yelling at me for keeping him lol.

I am super nervous now about the temperature.. if i mess it up is he going to croak on me? I hope not, hes super cute.

On one side we have the heat lamp on medium and its shining down on the cage, not in it, the temp gauge says 85 and the other side the sticky thermometer says 79.. is that way too low for him?

also he won't go into his hideout, he is like, underneath his substrate.. is that normal?

i hope you don't mind the ?s You all rock :bow:

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85 is on the low side of what you'd want the warm side to be at. What kind of thermometer are you using? Like was said before one of the best tools you can have is a digital thermometer/hygrometer with a probe. You can usually find the Accurite brand at Wal-mart for 10-12 dollars and they work great.
He may just be under the substrate because he is still feeling insecure and learning his way around his new environment plus it might let him get closer to the under tank heater.

You normally want the warm side temps to be between 91-93 and cool side temps between 80 and 85.

Oops! Sorry about the link...I need to update my bookmarks. Try this one:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

BP's are hardy little critters, so he'll be OK while you get the temps dialed in. Our biggest concern is an unregulated heating mat getting too hot and burning their belly. A simple rheostat (dimmer switch) that you would plug a table-lamp into will work to control a mat until you can get a reliable thermostat.

No worries about the hide. It can take them several days to explore their new home and figure out that the sweet little cave isn't going to be claimed by a critter with bigger teeth. :P And some snakes just like to curl up under paper, no matter how nice their hides are.

sweet I will be headed to walmart tomorrow for a new therometer.

I think he will be ok tonight, i did move the tank and feel under it, and it just feels warm, not hot, not even super warm. I am wondering if the mat is giving out enough heat?

anyways Thanks a bunch for all the info and here is another picture of the new baby as a thank you!
Juno
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...many/juno3.jpg

sorry the pictures are dark, i am using my blackberry lol



Hes way cooler then my dogs, thats for sure.

Boy I hope you did have a talk with whoever runs this group though. That's really rotten to basically dump your unwanted baby snakes like that. :mad:

My only comment to add would be to make sure whatever you are housing your little ball python in is escape proof. These snakes can take advantage of some pretty small give in an enclosure lid so make sure that the lid is on very tight. If you need help with ideas for that, just let us know.

It will get easier and you'll get more confident with the little BP and it's care. :)

man if you could get a better pic that would be great. I cant tell from the pic but he/she looks gorgeous. Looks very reduced Heck if you dont want him I will take him. :gj:

LOL Of course I want him lol I just think it was a crummy way of giving away your snakes,

hey lets go down to the disabled group and let them take home a snake!


He is cute, I will get a better pic I promise! I just don't want to pester him too much!

Please follow the care sheet. Also there are some great threads of cage info.

Please please please please PLEASE! I can not strees this enough follow these peoples instruction and you will have a safe happy healthy snake.

You can go all out like I did and spend over $500 on a cage for one snake or follow these peoples instructions and you can have a very nice cage for your snake for less than $150 with thermostat and all.

lol fortunately I have a tank we went out and got a 20 gallon on for now until he is bigger, if he ever needs a bigger one.

But the carpenter in the family is looking up plans to build one..(oh crap).


the family is really getting into this snake thing, we are expanding our minds lol Learning loads (mostly from you all thank you!).

You all rock seriously. I am a little in love with you all now.

Who knows maybe when I get old, I won't be a crazy cat lady, Ill be a crazy snake lady?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gsx2ts4u

You all rock seriously. I am a little in love with you all now.

Who knows maybe when I get old, I won't be a crazy cat lady, Ill be a crazy snake lady?

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LOL, yeah it becomes an addiction :D. I got my first BP at the beginning of this year and I'm already up to 6 :gj: And bp.net rocks hard I would never have been able to do as well with my first snake without the ppl here.:bow:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gsx2ts4u

lol fortunately I have a tank we went out and got a 20 gallon on for now until he is bigger, if he ever needs a bigger one.

But the carpenter in the family is looking up plans to build one..(oh crap).


the family is really getting into this snake thing, we are expanding our minds lol Learning loads (mostly from you all thank you!).

You all rock seriously. I am a little in love with you all now.

Who knows maybe when I get old, I won't be a crazy cat lady, Ill be a crazy snake lady?

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OMG we can be crazy old snake ladies together!!! You don't have to be shy! We love questions because we love helping out people. The more questions you ask, the more you will learn, the more you learn the better your experiances with your snake will be! :gj: your pretty cool too! I'm glad you didn't just abandon him... Your the one who rocks in my opinion! You didn't have time to prepare but it looks like your making the best of things! Kudos!

I just had a picture of me and a friend, old ....snakes dangling all over, answering the door, fuzzy slippers, pink bathrobe, big cup of coffee... hair rollers maybe?

Life will be good.

Don't forget, you throw your snakes at kids who try to walk on your lawn !

They are better than other projectiles because they latch on when they hit their mark ;)

Can I join the crazy snake lady group too? Lol...I started out with one earlier this year, and now have 13 BPs and 1 Hognose (+3 Bearded Dragons). & I adore them all.

Ask, ask, ask. It's the best way to learn. There are quite a few VERY knowledgeable & helpful members on this forum that are a treasure to know. You will learn a bunch on here.

The most frustrating thing about these guys is when they get picky about eating. I brought one home from a breeder a few weeks ago (full grown YB female) & she was underweight to begin with (I got suckered into a fussy eater). So now she's on ASFs (all she'll take for now. I tried everything else, but she's too skinny for me to wait until she decides to get back on feed. I need her to gain weight before I try switching her back).

But other than that, BPs are awesome. Enjoy your new family member!

Here is another ?.

I was chatting with the poopey head (see no cussing lol) at Petco and he was super stern with me saying my snake will die if we feed him live, and that if the snake won't eat the ft mouse, to coat it in chicken broth and then the snake would eat it.


well i challenged him right off, that snakes in the wild, well they don't have freezers and they eat just fine.

but he says that if my baby snake eats a mouse, he might not kill it, then the mouse will wake up inside the snake and bit, scratch and kill the snake?


im confused.

That guy is a total idiot. Ask him if you can squeeze the life out of him and put him in acid to see if he survives long enough to come back to life and claw his way out. He's probably one of the PETA-type activists for rodents. I'm personally all for feeding F/T, but not to the point of making myself look like a total idiot by lying.

The guy has the right idea but hes wrong about his facts :P

Yes, feeding live does pose a risk to your snake, but those who feed live usually do their best to minimize that risk and things usually work out fine.

The risk is that the prey will injure the snake during the attack, not after it has already been killed and swallowed ;)

I feed frozen/thawed because both of my snakes take them with no hesitation, but I am not against live feeding because sometimes it is necessary to get an animal to eat (and its fun to watch sometimes... whats the point of bringing nature into your house if you're never going to experience such a major part of it once in a while? ;))

/end ramble

point of post: prekilled is preferable, but not the only acceptable option

Oh and another funny thing about PetCo... I work at a petsmart and theres a guy who works at petco who always comes over to ask me about snake stuff :P

We going to twin cities reptile, they are super nice on the phone.


have super cheap hoppers too lol

*now i am thinking about my own colony of mice lol

Ack, rodents smell. And they eat babies. Literally ;)

Better off buyin em :P

yeah well sometimes I understand the inclination of eating ones young. lol