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  • 02-18-2009, 11:16 PM
    Malpaso
    Another stranger from Europe :)
    Hi. I'm Martin. Pretty new here and just for few weeks BP owner... It's just common female of BP (so probably with boring design for most of you here ;)). Seller told me it's 6months old but I do not believe that much now (It's too small for 6month... so my guess is 3-4. I wish I had chance to find out!). I call her Yukiko (Japanese name... I like Japan :)). I have read a lot about how to keep and care of BP before but... nothing compares to real experience :). Like my current issue with feeding :(. It's 12 days now after last "successful lunch". Why she stopped eating? I hope it's just start of shed and not any disease :(. I hate this... I hope everything is fine with her... Every day taking care of my little girl is giving me tons of new information and I hope this site will help me understand what is going on a lot :).

    So... I just hope people around are not scared of people from Europe (;)), stupid questions of noobs :P and bad English grammar sometimes :D.
  • 02-19-2009, 12:16 AM
    Stewart_Reptiles
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Hi and :welcome:
    Quote:

    So... I just hope people around are not scared of people from Europe
    Nah I am the only european they are scared of :rofl:

    Can't wait to see some pictures!
  • 02-19-2009, 12:24 AM
    llovelace
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    :welcome:
  • 02-19-2009, 04:18 AM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    thank you for welcome :). I have uploaded few pictures to Member's Galleries section... here is fresh one from today :)

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...pBoard-10t.jpg
  • 02-19-2009, 04:28 AM
    Kesslers Kreatures
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Welcome to the site! Your going to learn a ton!
  • 02-19-2009, 07:02 AM
    frankykeno
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Welcome to BPNet! We are becoming a very international site and it's wonderful to have you join our site. :)

    One of the handiest tools when you are raising a snake is a digital scale so you can monitor weight gain. That's really one of the best indicators of how things are going. Over here in the States we generally either purchase small postal or kitchen scales (digital is best) and they aren't usually very expensive at all.

    Remember your little snake is quite young and has made a major adjustment into your home recently. For these shy snakes this can cause some major stress and it's not uncommon for that to be expressed as a refusal to eat. I'd suggest you check out our BP Caresheet here to check that your housing for her is correct and I wouldn't handle her at all right now (other than for cleaning her home) until she's eaten at least 3 or 4 times for you. You should be offering her an appropriate prey item every 5 to 7 days at this point. If her home is in a busy area of your house, you might consider moving her to a quiet room where she isn't exposed to a lot of people moving around.

    She's eaten for you and she will again. Just be calm, do your reading here, ask questions and take it step by step. These snakes are very hardy and if given the right care generally do just fine. Remember it's not like someone runs around in the wild dropping them prey every "x" number of days. As ambush predators nature did design to go awhile between meals. It's best if you can get her on a regular feeding schedule though so just work the problem and in no time you'll likely have a happy, eating well snake. :)
  • 02-19-2009, 08:45 AM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by frankykeno View Post
    Welcome to BPNet! We are becoming a very international site and it's wonderful to have you join our site. :)

    Thank you... :) Let's see haw soon you regret that :D ;)

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by frankykeno View Post
    One of the handiest tools when you are raising a snake is a digital scale so you can monitor weight gain. That's really one of the best indicators of how things are going. Over here in the States we generally either purchase small postal or kitchen scales (digital is best) and they aren't usually very expensive at all.

    I'm so glad it is not waste of money...I have bought one last weekend so I can say my BP has 16grams/0.035 pounds... So she is pure baby yet.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by frankykeno View Post
    Remember your little snake is quite young and has made a major adjustment into your home recently. For these shy snakes this can cause some major stress and it's not uncommon for that to be expressed as a refusal to eat. I'd suggest you check out our BP Caresheet here to check that your housing for her is correct and I wouldn't handle her at all right now (other than for cleaning her home) until she's eaten at least 3 or 4 times for you. You should be offering her an appropriate prey item every 5 to 7 days at this point. If her home is in a busy area of your house, you might consider moving her to a quiet room where she isn't exposed to a lot of people moving around.

    I believe I have found out why that food refusal... She is preparing for shed and as I know they refuse food during that cycle.

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...q/P2184043.jpg

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...q/P2184079.jpg

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by frankykeno View Post
    She's eaten for you and she will again. Just be calm, do your reading here, ask questions and take it step by step. These snakes are very hardy and if given the right care generally do just fine. Remember it's not like someone runs around in the wild dropping them prey every "x" number of days. As ambush predators nature did design to go awhile between meals. It's best if you can get her on a regular feeding schedule though so just work the problem and in no time you'll likely have a happy, eating well snake. :)

    Agree with that... I know... Since she is small I'm just afraid to not let her starve... and of course keep her healthy... so far i have found two scratches like this on her

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...q/P2184056.jpg

    I hope it's just form last live rodent feeding not from bad housing :(
  • 02-19-2009, 08:58 AM
    Bruce Whitehead
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Welcome, as noted, the only European we fear is Deborah!

    I answered a few of your questions regarding husbandry/housing in your thread in "general pythons" and forget to say...

    "Welcome to the site" :)

    She is a beautiful little snake, skinny, but not starving.

    It may be worth starting another thread specifically regarding having a non-feeding snake if you want answers for that, as the thread will get overlooked in this section by members that may have some excellent pointers for you.

    Bruce
  • 02-19-2009, 09:08 AM
    Laooda
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Hi and welcome! :)

    It's good that she's going into shed, you'll be able to see if the injuries are healing. For now, you can clean it with a diluted betadine scrub, and put some polysporin on it..... unless there is something else? Guys? I'd probably do that right after the shed too, and monitor it from there. It's always a good idea to know where your local herp vet is... just in case that doesn't clear right up!

    Also, I'd keep her on plain white paper towels, so nothing will get into the spots. Best of luck! She's a DOLL! :D

    The care sheet here is always a great reference to check back to for temps, etc... :)
  • 02-19-2009, 09:13 AM
    Wh00h0069
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Hello and :welcome:

    16 grams is extremely small for a ball python. Most of my six month old balls are around 300 grams, and some are 500 grams. You should read the care sheets on this site, and make sure that you have her in proper housing. Heat and humidity are also very important. Once you are sure that your husbandry is right, I am sure that she will do great in your care. I suggest putting her on an every four to five day diet until she gets up to around 150 - 200 grams, then putting her on an every seven day diet. You should be feeding her either fuzzy mice or rat pups. Also, the scar is most likely not from live feeding, because the size of her prey should be very small. This small of prey could not hurt a snake, because they have not developed their teeth yet.

    Hope this helped and good luck with her!
  • 02-19-2009, 09:53 AM
    rabernet
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    First, welcome!

    The "injury" looks more like scale rot to me - which can be from too moist an environment. Make sure her enclosure isn't too damp, and it should go away with a shed if you watch the humidity level.
  • 02-19-2009, 10:42 AM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    To rabernet: scale rot sounds bad to me :(. However it is definitely not from too moist environment. I have exactly opposite issues with humidity. 46-48% is common humidity and I have never had humidity above 50% so far... and since I need even more for shed I already made some changes (as in FAQ's described). Hope that will work...

    To Wh00h0069: Agree... 16grams is damn low. That's why I do not believe that snake is 6months old... It must be younger. 3 max 4... What you think?

    feeding schedule is like that so far:
    Day 0 - I received my BP (55cm/21inch, 16g/0.035pounds)
    Day 5 - one small live mouse offered (two hrs after lights off time): immediate response (10seconds)
    Day 10 - one small live mouse offered (two hrs BEFORE lights off time): immediate response (5seconds?!)
    Day 15 - one small live mouse offered (three hrs before lights off time): no response at all... (mouse hopped in vivarium for 30minutes... Even "on her head"... Nothing...)
    Day 20 - different small live mouse offered (one hr after lights off time): no response again... (she even turned head away from mouse). Now I know it's because of shed cycle... So let's hope appetite is back with new skin in few days :)

    To Laooda: Thank you for advice with injuries. I just do not like to see anything wrong with my BP so I really hope shed will show more...

    To Bruce Whitehead: First of all my aim is not to offend anyone here... I'm noob, you are professionals. No question about that... It's only about I get different information from different sources... I just would like to be sure I do only the best for my baby...
  • 02-19-2009, 11:00 AM
    Bruce Whitehead
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Malpaso View Post
    To Bruce Whitehead: First of all my aim is not to offend anyone here... I'm noob, you are professionals. No question about that... It's only about I get different information from different sources... I just would like to be sure I do only the best for my baby...

    Not sure why you would think there was any offense taken.

    No offensive on this end. :)
  • 02-19-2009, 12:58 PM
    Muze
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Welcome aboard!

    Pretty little girl. She is awfully small at 16 grams, though. Did the seller give you her feeding history?

    Definitely check out the husbandry sections & ask, ask, ask! No worries about newbie questions. Everyone was a newbie at some point. :D
  • 02-19-2009, 02:11 PM
    frankykeno
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Just to be sure here - because 16 grams for a 21 inch snake sounds way, way thin - can you please weigh something of a known weight (maybe a bag of food that has a marked weight on it) and confirm your scale is reading correctly. Also are you using the "tare" button to make sure the scale is properly reading zero including whatever container you weigh her in (or the tub your digital scale may have come) before you place her in there?

    Do you mind me asking what source you got this snake from - breeder? hobbyist? pet store? reptile show? reptile rescue organization?

    Here's a great link to help you understand the complete shed process.....

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28794

    Here's a link to help you help your snake should it retain shed (don't do this stuff until your snake has tried to shed naturally itself).....

    http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=74290
  • 02-19-2009, 03:11 PM
    kc261
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    I agree with Jo - you need to check that your scale is giving a correct reading. 16 grams is TINY for a BP. A typical weight at hatching is more like 50 grams. Even twins, which tend to be very small since they are sharing an egg, are usually at somewhere around 25 grams when they hatch, assuming the handful of posts I've read about people hatching out twins reflects a typical average.

    Plus, I know what a 16 gram corn snake looks like, and the pics of your snake on your hand make it look quite a bit bigger than 16 grams.
  • 02-19-2009, 04:50 PM
    Muze
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kc261 View Post
    I agree with Jo - you need to check that your scale is giving a correct reading. 16 grams is TINY for a BP. A typical weight at hatching is more like 50 grams. Even twins, which tend to be very small since they are sharing an egg, are usually at somewhere around 25 grams when they hatch, assuming the handful of posts I've read about people hatching out twins reflects a typical average.

    Plus, I know what a 16 gram corn snake looks like, and the pics of your snake on your hand make it look quite a bit bigger than 16 grams.

    I think it does look bigger in his hand. I think my Spotnose was about that size when I got him & he was in the 70's.
  • 02-19-2009, 05:03 PM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    To MuzeBallPythons: thank you for support... I definitely will ask as much as I can :). About fed history... sad to say that I have no fed history at all :(.

    To frankykeno: I know where are you aiming to... I might have been wrong with that weight. I double check that again and make another measuring. I have her from one local breeder (more precisely from his friend. also breeder because his breed was already sold out...)

    To kc261: More I read this the more I'm sure I have weight her wrong way... thank you for info.
  • 02-19-2009, 05:07 PM
    Muze
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Malpaso View Post
    To MuzeBallPythons: thank you for support... I definitely will ask as much as I can :). About fed history... sad to say that I have no fed history at all :(.

    To frankykeno: I know where are you aiming to... I might have been wrong with that weight. I double check that again and make another measuring. I have her from one local breeder (more precisely from his friend. also breeder because his breed was already sold out...)

    To kc261: More I read this the more I'm sure I have weight her wrong way... thank you for info.

    You are very welcome! That is what we are all here for. Learning & support.
    Keep us posted on the weight! She does not actually look skinny, so that is why we are wondering about the scale.
  • 02-20-2009, 02:00 AM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MuzeBallPythons View Post
    You are very welcome! That is what we are all here for. Learning & support.
    Keep us posted on the weight! She does not actually look skinny, so that is why we are wondering about the scale.

    So... weight update... I know it's not good handle her during shed cycle but I cant help my self.... I must have to know.... She has not 16grams but 16dkg! I have had wrong scale setup. What a genius am I :rage:... so 160grams is her correct weight... how this sound folks?
  • 02-20-2009, 02:28 AM
    Kaorte
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Malpaso View Post
    So... weight update... I know it's not good handle her during shed cycle but I cant help my self.... I must have to know.... She has not 16grams but 16dkg! I have had wrong scale setup. What a genius am I :rage:... so 160grams is her correct weight... how this sound folks?

    That sounds much better :D. A little on the small side, but much better than 16 grams!! haha
  • 02-20-2009, 07:17 AM
    frankykeno
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Ahhh much better. 160 grams is far more in line with how she looked in the pictures you've posted. If you haven't read through the sticky on the shed cycle, have a look through it so you can understand the whole process and what to expect. Some bp's will eat during shed, others will not or will eat during one shed cycle but not the next, that's pretty typical. Once she's all done her shed, I'd offer her an appropriately sized prey item every 5 days until she gets a little more weight on her then you can back that down to every 7 days, going up in prey size as she continues to grow larger. Weigh her regularily, trying to get what is called an empty weight. That's when she's not full of digesting prey or feces she hasn't passed yet. I usually like to weigh mine right after I find a big poop in their enclosure. Keeping a record of her weight changes will really help you know that she's growing and that you're feeding her enough volume of prey to encourage a healthy growth pattern.
  • 02-20-2009, 09:40 AM
    Muze
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    160 sounds much better! I'm so glad her weight is good.
  • 02-20-2009, 09:54 AM
    Wh00h0069
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Malpaso View Post
    So... weight update... I know it's not good handle her during shed cycle but I cant help my self.... I must have to know.... She has not 16grams but 16dkg! I have had wrong scale setup. What a genius am I :rage:... so 160grams is her correct weight... how this sound folks?

    LOL, glad to hear it. That weight sounds a lot closer to what she should be. I am sure that she will be just fine. Just check your husbandry, and put her on a regular feeding schedule. Good luck with her.
  • 02-26-2009, 06:01 AM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    UPDATE!
    A lot happened today...

    - I have found skin after shed (perfect one)
    - I have found two "fresh" poops (brown/white)
    - Weight is 143grams
    - She ate one mouse today morning :)... so no more 143grams again :D;)

    Could have been this day more perfect? ;)
  • 02-26-2009, 09:03 AM
    frankykeno
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Sounds like a very good day! It's pretty normal for ball pythons to pass their waste products when they shed. Sometimes you'll even find the shed balled up and a feces right in the middle of the shed ball. How they manage this without having arm, hands or fingers I'll never figure out LOL.

    Just a little lesson on snake waste here....

    - the brown stuff is their feces (aka poop)
    - the white stuff is actually called "urates" and is the solid form of their urination process, it's not poop, it's a type of pee
    - they also pass liquid urine
    - they usually pass both liquid and solid urine products more often than they pass feces
    - all of the above come out the same place, the vent also known as the cloaca
  • 02-26-2009, 09:06 AM
    Wh00h0069
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Malpaso View Post
    UPDATE!
    A lot happened today...

    - I have found skin after shed (perfect one)
    - I have found two "fresh" poops (brown/white)
    - Weight is 143grams
    - She ate one mouse today morning :)... so no more 143grams again :D;)

    Could have been this day more perfect? ;)

    Great, glad she is doing so well! :gj:
  • 02-26-2009, 09:47 AM
    vive-moi
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Hello,

    Nice snake, and as I can see on you personnal photos, really nice setup! Is it possibleto have more pics of your enclosure? Also What is the sandy background made of?

    Thx
  • 02-26-2009, 10:32 PM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Here I have special moment from that amazing day :).

    "Full mouth of mouse" lol (btw. that pearl reflection is amazing... I have never noticed that before)

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...lipBoard-2.jpg

    To vive-moi: thank you so much for comment. SOme more pic are in my other "noob questions" threat http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=85308 :). You can see also changes I made after feedback from people. That background is made of common "construction material" because it's stronger than cement plaster (sorry I can not explain it better) covered with sand and small rocks...

    To Wh00h0069: You can not imagine how I'm glad things are going right with her again (it's after 3 weeks she ate again!!!)

    To frankykeno:
    Thank you again for perfect explanation and new info for me!
  • 02-28-2009, 12:07 AM
    Face
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Malpaso - she's a doll! Sounds like you've made it through the first "just won't eat" without too much stress on you or her. Some of our BPs eat during shed and others don't. They have their own wants and needs.

    Good luck with her and don't be surprised when you find yourself wanting another. They are wonderful creatures.
  • 03-02-2009, 10:23 AM
    Malpaso
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Face View Post
    Malpaso - she's a doll! Sounds like you've made it through the first "just won't eat" without too much stress on you or her. Some of our BPs eat during shed and others don't. They have their own wants and needs.

    Good luck with her and don't be surprised when you find yourself wanting another. They are wonderful creatures.

    I know exactly what are you talking about ;). She is surprising me every day. For example last time I took her out she just laid for about one hour like this on me... no exploring (as before)... just relaxing.

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...kiko/rest3.jpg

    Or her will to show off herself for photoshoot (in her viv during evening)...

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ipBoard-49.jpg

    http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ipBoard-55.jpg

    Thank you for your comment Face!
  • 03-02-2009, 10:28 AM
    Wh00h0069
    Re: Another stranger from Europe :)
    She looks great, and has a very clean pattern. :gj:
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