Feeding question

I have done some reading on here but I have found different answers for different senarios and not sure which applies to me. So therefore I am posting this.

I have the skinny rescued snake (brief history... she has been force fed 2 pinkies every 4 days since November. has only gained 18 grams since Nov. very very skinny 118 grams currently.) She was fed on Wednesday, a pinkie that she supposedly took herself without forcing. I bought f/t hoppers to try and see if she will eat them. How long should I wait to feed her (I brought her home Thursday night)? How often should I feed her? If she doesn't go for f/t I will try live but I will have to get my boyfriend to do it as I dont have the heart to drop a baby mouse in there although I do love my snake! Are hoppers too big for her? There are pictures of her in the picture section.

Thanks!

Ok. For some reason I can't find your pictures.

Edit.

Ok I found the pictures. Umm, she really does not look all that thin to me. Just young. But I am still new to this.

Try her on a hopper. At her size she should have no problem with it, if she'll take it. Might want to give her a week to settle before you try to feed her.

Okay first off read this.....

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/...ingseating.htm

Then read this.....

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/feedingtips.htm

Then read them again, and once more for good measure.

Might I ask who sold or gave you a non-feeder? Just so we know what you know or what you need to know - how much ball python experience do you currently have?

I would get her set up properly in a small tub with something dark over it. Get the temps right, have a nice tight hide(terra cotta or plastic 4-6" plant saucers work great), and leave her alone for a week and a half to two weeks.

Stop worrying about trying to feed her and worry about getting her to settle in and be a snake.

Even with a snake her size, she could easily go in a 6qt shoebox tub. I wouldn't dream of putting her in anything bigger or in a tank.

After the 1.5-2 weeks is over, get a live hopper mouse and pre-scent the room for 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure the room is dark and there isn't any foot traffic.

Open the tub up, drop the mouse on the opposite end of the tub as the snake(by the water bowl), close the lid, turn the light off and leave the room. Leave the snake alone for 1-2 hours without any messing with her.

If she eats, great! Leave her completely alone for another week and repeat the exact procedure.

If she doesn't eat, leave her alone for a week and repeat the exact procedure. LoL, it's all about repetition and having them on a schedule. They're like nocturnal autistic children, schedules are important or someone's gonna have a meltdown in the grocery store. ;)

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Okay first off read this.....

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/...ingseating.htm

Then read this.....

http://www.8ballpythons.com/journal/feedingtips.htm

Then read them again, and once more for good measure.

Might I ask who sold or gave you a non-feeder? Just so we know what you know or what you need to know - how much ball python experience do you currently have?

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i think she(?) rescued it from a chain pet store that was caring for it really poorly.

I went and measured her tub. Its 16 inches long, 11 inches wide and 5 inches tall. I am most likely wrong on how many quarts it is. It is pretty small though. I didnt plan on trying to feed her for the first week to give her time to settle in.

I got her from a petstore. She was not being well taken care of there at all. I rescued her in order to give her a better opportunity at surviving. I have one other ball python that we have had for about 2 months now but we have been caring for him for 4 months. I am new to the correct way for caring for ball pythons. The other BP is much bigger, in a great set up with correct temps and is eating no problem. Because this one is smaller and has some issues she is kept in a small tub, we are working on heating her cool side now, hot side is 94.7 when I went in to measure the tub 2 mins ago. She has two small tight hides for her and a water dish.

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

i think she(?) rescued it from a chain pet store that was caring for it really poorly.

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Yes that is true!

And yes I am a girl!

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Originally Posted by pitbulls4me

And yes I am a girl!

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never want to assume anything :) and besides being a lil skinny how is she doing?

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Originally Posted by pitbulls4me

I went and measured her tub. Its 16 inches long, 11 inches wide and 5 inches tall. I am most likely wrong on how many quarts it is. It is pretty small though. I didnt plan on trying to feed her for the first week to give her time to settle in.

I got her from a petstore. She was not being well taken care of there at all. I rescued her in order to give her a better opportunity at surviving. I have one other ball python that we have had for about 2 months now but we have been caring for him for 4 months. I am new to the correct way for caring for ball pythons. The other BP is much bigger, in a great set up with correct temps and is eating no problem. Because this one is smaller and has some issues she is kept in a small tub, we are working on heating her cool side now, hot side is 94.7 when I went in to measure the tub 2 mins ago. She has two small tight hides for her and a water dish.

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sounds like you have her set up nicely. if you can get that cool side to 80*F with a 55-60& humidity she will acclimate very well i presume. and hopefully eat accordingly.

She is doing well thank you for asking. She was hissing a bit this morning when I gave her fresh water but I figured she is just a little stressed out.

I am going to pick up another UTH tomorrow to warm the cool side a bit. Humidity right now is at 42% so I put some S.Moss in there tonight so that should help some.

Sounds like you are on the path to suckles! I know it is hard to feed live, but really it is so fast. Snakes are really good at what they do and they make death nearly instant.

I think you have gotten some great feeding advice so far. I am sure she will eat for you in no time now that she is in good hands!

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Originally Posted by pitbulls4me

She is doing well thank you for asking. She was hissing a bit this morning when I gave her fresh water but I figured she is just a little stressed out.

I am going to pick up another UTH tomorrow to warm the cool side a bit. Humidity right now is at 42% so I put some S.Moss in there tonight so that should help some.

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thats great, if you looking for a name may i suggest Felicity or Felicia? some where along the grapevine i thought they meant Lucky or were associated with it. seems fitting :)

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

thats great, if you looking for a name may i suggest Felicity or Felicia? some where along the grapevine i thought they meant Lucky or were associated with it. seems fitting :)

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Thanks for the suggestion... very nice of you! I am not sure what I will name her. I dont really name any of the animals, the boyfriend does all that. He is the creative one.. although he named our salamander, Salamander. :rolleye2:

Personally when it comes to rescues and especially ones that have been in a petstore or other environment where they are exposed to other snakes and come to me in poor shape, I like to get a fecal float done as soon as possible. No point spending months trying to get weight on her and then finding out some of her problems are a gut full of icky worms.

I hope she is in full quarantine from your other snake. That's always best and safest.

Go over those links I posted before. Adam is a very experienced guy and some of that info will help you I'm sure. She may not be a new hatchling but if she's never learned to hunt on her own you can use some of those steps to help her now. Don't push food at her too much. No handling other than what is absolutely necessary. Keep her in a quiet, low light room away from the busy areas of your home. I'd get her off mouse pinks. They really aren't enough for a ball python that needs to be growing.

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Originally Posted by JeffJ

thats great, if you looking for a name may i suggest Felicity or Felicia? some where along the grapevine i thought they meant Lucky or were associated with it. seems fitting :)

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actually felicia, means happiness!,

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Personally when it comes to rescues and especially ones that have been in a petstore or other environment where they are exposed to other snakes and come to me in poor shape, I like to get a fecal float done as soon as possible. No point spending months trying to get weight on her and then finding out some of her problems are a gut full of icky worms.

I hope she is in full quarantine from your other snake. That's always best and safest.

Go over those links I posted before. Adam is a very experienced guy and some of that info will help you I'm sure. She may not be a new hatchling but if she's never learned to hunt on her own you can use some of those steps to help her now. Don't push food at her too much. No handling other than what is absolutely necessary. Keep her in a quiet, low light room away from the busy areas of your home. I'd get her off mouse pinks. They really aren't enough for a ball python that needs to be growing.

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I had a vet appointment but cancelled it due to I wasnt sure I would get her in time for the appoinment because the store kept holding off giving her to me. I will reschedule for one though.

She is in a totally different house from my other snake!

I got her hoppers to eat. I will try feeding like suggested.. of course in a week or two. She is in my bedroom, and I am gone most of the day, under my bed near a window. So there is little light coming through the blinds and curtains so she is good with light. There is also no draft or anything like that in there.

Thanks again for all the advice!

Tina you don't need to take her to the vet just for a fecal float. If you want to have her looked at fine, but personally I'd wait on that and let her settle in since she's not critically ill or anything at this point. Call around to your local vets and ask who will do a fecal float on snake feces. Ask if they do it on site (some will do it while you wait if you phone ahead) and how much they charge. To give you an idea my vet charges $25 for a fecal float.

Then just wait for her to pass a feces. Collect it in a ziploc sandwich baggie. Put that closed bag in another ziploc baggie (I believe in overkill when I'm storing snake crap lol) and place it in the fridge - not freezer. Take it to the vet's office as soon as possible. Personally, and only because I love my family, I also put the baggie full of snake dookie into a closed plastic container and mark it "SNAKE POOP". Considering how much my 17 year old son grazes in the fridge, it's probably a good idea. :)

Once you have that fecal float report back, your vet will advise you if she has any internal parasites and at that point you'd be taking her in for treatment. I'd suggest if you do get a positive report back that before that appointment you post the results here so the experienced members can advise you on what treatment tends to work best for that particular parasite.