My Story!

Hi all, just wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself! I am brand new to the world of Ball pythons! I grew up with boas in my home all the time but now with a home of my own I have recently aquired my very first ball and am completely in love!!!
Savannah! A few weeks ago I found an ad for a snake with a tank so I inquired! The story sounded a little sketchy but they were offering a ball python with her tank for a reasonable price so I made the 2 hour trip there to pick it up. When I arrived they really had no info for me about it, they said that they had had her for about 6 months and she had never eaten and was not a happy snake, she was covered in cuts and scars because they were constantly placing aggressive live mice in with her and leaving them alone. They did not know how old she was or wether she was even female like they had advertised, the tank was disgusting with no lights or lid, there was mice feces mixed in the sand she was kept in, she had one very small plastic hide (that she did not fit in completely) and an extra small under tank heater she also had no water at all, they said they sprayed her once a week and she never took her head out of her hide! She was triing to shed but seemed as though she couldn't, her eye caps were so thick I don't even think she could see! I felt awful for her! I took her home and reseached for hours and hours and hours how to make her as happy as can be! I set up a beautiful tank with her with multiple heating sorces a very large pool and live and fake plants and trees and many different hides! I have now spent $600 just on supplies alone for this one snake!!!
I have had her for 4 weeks now and she seems like the happiest little snake ever! She loves exploring her tank and is usually out with me for about 3 hours a day! She is absolutely petrified of mice, even though I have only offered her frozen thawed, she slithers away as quickly as she can, she has however eaten some raw chicken meat for me and she has already shed twice in the time I have had her! I am not too sure how I can begin to offer her rodents without scaring her, I would never feed her live because of what the poor thing has gone through... Any ideas about how to help her get over her fear will be greatly appreciated! I also would like to hear opinions about whether shedding twice in a month is okay? She is very trusting of me now and I do not want to ruin that by scaring her... It has been so cool to see her transformation into such a beautiful snake, she has the prettiest yellows and oranges all over her, (pics do not do her justice!) She is about 28 inches long but I have no clue about an age for her or if she is even a her lol, any estimates?
Needless to say I am now addicted and cannot wait until she is 100% healthy so I can begin to add on to my family!!! Thanks in advance for any advice and for your time in reading my ridiculously long post! LOL I was just dieing to share her with people who love snakes, as I do not personally know a single other person even willing to touch her! : (

Kerry!


https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...5/img01837.jpg

welcome to the fourms... and good for u for saving her it sounds like she is in a much better home now.

Hi,

Glad to hear you got all the shed and other problems sorted. :gj:

I do have a few suggestions for feeding her which might be a little healthier.

Instead of chicken meat it would be worth trying frozen chicks - the fact it is a whole prey item would mean it would have all the nutrients and vitamins etc just not found in meat off the bone.

That being said I don't really reccomend a diet of nothing but chicks either but if she will take them it is definately a step in the right direction. :)

If they only offered her mice there are other whole prey items you could offer her that may not have the same negative reaction (that will fade in time most likely by the way :) ).

First one to try would probably be fuzzy rats.

Since you would be trying younger rats there is no chance of them hurting her the way the mice did even if your feeding live and leaving them in the cage overnight. But if she eats raw chicken I'm thinking she would probably not have a problem taking F/T.

Have a read around the "problem eaters" threads for ideas to try.

Oh and :welcome: to the site. :colbert2:


dr del

Welcome to bp.net! And congrats on rescuing that poor snake. It sounds like she is in much better hands now.

The 2 sheds in a row is probably the result of her previous poor conditions. As long as she doesn't continue to have them so often, I would not worry about that at all.

The fact that she is taking any food at all is a good sign, however, as Derek (Dr. Del) pointed out, chicken meat alone is not going to be a complete diet for her.

Despite the fact that she seems to trust you, a lot of handling is still probably stressful to her, and might be contributing to her finicky eating. I would recommend cutting back on the handling until everything is sorted out.

Be patient with her... 2 weeks is not long at all. Sometimes wild-caught snakes take a year before they are feeling secure enough to start eating. If your BP was captive-bred, she probably won't take nearly so long to adjust, but it will take time.

Hey Thanks for the welcomes! I have been trying to handle her less, but I feel bad she actually seems like she wants to come out she follows me around going from side to side in her tank! If I place my arm in the tank she will slither right up! :D She is so cute!!! However she still is not eating! I have tried gerbils, rats, and mice of all sizes, live and f/t and do not know where to find frozen chicks... Any ideas? I know they can go a while but am so worried since she has only eaten a small amount of chicken for me in a month and I was told she had never eaten for them in the 6+ months that they had her... Thanks for your time and responses! :weirdface

She looks to be in good condition from the picture (size wise) for not having eaten. Have you reviewed our caresheet here yet? There's a section on "Why won't my snake eat?" in there, and it has a good check list of things you can "correct" in your husbandry.

I'd recommend moving her to a smaller tub set-up for now, allowing her a week to settle in, then set a critter keeper with a live mouse or small rat pup next to the tub for 30 minutes to pre-scent the area. When you see her peek her head out of her hide to find where this scent is coming from, drop in the live prey into her tub and let her hunt from her hide.

First of all, welcome to the forums!! I'm still basically a newbie myself :oops:, but I just wanted to say that it's great you rescued that beautiful ball. I'm glad it's with someone who really cares now :)

Second, most pet stores don't usually carry frozen chicks (at least not around where I am) but there are several sites where you can order them from if you like. Here's one: http://www.bigappleherp.com/Chicks#

I would personally just be patient and keep at it. From the pictures you've posted of him/her, it doesn't look particularly skinny or malnourished from what I can tell. It could probably put on a little more weight, but it doesn't look like anything that you have to worry about at the moment. I would just continue to cut back on the handling (even though I know it's hard when they act all cute :P), make sure your temps are right and also make sure that when you offer frozen/thawed prey that it's warm enough and maybe try moving it around more to get her interest. A few other techniques are pre-scenting, feeding during the night and/or covering wherever you feed with a cloth or something similar so the snake feels more secure.

She is taking some sort of food so that's a good thing. I'm sure she'll overcome her fears at some point. Some snakes just take more time than others.

Hope that helps and good luck :)

How small of a setup do you think I should move her too?

I have read multiple trouble shooting, feeding issues, and checklists, everything seems to be right on my part... Other than over handling... :(

I picked her up on 3/7 so I have had her here about 1 month,

I have also noticed she has a lump in her back bone (you can see it in the second pic), I asked the person I purchased her from and she said she had that when she bought her... I think I am going to have her checked out by the vet I just didn't want to add the extra stress so early...

Here are some updated pics!

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...5/100_1248.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...5/100_1253.jpg

Awesome story and welcome, though I'm a n00b too.

I read somewhere online, and it seemed reputable at the time, but don't recall where, that if you use f/t vermin and are having trouble feeding, to smash the head open a bit or cut it open to let a bit of blood and guts out to help permeate the air with the scent of "food". Perhaps a bit crude sounding. I'm sure everyone here will tell me how crazy I am for suggesting this crude approach. Its just an option that may or may not yield results.

Looks like a kink to me. If she was born with it, you shouldn't worry about it now. It doesn't look like it will keep her from having a healthy life.

I see you are using half log hides. I would recommend trashing those and getting some of the rock cave type hides. Make sure that the snake barely fits inside. Tight spaces make them feel more secure. A hiding BP is a happy BP.

You can also cover the back and sides of the tank with dark paper. This will also help insulate the tank a little bit. Even more if you use a material such as reflectix or foam core board.

If she is in a 10gallon right now, keep her in that until she starts eating.

She is in a 55 gal now... I have both logs and caves in there for her as well as multiple grape vine created caves and plants she loves to hide in...

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Originally Posted by KO7707

She is in a 55 gal now... I have both logs and caves in there for her as well as multiple grape vine created caves and plants she loves to hide in...

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wow yeah, get rid of that gigantic tank and move to a 10gal or 20gal max.

55 is too much for a full grown ball python.

Wow I just figured the bigger the tank the happier the snake! She seems to love to explore all the different things in there! The temps and humidity are fine in it, how come smaller is better?

I was actually picking up a 75 for her tomorrow afternoon thinking 55 is too small! She is about 2 feet long... I don't think "she" is full grown but I have no clue on "her" age...

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Originally Posted by KO7707

Wow I just figured the bigger the tank the happier the snake! She seems to love to explore all the different things in there! The temps and humidity are fine in it, how come smaller is better?

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Ball pythons are very shy snakes. They thrive in smaller enclosures. They spend 90% of their time hiding, so the constant roaming and exploring is actually a sign of stress.

How are you measuring temps (what kind of thermometers) and controlling your heat source (what kind of thermostat or dimmer)?

If you look at a 55g, you will notice that it is super tall, and ball pythons are ground dwelling snakes. They will only use the bottom 12" of the tank, so you are basically heating 20 gallons that will never be used by the snake.

[QUOTE=Kaorte;1025054]Ball pythons are very shy snakes. They thrive in smaller enclosures. They spend 90% of their time hiding, so the constant roaming and exploring is actually a sign of stress. [QUOTE]


I feel awful for her now!!! :tears: I have read so much and have never noticed any info on keeping them in small tanks, I must have just over looked this... Should I keep multiple different hides and the piled grape vine for her or should I keep the tank more minimal, I also have a ton of greenery in there for her, should I remove it?


I have 4 thermometer and humidity gauges set up in different low spots in the tank, Because she is my only and first one I haven't got too into fancy equiptment yet... But I think I'll have to shop tomorrow to find her a lower smaller tank... What do you suggest using to check it all?

[QUOTE=KO7707;1025060]

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Ball pythons are very shy snakes. They thrive in smaller enclosures. They spend 90% of their time hiding, so the constant roaming and exploring is actually a sign of stress. QUOTE]


I feel awful for her now!!! :tears: I have read so much and have never noticed any info on keeping them in small tanks, I must have just over looked this... Should I keep multiple different hides and the piled grape vine for her or should I keep the tank more minimal, I also have a ton of greenery in there for her, should I remove it?


I have 4 thermometer and humidity gauges set up in different low spots in the tank, Because she is my only and first one I haven't got too into fancy equiptment yet... But I think I'll have to shop tomorrow to find her a lower smaller tank... What do you suggest using to check it all?

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Well for right now, the more stuff the better. Clutter it up as much as you can until you can find her a smaller home.

I would suggest getting her in a 10gallon or in plastic housing.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=40
There is a DIY on how to do it. It is super easy and very inexpensive.

Not the prettiest thing, but it will most likely do the trick for a problem feeder.

For temp and humidity, you absolutely need digital readers. For thermometers, you need the kind that have a probe. If you are using a UTH (which I highly reccommend) you should put the probe right above the UTH right on the glass (under the substrate).

Thanks so much for all the info! I will get to work on changing it as soon as the stores open in the morning! I feel so bad, I just though they can go wherever they wanted in the wild so why not give her as much room as possible... Live and learn I guess, well at least I've only had her in there for a month! so maybe she'll be able to forgive me!:oops:

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Originally Posted by KO7707

Thanks so much for all the info! I will get to work on changing it as soon as the stores open in the morning! I feel so bad, I just though they can go wherever they wanted in the wild so why not give her as much room as possible... Live and learn I guess, well at least I've only had her in there for a month! so maybe she'll be able to forgive me!:oops:

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We were all new at some point. Don't beat yourself up over it!

If you have any questions, please ask! Everyone on this forum has great advice for taking care of these great animals :)

:) Thanks! I will get this fixed! I will keep updating, hopefully she'll be happy soon!

About shedding twice a month, if they have a number of bad sheds shedding twice a month is alright as long as they don't do it too often. My bp shed twice in a fortnight recently, and i beleive she might be about to start another shed cycle.

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Originally Posted by spartaselite

About shedding twice a month, if they have a number of bad sheds shedding twice a month is alright as long as they don't do it too often. My bp shed twice in a fortnight recently, and i beleive she might be about to start another shed cycle.

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Hi, Thanks for your reply! Her first shed was terrible, she had really thick eye caps on and looked like hell, but her next shed was great and came off all in one peice including her eye caps! I just worried that she was shedding so soon after they had said she just did....

They shed as they need, nothing to worry about, and as long as the sheds are going fine, I wouldn't be concerned at all. I've had some baby snakes shed 2 times a month.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Ball pythons are very shy snakes. They thrive in smaller enclosures. They spend 90% of their time hiding, so the constant roaming and exploring is actually a sign of stress.

How are you measuring temps (what kind of thermometers) and controlling your heat source (what kind of thermostat or dimmer)?

If you look at a 55g, you will notice that it is super tall, and ball pythons are ground dwelling snakes. They will only use the bottom 12" of the tank, so you are basically heating 20 gallons that will never be used by the snake.

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sorry i cant agree with this, they thrive in enclosures that they feel safe in, if you can make a 55 or even 100 gal tank where they feel safe in they will thrive. sure it will take more work and you will have to use alot more things to make them feel safe but they will be just fine.

I have a 55, and no problems with my baby. Granted, it was a big challenge getting the humidity to stay at a constant. I finally figured it out, and my baby is happy as can be. Shedding great, eating like a pig, and hiding (all the time). I think it all depends on how much work you put into. It would have been cheaper to go with a tub, but the 55 gal was given to me, and I wanted to make it work rather than get rid of it.

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Originally Posted by 771subliminal

sorry i cant agree with this, they thrive in enclosures that they feel safe in, if you can make a 55 or even 100 gal tank where they feel safe in they will thrive. sure it will take more work and you will have to use alot more things to make them feel safe but they will be just fine.

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I have to agree. My girl is in a 50 gal breeder tank (so it's wider than it is tall) and is having no problems. My temps and humidity are spot on and she eats wonderfully. I have 2 nice small tight hides for her in there along with plenty of fake branches and plants to fill it in. (And no, I don't mind taking them all out to clean :P) However, I personally wouldn't go any larger than a 50 though and I do think they should be the wider, shorter ones rather than the tall ones.

I don't have any problem with people that keep their snakes in tubs and they do seem to do well in them. Obviously it's whatever works best for you and your snake(s). As long as your snake is healthy and happy that's all that matters :)