New Adoption Today!!

Ok people I finally found someone looking to re-home a ball python. I've been wanting to find an adult for a long time and now the time has come :banana:! As some of you know I have a pastel male, and a normal female right now. Both are about 6 months, so there still babies. This is gonna be my first "big mama." It was never sexed so I dont know that it is a female but I am hoping it is so in the later years I can breed her to my pastel male. Not the reason I'm getting her but just a perk I guess. I believe from the pictures(which sucked) it has some issues. Nothing big, just looks like it has some old shed on it. He actually had it in a 125 gallon fish tank Also just wondering but would it be ok if I housed her in a 35qt tub for a few days? And what is a good size tub for an adult three years old?

Are you 100% sure it is female?

I would put her in a 42qt tub but a 35 won't be bad.

Make sure to quarantine! Congrats!

no im not 100% sure, I actually have no idea lol. I'm hoping though lol. I'm just excited for a new friend to add to the collection. Now the how long should I quarentine for? And by doing this I just don't expose her to my other snakes right? Or is there some crazy process im unaware of lol?

Most people say 60days. I quarantine for 4 sucessful feedings, one poo, and one shed.

Keep the quarantined snake in a seperate room if possible. Wash your hands and change your clothes if possible. Don't share any tongs scales or any other equipt with the quarantined snake.

ooo ok, I'll just alway handle this one last and do everything else you said. Hopefully all is well internally with the snake. The set up was pretty bad. All that was in there was aspen and some tree branches. Humidity must have been horrible. They were also using lights with a screen top...eeek. But overall the snake looks ok. I will post pics ASAP!

Alright, I got the snake home and I got him soaking right now to remove the stuck shed. Hopefully it will all come off. Very friendly guy, and deffinately a male. Only thing is I went to check on him while he was soaking and noticed I could hear him breathing. Kind of like a whistle noise. Now I'm not sure if its just cuz he was in the water. I'm gonna keep watching for it now, but is this curable without going to a vet? Are there somethings I can do? All I know is it was a bit cold where I picked him up from. He was in a 125 gallon tank with a couple of heat lamps, and when I picked him up he was ice cold. So yeah just wondering if anyone could shed a little light. Theres nothing coming out of his nose btw.

It could be water or stuck shed in his nose. I would give it a few days and see if it persists after all the shed is gone.

Alright the little guy seems to be doing well. I don't hear the whistle anymore, must have have been the water or shed in his nose. He cleaned up really well, and I am really pleased with his appearance now. When I first saw him he looked so dull. After giving him the bath I realized how much MORE skin was retained then I thought. He looks great now! Only thing that concerns me is his weight. I don't have a scale but he is deffinately a little skinny. He has meat on his bones but I was expecting a much larger snake. The guy told me he hasn't eaten in about a week, and turns out they have been only feeding him one mouse. I have a feeling they forgot to feed him a lot too, and were throwing one mouse in there every couple of weeks :colbert:. So now I'm thinking should I get a couple of mice? Or should I get a small rat for him?

ALSO!! How big around should a male be at 2.5 years of age?

god forbid someone leave the mouse slaying thread and answer me...sheesh, pointless rubbish.

First of all, being new here myself, I find myself wading through literally dozens of topics everytime I come here. I don't search out specific topics or threads unless they were posted by myself to see what responses may have been made to my questions. ;)
Just be patient. The answers will come and the people here WILL help you with your questions. Everyone here has been absolutely fantastic with me over the past few days and I'm sure you'll be treated just as well as I have.
Now, onto your question about mice and your snake. I would forget the mice and move up to rats. As has been posted both here and lesewhere, rats are far more nutritious for your pet than mice are. If he was being fed mice, that could be a major reason why is so underweight. I would get a couple of frozen rats and start there. Of course you only feed one frozen rat at a time and make sure it is thawed and warmed appropriately. I bet you'll find your new friend goes right after the little meal without much coaxing. Just be patient and take your time with your new pet. Give it the care and love it requires and you'll have a friend for life, guarenteed.
BTW, post some pics of your new addition to the family! I know we'd all love to see it! :)

Glad to hear he got all his skin off! lol

As for feeding, I would recommend going out and getting a food scale with a 8,000gram capacity and a tare function to measure your snakes weight.
The weight of a snake is pretty important to keep track of and can help you judge the size of their meals. I feed 10-15% of their body weight. If that means more than one mouse, then so be it.
I buy bulk f/t mice so I would rather feed multiples then rats.

I got him a live small rat. At first he didn't look interested, he just kind of was waking up I guess. Then he caight the scent on the aspen and then saw movement and turned around really fast. Stared at the rat for maybe 1 sec and jumped it. That was my first rat feeding, pretty intense I must say. He seems to be taking to his tub nicely as well, hanging out over the heat and loving it. He was soooo cold when I first met him, so I'm guessing he's really diggin' his new enclosure. I'm gonna try a frozen rat next time. I just wanted to intice him with a big meal, and get him on the right track being that he was so used to eating one mouse at a time. Pics will be up verrry soon!!

Grats on getting him cleaned up and eating :)

If water gets in their nose, or a piece of stuck shed, they will whistle. Give it a few days to make sure the noise is gone. If you don't hear anything anymore than you should be in the clear. You said he was a male? How did you sex him? (just wonderin').

Good luck with your rescue!

Yeah it stopped, looks like I got all scared for nothing lol. I was going to post pics but I keep leaving my camera at my girlfriends house :mad:! But I actually didn't probe him or anything like that, I'm just guessing. I watched a snakebytes episode once and Brian said he can sex them just by looking at the tail. The male tails are more consistent, where the the female's taile kind of get fat and skinny. I tried popping once but its hard, and I don't want to hurt him. I might just probe him to see, saw ralph davis do it so shouldn't be too hard. But is that a decent general rule to go by? Do some females look just like males from the outside?

I really don't think you can tell from the outside. I sexed mine as a male that way at first, then decided to try popping (which i found pretty easy). It's a girl! I'll probably do it again when she's 1 yr, just to make sure. congrats on the new baby by the way. It's a good thing you were there to give him a new home. :D

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Originally Posted by dsmalex97

Yeah it stopped, looks like I got all scared for nothing lol. I was going to post pics but I keep leaving my camera at my girlfriends house :mad:! But I actually didn't probe him or anything like that, I'm just guessing. I watched a snakebytes episode once and Brian said he can sex them just by looking at the tail. The male tails are more consistent, where the the female's taile kind of get fat and skinny. I tried popping once but its hard, and I don't want to hurt him. I might just probe him to see, saw ralph davis do it so shouldn't be too hard. But is that a decent general rule to go by? Do some females look just like males from the outside?

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He was talking about colubrids like cornsnakes, where oftentimes, this is true. With ball pythons, you usually can not tell, and spurs are no indication.
Do NOT probe your snakes unless you have had someone show you how to do it. A video is not enough, and you could severely hurt the animal if you do it wrong. I suggest calling a herp vet and getting it done by them for 20 bucks. Might as well drop of a fecal sample too to check for any nasties.

I keep adults in a 32quart their entire lives, unless I had a huge female, then it would get a 41q.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dsmalex97

Yeah it stopped, looks like I got all scared for nothing lol. I was going to post pics but I keep leaving my camera at my girlfriends house :mad:! But I actually didn't probe him or anything like that, I'm just guessing. I watched a snakebytes episode once and Brian said he can sex them just by looking at the tail. The male tails are more consistent, where the the female's taile kind of get fat and skinny. I tried popping once but its hard, and I don't want to hurt him. I might just probe him to see, saw ralph davis do it so shouldn't be too hard. But is that a decent general rule to go by? Do some females look just like males from the outside?

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all females and males look the same. Ball pythons are sexually non-dimorphic. Females are "generally" bigger..but you get large males and small females, etc.. you cant guarantee a sex visually. Popping or probing is the only way. If you don't feel comfortable or dont know how, get a vet to show you how dont risk harming your snake.