BP First Shed

I recently purchased a young Spider Ball (hatched August 12th). I know this is not advisable, but I feel I can handle the task, so I talked the breeder into letting me take her home before her first shed, meal, etc.

I currently have her in a fairly small enclosure and placed a black hide box inside of it. She spends about 90% of her time in the hidebox, but has come out twice to drink. She does not get handled at all...I only lift the box slightly to check on her about once a day (this is done under dim lighting as i dont want to stress her with lights).

Now for the point of the thread. As of monday the 17th I noticed her belly turned pink and her eyes clouded over (pre-shed I am assuming). The breeder told me that once she does this I should add some damp paper towels to raise the humidity and assist in her shedding successfuly (I have done so). How long (roughly) should it take her to finish her shed from the time her eyes clouded over? Is there any additional advice you all can offer me?

Also...I was told to offer her a food item about a week after her first shed. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance,
-Jordan

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Originally Posted by demjor19

I recently purchased a young Spider Ball (hatched August 12th). I know this is not advisable, but I feel I can handle the task, so I talked the breeder into letting me take her home before her first shed, meal, etc.

I currently have her in a fairly small enclosure and placed a black hide box inside of it. She spends about 90% of her time in the hidebox, but has come out twice to drink. She does not get handled at all...I only lift the box slightly to check on her about once a day (this is done under dim lighting as i dont want to stress her with lights).

Now for the point of the thread. As of monday the 17th I noticed her belly turned pink and her eyes clouded over (pre-shed I am assuming). The breeder told me that once she does this I should add some damp paper towels to raise the humidity and assist in her shedding successfuly (I have done so). How long (roughly) should it take her to finish her shed from the time her eyes clouded over? Is there any additional advice you all can offer me?

Also...I was told to offer her a food item about a week after her first shed. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance,
-Jordan

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Sounds like your doing everything right!

it should take maybe a week after her eyes cloud. thats usualy what my girl does.

and yes feed 5-7 days after shed, then feed an appropriate sized meal every 5 days until she gets 750-800 grams, then 7 days..ect...

Here is a quick pic of her from the first day I picked her up on August 16th.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...aJ0/Spider.jpg

If you don't know the basics of ball python care, particularly hatchlings, such as shed cycles or feeding schedules....why were you so insistent that this snake go home with you prior to its first shed and meal?

Honestly, giving the snakes a couple weeks to shed and eat in the care of an experienced breeder (maybe thats an assumption) is the best alternative. Why put it in the face of unnecessary risk?

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Originally Posted by xscorpio

If you don't know the basics of ball python care, particularly hatchlings, such as shed cycles or feeding schedules....why were you so insistent that this snake go home with you prior to its first shed and meal?

Honestly, giving the snakes a couple weeks to shed and eat in the care of an experienced breeder (maybe thats an assumption) is the best alternative. Why put it in the face of unnecessary risk?

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And this is why I wasnt even going to join...thanks!

I have been keeping herps for over 15 years. Although this is my first venture into BP's. I just wanted to make sure all the info I have recieved thus far is correct, but I guess that's too much to ask!?

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Originally Posted by bamf64

Sounds like your doing everything right!

it should take maybe a week after her eyes cloud. thats usualy what my girl does.

and yes feed 5-7 days after shed, then feed an appropriate sized meal every 5 days until she gets 750-800 grams, then 7 days..ect...

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Thank you for actually responding. It's nice to see some helpful people around!

Babies can be tricky, but you're doing fine. My extreme low-white Pied Zippy can home with me before her 1st shed & she's done great... in fact she produced for me this season.

I wait 5 days after shed & offer the first meal- a rat fuzzy or small pup works great as you can leave them in overnight & they can't harm your snake.

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Originally Posted by NorthernRegius.com

Babies can be tricky, but you're doing fine. My extreme low-white Pied Zippy can home with me before her 1st shed & she's done great... in fact she produced for me this season.

I wait 5 days after shed & offer the first meal- a rat fuzzy or small pup works great as you can leave them in overnight & they can't harm your snake.

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Thanks for the advice! I spent almost 2 hours talking to the breeder and he really seemed to know what he was talking about (all advice seems to be checking out). I also picked up a 2 month old male Pastel Heterozygous Hypo/Ghost from the same breeder. He's doing great...already fed and seems to be settling in nicely.

Thanks again!
-Jordan

Good to hear & all the best with the snake.

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Originally Posted by demjor19

Thank you for actually responding. It's nice to see some helpful people around!

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Your welcome :)

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Originally Posted by demjor19

And this is why I wasnt even going to join...thanks!

I have been keeping herps for over 15 years. Although this is my first venture into BP's. I just wanted to make sure all the info I have recieved thus far is correct, but I guess that's too much to ask!?

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The only thing that was rude in this thread is your response to him. Unless you tell us you have cared for snakes for a long time, how are we supposed to know? Excuse us for assuming you are an amature who just rushed into things because he got excited because you didnt clarify. You need to be more specific before getting all touchy about response that are critical, and dont apply to you because we were uninformed.

That aside, its good to double check that everything is proper. God knows I do over and over. Sounds like you have everything under control and best of luck with your little guys first shed, hes a beauty.

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Originally Posted by specialk01510

The only thing that was rude in this thread is your response to him. Unless you tell us you have cared for snakes for a long time, how are we supposed to know? Excuse us for assuming you are an amature who just rushed into things because he got excited because you didnt clarify. You need to be more specific before getting all touchy about response that are critical, and dont apply to you because we were uninformed.

That aside, its good to double check that everything is proper. God knows I do over and over. Sounds like you have everything under control and best of luck with your little guys first shed, hes a beauty.

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Being that he made the assumption I was a beginner...maybe he should have asked what my background was? I dont feel I should have to write a biography in order to make a post without being slammed. Speaking of getting all touchy...

All that being said...thank you for the response an comments.

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Originally Posted by specialk01510

The only thing that was rude in this thread is your response to him. Unless you tell us you have cared for snakes for a long time, how are we supposed to know? Excuse us for assuming you are an amature who just rushed into things because he got excited because you didnt clarify. You need to be more specific before getting all touchy about response that are critical, and dont apply to you because we were uninformed.

That aside, its good to double check that everything is proper. God knows I do over and over. Sounds like you have everything under control and best of luck with your little guys first shed, hes a beauty.

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I think what he was going for was a that he was upset that the response come off as geared a little more at ridiculing him rather than trying to be informative or answer his question. But I do gotta agree that the returning response was a little excessive. A lot of communication also gets lost in writing, thats what I hate about text messaging sometimes lol

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Originally Posted by stinker2009

I think what he was going for was a that he was upset that the response come off as geared a little more at ridiculing him rather than trying to be informative or answer his question. But I do gotta agree that the returning response was a little excessive. A lot of communication also gets lost in writing, thats what I hate about text messaging sometimes lol

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I wasnt saying either party was correct in their actions. I was merely pointing out that 99% of the time its a beginner asking these questions on this forum. And clearly he wasnt a true beginner because he knew what he was talking about, but I probably would sound like I knew what I was talking about if I wrote something like this, and I concider myself to still be a beginner. He just sounded like he did alot of research, which is awesome, before he went ahead with getting the little guy. I know I did. And I wasnt trying to ridicule, just asking to keep everything civil.

Ok, enough of this nonsense, back to the original question. You sound like you have everything under control.

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Originally Posted by stinker2009

I think what he was going for was a that he was upset that the response come off as geared a little more at ridiculing him rather than trying to be informative or answer his question. But I do gotta agree that the returning response was a little excessive. A lot of communication also gets lost in writing, thats what I hate about text messaging sometimes lol

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Bingo!

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Originally Posted by specialk01510

I wasnt saying either party was correct in their actions. I was merely pointing out that 99% of the time its a beginner asking these questions on this forum. And clearly he wasnt a true beginner because he knew what he was talking about, but I probably would sound like I knew what I was talking about if I wrote something like this, and I concider myself to still be a beginner. He just sounded like he did alot of research, which is awesome, before he went ahead with getting the little guy. I know I did. And I wasnt trying to ridicule, just asking to keep everything civil.

Ok, enough of this nonsense, back to the original question. You sound like you have everything under control.

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HAHA! Everything's cool. I always do my best to provide my herps with the best care I can. I just hate registering on a new forum because everyone always seems to think you are a "newb". Even if I were a newb...nobody should get flamed for trying to learn.

Thanks again guys! I'll be sure to update as time passes!

Also...just for fun. Here is a pic of the pastel i picked up.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...0/DSCN1865.jpg

They're both so beautiful! Congrats & welcome :D

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Originally Posted by demjor19

And this is why I wasnt even going to join...thanks!

I have been keeping herps for over 15 years. Although this is my first venture into BP's. I just wanted to make sure all the info I have recieved thus far is correct, but I guess that's too much to ask!?

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Not sure which part of my response you took as rude or disrespectful but that wasn't my intent. And yes, I assumed you were new to BPs (which was accurate), as a simple bit of research can answer the questions that you asked. So to me, it seemed as though you were a little bit too uninformed for someone that "talked the breeder into" taking it home early. I made comments based on the information provided.

The previous responder had already addressed your questions, so I was voicing concern. Sorry, but new to herps or old to herps, new to BPs or experienced with them, I'm not one thats going to take a snake from a breeder before its shed and eaten a couple times. I'm also not going to sell them before then. Its in the best interest of the buyer, the seller, and most importantly, the snake.

My apologies for offending you, it wasn't my intent. Not sure the backlash was at all warranted, but to each his own. Best of luck with your new addition.

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Originally Posted by xscorpio

Not sure which part of my response you took as rude or disrespectful but that wasn't my intent. And yes, I assumed you were new to BPs (which was accurate), as a simple bit of research can answer the questions that you asked. So to me, it seemed as though you were a little bit too uninformed for someone that "talked the breeder into" taking it home early. I made comments based on the information provided.

The previous responder had already addressed your questions, so I was voicing concern. Sorry, but new to herps or old to herps, new to BPs or experienced with them, I'm not one thats going to take a snake from a breeder before its shed and eaten a couple times. I'm also not going to sell them before then. Its in the best interest of the buyer, the seller, and most importantly, the snake.

My apologies for offending you, it wasn't my intent. Not sure the backlash was at all warranted, but to each his own. Best of luck with your new addition.

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I have done a LOT of research, but it's always nice to actually hear it from people who keep them. On these forums...if info given is inaccurate, it will normally be called out quickly. That being said...I feel confident with the info the breeder gave me and the info you all gave me. I'm going to leave the rest of your post alone...as there is no reason to beat the dead horse.

Thanks for trying to clarify your side and my apologies to you as well.

Just a quick update. I checked on the Spider last night and her eyes went clear again....assuming the shed will be in a few days. hopefully all goes well.

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Originally Posted by demjor19

Just a quick update. I checked on the Spider last night and her eyes went clear again....assuming the shed will be in a few days. hopefully all goes well.

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I would say 3 days.. :)

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Originally Posted by piper

I would say 3 days.. :)

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That's about what I was figuring...3-5 days. I hope she starts over the weekend.

She succesfully completed her first shed last night...eye caps and all!