just got a baby ball python, did i do something wrong......

[FrankieCarbone]

ok when i was 13 i had a ball python for about a year, loved it, but i moved and my mother made me give it away, well now im a adult, found out about a reptile expo that was coming up and decided to get another ball python.

i went to the expo this sunday, and bought the basics, a 15 tall gallon tank, bad of aspen bedding, water dish, small hiding cave, UTH under that, temperature strip, and a 75 watt blue bulb. And of course the ball python. The way i picked him out is i basically went to every stand that were selling ball pythons and looked for the nicest one, finally after visiting three different breeders i see one with like 30 CB Ball Pythons in there and ONE shined the most out of the rest, it was the brightest and cleanest looking one, i observed it close and noticed it moves around alot, flickered his tongue etc etc, the things u are supposed to look for in a healthy snake. So i grabbed him up, judging from the size i would say he must have just hatched last month the earliest. Hes maybe 15-16 inches and the widest part of his body is maybe 1, or maybe 1.2 inches.

Ok, so i take him home, set everything up and since then (last sunday) he would not come out of the hiding cave whats so ever unless i bring him out, i have barely handled him much since i got him. Anyways today i finally decided to try and feed him, so i buy a small white mice from my local pet store, got a box, placed the snake in the box and dropped the mice in, after a minute or 2 the snake took interest and would strike at the mouse, but it was as if he could not get a grib on the mouse or coil, the snake striked the mouse atleast 5 times, in one of which when he striked the mouse kind of bit him i think because after which he burried his head in a coil, after that he would just look at the mouse and not even strike, finally i figuered i would help him out and i hit the mouse a few time with the end of a curtain hanger, well, i did know how easy it was to kill a mouse but i ended up like taking half his neck of, blood everywhere and the few second before the mouse died he was having like a stroke and the snake striked one last time but still no coil.

After that i dangled the dead mouse around and the snake would only look at it but wasent even striking at all, after a while he just lost interest and slidered away from the dead mouse. So fustrated i place him back in his cage and he quickly went into his cave. Then 10 minutes later he, for the first time came out of his hiding cave and was roaming around for a bit, at one point he opened his mouth like he kind of yawned. Then minutes later he went back to his cave and has not come out since.


Ive read up on how alot of ball pythons can be troublesum eaters, and this was my biggest fear when i bought it. I did not want to deal with force feeding or none of that stuff. The ball python i had when i was younger would eat a mouse once a week no problem. Did i do something wrong here?

By the way i dont have a humidity gauge (gonna pick one up friday) but the temp gauge reads 84 degrees all the time, sometimes maybe 82.

[Simple Man]

Your snake was striking defensively. You really need to let him settle in and he should be fed in his own enclosure. It sounds like you just stressed the hell out of your ball python. You should wait at least a week before trying again and don't be so hands on. Leave the mouse in the snake tank and just sit back and watch for 15 or 20 minutes. People try to "help" far too much and stress the snake out. Just my $.02...

Regards,

B

[jjmitchell]

Ohhh where to start.... You may start by reading the ball python care sheet on this sitehttp://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet Secondly Ditch the heat bulb they suck the humidity out of the enclosure and will be more problems than they will ever do good. Third a happy ball python is a hidden ball python, one that is out "exploring" is stressed. Fourth feeding any snake in a separate location is stressful, and just not a good idea... The whole BS story of them being aggressive if they are fed in their habitat or recognizing you as a food source is exactly that bull crap. Hope this helps and READ THE CARE SHEET

[FrankieCarbone]

i did quiet a bit of reading before i bought the snake and most of what you guys said is true, except i've read alot on how its better to feed the snake in a different enclosure, not because it will make him less aggressive but its just easier that way, i went along with it because i figuered what the hell, better that way incase it gets messy, where he eats since its a regular box im throwing it away anyways, but will do, i will feed him in his cage. Also i have read up on how when i first get the snake i should wait 2-3 weeks and let him be, and get settled, only i did not read that until after todays events.

First time i ever heard anybody tell me not to use the heat bulb. So its actually better to have no heat lamp or light at all and just a under tank heater????!

But yeh, he was stressed out as hell after that, it did not help that when i was putting him back in the cage the screen top fell and so did the heat lamp and made all this noise, the snake damn near ran into his cave.

[Simple Man]

Well, I have to give you some credit for coming here for help! You're going to do a great job if you keep reading. I would definately wait awhile for the snake to settle down. I wouldn't handle him for awhile either. As long as your hotside (UTH) is at 90 degrees and your coldside is around 80 degrees you don't need a lamp. A lamp can be good if your temps are cold but keep in mind it will reduce your humidity quite a bit. Keep reading and good luck!

Regards,

B

[Homegrownscales]

You have 1000x better of a chance of getting him to eat if you don't stick him in a small scary place with what to him could be a predator. Leave him in his cage. Feeding in the cage is not a problem and doesn't make
Them aggressive. Don't do that again. He was already stressed but that was way more stressful. That will actually make things worse. Anyways. Read the care sheet get familiarized and make sure he stays completely unstressed. The give him five days and try and feed him in the cage. To make it easier to watch the snake and the mouse take out the hides. So that the mouse can't get trapped in the snakes home. That will stress the little guy out if that happens.
Ps sorry if I sound like an ahole. Definitely not trying to be. Your doing good Take a deep breath now. Keep reading. 

[MissDizzyBee]

The yawn-looking motion was exactly that. Snake yawns are freaking adorable.

You'll get used to the hiding quickly. I actually worry more when mine's out too long.

[FrankieCarbone]

thanks everybody for all the replies. I just finished reading the care sheet. I will take you guys advice since of course you all know more than me. The one thing i cant do is the lighting, i live in NYC, and in the winter it can get cold as hell, and even with the heaters in my apt, there is no way i can keep 85-90 degrees in that tank with just a UTH. I have read in the care sheet, that bright lights are bad, i will change that, i currently have a "white" sun glo neodymium daylight bulb on 24hrs, and even though here in NYC is spring, in the morning time it can get pretty cold in this apt, so i have to keep it on, anybody have any suggestions on a blue, less bright light that will still keep my tank at the temperature it needs to be?

Also i just ordered a zoo med dual temp/humidity gauge, are those accurate enough? i know digital is better, is this good enough? i would have bought the digital but i already ordered the zoo med dual online.

[Simple Man]

That won't be accurate at all. Walmart sells an Acurite digital temp/hygrometer for like $12 in their "weather station outdoors" type area. You could look into a ceramic heat emitter. They screw into normal lamp sockets but only emit infrared heat instead of light.

Regards,

B

[FrankieCarbone]

looked up that acu-rite digital thermo/hygro, do i just velcro that inside the tank like i would the zoo med dual?