!!!Need help and advice!!!

[Mft62485]

The husbandry is perfect and I haven't touched it -_- A vet visit isn't an option, it's just too expensive! The checkup will be more than the snake, and who knows how much the treatment will cost if there is something wrong with it. If this was an expensive morph, over 1 month old, or a proven breeder, then it would be at the vet faster than you could say vet!
And just for the record, I HATE chihuahuas!!!

If you can't afford a vet visit, you shouldn't have a pet of any kind. Although I too dislike chihuahua's.

[hyena]

As others have pointed out, there were some issues with your setup, but this is the part that got to me. I'm not trying to be offensive or anything, things don't come across the same through text so please don't take it that way, but if you were so intent on getting a ball python before, then why is it that now that you finally have one you aren't willing to take it to a vet? What if one day it develops a problem, would you be as unwilling to take it to the vet then? Vet visits are something you need to factor in whenever you get any kind of pet, including ball pythons.

straight up. you owe it to the animal to provide the care it deserve along with patience. Dont give up after just a short time...

[gold217]

straight up. you owe it to the animal to provide the care it deserve along with patience. Dont give up after just a short time...

Ok. Don't even involve yourself in this. You don't even know half of the troubles I went through for that snake.

[Mft62485]

Ok. Don't even involve yourself in this. You don't even know half of the troubles I went through for that snake.

So let me get this. Now you want people to stay out of your business because you're having a hard time. Too bad now the snake will suffer. I don't personally care about your situation, if it's that bad, maybe you don't need a pet you can't care for.

[kitedemon]

The temps are fine!!!!!!!! Analogues are not as accurate as you think! I tested with a digital and an analogue. I fixed all the husbandry mistakes (not that there were many) so that wasn't the problem!

I hate to burst your bubble but generally cheap digitals are not very accurate either. An accurate analogue (+/-0.5ºF) is a whole lot cheaper than an accurate digital (+/-0.5ºF). Did you test the analogue against a reliable meter? Do not ASSUME that an analogue is 10 degrees off I have never seen one that far wrong yet, although I own a digital that is.

A snakes are very sensitive to temperature issues. Are you sure that you have a proper gradient? (80ºF cool 90ºF warm with ambient air temps 79-85ºF)

[WingedWolfPsion]

If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet. PERIOD.

It doesn't matter whether it's a dog, a cat, a parakeet, or a ball python. The cost of the animal is COMPLETELY irrelevant when considering the cost of its care.

Yes, saying 'well, if it gets sick and dies I'll just buy a new one, because they're cheap' DOES make you a bad person. It actually makes you a criminal. When you take responsibility for the life of an animal, you're responsible for providing it with veterinary care when it is sick or injured as well.

That's not just morality.

That is the LAW. It is, in fact, NOT legal to fail to provide vet care for a sick pet. In some areas, it is a misdemeanor, and in others, it is a felony.

If you can't afford treatment, then you can have the animal humanely euthanized, but allowing it to die of its illness is animal cruelty. What this means is, if you get caught doing it, you will be prosecuted. Depending on where you are, you may be barred from owning any animals for a period of time. You see, you simply do not have the legal right to neglect an animal to death.

If you really can't afford vet care, then you must give the animal up to a reptile rescue group or other individual who CAN afford vet care. If it dies in your custody, and you knew it was ill and failed to provide care, then you have committed an act of animal cruelty and broke the law.

This is reality.

[kitedemon]

WingedWolfPsion I wasn't going to get into the morality issue at all. But you as always said what has been needed to be said. I work with a reptile rescue group ... enough said.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Now, hatchling ball pythons:

1) Do not handle, other than for cage cleaning, until the animal eats.
2) Make sure the cage is small. If it's in a 10 gallon tank, try putting it in a 5 quart shoebox bin inside the tank (clamp the sides so they can't be pried up, and use a soldering iron to make air holes). Ball pythons can become stressed in larger spaces.
3) Make sure the hides are just big enough for the animal to squeeze tightly into, and have a single entrance.
4) Make sure the enclosure is in a low-traffic area.
5) Offer food at night, 1 hour after the lights have gone out. Ball pythons are nocturnal.
6) Offer the EXACT same food the animal was eating before you got it, and the exact same size. Leave.
7) Leave the food in for an hour. If it is not eaten, remove it. Do not offer food again for at least 3 days. (Many say 1 week...I say 3 days, because hatchlings cannot go long periods without food, and the extra days rarely matter--the feeding response seems to reset after 3 days in really young animals).
8) If that doesn't work after 2 tries, fill the bin with crumpled newspaper, wait a day, and then try again.
9) If your snake becomes emaciated and begins to weaken, take it to a vet for tube-feeding. Nutritional support may be necessary if an animal is too thin.
10) Just because the store said the animals ate doesn't mean they ate. Whenever possible, buy from a breeder, not a store. Buy a well-established hatchling if you are a first-time owner. (That means an animal that weighs over 150 grams).

[ball python 22]

My uncles never missed a meal till he moved it to a bigger tank and the temps on the hot side are cooler than proper temps. So dont worry it is probaly stressed and turn up the temps then try to feed again.

[gold217]

If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet. PERIOD.

It doesn't matter whether it's a dog, a cat, a parakeet, or a ball python. The cost of the animal is COMPLETELY irrelevant when considering the cost of its care.

Yes, saying 'well, if it gets sick and dies I'll just buy a new one, because they're cheap' DOES make you a bad person. It actually makes you a criminal. When you take responsibility for the life of an animal, you're responsible for providing it with veterinary care when it is sick or injured as well.

That's not just morality.

That is the LAW. It is, in fact, NOT legal to fail to provide vet care for a sick pet. In some areas, it is a misdemeanor, and in others, it is a felony.

If you can't afford treatment, then you can have the animal humanely euthanized, but allowing it to die of its illness is animal cruelty. What this means is, if you get caught doing it, you will be prosecuted. Depending on where you are, you may be barred from owning any animals for a period of time. You see, you simply do not have the legal right to neglect an animal to death.

If you really can't afford vet care, then you must give the animal up to a reptile rescue group or other individual who CAN afford vet care. If it dies in your custody, and you knew it was ill and failed to provide care, then you have committed an act of animal cruelty and broke the law.

This is reality.

This: 'well, if it gets sick and dies I'll just buy a new one, because they're cheap' DOES make you a bad person. Is absolutley NOT how I look at the situation. That snake was anything BUT neglected!!!!! I even asked people on THIS website if I should take it to the vet, and they said no, only if there is something wrong. Being a stubborn feeder is not an uncommon issue for bps, so I kept offering it food. I am by no means a bad person, or a criminal (really?). This was NOT cruelty, neglect, or abuse by any means and I hate to break it to you, but I DIDN'T break the law. And how did I allow it to die? It did cross my mind that it could be sick, but I was assured that it was just a stubborn feeder. So get your facts straight, because I tried everything for this snake, and don't need you accusing me of neglect, or being a criminal.