New BP Feeding???

[ZiggyKaa]

Hi,
Just got a new BP from Petco on Sunday. They told me it is a captive bred hatchling. They had about 8 babies in the tank. The first one I handled struck at me , so we put him back and eventually settled on a much more docile, very gold BP. It is a beauty! We also purchased The Ball Python Manual. Good book! This is a very informative website and am glad I found it.

We fed the snake a thawed to room temperature mouse on Wednesday night at about 10 pm. Kaa was in the warm side hide and I dangled the mouse about 3 inches from his face for about 10 secs. He showed no interest so I dropped it in front of the hide. I looked in on him about a half hour later and only about a third of the mouse was still visible through the BP's jaws. So happy this first hurdle has been cleared!

I do have a couple of questions. First: The pet store only sells 1 size frozen mouse. It looked about 2 inches long, not including the tail. The BP is about 15 - 16 inches long. The bulge of mouse is barely perceptible in the thickest part of the snake. Do you think this meal was too small? If so, should I feed the mouse that is in the freezer?

Second: The snake has not been handled since feeding. When he was handled he would occasionally defecate during the handling. Is this a defense mechanism or just bad timing on our part? Or maybe it is a sign of stress.

Lastly the pet shop carries a carpet like cage substrate that they say is not too abrasive for snakes. I like the looks and neatness and ease of cleanup of this product. Good idea or should I stick with the coconut husks? I don't like the look of newspaper for bedding.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Ginevive]

I have been "defecated on" while handling my snakes, and I think that it was just bad timing. In all but one case. This case being, the WC adult male BP I rescued. He didn't really defecate on me, but he let out this "musky" smelling stuff. That's a defensive emission, not a "normal" emission. I never knew BPs could do that until it happened. He is, after all, an animal caught in the wild as an adult. But if your snake merely passed normal feces while you were handling, then it was probably just a coincidence.
It is good to hear that your new guy is eating. Was it a fuzzy mouse, or a pinkie? I would not feed pinkies; fuzzies are more nutritious because of their more-formed bones.
I highly recommend asking the store to get in larger mice, because one larger meal is better than several small sporadic feedings. I usually don't see a distinct bulge in snakes after feeding unless the animal is underweight. Or you could order some frozen mice from a website like mieconice.com. And congrats on havint a f/t eater! Many people go through alot of strife trying to get their BP switched frrom live to thawed! Also, you are right in your feeding timing; it is better to feed BPs after dark, since they are nocturnal.

I use "astruturf" substrate, and I like it. Much more attratcive than newspaper, although you do have to put in the extra effort to wash it when it is soiled unless you plan on spending big bucks on new astroturf every few weeks! I keep two pieces per enclosure, so that I can replace the soiled one while it's cleaned. The kind I use has both brown and beige colors, and I bought it at a hardware store for something like 30 cents a square foot. They sell green too. Good luck with your BP! I never knew that petco sells captive bred BPs. Maybe captive hatched?

[jotay]

Hi welcome to the forum, this is the best site to get the right info on your bp.
Follow the Ball Python Manual and you should be good.
at 15-16" he can eat a full size mouse with no problem and that is what you should feed him.
Try not to handle or feed for about two weeks to let him get use to his new house and when you handle he shouldn't defecate on ya. ( was more than likely urine than feces) he was just stressed more than likely.
Any other questions or concerns please just pop on and ask the people on here are awesome!

[JamminJonah]

Hey! Welcome - yeah I have heard really good things about carpet, just be sure to get two pieces so you can switch them when you need to clean one. I use coconut husk but I know lots of people that are happy with the carpet.
About the small meal.. there is much debate on this but if at all possible it's best to try not to multi feed but rather to try feeding 1 appropriately sized meal. If petco only carries that one kind of mouse you may have to order online .. there are a few posts/links about that and try to find a place you can order a mix bag from. It may seem expensive but if you think of it in terms of feedings like I just bought a bag of six rat pups. That means I'm good for six weeks! So really it works out to be about the same as dog food almost.
Handling - it is usually best to wait 24-48hrs after eating to handle the snake they can get stressed and regurge if you don't wait long enough. A good thing to do would be to take your new BP to the vet once he goes to the bathroom (bring the stool sample) there have been many reports of pet shop snakes with internal parasites or mites or ticks etc. So it's best to get him checked out. Good job feeding F/T! That is a very responsible choice and you're lucky a lot of people have had troubles with that transition.
htt://www.arav.org is a good place to look for a herp vet in your area! Hope I've covered your questions feel free to post any others we'll be glad to help you out! and once again welcome to the forum!

[gen]

Welcome! Sounds like you're off to a good start, and you've found the right place to get all of your questions answered!

[gen]

Oh yeah, I just switched from newspaper to "Lizard Liner" carpet, and I really like it!

[ZiggyKaa]

Well, thanks for the warm welcome, the encouragement, and the good advice. Today we went back to the petshop and bought 2 packs of Lizard Liner. We have our bp in a 20 gallon long tank. We also have 3 African spur thighed tortoises ( which we are about to let loose in our yard for the season), 2 Jackson's chameleons, a hamster, a guinea pig and a weimaraner. Oh yeah, 1 wife and 3 kids.

Thanks again!

[Marla]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! This is a great community for learning (and bragging ) about ball pythons and other herps. One thing you probably know because of your other pets, but many new ball python owners don't realize that the fecal sample the vet needs is a brown substance looking much like cat p00p, but snakes also pass a chalky white-yellow substance called urates that is frequently accompanied by excess fluid when expelled.

[rex322]

i find astro turf to be easy to clean and very appealing

[gen]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! This is a great community for learning (and bragging ) about ball pythons and other herps.

Ah yes, emphasis on the bragging! :wink: