Ball Python Care: Questions about Sage.

[DrakaShore]

I'm not exactly a newbie to ball python care but then again, my ball pythons were never difficult per say. Every one that I've had in the past has been a great eater and has had little to no issues. The only ball python I have right now is named Sage. Sage was purchased from Petsmart about 2 weeks ago. I have a love hate relationship with pet stores. They have given me some great animals, but they were usually in poor health and their employees are NOT educated in even the basics of reptile husbandry (or any animal care for that matter). They gave me a feeding chart that didn't show any distinguishing markings for each snake, so I have no idea how they could tell the feeding charts apart for each individual snake.

This is a calendar I filled in on my Google account to match the feeding chart they gave me. They did not put when she shed but I have documented it since I adopted her. When you get to the calendar, look on the left and make sure it is showing you in month form. It is easier to view that way. The calendar goes from November 2, 2012 to now:

https://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=cc


The guy that sold Sage to me said that she (I don't really know the gender) was an absolute pig with eating. I looked on the chart and (as usual) they had her on fuzzies for way too long (in my opinion). I've heard some say that pet stores do this intentionally to keep the snake at a more "manageable" size. Not sure if that's true but I can't say I'd be surprised if it were. They were feeding her fuzzies until April 30th, then they started feeding her small mice. They force fed her fuzzies twice in the past and she missed quite a few meals it seems so I don't know what they guy meant by her being a pig. I hope everyone can see the chart. Does it look normal for a ball python? I have no idea of her age but she arrived at the store in the beginning of November of last year so she has to be at least 8 months old (according to the chart). I weighed her at 110 grams, empty, last week.

Sage is in a 50qt tub with 2 hides (one on the cool side and one on the warm, under the heating pad). She has a water bowl big enough for her to soak in if she wants. Her substrate is paper towels. The tub has breathing holes in it. I don't have a way to monitor the temperature or humidity exactly. I've been keeping ball pythons for a while and when I did have humidity and temperature thermometers, I knew what to do to get the exact, proper temperatures, and that's what I do now. I will be purchasing humidity and temperature thermometers very soon.

Sage is a few inches over a foot in length (guesstimating) and isn't chunky or thin width wise. I weighed her last night and she is 120 grams now. Is this a normal, healthy weight for a ball python that is supposedly over 8 months old?

My first ball python only ate live because I didn't know that it is sometimes better for it to eat f/t, so I never tried. He ate like a pig and took anything you offered him. I had another ball python that ate f/t whether it was moving or not. I could put it in the feeding arena and she would strike as soon as she sensed mouse fur. Every ball python I've had has been different (as each snake is it's own person lol). Sage would not eat the f/t mice I tried to feed her. I thawed the mouse out in hot (not boiling) water for about 10 minutes until there were no cold spots, it was very warm to the touch, and was soft and limp. The first time I placed it in the feeding area and expected her to strike like my last ball python did. Nothing. She'd smell it but wouldn't strike. Next time I tried, I wiggled it in front of her. Still nothing. Then I read about exposing the brain so they can smell it and strike. Did that and still nothing. I got so worried that after she wouldn't eat for the first week I had her, I went and bought her a live hopper mouse. I dropped it in the feeding area, she saw it, got that look in her eye, started breathing heavy, and bam...took it no problem. Perfect strike, coil, everything. I watch the strike and stay close by to intervene if I have to. I never leave my snakes alone until the mouse is dead dead.

She started turning blue-eyed and light colored immediately after the live mouse feeding. She did a complete healthy shed and defecated within the next 3 days. I weighed her after she defecated and she was 120 grams (gained 10 grams after the live mouse feeding). Now it's about time to feed her again. I don't keep live mice on hand so I tried again with the f/t. I've done everything I can think of (minus the chicken broth trick) and she won't take it. I'm afraid I may have gotten her too happy on live. She never reacts to the f/t the way she did to the live. I've never seen her that pumped up and excited. She completely knows the difference and isn't interested in anything without a heartbeat. I'm not interested in keeping live mice on hand and don't exactly like the idea of driving to the pet store weekly to get one mouse. Is there something else I can do to get her to eat f/t? I'm prepared to go get another live mouse in the next day or two if I have to. I don't like the idea of her eating something so readily and having to miss a meal because I won't go get her a live mouse :/ I feel like I can get her to gain weight quite easily if I fed her live, but like I said before, keeping them on hand is not something I'm wanting to do.

When she was in shed, I used terrarium moss in her warm hide. I would mist it with warm water. A day later, the moss smelled like fish and there was a yellow coloring on the paper towels. I thought she had defecated but she can't be doing that every day. Could she be peeing in the moss? I'm so confused. The moss doesn't smell bad out of the package (I bought it at Petsmart) but after being misted and in the hide for a day, it smells horrible. I don't like keeping it in her tub and letting her sit in it if it smells bad or she has gone potty in it. I replace it about every other day and I'm almost out already. I tried to use wet paper towels but they didn't stay wet or hold humidity well for me at all.

To sum up everything, these are my main questions:

Is she a normal weight for her supposed age?
Is there any way for me to tell how old she is approximately?
How can I get her to eat f/t?
Does her feeding chart look completely wrong for her? (Wrong age, etc.?)
What can I use in her humid hide?
Where can I get her probed? I don't have the supplies to do it and I don't want to try popping her. I want a professional to do it.

I'm posting a few picture of her via my flickr account. They are all photos of Sage (the lighting may be different in a few photos, making her look different).


http://www.flickr.com/photos/97875094@N05/

Thanks so much and excuse the over worrying newbie >.> I love this snake to death <3

[Andys-Python]

Sorry, I'm not able to bring up your calander.
From the photos, your snake doesn't look like it is under fed. With that said, I have 10+ snakes from llate 2012 that are between 300 and 500 gms. Even the two 'problem' eaters, that I assist fed at one time, are about 200 grms.
Generally speaking, your snake should be eating every 5 to seven days as a young growing snake. You never want to assist feed unless the animal is in danger of starving to death. Assist feeding is stressful to both you and your snake and if your snake is stressed, it won't want to eat. Catch 22. One of my 'problem' feeders is still a problem and only eats every other week or so. Still, I don't force it. Each snake will eat at it's own pace.
Just make sure your husbandry is as perfect as you can get it and your snake is not stressed. Leave it alone as much as possible. I feed right in the tubs they live it so they aren't stressed by moving them into a feeding tub.
I've found that most any snake will respond better to live rather than F/T or F/K. I've also found that smaller is better when trying to get a 'problem' eater to eat. Sometimes the larger prey seems to intimidate some.

Just some of my thoughts.

[FireStorm]

She doesn't look emaciated, but 120g is definitely on the small side if she is really 8mos old. You may find it helpful to get a few more live meals into her and then try switching her. Once she's gained a little weight, you may be able to just wait her out until she gets hungry enough to switch.

A few husbandry related questions, though. Do you have a thermostat regulating that UTH? If not, I would suggest getting one, and a thermometer, ASAP. Proper temps are key for getting a good feeding response. Also, a 50qt tub is pretty big for a 120g BP. That may even be a bit bigger than what we keep our adults in. So I would recommend really cluttering the tub up with fake plants or crumpled paper for added security.