Plop: The unexpected rescue... (lots of pics)

[OsirisRa32]

Yay! Glad i could make you smile. He is such a neat little guy.



Thank you so much! I hope so too.



I have an 18x18x18 exoterra... Should i move him to that and THEN the 40? or.... ?

Also thanks so much! X3

I'd move him to the exoterra first then the 40...just make sure the 40 is nice and cluttered up...Ball pythons prefer tighter more enclosed spaces- as they typically inhabit abandoned burrows and holes in their native ranges.

[Gizmo]

I'd move him to the exoterra first then the 40...just make sure the 40 is nice and cluttered up...Ball pythons prefer tighter more enclosed spaces- as they typically inhabit abandoned burrows and holes in their native ranges.

Okay! Thats great anyway, gives me time to set up the 40 just how i want it anyway. Im going to go all out and make it beautiful, a real show stopping piece for display in my livingroom. And while i am working on it, he can have plenty of room in the exoterra lol.

[Nick_bp]

What you did was amazing and your doing a great job.

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[Gizmo]

What you did was amazing and your doing a great job.

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Thank you, i really appreciate the comment.

[_Victoria]

This is the most amazing and heartwarming rescue story I've read. He looks fantastic and so happy! Thanks for sharing and I hope to read updates in the future.


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[Gizmo]

This is the most amazing and heartwarming rescue story I've read. He looks fantastic and so happy! Thanks for sharing and I hope to read updates in the future.


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Well im doing what i can for him. He is going to be soooooo spoiled.




Im moving Plop from 3 pinkies to a single (rat) hopper at feeding now that he has some girth, i dont want to support my local chain stores, but no one seems to have the right size, what is a good web option for buying rats where it is not required to buy in bulk?

[HouseholdReptiles]

I've lurked on these forums for a while but finally had to join up when I saw this post! Great Job!

[Archimedes]

Well im doing what i can for him. He is going to be soooooo spoiled.




Im moving Plop from 3 pinkies to a single (rat) hopper at feeding now that he has some girth, i dont want to support my local chain stores, but no one seems to have the right size, what is a good web option for buying rats where it is not required to buy in bulk?

Depending on your location, you may have local feeder breeders that can do custom order sizes. Join local reptile groups on Facebook, and check your local Craigslist for feeder advertisements.

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[angllady2]

What a heartwarming story. Would you believe I once rescued a baby ball that was almost as bad as him? 8 months old, and it weighed a mere 70 grams. Which is what a lot of newborn balls weigh. His lovely owners fed him a single pinky mouse a month.

It really is amazing just how resilient these guys can be, although not every one we see in this condition survives.

Take your time about a bigger enclosure. A 40 gallon tank is big even for an adult female, that poor little lamb would be lost in something that huge. What he is in right now will be fine for a while, and I prefer to increase enclosure size gradually so I don't stress one out.

One word of caution about the show tank. Keep in mind they are a beast to keep clean. I learned that the hard way. Nothing like trying for 3 hours to get the poo your snake was kind enough to leave over half the tank bottom and then thoughtfully crawl though and smear over most of the decorations clean.

I wish you and your lovely pastel baby all the best. I think you two will have a long and fulfilling life together.

Gale

[Parysa]

Wow! What a stunning change! Good job!
To answer some of your questions:

-Don't use human hand warmers or heat packs. They get too hot and can cook him. Look up the company Ship Your Reptiles. They sell reptile-specific heat packs that last 48+ hours and are safe.

-40 gallons is WAYYYYY too big for a baby BP. Even my 1500g breeder girl isn't in a 40 gallon because she stresses in anything bigger than a 20 gallon (I use tubs for most of mine, so the equivalent for her). 10 will last you a good while and then a 20 after that will work for a long time and possibly permanently if it's a male and stays fairly small. My 4' 1300g male is in a 20 gal and doesn't need anything bigger. 40 gals are typically only used with large females. Also, you need to keep the humidity around 60% normally and 70% when he's in shed and that's going to be virtually impossible in a large tank. Humidity is hard to keep right in even a 10 gallon tank, which is why most experienced keepers recommend tubs or snake-specific cages. I live in a really humid area and still have to mist my tanks several times per day. My tubs don't have that problem.

-If you're on Facebook, I recommend the Ball Python Owners group. A lot of people from here are on there and it's geared toward educating new owners. It's a good place to start in addition to this forum.

-Definitely get a thermostat. Your hot spot should be about 90* give or take a few degrees. I've tested unregulated heat mats and had them get over 130* which can kill your snake. You can find cheap ones on Amazon that will work in the short term. Your cool spot should be between 80 and 85*. Also, I recommend an Accurite indoor-outdoor thermometer-hygrometer. It has a probe you can use for the hot spot and the main unit monitors ambient/cool side temps and humidity. And they're cheap and work really well. Analog ones are horrendously inaccurate. I had an analog and it read 10% humidity when it was actually 70%. I was over-misting and could have made him sick.

Plop is adorable. You're doing great!