Newbie intro with a couple photos

[Monty's_Mom]

My first post is to say hello and that I enjoy the info and tone of this BB. I am sure most of my advice is going tell new owners to be patient and don't panic. I cannot say anything else because I am too new at being a snake owner, even after owning my Monty for 2.5 years.

My male Monty hatched almost 3 years ago, I picked him up from the breeder (not a pet store) about 2 months after he hatched. The breeder had 3 BPs left from this clutch and Monty was the gentlest and calmest of the bunch. He has never hissed or struck at us.

Here he is, the first day home, the objects that are in the back are NOT in his tank. The fake vine he is on is about 1 inch thick.


Here is Monty today, just after a perfect shed. He used to eat mice pinkies, now he is eating adult mice. He will take F/T or live mice.


I have always used the same kitchen tongs to feed him, whether it be F/T or live mice. I feel bad for the live mouse, but I always stun them. The guts of frozen thawed mice just haven't stayed in the body for the last 3-4 boxes. Perhaps it was how I thawed them? A coffee cup of boiling water, and let the frozen mouse soak in that until the water temp was at 98F or so. Monty would strike and squeeze, then I had to wear latex gloves to get him from the feeding container back to his tank.

His first year caused me worry. Was he eating enough? He wouldn't strike, he won't eat!! He stayed small and he still is... maybe? He is 3 years old, about 3 feet long, about 3 inches diameter at his widest and weighs 345G. The tip of his tail seems quite thin... does it?

See? It is so easy to worry. He has always been active, lots of tongue flicking, no RIs, scale rot or any other health issues. Most sheds have been perfect, a couple were done in patches and only 2 left behind skin on his eyes. I put a green heavy duty unused but well rinsed pot scrubber in his tank so he can rub against it when he wants. I replace it regularly and always when I notice skin on it.

I did assisted feeding for about 6 months and only when he wouldn't eat for 3-4 weeks of either F/T or stunned/just killed live mice. That was the first year I have owned him and usually happened only in the winter months. The last year, he has sometimes gone for 2 weeks without eating in the winter. This spring, he is eating live adult mice every 5-7 days.

He is in a 20 gallon glass tank with a screen top. I have a towel over 80% of the screen and keep that moist. Replace the towel at least once a week! Red heat lamp so the hot side is 85-95, cool side is 70-75 One hide with a thermostat UTH under his hide, he likes his hide. A large water bowl directly under the heat lamp and a small one that is partway up the tank with magnets and mid-way between the hot and cool side. I use coconut husk and keep the area around his large water bowl really moist. I like the coconut husk because it takes a holds moisture without going moldy for a long time. I think it is soon time for a bigger terrarium and one better suited for a BP.

[midgard]

Try feeding him rats. 20 gallons seems small for BP's but people keep them in rack systems so I don't think you have to get a bigger tank. I have heard that big tanks can stress them and they go off feed or are aggressive. I think you need to get him on rats or feed him more mice on feeding days.

[Monty's_Mom]

It is very hard for me to get frozen rats. It is illegal to keep live rats in Alberta. Is it better to feed 2 live or F/T adult mice at the same feeding or feed every 2-3 days?

My neighbour bought a huge male normal BP last summer. Alice is 5 feet long and a good body size. I think he usually eats 2 adult mice every feeding.

I know that Monty has not grown much, he is still quite small for his age. I haven't worried too much in the last 1.5 years about how often he eats. Sometimes he will eat once a week for 5 months, then he will refuse to eat twice. The second time he refuses, I wait for 2 weeks before trying again and I haven't done an assisted feed for 1.5 years. He is small for his age but I don't think he looks too skinny. I'm not interested in breeding so I'm not concerned with how fast he reaches a certain weight/size. I just want him to be healthy and his usual easy going way.

[midgard]

I would just feed two or three mice on feeding day. That's what I do.

[Monty's_Mom]

So I put Monty in his feeding container, a small cooler and dangled a large adult stunned mouse in front of him, took about 2 seconds. I will feed him 2 mice per feeding now.

[C2tcardin]

Welcome to the forum and I have to say Monty looks great. I've noticed too that when I quickly thaw rats or mice in hot water they are more likely to explode vs when I air thaw them over the course of the afternoon then heat with a hair dryer just before serving. It must be something in the rapid thawing that does it.

[Lynchman18]

What I do with my F/T is the evening before feeding day I place the frozen mouse from the freezer to the refrigerator and give atleast 12 hours before I place them into a cup of hot water.. I make sure that when I squeeze the mouse it feels soft.. I've never had a mouse's guts fall out, this method you should try. As far as Assisted feeding i'm not sure what you mean by that however if you mean force feeding that isn't something you should do unless instructed by a vet. Ball pythons are naturally picky eater's at times.. I had a ball python go off feed for 7 months he never looked skinny and I always tried to feed him.. He had water in his cage. but refused every attempt at food for 7 months and once he started eating he never fasted again. So if your ball doesn't eat for 3 to 4 weeks you really don't have anything to worry about. sometimes balls go off feed for several reasons so check his temp and humidity. If your having a humidity issue get some styra-foam sheets at a local home depot or home improvement shop and wrap the back and sides as well as placing the towel on top. I used to be a tank person and did that trick however I didn't need to dampen the towel on top.. with the water bowl directly below the heat lamp and the sides, back and top covered I achieved a desirable humidity level. BP don't do well in big enclosures so the biggest you would ever need is a 30 to 40g tank. 30g is probably the most ideal. I recently converted to rack systems for my BP's and don't have issues with humidity and they seem to be happier.

[Monty's_Mom]

About 2 months after Monty came home, he didn't eat for 3 months. I held his head, a little behind his jaws when he was flat on the table. He didn't seem upset about this. I placed the nose of the freshly killed mouse at his snout and VERY gently, as he accepted it, put pressure until his mouth opened. When the mouse was in his mouth just to the ears was at the tip of his nose, I let him go and he finished eating them just fine. I did this I think, 3 times in total and after he wouldn't eat for 6-8 weeks each time and only in his first year. I wouldn't do it again for a snake that was probably only being a picky eater. A person's first snake teaches a lot in patience. I try to keep his tank at 85-95 on the hot side, 72-78 on the cool side and humidity around 50% unless I think he is close to shedding, then I bump it up to 70% or so. Central Alberta is quite dry, summers can be very warm.

[DVirginiana]

Cute snake.

Just bringing this up, but you should never stun prey before giving it to your snake. Captive bred feeder mice are bred to be completely docile until something actually hurts them. If you don't stun, you are exposing your snake to a docile mouse before he strikes, if you do stun you're exposing your snake to a mouse that is already defensive and ready to bite. Additionally, an injured or concussed mouse does not move normally and can affect how effectively your snake strikes and grabs them.

Also, many would say that stunning the mouse is just causing additional and unnecessary pain. Unless you have had someone show you how to do a cervical dislocation (pre-killing) you really shouldn't do anything to the mouse before putting it in with your snake.

I realize you've been stunning with no problem for quite some time now, but it's really just extra pain for the mouse and an accident waiting to happen for your snake.

On another note, mine isn't big enough to handle large rats (only live kind available to me) so she eats only live mice (won't take f/t). I do one mouse at a time, but on an increased feeding schedule, so she eats twice a week instead of once. Mainly because I don't want to be left with a mouse to take care of for a week when she decides she's full after one.