Swimming BP?

[S.E.]

I've used 2 or 3 different types of aspen filings, coconut fibers, etc. The best I have used so far is newspaper. Save the B&W newspapers & shred em yourself. My ball actually ate/swallowed some of the coconut fibers. The vet made a small incision & then took about 40 minutes of cleaning the fibers out. The vet said newspapers were the best to use. Also, my ball (a Spider Ball Python) will not eat either thawed out mice or live mice. He would rather sleep with em than eat em. I feed him about 25 units of Hills dog/cat food about every week and half to 2 weeks. He tends to move from side to side, up & down. We think its because of the breeding it's hard for him to fixate on prey to eat by himself. Be careful of who & where you go to when you buy your Ball Python. Good Luck

[Flyheight]

Wobble is a neurological condition that's present in the spider gene. They basically have difficult telling up from down.

You can read more about it here: http://www.owalreptiles.com/issues.php

O.O That was informative. For better or for worse the patterning on the spider morph doesn't really speak to me so I think I'll avoid it. Thanks.

I've used 2 or 3 different types of aspen filings, coconut fibers, etc. The best I have used so far is newspaper. Save the B&W newspapers & shred em yourself. My ball actually ate/swallowed some of the coconut fibers. The vet made a small incision & then took about 40 minutes of cleaning the fibers out. The vet said newspapers were the best to use. Also, my ball (a Spider Ball Python) will not eat either thawed out mice or live mice. He would rather sleep with em than eat em. I feed him about 25 units of Hills dog/cat food about every week and half to 2 weeks. He tends to move from side to side, up & down. We think its because of the breeding it's hard for him to fixate on prey to eat by himself. Be careful of who & where you go to when you buy your Ball Python. Good Luck

Awwww, poor baby!
Yeah I plan to look at and handle my selected ball in person before I purchase if possible.

Shred the newspaper? I thought newspaper and paper towels you were supposed to just lay flat for use as substrate?

[Zincubus]

I've used 2 or 3 different types of aspen filings, coconut fibers, etc. The best I have used so far is newspaper. Save the B&W newspapers & shred em yourself. My ball actually ate/swallowed some of the coconut fibers. The vet made a small incision & then took about 40 minutes of cleaning the fibers out. The vet said newspapers were the best to use. Also, my ball (a Spider Ball Python) will not eat either thawed out mice or live mice. He would rather sleep with em than eat em. I feed him about 25 units of Hills dog/cat food about every week and half to 2 weeks. He tends to move from side to side, up & down. We think its because of the breeding it's hard for him to fixate on prey to eat by himself. Be careful of who & where you go to when you buy your Ball Python. Good Luck

You feed Hills Dog food to a Royal/Ball python ???

Much more information required !!!


As to substrate . I've used Orchid bark for many years and simply feed over a couple of pieces of card in the viv . Never had an issue with ingestion of substrate.

[MissterDog]

So from the sounds of it, it may be possible we'll be getting our first ball python around the same time! How exciting! I may be getting mine either later this year or early next, so let's share our snake day together when the time comes!

Keep us posted!

[Kcl]

Hills dog food has been used as a substitute for carnivore care for tube feeding....but tube feeding at all is a last or second to last resort for situations like lizardlick's adopted significantly underweight bp that was losing a dangerous amount of additional weight while being treated for the underlying issue for the refusal to eat (RI). It's only meant to keep them going and strong enough to eat once the reason for the anorexia is resolved. The analysis of "can't eat" is very concerning to me. From your picture of him, your snake doesn't look sufficiently underweight to have to tube feed SE. Also a hydrated bp at appropriate temps shouldn't have an issue with ingesting a bit of coco fiber.. Are you sure you shouldn't get a new vet SE???

I'm sorry for derailing, I'm just concerned...

[Flyheight]

I've used Orchid bark for many years and simply feed over a couple of pieces of card in the viv.

Sorry, could you clarify what you mean by "feed over a couple of pieces of card in the viv"? I'm not familiar with all the terminology.

So from the sounds of it, it may be possible we'll be getting our first ball python around the same time! How exciting! I may be getting mine either later this year or early next, so let's share our snake day together when the time comes!

Keep us posted!

Oh, for sure, I'd be more than happy to share pics and details when I get my snek. I'm planning on sometime in the next couple months. Gotta finish getting my room set up (my snake will be living in my bedroom and I'm in the middle of a big spring cleaning project...getting rid of a lot of junk and finally upgrading from my kept far too long twin bed to a queen XD). Then I gotta get my tank decisions all squared away and purchased and then I have to find a breeder; still don't know where I'm gonna get my snake from yet. XD

Hills dog food has been used as a substitute for carnivore care for tube feeding....but tube feeding at all is a last or second to last resort for situations like lizardlick's adopted significantly underweight bp that was losing a dangerous amount of additional weight while being treated for the underlying issue for the refusal to eat (RI). It's only meant to keep them going and strong enough to eat once the reason for the anorexia is resolved. The analysis of "can't eat" is very concerning to me. From your picture of him, your snake doesn't look sufficiently underweight to have to tube feed SE. Also a hydrated bp at appropriate temps shouldn't have an issue with ingesting a bit of coco fiber.. Are you sure you shouldn't get a new vet SE???

I'm sorry for derailing, I'm just concerned...

No need to feel guilty for derailing. We're all here to make sure we get the proper care for our beloved slinkies.



Any thoughts on shredded vs whole newspaper/paper towels?

[MissterDog]

Oh, for sure, I'd be more than happy to share pics and details when I get my snek. I'm planning on sometime in the next couple months. Gotta finish getting my room set up (my snake will be living in my bedroom and I'm in the middle of a big spring cleaning project...getting rid of a lot of junk and finally upgrading from my kept far too long twin bed to a queen XD). Then I gotta get my tank decisions all squared away and purchased and then I have to find a breeder; still don't know where I'm gonna get my snake from yet. XD

Totally looking forward to it! What morph are you thinking of getting? MorphMarket is a great place to look, I believe you can filter your searches based on your location. Just be sure to check for any feedback or reviews about the breeder you are interested in and ask questions. Alternatively if you have a reptile show in your area coming soon that would be a great option too!

[Flyheight]

Totally looking forward to it! What morph are you thinking of getting? MorphMarket is a great place to look, I believe you can filter your searches based on your location. Just be sure to check for any feedback or reviews about the breeder you are interested in and ask questions. Alternatively if you have a reptile show in your area coming soon that would be a great option too!

Wow, MorphMarket looks like a FANTASTIC resource! Thank you so much for pointing that out to me. Looks like I have several options within about an hour drive of me.

As for what morph I want, I haven't thought that far yet. I did JUST get my copy of "The Complete Ball Python" by Kevin McCurley in the mail today and it looks to have a rather extensive library of morphs. It is 12 years old though so there's probably some newer ones out there. The other smaller book I got earlier had a good number of morphs in it too, but it drove me up a wall that the author didn't have the pictures of the particular morphs on the same page as where she talked about that morph. XD

Not looking to drop more than a couple hundred on the snake itself though so that probably puts several of the morphs right out. But looking at what is in my price range I should have a good selection just from sellers in my area. That said I guess I could consider shipping if the seller is highly rated enough.

Looks like I have a couple options for reptile shows each about an hour or so away from me over the next several months.

[Flyheight]

Can't figure out how to edit my previous post. Is there an age limit on editing or am I just blind?
Hm... I appear to be able to edit this one. So I'm going to assume there's an age limit.

Anyway I've been in touch with a breeder in my area who has helped me with what I think are the last few problems I had.
1)Glass doors, not acrylic for my geographic region
2)Off feed snakes can be checked for returning to feed once every 3 weeks
3)Found a herp vet in my area (Stahl Exotic Animal Veterinary Services)
4)I shouldn't need a separate humidifier in my geographic location, but I should double check when I make my setup
5)A different way to prekill rats for feeding to snakes (as opposed to frozen/thawed) is to buy live ones then put them in an box with a tube that slowly fills the box with CO2. This may not be appropriate for only feeding one snake what with the cost of purchasing CO2 and all, but still interesting to know
6)Confirmed that for an AP cage a heat pad will not work, need heat tape
7)He has an adorable bp that I plan on buying. He's promised to hold it for me until my setup is ready (with proper down payment of course). The breeder is so close we won't even have to ship, I'll just go pick it up when I'm all set. =D Also I can inspect it before purchasing and if something somehow turns out to be wrong with it I can ask the original owner to fix it before he sells to me.
8)I should get a heat gun too


Research still to do:
1)Mock up T8 vs T12 interior sizes for fit checking ease of accessibility

[KMG]

Can't figure out how to edit my previous post. Is there an age limit on editing or am I just blind?
Hm... I appear to be able to edit this one. So I'm going to assume there's an age limit.

Anyway I've been in touch with a breeder in my area who has helped me with what I think are the last few problems I had.
1)Glass doors, not acrylic for my geographic region
2)Off feed snakes can be checked for returning to feed once every 3 weeks
3)Found a herp vet in my area (Stahl Exotic Animal Veterinary Services)
4)I shouldn't need a separate humidifier in my geographic location, but I should double check when I make my setup
5)A different way to prekill rats for feeding to snakes (as opposed to frozen/thawed) is to buy live ones then put them in an box with a tube that slowly fills the box with CO2. This may not be appropriate for only feeding one snake what with the cost of purchasing CO2 and all, but still interesting to know
6)Confirmed that for an AP cage a heat pad will not work, need heat tape
7)He has an adorable bp that I plan on buying. He's promised to hold it for me until my setup is ready (with proper down payment of course). The breeder is so close we won't even have to ship, I'll just go pick it up when I'm all set. =D Also I can inspect it before purchasing and if something somehow turns out to be wrong with it I can ask the original owner to fix it before he sells to me.
8)I should get a heat gun too


Research still to do:
1)Mock up T8 vs T12 interior sizes for fit checking ease of accessibility

You can't edit after 10 mins.