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  1. #31
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    I’m sure the eyes will be obvious. My main concern with that is he has a black stripe that crosses his head which covers his eyes which are mostly black so I’m not sure how obvious it will be. Plus us not handling him every day we could miss it.

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    Another failed F/T attempt tonight. Next week I'm going to try live again. Then I will be able to figure out if its an issue with F/T or possibly something else. I've checked every day and the hot side of his tank (where he spends most of his time) is always at 89-90 degrees. The cool side floor temp sits on 80 degrees. And right now the humidity is floating around 68%, it has gradually been coming down since I changed his bedding weekend before last. He is still spending most days in the hot hide and then coming out at dark and cruising around his tank for an hour or so.

  3. #33
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    Re: Introducing Dexter

    I wouldn't worry about it at all. My ball python i got at approx 180 grams weighs 623 now n i got him in july. He eats everytime so far.
    My male who is 8 years old hasnt eaten since October and was 1950 grams and weighed last week at 1912 grams. Its very possible for urs to not lose anymore weight the only weight it really lost since ur last feed was prob just from pooping after that meal.

    Changing the substrate absolutely could be the culprit as can the shed. However, just because the animal is in shed doesnt mean it wont eat, if hes hungry n he can tell there an animal it likes there it will eat it.

    When u went from live to f/t is it from the same place? If not go to the olace u get ur live from get another live mouse n feed him that after he sheds ask for some beeding in the container u vring him home in. The next time u feed ater the live try f/t but warm it up like u would n chuck it in that container n bounce it around a little and then wipe off anything stuck to it n try the f/t feeding thats what i would do.

    Dont feed him again till hes done shedding.

    If u changed his substrate to somethig diff go back to what u were using.

    If u clean it in the future use only chlorhexidine solution its all u need f10 sc is awesome stuff to if u can get but tyoe in chlorhexidine 2% solution into amazon n order a gallon it will cost u like 10 dollars and get a spray bottle as well. Put about i think its 5 oz. In the 32 oz bottle if i remember correct or just look it up. That stuff is excellent n doesnt smell strong n doesnt need to be rinsed its very safe at the correct dilution and the only cleaner u need. It will clean glass like glass cleaner with zero wipe marks. You can spray it on branches n the id rinse those tho, n clean everything really. I still always clean the water dish as i would a glass i drink out of with a sponge and dawn thats ur best bet there regardless of what anyone says on here its very safe n is perfectly fine to use.

    When u warm the mouse up put it in hot water in bag obv dont let the mouse get hot then to keep the temp up or warm it back up the hair dryer trick could be used but if u heat it up too much the snake is not getting the nutrients and u could risk exploding a part of it where its insides kimda ooze out of a part of it which is nasty af.

    Dont be afraid of using live for a little longer u should switch the earlier the better but live is technically the best for a multitude of reasons. A) its what they actuall eat. B)its the optimal nutrition. C) u know the health of animal a little more before it died and usually can talk to the breeder of those animals n figure out its diet and know if they eat garbage feed or dog food or whatever they use to know if ur buying the best feeders u can be buying. D) it almost always will get eaten with a stubborn ball python if its hungry. If it isnt hungry or is turned off by that particular breeders feeders for whatever reason theres no getting around that.

    You should be feeding him adult mice if ur not. U can also go right to live weaned if u wanna go that route which is even better. I got mine at 180 grams did 2 live feeding with adult mice then jumped to 30 to 35 gram weaned rats which is the size of an adult white mouse and he took them no problem. I just feed him a small rat at about 50 grams yesterday n u cant even really see that bulge. Rsts are a superior food source.

    Its more important in my mind to get him on rats than worry about f/t unless u have nothing live near you or something.

    A worse case scenario get a bag of 25 weaned rats from rodent pro n small rats and u will be set for the next year easily. He will eventually eat n he will be better off eating rats. Also a weaned rat u can get it with his eyes still closed n it cant hurt ur animal n chuck him in n keep an eye on them. He will prob take it eventually. Id go that route though or start thinking in that direction.

    My male was born early this year n is 623 grams n looks great n that feeding him every 10 days. If u get better quality feed u can spread it out more too.

    Also u seem to think u have to handle ur snake often? Not sure why this notion is in ur mind. When i got my snake he was scared to death, puffed up n hissed like crazy n snapped at everything. I put him from the box into his enclosure. I waited 3 days n tried a live mouse he ate it. Waited 1 week tried a live mouse he ate it. I waited 1 week tried a small weaned rat he looked at it for like 5 seconds and ate it. I waited 10 days since it took him 4 days to poop n fed him again. I didnt hold him once for 4 weeks. I opened his cover once a day to check on him n check or change his water n look for poop. (i have him in a sterolite with a heat mat one hide on each side a water dish. all the sides covered with paper on the outside so he cant see anything n obv holes for proper air flow. Temp n humidity guages and a thermostat for the heat mat set to 90 degrees n eco earth n thats it). When i started handling him he was still a little scared but a way diff animal, much more calm than before.

    I used a hook to get him out thats it. Just to make it less stressful for him n neither of us to have a bad experience n thats all i ever used it for just to get him out n place him in my hand. I started handling him once a week. I feed on Thursdays. So sat n sun n tue n wed i do not ever bother him. I dont want him to regurgitate n i dont want him stressed before i feed. He has eaten everytime. If ur gonna handle ur snake id go with a schedule like this to start. When he is older and used to his enclosure n used to u which he isnt yet thats a fact, u can do as u please. I still wouldnt one day before n one day after the rest is whatever u want to do. Try something like this for a while. Ur not incubating eggs so dont get to paranoid on temps n humidity. Theres a recommended number n be within 5 degrees under or 2 degrees over. So 75 to 82 on the cool side and 85 to 92 on the hot side. If hes not eating it can be a million reasins but its winter if ambient temps are cold n u cant keep the heat with a heat mat add a moon light or black light type lamp on top if the enclosure can support this and add the bulb wattage u need for the desired temps. The cool side of my ball pythons are routinely 75 degrees at best and my animals are healthy n eat well. I notice my adult male doesnt like the temps suggested. If i have the hot side 90 degrees n the cool side 80 degrees he routinely acts like hes trying to escape the tank like he is panicking. These animals need to be able to heat themselves to certain temperature the cool side isnt as important cause they can go back to the hot side whenever they want and are smart enough to do so. They will however go off feed if its too cold cause they have a natural response to lower activity n reserve body heat n will curl up to stay at temps n go basically into a survival mode which u obv dont want.

    U have a heat gun n hopefully have a thermostat connected to ur heat mat n if so ur doing better than most already. n i actually keep the cool side a little more moist than his hot side to keep moisture levels in tank more constant and he has a way to get the humidity he needs without it over accumulating in the enclosure.

    Ur not diing anything wrong its an animal that can think their not all the same u will find what works for u wont for me n vice versa. So just observe him before u feed everytime. N then try to feed him n observe his reaction to the food when he eats. This will give u a great idea of wheter or not u need to waste ur time trying when ur dangling the food in front of him.

    Whenu hold the food experiment with diff positions, my adult will ironically take it when i dangle it by the tail my other has become accustomed to me holding it behind the neck n bouncing him around a little. Also right after he grabs it keep messing with the mouse a little to make ur snake think its still alive and will tighten more which will actually help flatten it out a little if its bigger than hes used to or something.

    Anyway theres a million things i can tell ya. Ur doing everything correct. Just wait till hes done shedding before u feed n dont handle him preferably 2 days but at least a day before u feed. Also font ever clean his tank before u feed in the future keep that same schedule for anything stressful. And get the correct cleaning solutions if u dont already have as bleach is not good nor is any household cleaner and that will absolutely cause ur animal a great deal of stress more than really anything u can do.

  4. #34
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    Re: Introducing Dexter

    Quote Originally Posted by Tmacsballs View Post
    I wouldn't worry about it at all. My ball python i got at approx 180 grams weighs 623 now n i got him in july. He eats everytime so far.
    My male who is 8 years old hasnt eaten since October and was 1950 grams and weighed last week at 1912 grams. Its very possible for urs to not lose anymore weight the only weight it really lost since ur last feed was prob just from pooping after that meal.

    Changing the substrate absolutely could be the culprit as can the shed. However, just because the animal is in shed doesnt mean it wont eat, if hes hungry n he can tell there an animal it likes there it will eat it.

    I should have been more clear, I just changed out the substrate, it is the same brand/substrate I have been using.

    When u went from live to f/t is it from the same place? If not go to the olace u get ur live from get another live mouse n feed him that after he sheds ask for some beeding in the container u vring him home in. The next time u feed ater the live try f/t but warm it up like u would n chuck it in that container n bounce it around a little and then wipe off anything stuck to it n try the f/t feeding thats what i would do.

    Dont feed him again till hes done shedding.

    I am not certain he is shedding, I haven't seen signs, was just assuming he should be because of his growth and the amount of time we have had him.

    If u changed his substrate to somethig diff go back to what u were using.

    If u clean it in the future use only chlorhexidine solution its all u need f10 sc is awesome stuff to if u can get but tyoe in chlorhexidine 2% solution into amazon n order a gallon it will cost u like 10 dollars and get a spray bottle as well. Put about i think its 5 oz. In the 32 oz bottle if i remember correct or just look it up. That stuff is excellent n doesnt smell strong n doesnt need to be rinsed its very safe at the correct dilution and the only cleaner u need. It will clean glass like glass cleaner with zero wipe marks. You can spray it on branches n the id rinse those tho, n clean everything really. I still always clean the water dish as i would a glass i drink out of with a sponge and dawn thats ur best bet there regardless of what anyone says on here its very safe n is perfectly fine to use.

    This is what I have been using.

    When u warm the mouse up put it in hot water in bag obv dont let the mouse get hot then to keep the temp up or warm it back up the hair dryer trick could be used but if u heat it up too much the snake is not getting the nutrients and u could risk exploding a part of it where its insides kimda ooze out of a part of it which is nasty af.

    I have been letting the rats thaw in my garage. Once they thaw I have been placing them in a "warm" water until the rat gets warm, around 80-85 degrees on my temp gun. I then hit it with the hair drier just before offering.

    Dont be afraid of using live for a little longer u should switch the earlier the better but live is technically the best for a multitude of reasons. A) its what they actuall eat. B)its the optimal nutrition. C) u know the health of animal a little more before it died and usually can talk to the breeder of those animals n figure out its diet and know if they eat garbage feed or dog food or whatever they use to know if ur buying the best feeders u can be buying. D) it almost always will get eaten with a stubborn ball python if its hungry. If it isnt hungry or is turned off by that particular breeders feeders for whatever reason theres no getting around that.

    You should be feeding him adult mice if ur not. U can also go right to live weaned if u wanna go that route which is even better. I got mine at 180 grams did 2 live feeding with adult mice then jumped to 30 to 35 gram weaned rats which is the size of an adult white mouse and he took them no problem. I just feed him a small rat at about 50 grams yesterday n u cant even really see that bulge. Rsts are a superior food source. Its more important in my mind to get him on rats than worry about f/t unless u have nothing live near you or something.

    He has been on rats since before I got him. The first two live I fed him were pups around 20 grams. That supplier had none available so last time I got him a small rat, around 35 grams (Can't recall exact weight) and he ate it. Next feeding was a F/T rat that he took which was around 25 grams. This was the last one he ate. The other ones I attempted to feed him came from the same place as the last one he ate.

    A worse case scenario get a bag of 25 weaned rats from rodent pro n small rats and u will be set for the next year easily. He will eventually eat n he will be better off eating rats. Also a weaned rat u can get it with his eyes still closed n it cant hurt ur animal n chuck him in n keep an eye on them. He will prob take it eventually. Id go that route though or start thinking in that direction.

    My male was born early this year n is 623 grams n looks great n that feeding him every 10 days. If u get better quality feed u can spread it out more too.

    Also u seem to think u have to handle ur snake often? Not sure why this notion is in ur mind. When i got my snake he was scared to death, puffed up n hissed like crazy n snapped at everything. I put him from the box into his enclosure. I waited 3 days n tried a live mouse he ate it. Waited 1 week tried a live mouse he ate it. I waited 1 week tried a small weaned rat he looked at it for like 5 seconds and ate it. I waited 10 days since it took him 4 days to poop n fed him again. I didnt hold him once for 4 weeks. I opened his cover once a day to check on him n check or change his water n look for poop. (i have him in a sterolite with a heat mat one hide on each side a water dish. all the sides covered with paper on the outside so he cant see anything n obv holes for proper air flow. Temp n humidity guages and a thermostat for the heat mat set to 90 degrees n eco earth n thats it). When i started handling him he was still a little scared but a way diff animal, much more calm than before.

    Not sure what I said that made you think I have to handle him often. We didn't handle him at all for the first couple weeks. He has only been handled a couple times since then. We obviously want him to be used to being handled but he has not been out of his enclosure for more then 30 minutes total since we have had him.

    I used a hook to get him out thats it. Just to make it less stressful for him n neither of us to have a bad experience n thats all i ever used it for just to get him out n place him in my hand. I started handling him once a week. I feed on Thursdays. So sat n sun n tue n wed i do not ever bother him. I dont want him to regurgitate n i dont want him stressed before i feed. He has eaten everytime. If ur gonna handle ur snake id go with a schedule like this to start. When he is older and used to his enclosure n used to u which he isnt yet thats a fact, u can do as u please. I still wouldnt one day before n one day after the rest is whatever u want to do. Try something like this for a while. Ur not incubating eggs so dont get to paranoid on temps n humidity. Theres a recommended number n be within 5 degrees under or 2 degrees over. So 75 to 82 on the cool side and 85 to 92 on the hot side. If hes not eating it can be a million reasins but its winter if ambient temps are cold n u cant keep the heat with a heat mat add a moon light or black light type lamp on top if the enclosure can support this and add the bulb wattage u need for the desired temps. The cool side of my ball pythons are routinely 75 degrees at best and my animals are healthy n eat well. I notice my adult male doesnt like the temps suggested. If i have the hot side 90 degrees n the cool side 80 degrees he routinely acts like hes trying to escape the tank like he is panicking. These animals need to be able to heat themselves to certain temperature the cool side isnt as important cause they can go back to the hot side whenever they want and are smart enough to do so. They will however go off feed if its too cold cause they have a natural response to lower activity n reserve body heat n will curl up to stay at temps n go basically into a survival mode which u obv dont want.

    U have a heat gun n hopefully have a thermostat connected to ur heat mat n if so ur doing better than most already. n i actually keep the cool side a little more moist than his hot side to keep moisture levels in tank more constant and he has a way to get the humidity he needs without it over accumulating in the enclosure.

    Ur not diing anything wrong its an animal that can think their not all the same u will find what works for u wont for me n vice versa. So just observe him before u feed everytime. N then try to feed him n observe his reaction to the food when he eats. This will give u a great idea of wheter or not u need to waste ur time trying when ur dangling the food in front of him.

    Whenu hold the food experiment with diff positions, my adult will ironically take it when i dangle it by the tail my other has become accustomed to me holding it behind the neck n bouncing him around a little. Also right after he grabs it keep messing with the mouse a little to make ur snake think its still alive and will tighten more which will actually help flatten it out a little if its bigger than hes used to or something.

    Anyway theres a million things i can tell ya. Ur doing everything correct. Just wait till hes done shedding before u feed n dont handle him preferably 2 days but at least a day before u feed. Also font ever clean his tank before u feed in the future keep that same schedule for anything stressful. And get the correct cleaning solutions if u dont already have as bleach is not good nor is any household cleaner and that will absolutely cause ur animal a great deal of stress more than really anything u can do.

  5. #35
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    hello friend, i have some suggestions for you to consider. i thaw my rats right next to my snek’s enclosure to get him in the mood, and boy does he notice. you said your thawing them in the barn? try doing it where he can get some smells going to whet his appetite. i like feeding rats that are about 20% my snake’s weight and your little guy is going to do a lot of growing once he starts eating again, i also made the mistake of buying a large quantity of rat pups and my snake outgrew them in a few weeks. put the rat out an hour or so after the sun goes down, then by the time your serving up dinner he’s primed and ready to strike. remember to keep things dim/dark when he feeds.


    another thing, you’ve mentioned you only take him out for a few minutes at a time. the most stressful part for your snake is the going in and out for handling, try to do longer handling sessions so he has time to destress and get comfortable around everyone. pay attention to his body language and behavior though, he very well could need to go back after just a few mins but don't let that be your default setting.


    given your less than ideal hides and that he’s burrowing under the water bowl it makes me think theres an issue of security. i think trying new hides is a warranted endeavor. you can get like an 8oz thing of mushrooms in a plastic container from a grocery store for a few bucks and cut your own door that’s the perfect size (if you do this make sure you burn the edges to smooth them and make them safe). your enclosure is also on the bigger side for his size so getting him comfortable with his hide situation is extra important. and also i think your heating setup is unconventional but it checks all the boxes so you should be fine there.


    you don’t have to change his substrate, let him get familiar with his land. i only spot clean my substrate for poopy pee stuffs.


    when your snake is going into shed his eyes are going to look soooo cloudy and blue/grey it is unmistakable. the problem is that this only lasts a day or 2 so you have to keep an eye on him. the only time i won’t offer food for MY snake is when he is “in blue” as they say and his eyes look blind. my guy is a ferocious eater though and as you’re finding out for yourself these snakes don’t read about how they’re supposed to behave like we do hah. everything is going to come down to understanding your little dexter, it may seem overwhelming at first but i can already tell from your posts that you’re well on your way!

  6. #36
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    Thanks, the hiding under the water dish only happens for a day or two and that was the day after I cleaned his cage and put in the clean substrate. After that he went back to using his regular hides. Ive got the black ones now I’m goi g to put in.

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  8. #37
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    I put the black plastic hides in tonight and I got a small CHE to try to raise the ambient temps in the tank a few degrees. I'm curious to see if that changes his behavior any. I am not sure if it will help or not but I moved some things around in the tank so his water dish is directly under the CHE. My thoughts were that might help it from drying the tank out too much too quick. Im trying one of the dimmers on the CHE for now instead of a thermostat.

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    ballpythonsrock2 (12-22-2019)

  10. #38
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    So since last week Dexter has had the new plastic hides and a small CHE boosting his ambient temps to 78-79 degrees. I picked up a live rat today on my way home for my lunch hour. He appeared to be asleep in the hide and I had some errands to run so I just set the small box with the rat in it inside of his enclosure. I was going to be gone for about an hour and didn't want the rat chewing out of the box and escaping in the house (it's unlikely but the wife was home) When I came home about 30 minutes later he was out of the hide and moving toward the box with the rat so I knew he must be thinking about eating. I let the rat loose and he tracked it and had it dead in a minute or two. I am probably going to try live another time or two and then try the F/T again. Just glad to know that he is still eating, he was either not wanting the F/T or his husbandry might not have quit been to his liking. Still hasn't shed the first time for me yet. I plan to weigh him again in a few days after this meal digests.

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