Opinions- Should I have a snake?

[SeraphimScum]

OK lately I have been feeling bad. I've always wanted a snake but never new much about them. The reason I never got one was because of the whole feeding issue. I thought about it for a long time and decided to look into getting a snake regardless and would make myself feed live if I had to. I read some info ( apparently not the right info until I came here) Perhaps I chose the wrong snake to begin with. Now I understand that BP's are picky eaters and fussy and maybe not the snake a newbie should start wth. I havent been handling him much because I didn't want to stress him out, but it seems everything stresses this poor guy out. I didn't do the correct set up which I am now learning about and I am sure this plays into why he has not eaten for me since I have gotten him. I have been seriously considering giving him up to someone more educated and who knows how to properly care for him as much as I love him and don't want to. Infact I really don't want to but I feel as though I am not doing a good enough job. I do small exotic rescue but not reptile exotics, and I would be the first person to tell someone to give up the pet to someone more knowledgeable so it can recieve proper care and environment. I never thought I would be saying it to myself though. I'd still really like a snake and hopefully I will still be able to purchase the baby I am interested when/if it comes along.(The luecy rat snake) I was told they are much easier to handle, feed and I will get to know it better from a baby.
I'd really appreciate some opinions and advice here. I don't want to be greedy and keep him but I do love him and don't exactly want to let him go. If its whats best to do though I will.

[Mighty Monty]

OK lately I have been feeling bad. I've always wanted a snake but never new much about them. The reason I never got one was because of the whole feeding issue. I thought about it for a long time and decided to look into getting a snake regardless and would make myself feed live if I had to. I read some info ( apparently not the right info until I came here) Perhaps I chose the wrong snake to begin with. Now I understand that BP's are picky eaters and fussy and maybe not the snake a newbie should start wth. I havent been handling him much because I didn't want to stress him out, but it seems everything stresses this poor guy out. I didn't do the correct set up which I am now learning about and I am sure this plays into why he has not eaten for me since I have gotten him. I have been seriously considering giving him up to someone more educated and who knows how to properly care for him as much as I love him and don't want to. Infact I really don't want to but I feel as though I am not doing a good enough job. I do small exotic rescue but not reptile exotics, and I would be the first person to tell someone to give up the pet to someone more knowledgeable so it can recieve proper care and environment. I never thought I would be saying it to myself though. I'd still really like a snake and hopefully I will still be able to purchase the baby I am interested when/if it comes along.(The luecy rat snake) I was told they are much easier to handle, feed and I will get to know it better from a baby.
I'd really appreciate some opinions and advice here. I don't want to be greedy and keep him but I do love him and don't exactly want to let him go. If its whats best to do though I will.

Well first off, i want to say that i totally understand what you are saying.

I was at a petstore, and have been looking into getting a reptile of some sort. I was browsing and came across the Ball Python, I immediatley fell in love with it, and purchased it that day. It was very much of an impulsive buy, and not knowing anything about them, i knew i had of research to do to make sure it was healthy, and had a happy, comfortable habitat. Mine was only a couple to few months old when i got it, and i did not know about the whole " don't handle it the first couple of weeks because of the stress " So almost every day, i handled it every day, couple times, for about 5 mins, 10 mins, etc. He was very curious, and very relaxed.

I had gotten somewhat of an idea from the petstore guy on what to do as far as habitat wise. However for the first 4 or 5 months, i was just terrible at keeping the right temps, the right humidity, etc.

It took him about 2 weeks for him to finally snatch his first mouse, and has been a great eater since.

It wasn't until about a month or two ago that i FINALLY got my temps right, the humidity stable. He's always seemed relaxed, despite my lack of knowledge and doing the right things for him.

His first shed was terrible, it took him 3 weeks, and it came off in pieces, it was a hard shed.

Now he just had his first shed in a couple of months and it was wonderful, and i finally have things down.

Yeah it's true, they get stressed very easily, but if you are truely passionate about keeping the snake, all i can say is stick with it, do as much research as you can on them. It'll take time for you to get the hang of it. I've had alot of experiance with reptiles, but never snakes, so it was a new project for me.

I'll tell you what though, once you get everything right, it feels great, and there are alot of smart people on this site that can help you out with everything.

If you're really not up for the challenge, and have your eyes set on something else, i guess it'd be better for the snake to go to a different home.

I just want to say that it took me a long time to get everything straighten out, and i struggle with these type of things. Give it time and it'll come along great, and you'll feel wonderful, not only about yourself for not giving up, but also for your snake and knowing that he has a wonderful habitat.

Also, you don't always need to feed them live mice. Alot of people recommend frozen/thawed mice. I however feed them live, and i won't lie, the first time i saw it, it was very shocking, and kind of....creepy? But you get use to it, it's just nature.

Keep at it, they may be stressed easily, and you will worry and be paranoid about alot of things when it comes to it, but in my opinion, with the little bit of experiance i've had, they really are a tough snake.

As far as a first snake, i think they're great. sure you can go for a smaller one, but the BP isn't aggresive, fun, curious, and i hate to say it, just damn adorable!

That's just my little bit of experiance, 4 or 5 months to get everything right, just took it to the vet, he's healthy as can be, everything is good now and i'm just having a blast with it!

Good luck on your decision, and just really do what your heart, and what you think is best for not only the snake, but you.

[frankykeno]

Personally I think the thing to do is see that the refusal to eat isn't a problem, it's a symptom of problems. Identify the issues for this snake and it will be much more likely to eat.

First, husbandry....do you have your temps and humidity stable and how long have they been stable? What sort of enclosure is this snake in and where is it located in your home? What sorts of hides have you provided? What are you attempting to feed (mice or rats) and using what feeding method (live, frozen/thawed, pre-killed)? Where did you purchase this snake and did they provide information on what it was used to eating and what method was used to present the food? How long have you had this snake/how long has it been refusing?

Second, health....sometimes refusals are a symptom of an underlying health issue like internal parasites. Only an experienced herp vet can determine this so an appointment with one might be considered a good idea at this point. If you can get a fecal sample that's great, if not the vet can do a cloacial wash to determine if your snake has an internal parasitic load. We have members from your area so they can likely recommend a herp vet local to you if you don't know of one already.

[darkangel]

How long have you had him? Don't you think you should really give it a full try before you give up?

[catalystsupreme]

How long have you had him? Don't you think you should really give it a full try before you give up?

I agree, perhaps he doesn't really want him, because my first was a impulse buy and i was so determined to reserch, study and learn what i needed to know. After two weeks of having him and basically becoming an expert(yeah right!!) he was so relaxed that he never refused to eat and he doesn't even ball up any more when i go to handle him. If you really want him give it a good try, after you have exhausted all options maybe consider giving him up

[Stewart_Reptiles]

We all started somewhere, and made some mistakes at one time, now if having a BP is truly what you want, this forum will be a great source of information and if you are willing to learn, get on the right track, and you will be the proud owner of a thriving BP.

Now if you think Ball Python is not the right choice for you, then yes you should consider what is best for him, and no one would judge you for that.

[SeraphimScum]

I agree, perhaps he doesn't really want him, because my first was a impulse buy and i was so determined to reserch, study and learn what i needed to know. After two weeks of having him and basically becoming an expert(yeah right!!) he was so relaxed that he never refused to eat and he doesn't even ball up any more when i go to handle him. If you really want him give it a good try, after you have exhausted all options maybe consider giving him up

First... I'm a she. I don't know where or how you came to the conclusion I didn't want him. I am trying to be realistic and do whats best for him, if thats something you aren't familiar with or used to, then thats on you. Don't assume about me though ok?
I brought home Severance about a week before I joined here I believe, so about 2/10. So I have had him for about 2 months. I got him from a guy in NJ who needed to get rid of him because he had a small apartment and was having another baby and no longer had room for the tank and set up. He needed to make room for the new baby I suppose, I didn't question all to much about it. He had him for about 2 years I believe and said he was around 4-5 years. He told me that the last time he gave it a small rat he wasn't interested and should be ready to eat again because it had been a few weeks. At this time I had no clue that moving him would stress him out enough to not eat. I offered 3 different thawed/warmed frozen rats,once a week, and then one thawed/warm frozen mouse. I dangled it in front of him using tongs each time and also left it there for an hour afterwards each time. I then moved to live mice. This is /was my third attempt at a live mouse.
The set up I had was everything that the guy kept him in for 2 years. I just recently found out about Temp gradient and that he needed 2 hides etc. I just recently found out they are very picky/fussy eaters. I have posted about my set up and also took pics to it can be judged and asked for any advice. I stated I was willing to take all opinions and advice and change what was needed. I still am.
The stuff that the guy gave me barely kept the snake at 80 degrees. I went out and bought everything to keep him at about 92 during the day and 84 @ night and a digital temp and humidity thing to keep tabs on it. His first shed took almost 3 weeks and was in flakes. It was horrible. Luckily a nice person on here talked to me through pms and suggested what I do which helped bigtime.
I am trying to get this tempature thing down and now the gradient thing down. I didn't exactly have enough room in the other cage to do so, or atleast that I could think of.
I recently switched his tank to something larger but was suggested there was too much room so I will be adding more things to make it more closed in for him. Such has plants and drift wood.
As I mentioned I have always wanted a snake, but didn't think it was this much work. It's ok that it is but I also do exotic rescue ( non reptile) and thought maybe I just wasnt a good snake parent or doing the right thing by keeping him just cause I wanted him. I will keep trying and try to figure everything out with the help and advise of the kind people on here. I just wasn't sure if anyone would consider me a good enough parent to keep doing so and was second guessing myself. I just want whats best for him because I do care and fell in love with him.
He doesn't ball up when I pick him up but he does hiss. He has never attempted to strike at me but I do often get weary and sometimes afraid to pick him up because he does the s thing with his neck and I was told thats a striking position. I have no problems goin in the cage to clean, water etc and so far have been good with picking him up to transport him to a soak etc.

[doyle033]

sounds to me like you are trying, now just be a bit patient and it will all work itself out.
i might have missed it before (i read it over kind of quickly) but what was the previous owner feeding? were they live or frozen/thawed? any certain color? any certain time of the day? all of these small things can play into whether or not you get any response. and if it only ate once a month or so for the previous owner, you might have to try a few different things to get a bit more response than the last owner. but a rule of thumb with picky eaters is "if it ate that way before, then it will again". hope my rambling helps.
also, it might not be a stress induced fast, could be seasonal i think, given the age of the animal. some of the more expericienced posters would know better than me.
and sometimes snakes like to keep us on our toes. i had a green tree that didnt eat for two months, too young for a male seasonal fast (or barely old enough anyhow) always ate frozen or fresh killed mice. after two months of shyness and food avoidance, a live rat pup drove this thing nuts! it ate in seconds. go figure.
good luck, be patient, and have fun!

[SeraphimScum]

Hi. Thanks for your response. As far as I know he fed live small rats (pink eyed white) and said he has fed 1-2 male mice at a time before and he took frozen once but never again. I believe the last time he ate was 3 months ago.
I have no clue what time of day or night he fed him. I have tried both night and day but usually at night when he seems more active is when I try. I no longer have this guys email address to ask him anything further. I just looked to see if I can grab an exact date when I got him but aol (stupid aol!) has erased anything from over 2 weeks ago even in sent mail.

[doyle033]

well, it sounds like you are on your way to things being perfect. keep on with the tweaking of temps, but given the fact that you are doing a way better husbandry job than the last guy (temps in the low 80s... wow) things will steadily improve for you.
picky eating can be frustrating, especially when a good feeding response would reassure you as to your overall husbandry. just be patient, it will come. prescent the room for an afternoon with a mouse, then shortly after nightfall, try to feed, if it was me i would have both a live mouse and a live rat on hand, just to give it my best shot. also if it doesnt eat, give it a week and try again, dont want to reinforce a non eating pattern.
hope some of this helps. i am sure there are far more experienced keepers who will chime in, so good luck. and remember, you already have a snake, too late to second guess now whether you should have one. keep on trying as hard as you are now and you will do fine.