Buying a BP and Questions

[CanadianNinja]

Im buying my first BP soon. On Monday if things work out. I used a semi-local internet site which is like a classifieds site for Toronto, which everyone in the area uses. Im only an hour away. I found a guy with three seemingly ideal pythons, and I emailed him. He has one left and im probably getting it, assuming I can get my gear together on time. He assures me its healthy, and from the picture it does look well, however I am aware that there are a fair amount of scammers, and it could be fake. It seems to be real, and he gave me his personal email account and seems nice and all, I was just wondering if there were any precautions Im not taking.

Also, assuming I get it, I live about two hours away from him. How should I transport the new guy? Can I hold him at all, do I use a pillowcase, or tupperware with holes in it? Should he provide something to carry it in?

Thanks so much,


Andrew - The Canadian Ninja

[GirDance]

I had an hour and a half drive with my girl. She was tied up for me in a cloth bag - very carefully done to ensure she wasn't tied up in the knot - then packed in an approved airport shipping box. Basically, the bag was then placed in a styrofoam enclosure and packed with some newspaper so that she couldn't shift around, that was then put in another box with some ventilation in it.

She arrived home very safe and secure, wasn't stressed out at all, and went directly into her pre-set up enclosure... Actually, her smaller tub which she is accoustomed to went directly into her pre-set up enclosure half on the UTH half off, and that's where she's stayed until I can make a slight modification to the larger one.

[frankykeno]

As long as he isn't asking for cash upfront and you won't pay for the snake until you examine it Andrew, you're likely fine. I would review, or ask for information on what constitutes a healthy ball python so you know what red flags to look for (you certainly don't need an unhealthy snake). You should ask the following questions from this owner:

- how old is this snake, do you have a hatch date and was it captive born, captive hatched or wild caught?

- is this snake male or female?

- where did you get this snake from originally and how long have you had it?

- how has it been housed?

- what does it eat as far as mice or rats, what size of prey does it normally eat and using what method of feeding (live, frozen/thawed or pre-killed)? when did it last eat and how often have you been feeding it? does it normally refuse to eat?

- has this snake or any snake housed near it (hopefully not with it) had any medical issues, mites, ticks, etc.

- does this snake normally defecate, pass urine/urates and shed appropriately?

As far as transporting you want the snake secure and safe and out of direct drafts, A/C vents or hot sunlight. Something like this is a great thing to have. You can find them at any dollar store or department store for a couple of dollars. Add in some vent holes and a bit of substrate and you've got a perfect and safe snake holder (great also for vet trips and for holding the snake while you clean it's home). They come in various sizes. For extra security and to lessen stress you can place the snake in a dark pillowcase and then tuck them into this container.

Small transport container.....


Larger one....

[CanadianNinja]

This is what he had on his post :

male left. Possible heterogeneous for albino. Feeding on rat pups every five days or so. Sheds perfectly. Typical easy going ball attitude. If you need more info let me know.


And after I emailed him I got this (I cut out some small talk near the end):

Hello Andrew,I have one left. A lot of people asking about him, but still here. He was produced by myself. No worries about health issues unlike pet store farmed babies. His Grandfather was an albino. His Dad is het albino, that makes him possible het albino. He eats live/studded rat pups every five days or so. He sheds perfectly. He's still a little nervous, but not mean at all. His weight is around 120 grams.


The pictures he posted seem pretty reliable, and thats most of the info I need. I asked if It had any health issues and he says its healthy, so Ill take his word. I know most of what to look for and even listen for when I look at it in person. Has he provided sufficient info?

[Peter Williams]

He means heterozygous, heterogeneous is a term used in solutions chemistry.

[CanadianNinja]

I thought so. I knew heterogeneous was a mixture, so does that mean its half albino, and further breeding may result in an albino? I dont know a thing about breeding.

[frankykeno]

If the grandfather was a visible albino then the son was a 100% het by what you've said. What the "grandson" is would be dependent on the female used to produce him. If it was a normal female put with that 100% het male then your male snake would be considered a 50% possible het Albino....basically for all intents and purposes for breeding....a nice pet quality snake.

Sounds like a nice male, feeding well and of a decent weight for an 07 hatchling. It's expected he would be nervous, this is a baby snake after all. I'd ask for the hatch date since he says he produced the clutch so it's always nice to have an exact hatch date.

Do you have the right setup for a young hatchling like this? They do best in smaller enclosures, especially the little ones. Also I noted he mentions live rat pups. Are you able to get a reliable supply of either live fuzzy rats or small pup rats for this snake? Some will switch to frozen/thawed but it's usually best to not try any switching until the snake's settled in and taken a number of feeds from you. Also noted he's feeding every 5 day not 7 which is done by some until the babies hit a certain weight (we feed every 5 until they hit 200 grams, then drop them to every 7).

[CanadianNinja]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. And yeah, I have a couple good sources. However, a rat 'pup' is the equivalent of a pinky mouse right? Not very much fur, just born? I understand that I leave it wriggling on a dish right? I know not to leave live, mobile food in the tank, but the pup wont move will it? Just squirm a bit?

[frankykeno]

Nope a rat pup is much, much bigger than a pinky mouse. Here's a great chart for comparison purposes when it comes to prey size.

http://www.frozenfeeder.com/sizing.html

For tons of great info about feeder sizes and pictures of each development stage of rodent life (both mice and rats) check out www.rodentpro.com They sell frozen feeders but it's still a really great resource to learn about prey for snakes.

Sometimes folks use the term "rat pup" to mean any offspring still nursing so it gets very, very confusing and you can end up feeding the way wrong size. You want a rat that isn't bigger than your snake's biggest empty girth (compare snake's girth to the butt end of a rodent as rodents are basically fairly wedge shaped, especially as adults). Here's some pics from our own breeder/feeder colony to help you.....

Newborn pinks.....


Pinks at four days of age (they are pinks until about day 8)....


Fuzzy rats (from about day 8 to about day 14).....


A young pup with his eyes just opened around day 15 or so (they are pups until they are weaned at anywhere from 3.5 to 5 weeks of age so a HUGE growth potential there)....



Big pups that were weaned the day this picture was taken (yes their mother is under the piggie pile LOL).....


As far as safe live feeding, as long as the prey animal is so young it does not have erupted teeth it's quite safe in with the snake unattended. However, having said that, all live feeds should be monitored by you and normally it should take the snake a very short time to hit and constrict it's prey (you do need to stay quiet and not hover over the snake though). No dish is required.

I just checked my records on my four 07 hatchlings. Two of them are slightly bigger than your snake and are eating fuzzy rats of about 10 days of age, two of them are slightly smaller than your snake and are eating chubby pink rats of about 5 or 6 days of age - if that's any help to you.