BP noob looking for feeding/mite tips

[anendeloflorien]

Hey everyone, I just recently (after doing a lot of research on them) purchased a baby Ball from my local pet store. I had a couple of questions though that there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer to in the literature that I've come across.

#1 The store which I bought her from was saying that they feed them 1 F/T pinky every week on Thursdays (So my first feeding is coming up tomorrow). I am set up to raise feeder mice so I want to start feeding live but my question is when is it appropriate to start feeding a snake her size a full-sized mouse? Right now she is about 16" long, I'm not sure of the weight but I'll check her when I get home. She was the most active snake that I saw in the store which is one of the reasons I purchased her and she keeps up a fairly high (I believe) level of activity in her current terrarium, moving up and down the basking branch I have set up for her and going in and out of her 2 hides. Given her level of activity should I be feeding her more frequently? Maybe on a 5 day schedule?

#2 My fiancee had her out last night and she noticed just one small black mite while she was handling her on her hand. I checked the snake very thoroughly and did not see any other mites and I examined the terrarium also but didn't see any others (though I imagine there's not much chance of me finding them in that relatively large area). So should I start mite treatment on her now? I'm going to go tonight and get some of the mite dust for the cage to try and prevent them from spreading. Any other advice for me though? Should I be really worried about this?

Thanks everyone and I look forward to being a part of this community!

- Adam

[ThyTempest]

1) Rule of thumb is to feed, usually weekly, a mouse/rat/whatever that is roughly the same girth of the snake, at the widest point. If she is only about the width of a pinky, then only feed a pinky, if she is about as big as a fuzzy, feed a fuzzy, etc. F/t is preferable over live, since live mice or rats can bite the snake, which can lead to some pretty serious vet bills. That said, a lot of people, myself included, feed live, just make sure you watch the feeding and mediate quickly if neccesary. If you find the mice are too aggressive, try knocking them out, or pre-killing using a CO2 chamber just before feed. Also, babies are typically more active, and it would be okay to feed on a 5 day schedule, but 7 is usually preferred. I dont know much about this, so listen to some more experienced forum members. Also, a 7 day schedule means you can handle more, which would be good for socializing you new bp. Make sure you dont overdo it though, babies cant handle quite as much.

2) Treat right away, it is best to catch it early. Prevent-a-mite is widely seen as "the savior" for snakes with mites. If you catch it quickly enough, one treatment will probably be enough.

Hope this helps.

[anendeloflorien]

Hey,thanks tempest I'll be sure to put those tips to good use!

[ThyTempest]

No problem, and welcome.

[starmom]

Provent-A-Mite (PAM) is a very good way to treat the enclosure. Please read the directions carefully, removing the water bowl and not putting the PAM directly on the snake
It sounds like your snake is acting very stressed out and this makes sense if you just got her. It is strongly encouraged to not hold your snake for a good two weeks (except for cage/tub maintenance) to allow for her to settle in and feel secure.
As for feeding, a lot of members on this forum feed roughly 10% of the snake's weight. Do you have a weight on the snake yet? Also, do you know the age of the snake? Young snakes (maybe up to 200g) many times get fed every 5 days and then it is bumped to 7 days. But remember: This is after the 2 week break in period!!!!!
As for switching to live, this is fine but understand that your snake may never go back to F/T again~ so please make sure that raising rodents is what you want to do for the rest of your snake's life!
Let us know how this goes and if you have any further questions!

[littleindiangirl]

Hey everyone, I just recently (after doing a lot of research on them) purchased a baby Ball from my local pet store. I had a couple of questions though that there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer to in the literature that I've come across.

#1 The store which I bought her from was saying that they feed them 1 F/T pinky every week on Thursdays (So my first feeding is coming up tomorrow). I am set up to raise feeder mice so I want to start feeding live but my question is when is it appropriate to start feeding a snake her size a full-sized mouse? Right now she is about 16" long, I'm not sure of the weight but I'll check her when I get home. She was the most active snake that I saw in the store which is one of the reasons I purchased her and she keeps up a fairly high (I believe) level of activity in her current terrarium, moving up and down the basking branch I have set up for her and going in and out of her 2 hides. Given her level of activity should I be feeding her more frequently? Maybe on a 5 day schedule?

I thought I would mention, your feeding her mice now correct? Mice pinkies are very small, and are hardly a meal. Many breeders start BP's on fuzzy mice, and work up from there.

One way to 'measure' how big of a meal is to also pay attention to her habits after being fed.

If for example, she is moving around the next day and not sitting on the hot spot digesting, then she could probably be moved up a size.

Now, if your feeding her pinky rats, soon she'll be able to eat 2, then move up to a fuzzy, then to a pup, then to a weaner.

You will be happily surprised how quickly they grow. It's sometimes a surprise to look in a see a chunky bp looking back at you!

[BMorrison]

Provent a Mite is the best thing EVER made.

[anendeloflorien]

Ok it's feeding night tonight. The store which I purchased her from said that they usually just feed one f/t pinky every week but I think I'll get her some f/t hoppers or pinky rat if they have them available there. So wish me luck with my first feeding. Shes seems to have settled down quite a bit the last couple of days and my gf says she has found a comfortable hide today and has been in there for most of the day. I couldn't seem to find provent-a-mite at any of the local pet stores so I've got some coming on a rush order from LLL Reps. Thanks again to everyone who's replied and helped me out with this!
Adam.

[anendeloflorien]

Well our first feeding last night was a dud, but I'm not really worried about it. She's probably just getting used to her new environment. I did do the whole pre-scenting the room (I hope I did anyways) by leaving the fuzzy to thaw in the room about 45 minutes prior. She actually came out of her hide to check out the mouse but didn't really do anything except just sniff around it for about 15 minutes and try to climb the tongs to get to me . I tried not to force it in her face just held it about 4-5 inches away from where she was hanging out and gave it some shakes to try and entice her. There were a couple of times where I thought she was going to take it, she came right up around it and just sat there looking at it going "hmmmm, do I want to or not?" but just slithered away after that . OH well, there's always next week! Thanks again to everyone who's replied. You've been a huge help to me!

[starmom]

After pre-scenting and the prey was thawed, did you hike up the heat signature by blasting the prey with a blow dryer or putting it under a heat lamp or light bulb??