Found BP Please HELP

[waldo1286]

I live in oklahoma and found a 3 1/2 ft ball python last week. I dont know how long it has been in the wild, or how long it has been since it has eaten. The weather has been pretty cool the last few weeks and temp has been down into the 40's most nights. The snake was pretty lathargic when i first found him. After beeing placed into an aquarium with the proper heating and lighting the snake became more active, but the last few days he has been more unactive. The snake looks healthy, but i dont know a whole lot about bp. Is there anything i should be concerned about?

[mainbutter]

The first thing to do for the snake is read this Care Sheet for ball pythons, it covers all the basics and some more:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59

READ THE CARE SHEET IN THE URL ABOVE RIGHT NOW, DON'T EVEN FINISH READING MY POST It's a GREAT read, and not too long.

I bet the snake hasn't been eating as well as it would in captivity if it was released/escaped, since they are not native to the US.. Who knows though it might be just as good at finding food here as it is back in africa.

If you plan on keeping and caring for this snake, the first thing to do is get it proper housing detailed in the care sheet. This is pretty essential for keeping a snake healthy or treating a malnourished and/or sick snake. The most important part of BP housing is proper temperatures/humidity and providing two places for your snake to hide. A hiding BP is more likely to be calm. Stress can be a killer.

Secondly, any snake that has been outdoors for extensive periods of time may have picked up parasites of some kind(ticks, mites, and internal parasites are all possibilities). Give the snake a good lookover for outer parasites, and if you plan on making this snake a long term pet for yourself I would get it to a vet to get it checked for internal parasites.

The last bit of advice I have(for now at least) is feeding. Your snake may very well be malnourished. Generally it is a good idea to let a snake get used to the transition to a new home for a week before trying to feed, but you might consider offering some food sooner if the snake looks like it could be in need of some calories. A live mouse no thicker than the widest part of the snake may be your best bet to get your snake to eat. If the snake refuses to eat, it is too stressed out to even consider food. If that happens let the forums know and I'm sure someone more experienced than me can give advice.

[mainbutter]

p.s. keep us updated, I'm sure everyone here is willing to give advice to help someone take care of a rescued python

[AaronP]

Quick Tip: This snake is 3.5', feed it a small rat not a mouse. And 2 hides is not necessary it's a preference thing (Search it, people have had success using 1 or 2 and some even 0)

[hoax]

Quick Tip: This snake is 3.5', feed it a small rat not a mouse. And 2 hides is not necessary it's a preference thing (Search it, people have had success using 1 or 2 and some even 0)

Look lets not complicate things. Two hides just big enough for the snake to snuggle up in.

You need a hide on the warm and the cool side. If you are using a rack system then you can use one.

If you are just starting with snakes follow the care sheet to the T. There are people on here with excellent opinions. I will be using one hide in my rack system but I actually have 3 in my cage and I am adding a fourth.

[Purrrfect9]

Quick Tip: This snake is 3.5', feed it a small rat not a mouse. And 2 hides is not necessary it's a preference thing (Search it, people have had success using 1 or 2 and some even 0)

Also to comment on the hide thing.

Two identical hides is what works with the majority of ball pythons, and new owners. I would suggest using two hides since your a beginner, and as a beginner people are more likely to 'fudge' a bit on other more important husbandry issues. The option of two identical hides to thermoregulate just adds additional security.
Once you 'get the swing of things' and have your BP settled in and eating regularly, it's up to you to remove the hides or not. This is just to ensure getting the BP started on a healthy eating schedule.

[blackcrystal22]

Everyones basically covered everything, but also, remember snakes do not need lighting. They only need heat. So a light for viewing is fine, but don't have it as the main heat source, get a UTH. ;]

[waldo1286]

do you think that he is ok to handle or should i give it time to adjust? I have had it for a week now. He ate for the first time tonite.

[RichardA]

Where in OK are you......I could come by and look it over for you, and give you the herp vets name so you can get it looked at if needed.

I have a feeling this may be the snake from one of the craigslist ads I seen this past week...... Maybe not.....hope it goes well for you.

[waldo1286]

im from tulsa