Thanks! And a few simple questions...

[wafisherman]

Just wanted to say 'thanks' for the great info on this site.

I just got my first snake (normal BP) and this site has made the process very easy (so far).

I bought the little fella Saturday night. He's (just calling it a he...) in a 10 gal glass aquarium now (he's about 2 months old) and I have a 20gal that I'll have ready for him when needed.

Still making some adjustments on the temps and humidity, but getting close.

I know others have been saying that it is best not to handle them for a week or more or offer food until they are feeling safe and secure in their new home. Well, he seems pretty relaxed and easy going so far. He did nip my wife when she just tried to reach in the box as soon as we got him home. Suprised her Then it nipped my son as he reached to close to the opening of the hide while making a few adjustments to the inside of the tank. But other than that, we've had him out and handled several times and he does great.

I forgot to ask when he was last fed, so tonight I decided just to offer a f/t hopper to see what he would do.

I thawed it, then let it sit near and blew on it just to be sure the scent was getting there. Sure enough, he poked his little head out and showed definate interest. I took my tongs and held the hopper just outside of the hide. He came out, looked for a second, then BAM.

Anyway, just wanted to check a few things...

Is it 48hrs I should wait before handling him?

Should I wait about 5 days before offering another hopper?

Also, what do the numbers mean next to the animals listed in signatures? Like 1.2.0 and such?

I currently have a bearded dragon, water dragon, and now a BP. We home school our kids and part of our 'science class' is raising animals. We do cats and dogs and chickens and ducks and other 'normal' stuff, but now we are into reptiles (I was very into reptiles as a kid - mostly stuff I caught and released here in WA state and in Texas). I am turning a closet under our stairs into a reptile room (very small - 3-4 vivs + a dubia roach collony and feeder tanks is about all it has room for. But temps are easy to regulate and I can lock the kids out when I'm not around.

Thanks again,
Chad

[Melicious]

Just wanted to say 'thanks' for the great info on this site.

I just got my first snake (normal BP) and this site has made the process very easy (so far).

I bought the little fella Saturday night. He's (just calling it a he...) in a 10 gal glass aquarium now (he's about 2 months old) and I have a 20gal that I'll have ready for him when needed.

Still making some adjustments on the temps and humidity, but getting close.

I know others have been saying that it is best not to handle them for a week or more or offer food until they are feeling safe and secure in their new home. Well, he seems pretty relaxed and easy going so far. He did nip my wife when she just tried to reach in the box as soon as we got him home. Suprised her Then it nipped my son as he reached to close to the opening of the hide while making a few adjustments to the inside of the tank. But other than that, we've had him out and handled several times and he does great.

I forgot to ask when he was last fed, so tonight I decided just to offer a f/t hopper to see what he would do.

I thawed it, then let it sit near and blew on it just to be sure the scent was getting there. Sure enough, he poked his little head out and showed definate interest. I took my tongs and held the hopper just outside of the hide. He came out, looked for a second, then BAM.

Anyway, just wanted to check a few things...

Is it 48hrs I should wait before handling him?

Should I wait about 5 days before offering another hopper?

Also, what do the numbers mean next to the animals listed in signatures? Like 1.2.0 and such?

I currently have a bearded dragon, water dragon, and now a BP. We home school our kids and part of our 'science class' is raising animals. We do cats and dogs and chickens and ducks and other 'normal' stuff, but now we are into reptiles (I was very into reptiles as a kid - mostly stuff I caught and released here in WA state and in Texas). I am turning a closet under our stairs into a reptile room (very small - 3-4 vivs + a dubia roach collony and feeder tanks is about all it has room for. But temps are easy to regulate and I can lock the kids out when I'm not around.

Thanks again,
Chad

And where are our pictures? -Grins.-

Is it 48hrs I should wait before handling him?
Approximately, yes.

Should I wait about 5 days before offering another hopper?
Whereabouts are the measurements for your snake?

Also, what do the numbers mean next to the animals listed in signatures? Like 1.2.0 and such?
1.2.0--Males, females, unknown sex.

[wafisherman]

Here's a pic of 'Sam' my wife took today while I was at work (tank still under construction, but workable for now):

Sam is about 2 months old and ~18 inches long.

Here is Bilbo:


Here is Frodo:

[juddb]

Here is Frodo:

I was planning on naming my next chondro "Frodo".... Im not even that big of a Rings fan

[Melicious]

You should be feeding your kid a prey the width of your ball python's thickest part of their width. Possibly even a smidgen more.

[wafisherman]

You should be feeding your kid a prey the width of your ball python's thickest part of their width. Possibly even a smidgen more.

OK, so the little hoppers I got seem pretty close. They are the smallest the pet store had (PetSmart I think). They come in a 3 pack.

[wafisherman]

Oh, and I meant this to be in the BP forum. Maybe a mod can move it. No biggie either way.

[Lateralus_Love]

Hey! Welcome to the site I love it here, everyone's great and willing to offer any help and advice.

Sam looks pretty happy and curious to me hehe. He's pretty much the same size as my two young BP's, and I feed them large hopper rats once a week, and they do well.

I would actually suggest letting the snake rest until the next feeding day (a week or so) because when I got my two babies, I saw how really active my boy was, and I started handling him three days earlier than I should have, whereas I let his sister hangout for about 9 days before handling her (one week, then fed her, then waited the two days after). Now their personalities have switched! He's really shy like she used to be, and she's really outgoing, like he was. I don't know if it's a product of early handling or that's just how he is, but I'd still suggest, just to be safe, to let your little Sam have a week of alone time to get used to his new place.

Again, WELCOME

Oh, and those numbers, mean the number of how many snakes we have per sex. So, 1.2.3 = 1male, 2females, 3unknown

[wafisherman]

Thanks. I'll do that (let him rest until next feeding). I'll change the water, but that's it.

If I'm not planning on breeding him, is there any reason I should even consider having him sexed?

[MDB]

And where are our pictures? -Grins.-

Is it 48hrs I should wait before handling him?
Approximately hmm depends sometimes longer

Should I wait about 5 days before offering another hopper?
I would say every three days offer food

Also, what do the numbers mean next to the animals listed in signatures? Like 1.2.0 and such?
1.2.0--Males, females, unknown sex.

agreed!
and if you dont plan on breedind your ball python, I would still sex it because its nice to know what you have. And since it is young popping he/she will be easy. You could search popping a snake on youtube, but I recommend having someone experienced show you how to do this for you dont injure your snake. Goodluck!