New to snakes

[SlitheringBliss]

Hey guys...I just bought my first 2 Ball Pythons & the guy gave me a bag of frozen mice---they are all intertwined into each other--how do I go about thawing them? or separating them? He said the male ate thawed never a problem--but the female was picky---should I just go to live? or continue trying to get her to eat thawed mice?

Also--being SO NEW---can you guys recommend a good book for me to get-with current good information.

Thanks tons

[knott00]

Thawing a large block of mice huh? sounds like a pain. What you'll have to do is put them in a bag and run them under hot water until them come unstuck. Then seperate them and individually bag them. Then put them right back in the freezer.
I only have 1 BP in my enclosures. However, it is ok to keep BPs of similar size in the same encloser. However you should seperate them come feeding time.

To thaw your mice once you have the big block all ripped apart. Put it in a ziplock bag and put it in warm water until the mouse is completely thawed and warmed up a little bit.
Be sure that it is comepletely thawed by pushing on the belly and seeing if the insides are frozen or not.

For your picky female, it make be wise to prescent. For this you should leave the mouse out right on top of the cage for about 45 minutes. Hopefully this will put her in the mood for a meal. It would also be wise to have a large pair of tweezers to dangle the mouse with, or to move it around the cage to make it look like its alive.

As for books, one of the best is.
The Complete Ball Pythong by Kevin McCurly
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ball-.../dp/9780971319

There is a link to it


Hope this helps.

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Hey!!!! SO glad you're here. Check out the Ball Python section of boards, too for specific areas to ask, you'll get tons of info.

I ditto the book suggestion above. I have that book and it's freaking amazing. Worth every dime...