20 newly imported babies - advice?

[zn394]

I know double posting is a forum no-no, but I posted this under advanced husbandry and there doesn't seem to be much activity there. So I apologize for this duplicate post but I would really like some experienced voices to chime in.

We got 20 newly imported farm hatched babies at the Orlando Repticon this past Saturday for $7.50 each. We thought it would be fun to do and would be able to sell them fairly easily. As Sunday came around I realized how big of a responsibility we had actually taken on. So I figured it best to come here and tap into the knowledge and experience of the members on this forum.

I have had snakes all my life off and on and got bitten by the bug again last year. My son started it off with a ball python, followed by my wife with her first ball, and so on and so on.... Now we have 3 boas, 3 balls, and 2 corns in addition to the new babies. We both have experience dealing with pets of all kinds and various levels of medical care for them. My wife is also a tech at the emergency vet clinic here. I have done a lot of reading and talking in the last few months and have learned a huge amount about caring for these guys. I am also fortunate enough to be friends with 2 local ball python breeders and a very helpful reptile shop owner.

So here is what we have done so far and what we plan to do. When we got home Saturday, they all got a soak for a couple of hours to get them rehydrated and then were moved into a 30 gl long tank. We went shopping and got Sterilite 6qt tubs and water dishes. Sunday morning I drilled the tubs and went to get some extra things we forgot. One of them was PAM to treat each baby, but the store was out of that so I got "Reptile Spray" instead. But, by the time I got back, my wife had already weighed and ID'd each one and put them into their own tubs. There are no signs of mites, but I plan to treat them anyway. They got their hides today. They're stacked beside me in a small area with over 300 gallons of aquariums, so the room is a constant 65-70% humidity and 85*. One of them just shed and it was in one piece, so at least the humidity is good.

For feeding I thought I would try each one on f/t mice fuzzies since we have dozens of those already. If any take them fine, we'll just keep going with hoppers, small mice, rat fuzzies, etc. If they don't I think the best first offering is hoppers so as not to overload their systems after not having eaten in who knows how long, then move them to the appropriate sized prey.

As far as medical care, we plan to observe closely and only those that are beyond what we are comfortable dealing with will go to the vet. I am not sure about worming or any other treatment that might be a good preventative measure. I know of the use of Panacure and Flagyl and can administer either orally or by injection.

I would like to see each one eat at least 3 times and poop and shed before they are put up for sale. Some of these guys are very nice looking - one has a black stripe down it's back, one could be a granite, a few have lots of white around the alien heads, some with nice neck or tail stripes, some unusual patterns and one that looks like a sable.

Any and all comments, suggestions, ideas, etc are very much welcomed.

update: Today I was able to get 10 hoppers (it was all the store could spare) and 1 small mouse (for the 100g+ baby) and all 10 were eaten. 3 snakes refused and 6 were in their hides so I'll get some more hoppers from another store and try them tomorrow. I did try the f/t fuzzies last night, but all 20 refused.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Really it sounds like you are doing just fine on your own. You have them set up good. You are keeping a close eye on them. You are treating them and getting them to eat. What more is there? Get Fed Ex certified is about it lol.

For imported babies you can sell the regular looking ones for the going price of baby normals. The really fancy ones that may be dinkers can be offered for a little more with the option of taking offers. Just be sure to state that they are in fact CH imports.

Just keep up what you are doing and keep them quarantined for awhile. Once they are all eating well and sho no signs of sickness, you can use them to establish some reputation and help others get some new blood.

I would get them eaing a little more than 3 times. Three times is only a couple weeks. You want to keep an eye on them for at the very least a month. Preferably 2.

[BPelizabeth]

Not that I have ANY experience with this however....I would order that PAM and treat anyways. Talk to the vet to see if he would do fecal samples at a discount for you. It is literally looking at it through a microscope...your wife may even know how to do this herself and if needed should be able to get the meds at a discount and administer herself. You probably wouldn't even need to take them in.

Thats is all I have as you seem like you have it all together and under control.

[zn394]

Thank you for the input.

All but 4 have eaten now. One shows interest but doesn't follow through, another doesn't even seem to know the hopper (live) is there, and the other 2 are still just coiled up in their hides. I am going to try these 4 again tomorrow. That will be a week in their tubs.

The biggest thing I was interested in hearing about from someone that has done something similar to this is the worming. Is it necessary? If so where do you get the drugs? Oral or injection?

I haven't used the mite spray yet since there are no signs of mites whatsoever. I got lucky there.

[fishboyUK]

Thank you for the input.

All but 4 have eaten now. One shows interest but doesn't follow through, another doesn't even seem to know the hopper (live) is there, and the other 2 are still just coiled up in their hides. I am going to try these 4 again tomorrow. That will be a week in their tubs.

The biggest thing I was interested in hearing about from someone that has done something similar to this is the worming. Is it necessary? If so where do you get the drugs? Oral or injection?

I haven't used the mite spray yet since there are no signs of mites whatsoever. I got lucky there.

Just repeating what i've seen other more experienced people on other forums have written but i would expect worming treatments to do more harm than good at this stage. A cf baby royal that hasn't had a feed is unlikely to be carrying anything abnormal and it's best to get them feeding well first and any problems/abnormalities in growth or fecals can be watched for.

[bivman]

I saw that deal at the show, and wondered what was in those bags

[zn394]

Well I just finished their rack and got them all set up in it.

One of the holdouts ate, so that leaves me with 3 that have yet to even show any interest. One of the first eaters took the last hopper I had, so that is 3 that have eaten twice now.

As I was moving them into the rack I looked over each one closely and tried my hand at popping them. By my count I have 9 males and 11 females, but I think I missed on one of the first ones. That would make sense because I bet they bag them by sex and one of the bags we got had red marks and the other had blue ones, so I am betting half & half.

It also appears there are 2 - 4 yellowbellies, but I need to read up on them more to be sure.

[jsmorphs2]

No pics

Sounds like you are on the ball. Good luck with them!