NeWNess is Now Upon me. (I got my first Ball) (And I'm new)

[mastertofue]

Yeah, I adopted this 8 month female Ball Python about 2 weeks ago. Man, I love her so much! I'm a sucker. I got the girl set up real nice in a 20 gallon tank. I got reptile woodchips for the flooring, and this nice (plastic) hollow tree from the pet store that she hides in.

I have a question though. She seems pretty inactive. Like, she sleeps all day and all night it seems, lying in her hide box. She acts to what I percieve as normal when I take her out. She's friendly and moves well. But when shes in her tank she pretty much just stays in the hide box. I haven't seen her make a move for the water bowl. Is that normal for so long?

Here's the second issue. A few days ago I discovered about 4 ticks on her. My analysis is that they came with her from the adoption clinic, they are just hard to see because they can get under the belly scales. I researched about it, and I felt it was best to leave it up to the vet to remove them, so I am taking her in tommorrow morning. I read they can cause anemia and weakness which I thought might be the source of her inactivity. So does anyone have a more "experienced" view of possibilities?

Thanks a lot.

[elevatethis]

A happy, healthy ball python will spend 99.99% of their time in hiding. That's just their nature. A good indicator of when something is wrong is when they roam excessively. Causes could include lack of security, improper temps, etc.

A vet visit is always a good thing for a new addition.

As far as the ticks go, your vet may be able to remove them, but you'll want to treat the enclosure for other baddies as well.

Provent-a-mite is an awesome product that is merciless on mites and ticks at all stages of their lifecycle.

[AkivaSmith]

You will need to clean that 20 gal tank really good. Buy some tick remover solution (provent-a-mite). You'll need to read the instructions well.

How are you heating your 20 gal? And do you have a digital themometer/hydrometer? They are really cheap (>$20) at any of the places you mentioned.

Welcome to our board!

[mastertofue]

I was using a lamp to heat at the beginning, mounted above the screen top. Then I added a heating pad underneath the tank. After a little bit of time, with the room temp set at about 70 degrees, the pad and light would reach o close to 90 degrees in the tank. So I removed the lamp, because it seemed to dry the tank quicker, plus the pad underneath gave her more surface area of warmth.
I haven't gotten a digital Therm/Hygro yet. I'm using the crappy plastic one's that came witht the adoption. I do plan on getting some though.

I'm very gald to hear that her continual hiding is healthy. I will look for the Provent-a-mite as well.

anything else?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Yeah, I adopted this 8 month female Ball Python about 2 weeks ago. Man, I love her so much! I'm a sucker. I got the girl set up real nice in a 20 gallon tank. I got reptile woodchips for the flooring, and this nice (plastic) hollow tree from the pet store that she hides in.

I have a question though. She seems pretty inactive. Like, she sleeps all day and all night it seems, lying in her hide box. She acts to what I percieve as normal when I take her out. She's friendly and moves well. But when shes in her tank she pretty much just stays in the hide box. I haven't seen her make a move for the water bowl. Is that normal for so long?

Here's the second issue. A few days ago I discovered about 4 ticks on her. My analysis is that they came with her from the adoption clinic, they are just hard to see because they can get under the belly scales. I researched about it, and I felt it was best to leave it up to the vet to remove them, so I am taking her in tommorrow morning. I read they can cause anemia and weakness which I thought might be the source of her inactivity. So does anyone have a more "experienced" view of possibilities?

Thanks a lot.

Congrats on your new addition

Well since your new addition has ticks it would be very good to take her to an herp vet to have her check out, a fecal test is also highly recommended to check for internal parasites. (Here is where you can find a herp vet close to you http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm)

[rabernet]

I haven't gotten a digital Therm/Hygro yet. I'm using the crappy plastic one's that came witht the adoption. I do plan on getting some though.

Are you using a thermostat to control the UTH? If not, please get one to help prevent potential burns. You can get them at http://www.reptilebasics.com

[mastertofue]

Are you using a thermostat to control the UTH? If not, please get one to help prevent potential burns. You can get them at http://www.reptilebasics.com

No I don't have anything like that. But I have the pad underneath the tank itself, which is also under the wooden substrate. When I feel the glass bottom above the tank it feels fairly warm, but nothing I would consider dangerous, much less with the substrate over that. After Christmas passes I'll look into some of the nice elements to add, but for now I'm cutting it thin with the vet visit, getting new substrate, and the Provent-a-mite.
Speaking on that. I am going to move her into a clean 10 gallon tank for the time being so I can properly sanitize the other tank over the next couple of days.

I have another question. I've looked around the net a lot about care guides. Most of them are consistent but some differ. When i got her they told me they fed her a small mouse every 2 weeks. From some of the stuff I read I thought that it was supposed to be more often when they were young. I asked my cousin whose had one for about a year and he suggested once every two weeks too, but I don't hold his suggestions as "experienced". Some fo the guides have said 1 a week, 2 a week, onec each 2 weeks, etc.

Any words of advice?

[AkivaSmith]

At 8 months, she should be getting an adult mouse once a week. When she gets to small rats you can probably go to every 10 days or two weeks.

[Ktzero3]

Hrm, here are some things to consider... Your body temperature is around 98 degrees fahrenheit, and if the glass feels warm to you that means the temperature is above 98F. Most guides I've read here say that the substrate temps should be around 92-95F on the hot side. Anything hotter could potentially burn your snake.

[synister370]

No I don't have anything like that. But I have the pad underneath the tank itself, which is also under the wooden substrate. When I feel the glass bottom above the tank it feels fairly warm, but nothing I would consider dangerous, much less with the substrate over that. After Christmas passes I'll look into some of the nice elements to add, but for now I'm cutting it thin with the vet visit, getting new substrate, and the Provent-a-mite.
Speaking on that. I am going to move her into a clean 10 gallon tank for the time being so I can properly sanitize the other tank over the next couple of days.

I have another question. I've looked around the net a lot about care guides. Most of them are consistent but some differ. When i got her they told me they fed her a small mouse every 2 weeks. From some of the stuff I read I thought that it was supposed to be more often when they were young. I asked my cousin whose had one for about a year and he suggested once every two weeks too, but I don't hold his suggestions as "experienced". Some fo the guides have said 1 a week, 2 a week, onec each 2 weeks, etc.

Any words of advice?

dont go buy just the touch of your hand please!!!!


go get a thermostat and hydromert with a digital guage and a probe

you will see how hot that pad can get quite scray!