Just wanted to chime in and say hello. I stumbled onto this site while reading my RSS feeds this morning and was impressed with the vast amount of info it has. The main reason I joined was because of my new family member.
I collect mostly Boas and Cornsnakes, but I rescued a normal female Ball Python last Wednesday from a guy over in West Palm. This girl is very friendly, but has been mis-handled. I have noticed bite marks from live feedings, and she's small for her three years of age. Plus, he had her in a small ten gallon aquarium, no substrate and a heat rock, for the love of God. Honestly, in my close to thirty years of being in this hobby, I have never been a Ball Python fan, I've sold them, taught others how to keep them, but never really had one that I'd want to own. This girl has changed that. She just seems so sad, she needs a good home.
Her previous owner told me that she was mean and that she bites a lot. I held her in my lap all the way home from Palm Beach, she never even offered to bite. I got her home and both my wife and son held her, no biting. What a mean snake....NOT!
I offered her a nice medium Rat yesterday, thinking she'd more than likely refuse, she nailed it the minute I laid it in the tub. Apparantly, all the previous owner fed her were mice, the poor thing was starving.
Needless to say, I marched down to the pet store this morning, bought a brand new large Vision cage, new heat lamps, the works. This little girl won't have to go hungry or live in a cramped aquarium anymore...she's staying with me.
I'll post some pics after she digests her meal and I replace the batteries in my camera.