Quote Originally Posted by Nezumi View Post
Ok, so first I would like to state that I don't know much of Ball pythons. Only what my own little girl have taught me herself and what I learned at a longstanding reptial breeder/pet store owner whom I bought her from.

So I'll give her six month history and then my questions will be next. I wpuld like a review on how I've cared for her so far and any tips would be awesome.

My boyfriend got me the ballpython for christmas, knowing that I had wanted one since I was little. We went to the pet store together and I got to pick out of three 1 week old babies. The first two they had were pretty pastels but both seemed very irratable. Then there was my female that was darker then the rest and much more social and calm. So I picked her. She was 11 inches at the time.

I named her Will'O Whysp after her tiny size and the orb markings on her.

I've had her 6 monthes now and she's by far smarter then I would have ever given credit. She's 22 inches now. I did run into trouble when she got a bad mouse bite on her neck and went though the stress of her getting stiches. She has healed fine though and her neck is all better. (My new vet loves her. he says she's well behaved and he's plotting to steal her. ^^) I was unaware of the dangers of adult feeder mice.

Tank: She's in a basic 20 gallon tank with a heating pad under nether. The tempature ranges 90-80. I only have one hide. it's on the warmer side. I use the coconut shavings for bedding and do have a shallow bowl in the middle of the tank.

I feed her 2 chubby hoppers once a week as she still has 2 stitches. They come out in a week.

I never had trouble with her eating habits. She doesn't seem to care about color, size, or amount. I do tend to keep the color of the mice varied.

Questions-

My boyfriend has fallen in love with her and I'm tired of him stealing my snake. We were thinking of getting him one but we only have one tank and no room for another. Everything I read is confusing as to weather bps can get along well. So, can two females live together?

I do take Whysp out with me alot, on my neck or wrist. and I have noticed that there is something about the smell of paper/books that she seems to like. Weather it's a book I'm reading at home that she likes to crawl all over, or at a book store were she tries to move from my hand to a bookshelf. It's only in book stores that she'll try and escape my person. Any thoughts/ideas?

Both by boyfriend and I have noticed that she's head shy. Is that normal?

We have also both noticed that she doesn't tend to like other people. She prefer to smell them from afar but when they try and hold her she balls up and won't move till we take her back. Normal?

When are females mature and do their personality's change at all?

Is a bp likely to try and eat a cockatiel of parakeet? (This one is more for my wonderment. I would never let my snake near my birds)

How well is their sight compared to ours?

I'm reluctant to buy frozen mice and I don't want her to have stiches again. How do you freshly kill a mouse?

hmm, I think that all my questions for now...Though more may arise when you guys post.
The only way you should humanely kill a live mouse is with a gas chamber and using CO2. Do not hit them on a table or such, this usually only stuns them and if done wrong can cause them more pain then the snake would.
It's unusual for a snake to get bitten by a mouse. I have fed all my animals live rats and none have been bit, as well as many large scale breeders with hundreds of snakes could say the same.
I recommend buying frozen. You can get a bulk order online and not pay the ridiculous prices of petstores. You may want to be feeding her extra small/weanling rats at that point (frozen suggested). The prey your feeding her should be about the same thickness as the thickest point on the body.

I do not recommend keeping two snakes in one cage. There are many reasons why don't recommend it and I can tell you if you'd like me to. All my snakes are separate and it keeps peace of mind and health for the animals.

The scales may or may not grow back depending on the amount of scar tissue present. Even if a scar shows up, a mouse bite does not sound like something that would make a large scar or anything.

You should have your temperatures more accurate than that.. What are you using to control the UTH? If nothing, that is extremely bad. What are the temperatures below the substrate in the cage, directly on the glass?

If you are using dial thermometers, trash them and get some digital probe thermometers for your cage. You need something to control that UTH because all of them get far too hot for the animals. They can get over 100F and when that temperature is on the surface of the glass under the substrate, the animal can burrow down and burn himself severely. A proper thing to get to control it is a good thermostat. They are one of the most expensive parts of keeping these animals, but it is very important.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html

Handling her a lot is fine. Though I doubt theres a relation to the paper or books, some just show interest to new smells. Make sure to wait 48 hours after feeding to hold her though.

Also, you need another hide for her. I don't know what kind of hide you have, but if you have log hides, I suggest getting rid of it because they are very insecure for ball pythons. I use these hides from reptile basics:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Hide-Boxes-p-1-c-282.html
They like small, tight, hides that touch them on all sides. One on the cool and warm side is important so they can choose what temperatures they want.