Weight Scales and Feeding Babies

[grim reaper in NY]

Just a quick question on where I might locate a set of scales to weigh my snakes. I didn't know if places like WalMart or Target had anything that would work or if a special set of scales are needed for these animals.

Secondly, how long does it take for a baby python to start eating once they've been re-homed? A friend of mine bought two normal balls from a Petco and he's had them for a couple months now. He called me a little bit ago from work and expressed concern because neither have eaten yet. He's trying to feed F/T to them but has had no luck whatsoever yet. he's afraid he's going to lose them if they don't eat soon. He mentioned trying to force feed them, but I've never done that and I wouldn't know how to safely go about doing that to get them to eat.
If anyone has any pointers for me to pass along I would appreciate it.

[JayBP]

I purchased my gram scale at Target for about $20. You can find them in the kitchenware section.

He should give the Ball pythons about 1-2 weeks without disturbing them at all. Also if F/T doesn't work he should try feeding live before trying to force feed.

[nixer]

i got a scale from meijer also in the kitchenwares.
i also got one that i got from harbor freight


as for your friends snakes i would double check all the husbandry first. then you also have to consider that those snakes are probally CH and they will need really good hides. i would try the usual tricks but i would definately try live

[Solinger]

then you also have to consider that those snakes are probally CH and they will need really good hides.

Sorry to hijack, what does CH mean?

[Kaorte]

Captive Hatched.

There are a lot of reasons why the snakes won't eat. We would need to know more about the setup and the history of the snakes in order to find the source of the eating problem.

[ARpythons]

you can also get them at the post office or an office max or something like that. the scales are used for wieghing letters to determine postage.

[rabernet]

I would guide your friend to the Ball Python care sheet here which has a section "Why won't my snake eat?" that he should review.

I would strongly recommend that he offers live before he tries to force feed.

Find out if he's housing them together (if so, he needs to separate them). Have him go through that check-list and make necessary adjustments.

I got my scale at Walmart in the kitchen section. Reptile Basics also sells scales.

[grim reaper in NY]

Just a quick update. I went over to his place this morning to check on his setups to make sure everything was the way it's supposed to be.
I should have gone over sooner, that's all I can say. When I got there and saw the conditions these two little guys were in I can easily see why they weren't eating. No thermometer or humidity gauges, no heat source, only 1 hide for 2 snakes and no substrate on the floor of the 10 gallon aquarium they were crammed in. 1 snake had dried skin from at least 2 previous sheds stuck to him, with an eye cap over one eye to boot. Dead skin littered the cage as well as old urates and fecal matter. Mites are on both critters as well. The stench was unreal as well and the skin on both snakes are wrinkled and literally hanging off their bodies.
I simply told my buddy I was taking them home with me where they will get the care they need and can hopefully recover from the neglect they've endured since he brought them home.
I got them home, isolated both of them in seperate tanks and gave them baths and used PAM to start treating their mite infestation. On a hunch, I put a hopper mouse in each tank and they both immediately attacked them and ate them with no issues whatsoever. I'm just hoping I'm not too late in saving these guys as they are definitely are malnurished and neglected.
So now I've got two more Balls in my collection that I didn't intend on having. I'm slowly being overrun, but I couldn't leave them in that condition.
Oh, and I recommended my buddy buy a goldfish instead because he simply isn't smart enough to handle the responsibilty of reptile ownership. Living proof that you can't fix stupid.