Questions about my new ball python

[Aiion]

I just purchased a baby ball python 1 week ago. I had a beautiful Colombian Boa for 2 1/2 years. She disappeared 2 months ago. It was my fault and I will not make the same mistake twice.

Anyway... I have a few questions that I have not been able to find an appropriate answer to online.

1. They told me at the reptile store that he (Soku) looked like he was about to go into a shed. His eyes are very dark and I have not noticed any blueing. Is the blue haze obvious with very dark eyes?

2. Soku is a Pastel. When I brought him home he had a blushy looking orangish tinge on area's closer to the spine. The color darkened into an almost a light brownish grey. I noticed this a few days ago. Not sure if it could be shed related.

3. He has been yawning excessively. His vents are clear, he has no mucus in his mouth and there is no sound indicating RI. His mouth looks very healthy (I see inside it often) Today he yawned and I giggled and smiled at him like I always do when he yawns. He proceeded to open his mouth about 1/2 open and stare at me. He was very relaxed and did not seem a bit aggressive. When I stopped smiling and started to look concerned he closed it. Total time open was about 10 seconds. Call me crazy but it seemed like he was opening it because he liked the response that he received. If there is another reason please inform me.

4. Sometimes he flicks his tongue far out and moves his head straight up and all around. I assume he is getting a feel for his new surroundings. I fed him on Sunday. He has been doing this every day from time to time.

He is a very sweet and docile snake. Curious at times and others he prefers to sit still for an hour and watch me. His Hide is a baseball hat. The center is cloth and collapses and he enters through the brim. He seems to like it and I think it is cozy for him. The reptile shop owner told me that he would not eat f/t and would only eat moving live mice. I tried the f/t and he snatched it up within 5 seconds. I'm so glad because I worry about feeding live. He is a wonderful snake and I want to make sure that I am taking the best care of him possible.

[dr del]

Hi,

I just purchased a baby ball python 1 week ago. I had a beautiful Colombian Boa for 2 1/2 years. She disappeared 2 months ago. It was my fault and I will not make the same mistake twice.

Anyway... I have a few questions that I have not been able to find an appropriate answer to online.

1. They told me at the reptile store that he (Soku) looked like he was about to go into a shed. His eyes are very dark and I have not noticed any blueing. Is the blue haze obvious with very dark eyes?

Yes you should be able to see it - here is a picture of one of mine in blue I took because she dented her eye ( it was fine after she shed ). Bear in mind though that they do clear up a couple of days before the actual shed itself so you may have missed the blue stage.

2. Soku is a Pastel. When I brought him home he had a blushy looking orangish tinge on area's closer to the spine. The color darkened into an almost a light brownish grey. I noticed this a few days ago. Not sure if it could be shed related.

It might be but a picture would help us be more certain - if he is in shed you might also see more wrinkles in his skin where he bends. On mine it is most noticeable on the neck just behind the head.

3. He has been yawning excessively. His vents are clear, he has no mucus in his mouth and there is no sound indicating RI. His mouth looks very healthy (I see inside it often) Today he yawned and I giggled and smiled at him like I always do when he yawns. He proceeded to open his mouth about 1/2 open and stare at me. He was very relaxed and did not seem a bit aggressive. When I stopped smiling and started to look concerned he closed it. Total time open was about 10 seconds. Call me crazy but it seemed like he was opening it because he liked the response that he received. If there is another reason please inform me.

The open mouth thing does concern me a little but I would just keep an eye on it until the shed cycle is complete then see where you are. As to why he closed it - did you lean in towards him slightly when you became concerned?

Also it might be worth double checking there are no signs of mucus in the waterbowl or smeared on cage furnishings etc.

4. Sometimes he flicks his tongue far out and moves his head straight up and all around. I assume he is getting a feel for his new surroundings. I fed him on Sunday. He has been doing this every day from time to time.

Does he just look around then go back to exploring or does he stay with his head elevated for any length of time? If the latter does he ever have his mouth open at the same time?

He is a very sweet and docile snake. Curious at times and others he prefers to sit still for an hour and watch me. His Hide is a baseball hat. The center is cloth and collapses and he enters through the brim. He seems to like it and I think it is cozy for him. The reptile shop owner told me that he would not eat f/t and would only eat moving live mice. I tried the f/t and he snatched it up within 5 seconds. I'm so glad because I worry about feeding live. He is a wonderful snake and I want to make sure that I am taking the best care of him possible.

They are wonderfull snakes ( though I admit to being biased ).

I would probably try and find a pair of matching hides that would be easier to keep clean and didn't have any loops or anything that he can get himself into trouble with - these needn't be expensive as the drip saucers for putting under houseplants, with a hole made either in the top (minimum twice the thickness of the snake in diameter so he can come and go at the same time without getting stuck ) or in the side, are perfect.

Have a read through our caresheet and browse some threads for good ideas that don't break the bank.

And to the forum.


dr del

[Aiion]

Thanks for the response.

There has been no mucus and he appears in perfect health besides the frequent yawning. Sometimes it looks more like he is stretching his jaw than a yawn i noticed. When his mouth was open I was perfectly still except for the expression on my face. It honestly looked to me like he was trying to get a reaction out of me. He got a look like "lets see what happens if I do this". I'm probably crazy but that is what I saw.

I'm not terribly worried about the change in his coloring. I was just hoping someone might know what would cause the sudden color shift. Curious really.

I am going to keep an eye on him though for any signs of RI distress.

Thanks again

[lepidunce]

Sounds pretty normal, I think the coloring is shed related, and the yawning is pretty frequent, with Pickles. But thats just my . I'm no expert, not in the least. (Pickles is my first herp)

edit: WOW, dr del, that dent scares me. Glad it got resolved with the shed.

[Aiion]

Still don't see any signs of RI. He's been yawning sometimes several times an hour but I see absolutely no sign that there is anything wrong. I think it's just one of his things.

I added another identical hide. It is another baseball cap that is cloth and collapses. From everything that I have read, they perfect hide is one that they are completely hidden and touches their body all around as much as possible. The baseball caps definitely fit the bill and he seems to be very comfortable in them

I fed him 2 mice today. A hopper and a fuzzy. The hopper didn't look quite big enough and 2 hoppers seemed like too much. He was very excited to see the second mouse appear. It startled him but as fast as he was startled, he struck. He squeezes them for a couple minutes until they are dead (they are f/t) and he gets them down very easily.

I found an interesting trick with my Colombian Boa. She would get a dent from time to time. Humidity levels were good in her habitat but she spent a lot of time outside of her cage. If it was a small dent, I would lick it occasionally for several minutes and it would pop right out. She had a large one once. She must have hit her head against something. I was worried she might go blind in that eye. I licked it regularly for about 10 minute and then applied and then ever so gently I sucked it out... No snake will be happy while it's eye is dented in because of impaired vision and I can only imagine how it would feel. I know it sounds totally crazy but the first time it happened I had a thought pop in my head about the qualities of saliva and thought it might soften the eye cap. It was almost like an instinct. Hey...it worked anyway and she did not go blind.

Here are some pics of Suku:

[cinderbird]

Sounds pretty normal, I think the coloring is shed related, and the yawning is pretty frequent, with Pickles. But thats just my . I'm no expert, not in the least. (Pickles is my first herp)

edit: WOW, dr del, that dent scares me. Glad it got resolved with the shed.

dents in eyecaps are hydration related. Boost the humidity and the dents will go away.

[dr del]

He is certainly a good looking snake.

One other thing hides need to be is easily cleaned and maintained.

If we think reptile carpet is a bad idea because it is hard to clean thoroughly to stop it stinking and harbouring germs how do you think baseball caps will cope with being dumped and P'd on?

And, as mentioned, simply raising the humidity works fine - stop licking your snakes before those nice people in white coats come and take you away.


dr del

[cinderbird]

I added another identical hide. It is another baseball cap that is cloth and collapses. From everything that I have read, they perfect hide is one that they are completely hidden and touches their body all around as much as possible. The baseball caps definitely fit the bill and he seems to be very comfortable in them


I found an interesting trick with my Colombian Boa. She would get a dent from time to time. Humidity levels were good in her habitat but she spent a lot of time outside of her cage. If it was a small dent, I would lick it occasionally for several minutes and it would pop right out. She had a large one once. She must have hit her head against something. I was worried she might go blind in that eye. I licked it regularly for about 10 minute and then applied and then ever so gently I sucked it out... No snake will be happy while it's eye is dented in because of impaired vision and I can only imagine how it would feel. I know it sounds totally crazy but the first time it happened I had a thought pop in my head about the qualities of saliva and thought it might soften the eye cap. It was almost like an instinct. Hey...it worked anyway and she did not go blind.

adding the same notes as Dr. Del here.

you want easy to clean, sanitary or easially replaceable hides. They really do have a tendency to pee EVERYWHERE. all at once it seems hmm...

Plastic is good for something you can clean (bowls, kitty litter boxes turned upside down or tupperware thats opaque) or cardboard boxes (tissue boxes, shoe boxes, etc) depending on size. these can be thrown away and replaced when soiled.

Also. ..licking your snakes is in poor taste (SEE WHAT I DID THAR )
seriously, thats one way to get salmonella. Misting or a quick soak in some lukewarm water will do the trick just as well..without getting your tongue involved o.O

[Aiion]

I can throw the baseball caps in the washer. If they get hard to clean I will buy new ones. I have thrown very dirty clothes with any number of different kinds of gnarlyness and they have come out perfectly clean so I am not worried. I used the baseball cap for my Colombian Boa and it never became unmanageable by any means. Just in case someone likes the idea... baseball caps certainly do the trick.

Thanks for all the advice and information. I still appreciate any and all advice, even if I don't agree with something I appreciate the will in which it was offered.

I think he is handsome as well. He is turning out to be very photogenic and I love to take pictures...so it works out. He likes to chill with me too. He'll sit on my hand for several hours just looking at me or whatever is around. I feel very grateful to have found him.

[BPelizabeth]

Very pretty pastel you have there! Ummmmm....freaked me out a little with the lick thing...but hey I kiss mine!! soooo......hmmmm...

Anyways...bout the cap......IMO...which is not a whole lot...the thing I would worry about is not that you can wash them but they do tend to go potty in their hides. I would be afraid it would hold too much and give them scale rot due to it being wet. A quick solution is a a plastic dish with a hole cut in it and burn the edges down or my favorite is the top of a pitcher...I put the eco earth over the top and they seem to really like that too. As far as the yawing...if there are no signs of RI then he is just yawning......one of mine yawns alot and she has quite the personality just like yours.