Yes, another new guy with a few questions...

[Didgie]

So, I adopted a two year old ball python - he's my first snake! I've been trying to find anwers to my questions by reading through the threads, and I've finally narrowed it down to just a couple. :-P

1. I recieved him on Wednesday - he was fed the Tuesday before. In an effort to keep to that Tuesday feeding schedule, should we feed him this upcoming Tuesday - or wait another week, so he can adjust to his new home before his first meal?

2. How long before a snake is essentially full grown? He's two years old (or so I was told) but he's only a little over two feet. I haven't had a chance to weigh him yet...but my educated guess is that he's near two pounds, which is about 900 grams. So he's up to weight, right? Is that a normal length for his age? Will he get longer?

3. How often should you handle a snake? We've been leaving him be for now so he can adjust to his new habitat, but I've gotten a little confused about handling. Is it ok to hand them every day (except for feeding and shedding, I know that much!) for a few minutes? Or is that too stressful, and you should only handle them when you're cleaning the cage, etc? I've seen both and I'm kind of confused. I don't want to do anything to stress him out, but I would like to handle him and all.

[Didgie]

Oh, sorry, one more!

4. I'm already thinking about switching to a tub....what is the best way to heat these? I've seen the term heat tape, but I have no idea what that is.

[seeya205]

If he still doesn't seems settled by tuesday(running around all night and not sleeping much) I would give it another week but if he seems okay then you can feed him! Give him what he has been fed by the old owner. I never handle mine 48 hours before and after a feeding, that is a personal choice! You can't handle 48 hours after a feeding for sure! Anytime other than that is up to you! If he isn't feeding then don't handle until he is eating regular! He should grow at least a foot more. They are usually full grow at around 3 years! If you just have one tub than an UTH(under tank heater) works great! Heat tape is more for racks! Good luck with your new pet!

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Its pretty obvious to tell if a snake is too thin for its age. If the spine sticks up and is too noticable. If the head (for ball pythons) is narrow, arrow shaped, and it has no fat reserves in the 2 round areas on the top back of the head. It should have a nice round body. The neck is thinner and more pronounced. The body is round but not so fat that it causes folds or wrinkles in the scales when the snake is curled up for awhile.

It sounds like yours is the right size.
As for handling. It depends on your snake. You will learn to read it. Give it awhile to settle. Maybe a week. Make sure it has hides, proper heat source, correct humidity, fresh water etc..

You can start taking it out for only a few minutes at a time. Increase the time as the snake shows signs of being more calm. SOme are just more curious than others and will never stop exploring. Others will find a comfortable warm spot in your lap and just stay there.

The snake will eventually get used to your scent and your actions with it. It will learn that you are not a threat to it and it will not be nervous when being handled. They work on instinct. Smell, sight, heat, taste etc..

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

As for heat tape.. Its called flexwatt. Any other heat tape (like for your pipes) from a hardware store will likely NOT be what you would want.

Any heat source must be controlled by a thermostat control device. Otherwise they are known to get to temeratures over 115 degrees. This can crack glass, melt plastic, and BURN your snake.

You can pick these up online for pretty cheap if you get the one with a dial. These should be used in conjunction with a thermometer so you can monitor the temp and adjust accordingly since they are not digital. The digital ones and the proportional control (like a dimmer switch) are much more expensive but well worth it.

I wouldnt use heat tape unless you have an entire rack of snakes. You must wire it yourself including the cord..

An UTH is fine with the right temp control.

Lights and overhead heat emitters can suck out the humidity pretty fast. If you use these, cover the top of tank around the heat or light source. Use a more dense layer of cypress or aspen bedding to increase humidity a little but watch out for mold or condensation.

[Didgie]

*nods* I've got his hot side at about 92-94, and his cool side at about 83-85. He has hides on both cool and hot sides, fresh water, and a rock (regular rock) to rub against for shedding, and basking. His humidity stays around 61-65%. We've got a heat lamp right now, but I'm looking to change that. It's really making keeping the humidty right a struggle. It is only going to be one tub, for now (maybe in a bit I'll look into getting a nice female...) so I'll go with UTH then. Thanks for anwering my question.

I held him while my partner set up his tank, and he yawned, and then climbed in my hoodie pocket and fell asleep (I assume...he didn't move) The man we adopted him from said he actually rarely kept him in his tank, so I assume he was handled frequently.

Oh, your response about feeding brings up a question - the old owner was feeding him three seperate times a week, one mouse each time. Should we do that for this first feed, at least, or is it ok if we feed him two mice and just once? Because three feeds a week is too much, right?

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

3 feeds a week is a little much.. Try feeding either 2 large mice once a week or one small/medium rat. All that feeding and handling can cause improper digestion.

Heres a scary thought.. If a snake is handled after feeding it can cause improper digestion and possibly regurgitation. If the snake doesnt have a warm enough area to lay while digesting, the food can actually begin to rot inside the snake and kill the snake.

I would go with a once a week feeding and try to feed something a bit bigger. A rodent closer to the size of the widest part of the snakes body.

[Didgie]

Definitely don't want that! I just wanted to make sure that changing his feeding schedule the first time I fed him was ok. We have three f/t mice that the guy gave us, and after that we're going to make the switch to rats if he'll take them!

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

If he's already on F/T then it should not be hard to switch him to rats. Just start with a small rat that is only slightly bigger than what he is used to. One problem you may encounter is that he is use to eating much smaller food. Something alot bigger, even if its the right size for him, may put him off of feeding. Work him up slowly.

A great tip if he refuses the rat is to make sure the rat is wet and very warm. Thawing in hot (from the faucet) water and using a blowdryer on each side for a minute or so will usually do the trick. Wet rodents put off more scent for the snake. A good heat signature usually inspires a strike.

[OhhWatALoser]

just a note up above, heat pads get no where near hot enough to crack glass or melt plastic under normal conditions. I ran my flexwatt unregulated just to see how hot it can get because everyone has different numbers, i read 145 at the hottest, no plastic melted but they would kill a snake very quickly.

give my opinion on things, even tho i agree with everything else shes saying.

your questions
1. like she said pay attention to the snake, but also no harm in changing the day eigher, never had a problem switching a snakes feeding day.
3. depends on the snake, if they are just constantly trying to find a place to hide like going in your hoodie as you said, thier really not exploring and most likly stressed and taking cover. i would just handle in short sessions for now. after they get used to the flow of things they will just be curious about everything and explore, then no harm keeping them out as long as you want imo. just gotta pay attention to them and make sure their not stressing.

also I don't have a problem handling my snakes 5 minutes before the eat and alot of them i do. my normal practice is to clean their cages if needed and feed them after. so some are out of their cage 5 minutes b4 they eat... i don't see an issue. i leave them alone for atleast a day after, and if i do handle them a couple days after feeding, it only short sessions as stated b4 they need the heat to digest and all that stuff stated up above. wait til the lump in their stomach goes down (2-3 days) and they should be fine.

also don't be afraid to take your snake out if its in shed to clean its cage, its not going to die lol, just clean the cage and put em back in.

4.Flexwatt or just a store bought heatpad will work, and we can't stress it enough, regulate it.