New Pet

[Ara]

hey i just found this website, was wondering if i could get some pointers on my new ball python. I have had her sexed i know its a female, shes roughly 4-5 years old. close to 4 feet long. im worried that she is stressed out and shes not going to adapt to her new home. i have a 30 gallon tank which i know is plenty large enough for her. in the tank is a cave and a big water dish. i have a large white heat lamp which sets my right side of the tank to roughly 90ish degrees. at night time i throw a red light on right in the middle of the tank which keeps everything around 80. her cave is on the opposite side of the tank. the opposite side is sittin around 85. ive been told by a few guys at the local reptile store to not feed her or handle her for a week? should i wear some sort of protection for my first time handling her? does a bite hurt? if i do get bit, how do i make her release? ive handled her previous to purchasing and shes great. just lookin for some info and help, i want to give her the best home possible.

[steveboos]

Congratulations on getting your first snake and joining our community here!

First off, yes that is correct do not hold or handle your snake for a whole week, any cleaning that do you and have to move the snake is fine, but don't straight up hold the snake for at least a week. Also don't feed for a week while she settles in, she can go a year without food without loosing body wait, so don't think a week will be a problem.

If she ever does bite you, which is rare as long as your smart about feeding time, don't immediately pull her off, give her a little bit to release, if she does not release within 15 seconds or so, push her head into your arm/hand/whatever and pull off. Their teeth are backwards curved so this way so will come off easily. It doesn't really hurt, if you have every been bit by any small animal or even scratched by a cat or dog, it hurts just about as bad as a cat scratch, but doesn't hurt anywhere near as bad as a Gerbil or Hamster bite.

Your setup sounds good but do you have digital thermometers to determine the temperature? You should never have any -ish near a degree, you should always know exactly how hot is it at all times, so a digital thermometer is a must!

[BPelizabeth]

First of all congrats! She should have 2 hides one on the warm side and one on the cool side. You will want the cool side around 82 warm side 92. You need to keep the humidity up around 60%...which is probably going to be tough with a 30 gallon tank. If you are heating it with lights foil off the top screen part to assist with the humidity. Also you might want to get a Acurite thermostat ....they are $12- and you can find them wally world.

Read this care sheet below....it helped me out alot when I was new to this.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43936

[Ara]

im going to go and buy 2 digitals tomorrow, imm going to throw one on each end in the corners. im just new to all of this so i want to make sure shes happy. the previous owner said he fed her mice. guy at the reptile store said those are grapes for her. so im going to start her off on a few small rats. then eventually throw a medium size rat in there. should i always feed outside of her tank??

[Ara]

can you guys see my profile picture or no??

[seeya205]

You should not use lights! They will suck up your humidity! You need a under tank heater and have the probe of the thermometer directly on the uth. You need a dimmer or even better, a thermostat to control the uth. Cover the sides for added security for the snake! Feed her mice to get her eating for you then once she has eaten a few meals for you then switch to rats! You are probaly going to need 3 or 4 adult mice once a week to satisfy her. You need two identical hides that she can fit into tightly with only one small opening. Place one on the uth in the warm side and the other on the cool side! The cool side needs to be 80-84 degrees and the warm side should be 90-94 degrees with an ambient(air) temp of at least 75 degrees! Humidity should be at least 50% but it's good to have 60%! When she sheds then make sure it is at least 60% to help in shedding! You need a large shallow water dish in the middle of the tank. Cover the top 80% of the lid with plastic wrap or foil to lock in heat and humidity! Let her be for at least a week before attempting a feed. Follow these and you will have a happy, stressless snake!

[BPelizabeth]

Feed in the enclosure as I and many others think that it is a old wise tale that it makes them cage aggressive. This is easier to feed in the enclosure and less messy ....plus it doesnt stress the snake out so much.

If you are changing to rats...here is a couple of pointers as sometimes they will not switch. Have the ppl put some mouse bedding and mouse droppings in with the rats. If she will not take the rat, (and this sounds gross but works) rub some mouse droppings on the rat. Sometimes some snakes can be finiky about taking a rat. Just continue to offer and rub some doo do on it. lol

As someone else stated you might also consider getting an under the tank heater (UTH). You will also need a thermostat to manage this. Some stores will tell you that you do not.....but you totally do. This will help in keeping up your humidity as well as it will be better for your snake. They use belly heat to digest. You can look at Herpstat or Reptile Basics for thermostats. I personally stay away from zoo med products as I do not find them reliable. That is just me though......

[WaRocker]

As far as bites go you will always think they are going to be worse than they actually are.
With this being said , they do still "suck" but are more shocking than anything.
If your still worried then try gloves.

Enjoy.

[Ara]

hey WaRocker. is that a pic of your snake??? thats is so wild looking!!!! is it a ball python? and when i give her 4 mice should i throw all 4 in at once??? or one at a time??

[BPelizabeth]

no no.....they will bite your snake. Especially mice. I prekill right before I give it to them...or at least stun them. Then I hold them by the tail and offer it to my snake. When you feed live....do not walk away until the mouse or rat is dead. Then just check after she finishes and offer another.

Snakes are basically defenseless when eating. Also snakes at times will not defend themselves when being attacked by a mouse of a rat. There are some scary pictures of this and even dead snakes.

You can also go Frozen thawed....I personally do not for many different reasons....but it is an option.