My newest little acquisition!

[don15681]

Like kaorte said, the 29 gal tank for a hatchling could cause stress. If you already have the 29 setup for the snake, go to walmart and buy a 6 qt tub, in my area they are 97 cents. put air holes in it and get the paper towels that are half sheets. they fit the tubs nice without having to fold. give him a bowl of water and place the tub inside the 29 gal tank partly on the heat. in a few months when he out grows the tub, cut a hole in it and use it for the hide. this makes the moving to a larger size enclosure less stressful on the snake since he been in the now hide for months already.

Why take the snake to the vets? He is on the small side even for a hatchling and moving him to the vets and the handling of an exam that he most likely don't need could throw him off feed again. at his size, he's eating, keep him eating, don't pound him with food right away. let his body adjust to eating and slowly increase his intake. after a few meals 5 or so, look him over yourself and check him for mites since he came from a pet store. if you're not sure about anything, the members on this site will let you know if vet care is needed. good luck you will do fine, don

[don15681]

in your thread you said that he struck at the f/t mouse, did the snake eat? If the snake ate don't put him in the 6 qt tub, leave everything the same, he's eating don'tr mess it up. if the snake only struck at the food I would put him in the 6qt tub as posted in my last post. if he's strucking he should eat soon. good luck don

[zantedeschia]

Yes, he ate the f/t fuzzy. Wanted more, but I didn't give him another. Now I'm letting him digest.

I want to take him to the vet cause he's so small, cause I'm not sure he's perfectly healthy, cause the guy said he was force-fed, cause I'm worried I was too rough when I rubbed off the eyecaps (tho I know I wasn't, I fret a lot). Also because when I took Paradox to the vet, it turned out she had internal parasites and I think my daughter got her from the same Petco. The vet I took her to is very good with herps, there's not problem there. Plus I still want to get Enigma checked out.

Speaking of Paradox, when I put my battery back in my camera I found some recent shots of her. Here's one.

[Flawless]

I was just at one of these Big Pet stores..and check'd out the reptile sec.(just to see what lil guys they may have) and noticed a ball w/ humidity at 20% and temp around 77...also the price was way too high...it was a normal baby ball running for $79.99.....

[zantedeschia]

Hm, this Petco had the temp 85ish and the humidity 50%ish. Plus the overcrowding and half log hide. Tho there's a Petco closer to me that must have someone who knows snakes, cause their BP enclosure actually has a warm side and a cooler side.

Snapped some shots of Charade this morning. He's still active and friendly.

[zantedeschia]

To drag up a really old thread, I got a good look at Petco's cashier scales yesterday and discovered they weigh in fractional pounds. That means Charade at that time weighed .34 pounds not 34 grams. Which translates to about 155g. Which makes a lot more sense, esp since he weighed 160-something grams the following week at the vet.

He's currently 328g so it's all moot.

[BigBlue56]

I realize you are trying to help but honestly, buying an animal from a big box pet store just encourages them to continue buying and mistreating animals. I am glad that you took the time to take care of an obviously sick animal. That was very kind of you Next time if you are thinking about doing rescues, check if there is a local reptile rescue where you can adopt an animal in need of help.

I recently just saved my first snake (normal BP) from an evil and dirty pet shop. Although I absolutely love my new friend, I wish I didnt because like you said, it just promotes bad caretaking.

Its just so hard to do when your holding one of these little guys. They look at you with the snake version of a "puppy dog look", then you see the disgraceful living conditions and you are almost FORCED to buy it to save it.

Thats what happened to me. I went to that pet store JUST to buy supplies for the tank and was planning on getting a BP from an quality breeder. He was too cute tho and I had to save him/her..

[stevepoppers]

FORCED to buy it to save it.

Business model?

[SERPENT_MASTERS]

i realize you are trying to help but honestly, buying an animal from a big box pet store just encourages them to continue buying and mistreating animals. I am glad that you took the time to take care of an obviously sick animal. That was very kind of you next time if you are thinking about doing rescues, check if there is a local reptile rescue where you can adopt an animal in need of help.

All that aside, i think there are still a few things husbandry wise that you can do to make this snake even more comfortable. A 29g tank for a 35g ball python is not going to work. It is just way to large. Even if he is eating now, he could stop eating later and i bet you the big tank will have something to do with it. Ideally you should put him in a 6qt rubbermaid tub, but if you want to stick with tanks, a 10g would be better.

I don't know what you are using to heat, regulate temperature, or measure temperature but these are pretty important to know. Belly heat (with an under tank heater) is best for ball pythons. The catch with these is that they must be used with some kind of controlling device. A reptile thermostat would be best but a light dimmer or rheostat will also work in a pinch. Digital thermometers with probes or a temp gun are the best ways to get an accurate temperature reading. The accurite weather station from the home depot is a great little device for single setups.

Hides are also very very important. You should have two identical tight fitting hides for you little one. Half log hides will not cut it. They need the "rock cave" kind of hides that are low to the ground with a small opening.

You might have all this right already. I am just throwing this information out there because sometimes it can be very helpful to people who are new to ball pythons.

Good luck with that very tiny one!

wonderful info you shared. I agree with you 100 percent on the big box pet shops. If you really want to help and save a ball go contact a rescue. Trust me there are alot of normal males looking for a good home AND THAT ALSO GOES WITH DOGS AND CATS.