emergency question! snake got bit! by another snake

[kyokitty666]

Hi Kyokitty... is the problem that you don't have any more money to spare for another tub?

It's fairly cheap to get another tub and heat mat and put dimmers on all enclosures. It is a much cheaper option than the risk of a vet visit. Maybe you can find some plastic bins in your house that you are using for things like Christmas decorations and such that you can use temporarily.

Basically, you need a heatmat (about $15 from PetCo), a dimmer (about $10 from Lowe's), a plastic storage bin (about $12 at Wal-mart)... or around $40 for one set-up unless you got some plastic bins around the house you can use which brings it down to $25.

what im saying is that TEMPORARILY i dont have the money, im only saying that between now and when i get the money, if it so happens that one or more need vet visits i will do it, i dont want that to happen but im saying if it does im not going to just let them suffer, i did put one in a bin i had other animals in and he seems okay so far but im still keeping an eye on him, and the other two, they are also in the tank together TEMPORARY until i get them other places

now i only capitalized those to make sure people see that, again ive only had them a few days and already ive gotten hides, extra bowls, put them in their own room with the window covered to keep out the cool air, and overal just trying to keep them in the warmest part of the house.

Im still replying because i care and im still trying to improve my animals habitat, and i understand im new here and im kinda feel like that has something to do with the rudeness? i thank everyone that has been kind and who has given me support, and to those who are rude, i thank the ones who accually gave me advice through the rudeness

now, i wont post so many pictures because i dont need people thinking i have more then 4 ball pythons, i end up taking like 5 pictures of the same snake

[tsealock]

Don't worry, the herpers on this board is really friendly and helpful. Everyone is just very serious about his or her collection. They all spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and money not only on their snakes, but ensuring their optimal health and happiness.

We all love ball pythons and just want to see what is best for the snakes. I can see you are doing the best you can, and I give you credit for coming on here and putting yourself in the line of fire in the first place. Just keep them warm, feed them separately (you should have them set up by the time they need to eat again), and set them up properly as soon as you can. Good luck!

[PitOnTheProwl]

i am taking everything in that im being told, i read that this is suppost to be a very friendly site and ive been shown thats only half true. but im still here because i want the best for my snakes.

Dont let them get to you, some have forgotten where and how they started.
At the end of the day you have to feel YOU are doing the best you can regardless of what anyone posts on a message board. None of us are in your house so its not like we are REALLY there to help and see the situation.

Take everything in stride as you are. These are wild animals that do not always live in the perfect conditions in the wild but they manage to survive

[stratus_020202]

And sometimes we forget that there are new members. Who just need a little education. I get into that mode of, "you did what?" without knowing they just don't know any better.

So, lets start back at square one. Have you read the caresheet? And made a shopping list? http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Honestly, I think it's cheaper to buy online depending on where you live. And, don't get rainforest heat pads. They are a pain, and their max temp is very low. I would switch the girls to paper towels too, at least the injured one. That way you can watch how she's healing and check for blood. I use brawny. They are pretty thick.

I would also get rid of the cardboard boxes. My babies like to poo as close their hides as possible, and you don't want their homes caving in. You can use tupperware/gladware bowls and cut a door out of the side or the top. And paint it. It's fun to come up with different colors as long as it's dark inside.

Let us know if you need any help with specific items. It's hard to cover the whole set up in one post. Glad the big girl is going to be ok.

[Egapal]

Ok, I just have to say this: Why is that the keepers that break all the "husbandry rules" seem to have the snakes the pound food. Yet, I follow everything by the book and mine are off feed - I just don't get it.

Just had to say it.

Wow I was thinking the exact same thing. I have a 1200 gram ball python in a 3'x2'x2' plastic enclosure with two tight fitting hides perfect temps, perfect humidity, UTH on a thermostat. Fake vines added 2 months ago to provide lots of ground clutter and my BP who was eating steady for 8 months prior is on a 4 month winter fast. One month longer than last year.

Meanwhile kyokitty666 has 3 BP all in a single tank. All are presumably at breeding weights but not to worry here comes a mouse. Now on top of 2 of the 3 snakes having a great feeding response its one snake in shed.

kyokitty666 please tell me that you have a plan for the huge clutch of perfect eggs you are no doubt going to get.

[Egapal]

Ok so I finished reading the whole thread. kyokitty666 you need to read more, a lot more. I don't mean any of this in a mean way so if it sounds mean please remember I am trying to help. Right now I see you assuming a lot of things. From what I have read you should throw out everything you think you know. 1 snake per enclosure, tank, tub, or expensive fancy enclosure you are not ready for more than 1 snake per enclosure. You said that you grew up around animals so you should know this one already. Boy's and Girls need to be separate at all times or else we will be answering your new post "What do I do with these eggs I just got". There are a lot of posts on here like that. "Well I only had them together while I cleaned." "The previous owner told me they were both female." Mistakes happen when people assume things. So thats the big issue.

Next, temps and humidity. You say you are checking the heating sources a few times a day and they barely get warm. What are you checking with. Your hand is a really bad judge of temp. Use a thermometer or else you have no idea what the temps really are. Despite the fact that my snake is currently not eating, I believe others will back me up in saying that proper temp and humidity is important and not having proper levels can cause your snakes to go of feed or worse get burned. Don't guess at your levels. Know them.

Feeding. Adult BP's really should be fed prey larger than mice. Once you take care of the other issues consider switching to rats.

Read read read. Read up on your BP's and on your corn snakes, and while your at it there is a lot of good info on rodents. I have said it before its called Animal Husbandry and it means the careful applications of the science, skill and art of raising and breeding animals. I have no doubt that you have the animals and you care for them. You need to learn the science quickly so you can start building the skill and discovering the art.

[kyokitty666]

Ok so I finished reading the whole thread. kyokitty666 you need to read more, a lot more. I don't mean any of this in a mean way so if it sounds mean please remember I am trying to help. Right now I see you assuming a lot of things. From what I have read you should throw out everything you think you know. 1 snake per enclosure, tank, tub, or expensive fancy enclosure you are not ready for more than 1 snake per enclosure. You said that you grew up around animals so you should know this one already. Boy's and Girls need to be separate at all times or else we will be answering your new post "What do I do with these eggs I just got". There are a lot of posts on here like that. "Well I only had them together while I cleaned." "The previous owner told me they were both female." Mistakes happen when people assume things. So thats the big issue.

Next, temps and humidity. You say you are checking the heating sources a few times a day and they barely get warm. What are you checking with. Your hand is a really bad judge of temp. Use a thermometer or else you have no idea what the temps really are. Despite the fact that my snake is currently not eating, I believe others will back me up in saying that proper temp and humidity is important and not having proper levels can cause your snakes to go of feed or worse get burned. Don't guess at your levels. Know them.

Feeding. Adult BP's really should be fed prey larger than mice. Once you take care of the other issues consider switching to rats.

Read read read. Read up on your BP's and on your corn snakes, and while your at it there is a lot of good info on rodents. I have said it before its called Animal Husbandry and it means the careful applications of the science, skill and art of raising and breeding animals. I have no doubt that you have the animals and you care for them. You need to learn the science quickly so you can start building the skill and discovering the art.

hey, im sorry that you dont seem to understand my posts, i do know the rules, yes i was raised around animals, wich is why i know this, like ive said over and over its only temporary that they are together and the male is not interested in the females, hes young, a little boy, i had him in his own tub, and the females are only still together for lack of containers at the moment.

Key words "AT THE MOMENT" im getting sick of people saying i dont know what im doing, just because at this moment i dont have the right things i need doesnt mean i dont know what im doing, its too late now, i have the snakes, theres no turning back so instead of telling me what ive been told over and over why dont you tell me somthing i dont know?

or, is it that there is nothing i dont know? also, i do have rats, i didnt want to give her somthing large with the other snake in the tank, today i gave her a medium rat because i could no longer see signs that she had eaten, and she had pooped, so i let her eat.

my snakes arent miserable, they are fine, not perfect but you cant expect changes like everyone here seems to expect within days, it will take at least a month to see a change in the skinny female, but im working with her, and shes a sweetheart, i also house mice, hamsters and rats in the room, none have died... except the ones being fed to snakes ...but otherwise they are fine, breeding purposly, for my snakes, although one pair im breeding to see the if the babies take the fathers fur.... anyways

you arent here in my home, you cant tell me im not taking care of them, and you may say my hand is a bad tester, but i dont just touch the subtrate, i touch it long enough to see if it gets hot, and then i move the substrate to check the glass as well as the bottom, where it adheres to the glass.

now, again i care about my snakes, and the injured one is doing a lot better, the bleeding didnt continue and she doesnt look like shes going to have any scar tissue, but if you think paper towels are better i can easily change it.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Feeding. Adult BP's really should be fed prey larger than mice. Once you take care of the other issues consider switching to rats.

I didnt know ASFs got as big as the rats most people feed their BPs??

[dr del]

Hi,

I promise this won't be a rant or attack - I have some information to share on some of the points you mentioned that may help in the future.

hey, im sorry that you dont seem to understand my posts, i do know the rules, yes i was raised around animals, wich is why i know this, like ive said over and over its only temporary that they are together and the male is not interested in the females, hes young, a little boy, i had him in his own tub, and the females are only still together for lack of containers at the moment.

What size is he? I had one of my males breed and sire a clutch at just over 400g

Key words "AT THE MOMENT" im getting sick of people saying i dont know what im doing, just because at this moment i dont have the right things i need doesnt mean i dont know what im doing, its too late now, i have the snakes, theres no turning back so instead of telling me what ive been told over and over why dont you tell me somthing i dont know?

You can split your large tank by moving the heatmat to the middle with half in each side.

or, is it that there is nothing i dont know? also, i do have rats, i didnt want to give her somthing large with the other snake in the tank, today i gave her a medium rat because i could no longer see signs that she had eaten, and she had pooped, so i let her eat.

Quite a few of us never feed anything larger than a small rat (60-100g ) on a once every 7 day cycle and find it works well for us in preventing fasts.

The smaller meals more often can result in more food being consumed in the year compared to a large rat every 10-14 days which can result in a 3 month fast.

It's generally easier to refer to rats by weight as almost every shop or website has entirely different ideas of what constitutes a small rat or a large one.

you arent here in my home, you cant tell me im not taking care of them, and you may say my hand is a bad tester, but i dont just touch the subtrate, i touch it long enough to see if it gets hot, and then i move the substrate to check the glass as well as the bottom, where it adheres to the glass.

The reason for saying your hand is a bad tester has more to do with your body temperature actually - my hands at the moment are sitting at 92f which is perfect for the hot end of a ball pythons tank.

So, to me, the hot spot wouldn't feel warm or cold as it is the same temp as my hand. Anything that does feel hot to your touch is potentially hot enough to actually result in burns on the snake.

This also explains why most new keepers freak out that their snake feels cool all the time - mine generally stay at a body temp of around 86f give or take.

But temps are the most vital thing to get right ( as you already know ) so we recommend people go for a good digital thermometer with a probe ( like the acurite from walmart for $14 ) - the round analogue ones are very inaccurate and for some reason people tend to stick them half way up the wall. God knows why as it's not like they have a floating snake.

A dimmer switch is a good temporary method of controling a heat mat but it does require a lot of monitoring and tweaking so it gets old fast.

now, again i care about my snakes, and the injured one is doing a lot better, the bleeding didnt continue and she doesnt look like shes going to have any scar tissue, but if you think paper towels are better i can easily change it.

I probably would - it just make certain nothing gets into the wound to cause problems later. Especially if you are putting anything on it as any dust tends to stick to it or get ground in as the snake goes about its snakey business.


dr del

[ShortStack]

I just don't understand why you got that many snakes to begin with, not having the proper housing for them? I have read this thread about 3 times trying to see if I've missed somewhere that it was explain how you ended up with so many snakes and not the right husbandry, but I don't see that. It's great that you love animals and want to have them, but why go out and buy more of them than you have the housing and set-up for?

Also, you said even if you didn't have the money for a vet bill, you would take them. How are you going to pay for a vet when you don't have the money to get them in the correct tanks/tubs?

I don't think anyone is trying to "hurt your feelings" or be "unfriendly" but it's understandable how they have reacted. I understand you're new to snakes, so am I, and I don't even have my first one yet, but I'm completely puzzled as to why you would buy them or take them in when you cannot house them.

No one expects you to be a "perfect" owner with a "perfect" set-up, because nothing in life is perfect so it's impossible. If they say it is possible, they're wrong because everyone "messes up" or "stumbles" from time to time, no matter the situation. I really think that almost everyone on this site has the best of intentions, even if they come off a bit harsh.