New to forum, just got a BP. Need help!

[Starywary]

Hi all, I have a few questions. I just took in a BP from a woman whose stepson got older and moved out and left her with the snake. She's been taking care of him since, and he is 7 yrs old now supposedly. I'm not sure how to sex the BP, but the thing is she said he was small, only about 3 ft. I picked up him Mon. she had just fed him 2 frozen adult mice on Sat before I picked him up. According to her, she feeds him the 2 mice (most of the time it's 2) about every 3-4 weeks, although I think it leans more towards the 4th week. He really is tiny, I had a BP about 8 years ago, and it was about his size at 1 or 2 years , can'e remember, lol. I spoke with someone who said he was most likely stunted by not getting enough food. Also I'm not sure about how she had the lighting. She did provide 2 lamps, one with a basking light and the other with a red night bulb, but when she was "explaining" things to me, she picked up the reg lamp and said this stays on all day, and then she was adding the red one at night, not switching them. The red bulb was out anyway so I have to pick up another, but I want to get a highr wattage so I don't even have to use the basking bulb at all. I know some people use them and some don't. I was under the impression that since they are nocturnal, as long as the right temp is provided they don't need the added light apart from reg daylight in the room. I like the way the moonglo or black night heat lights look better than red, does it matter?

sorry this is so long, but a few more questions:
* he has been kept on care fresh. I have a Leopard Gecko that I keep on slate tiles, it's easy to clean, and absorbs heat well. can I use them for the Ball? I can give him a hide with moss or even a bowl of some fort with damp moss for humidity.

* if he is in fact stunted, ( I measured 32" wasn't exact) could he grow momre if I get him on a reg schedule of feeding, I thought weekly was a good way to go? He's also very thin, and he has some of that wrinkled skin that skinny reptiles get, although it is hard to tell since he is shedding,

* he came in a 30 gal tank. he's been in it for 7 years I think. I have a 55 gal I was going to put him in just need to make a cover for it. Is that a better size? Or a I also have what I think is a 40 gallon breeder, so he could have more floor space.

* I want to encourage him to poop, the lady I spoke with said after he poops out the two mice he was fed Sat. to offer him a mouse. want to get him fed more. I was thinking I could fill the tub a couple inches with warm water and let him soak, maybe go poop, and get some of that shed off. is that ok to do? is it a myth that BPs soak in their water dish?

and lastly, lol, his name is Monty, cute, but not very original, so does anyone have a suggestion for a new name? I have yet to name the Leo too.
sorry again that this is so long, I babble, I will try to do one question at a time maybe , that might be better, lol. thank you!

[stratus_020202]

sorry this is so long, but a few more questions:
* he has been kept on care fresh. I have a Leopard Gecko that I keep on slate tiles, it's easy to clean, and absorbs heat well. can I use them for the Ball? I can give him a hide with moss or even a bowl of some fort with damp moss for humidity.

I'm not sure about slate, but I wouldn't keep him on the carefresh. I think it can be too dusty for ball pythons. I keep mine on paper towles, but others use aspen shaving or cypress mulch. And a humid hide would be good if he is kept in a galss aquarium.

* if he is in fact stunted, ( I measured 32" wasn't exact) could he grow momre if I get him on a reg schedule of feeding, I thought weekly was a good way to go? He's also very thin, and he has some of that wrinkled skin that skinny reptiles get, although it is hard to tell since he is shedding,

Snakes never stop growing. Once he is on a steady diet, he should plump up nicely for you. Wrinkled skin sounds like stuck shed to me. I would give him a week with zero handling, drop in a small rat (really small, like weaned), give him two days to digest, and then give him a good soak in luke warm water. Weekly feedings should be fine.

* he came in a 30 gal tank. he's been in it for 7 years I think. I have a 55 gal I was going to put him in just need to make a cover for it. Is that a better size? Or a I also have what I think is a 40 gallon breeder, so he could have more floor space.


As small as he is, I would keep him in the 30 gal. They don't like a lot of space, it will stress him out. Actually, I would go to walmart and get a 34 quart tub to put him in, but that's just me. As long as you can keep his temps and humidity up the tank should be fine.

* I want to encourage him to poop, the lady I spoke with said after he poops out the two mice he was fed Sat. to offer him a mouse. want to get him fed more. I was thinking I could fill the tub a couple inches with warm water and let him soak, maybe go poop, and get some of that shed off. is that ok to do? is it a myth that BPs soak in their water dish?

They don't poop very much. Like once a month, or when they shed. For some reason they hold it as long as they can just to give us nice big presents. They don't soak naturally in there water dish unless something is wrong. But, there are occasional soakers. Just make sure you can get his humidity up to 50%.

and lastly, lol, his name is Monty, cute, but not very original, so does anyone have a suggestion for a new name? I have yet to name the Leo too.
sorry again that this is so long, I babble, I will try to do one question at a time maybe , that might be better, lol. thank you!

Another opinion on the lights: ditch them both. Bp's don't need them and they will suck humidity out like a straw. I would get him a heat pad for his hot side, and regulate it with a thermostat or lamp dimmer. Then cover 3/4 of his cage to keep his temps and humidity accurate.

Also, get a digital thermometer to measure it all, some hides for him to sleep in (at least one on each end) and you will have a happy healthy snake in no time.

[MissDizzyBee]

A 40 gal might make him feel better atm, but if properly cluttered the 55 would be ok as well.

Yes, feeding him better will likely make him grow. He *could* just be genetically inclined to be small, but with that feeding schedule he was on I really doubt it.

As to tile, I'm not sure, but id guess its not a problem as long as they're properly heated. As long as it isn't poisonous they don't seem to care what substrate they're on. Tile should radiate gentle heat rather nicely.

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

[dr del]

I was under the impression that since they are nocturnal, as long as the right temp is provided they don't need the added light apart from reg daylight in the room. I like the way the moonglo or black night heat lights look better than red, does it matter?

As long as you can get the temps right for him ( try and get the digital weatherstations with probe to measure inside his hides with - either from wallmart or online ) then light really isn't that important.

Either of the two bulbs you mentioned should be ok as a replacement/ companion to the red bulb

sorry this is so long, but a few more questions:
* he has been kept on care fresh. I have a Leopard Gecko that I keep on slate tiles, it's easy to clean, and absorbs heat well. can I use them for the Ball? I can give him a hide with moss or even a bowl of some fort with damp moss for humidity.

I have never used carefresh but have tried a stone substrate - it is a waste of time as the pee runs underneath it and it is a pain to clean. I was trying gravel and it also scuffed up the snakes scales. When you see how much liquid waste they can produce you will see why I preffer substrate that is replaced totally once it is soiled.

Newspaper or papertowel might be a good idea for the first little while to let you keep an eye on him for potential problems as it lets you see things like mites or odd lokking waste easily.

After you are sure he is fine then aspen or cypress (sp? ) would look more natural while still being easy to spot clean etc.

* if he is in fact stunted, ( I measured 32" wasn't exact) could he grow momre if I get him on a reg schedule of feeding, I thought weekly was a good way to go? He's also very thin, and he has some of that wrinkled skin that skinny reptiles get, although it is hard to tell since he is shedding,

He should be fine once he is back on a good feeding schedule I think.

Weekly should be fine but ease him into an increased food load - a couple of mice on a 7 day schedule for a while then you can think of trying to move him onto small rats perhaps.

Could we see a picture of him - the wrinkled skin might just be retained shed which is easy to fix.

* he came in a 30 gal tank. he's been in it for 7 years I think. I have a 55 gal I was going to put him in just need to make a cover for it. Is that a better size? Or a I also have what I think is a 40 gallon breeder, so he could have more floor space.

I would be tempted to leave him in his own tank at the moment to see if he settles in quicker - BP's tend to do better in smaller enclosures as they feel more secure to the snake.

* I want to encourage him to poop, the lady I spoke with said after he poops out the two mice he was fed Sat. to offer him a mouse. want to get him fed more. I was thinking I could fill the tub a couple inches with warm water and let him soak, maybe go poop, and get some of that shed off. is that ok to do? is it a myth that BPs soak in their water dish?

You do not need to wait for him to poop to feed him - in fact BP's can go a loooong time between poops.

If he has a retained shed have a look at the "bad shed - no problem" sticky in the general BP section for some great tips.

Some BP's will indeed soak - but if you get the humidity right then they do not need to - in fact a lot of people would start looking for mites if their BP was soaking a lot.

and lastly, lol, his name is Monty, cute, but not very original, so does anyone have a suggestion for a new name? I have yet to name the Leo too.
sorry again that this is so long, I babble, I will try to do one question at a time maybe , that might be better, lol. thank you!

I take ages to name some of mine too - eventually watching them leads me towards a name that fits their personality.


dr del

[PghBall]

Paper towels or Aspen would be a better choice of substrate. Definitely ditch the lamps and get yourself an appropriately sized heating pad and a thermostat. If you have a larger tank, be sure to give him two appropriately sized and identical hides (one on the hot side and one on the cool side). Also try to clutter the tank up a little to give the snake security. I would get some artificial branches or plants to provide more cover. A small to medium crock (dog bowl) for a water dish shoud be fine. Also try covering at least three sides of the tank with some sort of dark construction paper (provides extra security for the snake). If the tank has a screen top, cover 3/4 of it with tinfoil to keep humidity levels. A good digital Thermometer/Hygrometer is also recommended as was already mentioned. Once you get him settled in, an appropriately sized prey item (at least 15% of snakes body weight or no wider than the widest part of the snakes body) should be offered every 7-10 days. Over time he should definitely put on some weight on.

[KatStoverReptiles]

Looks like everyone has given you great answers when it comes to his husbandry. I guess that leaves his name. Pictures would help.

[Starywary]

omg you guys have been great!!
he does in fact have a UTH, and I do have a digital thermometer, it's one of those yellow ones they sell in the stores with the probe, but I need to order more off ebay cuz it's actually my gf's for her fish, but when I checked today the temp on the warm side right near the hide was 84.7 F. Is that warm enough or should it be warmer than that? that was with the UTH and the basking lamp on.
I think the hide she had for the cool side might be too small, but I know they like to feel it touching them on all sides so I left it to see since for some odd reason she was keeping it upside down like a bowl.
He does have a fairly large ceramic dog bowl for water in there, but it looks like it has lime or calcium or whatever that white stuff built up on it is. Should I try to do somethign about that or get a new bowl or what? My gf suggested soaking it in vinegar to get it off without chemicals.
there is also a really small ceramic bowl in there , not sure what it was for but the onlyl thing I can think of is that she put the frozen mice in there.
I thought the same thing originally about the wrinkles, my gf said he looked really skinny, I thought it was just that the shed hadn't exploded or whatever you call it, lol , that's how I describe it. I mean, he IS skinny, but the wrinkles thing, yeh I thought it might be shed related too. How long should it take him to get all his shed off? it's coming off in tiny pieces, some of it scale by scale. my other BP I had to help him with his eye sheds.
about the plastic tub, I was thinking about that too, but how do you keep it warm without melting it, lol? and what do you do with the cover, just make holes in it?
I guess the slate works will for the gecko cuz they have that pretty small poop/white bird like solid pee thing going on for the most part. I don't remember how snakes pee, lol. maybe the slate would be a mess. I', going to leave him in the tank he came in like it is for a week or so more, just to get him used to it here and less stressed, and then I really want to disinfect it -it looks like it was never cleaned. The care fresh looks new, but the actual tank is filthy. I have been covering half his tank with a pillow case she provided, partly to keep humidity in, partly to dim the lights, and partly so he has something that smells familiar. I wanted to give him at least a week before I handled him, but I can't lie, I picked him up today and held him for a while. He is super calm and nice, was a little active at first but didn't seem freaked out, then he settled on the back of my neck inside my turtleneck sweater ( it has a very loose neck, don't worry, lol) his shed was coming off one scale at a time eveywhere.
I noticed just now he is in his cool side hide, the igloo, but his tail is sticking out a little ways. not sure if it didn't fit, it's hard to see in there if he is taking up all the room. should I leave it for now?
I"ll take pics in the next couple days to let you guys see how big he is, and what size food he should be eating. I'l have to put him next to something to show prospective.
ANYWAY, (told you I babble) thank you SO much everyone for being so helpful and so nice! I joined a tropical fish forum recently ( I just started my first tank but my gf who has been keeping fish for 38 years is answering all my questions) and there was this one member who was really snotty and rude, such a know it all. That's why I post stuff here, because I want to learn to take care of my guys as best as I can, not to get talked down to. YOu guys have been AWESOME!!

[Johan]

omg you guys have been great!!
he does in fact have a UTH, and I do have a digital thermometer, it's one of those yellow ones they sell in the stores with the probe, but I need to order more off ebay cuz it's actually my gf's for her fish, but when I checked today the temp on the warm side right near the hide was 84.7 F. Is that warm enough or should it be warmer than that? that was with the UTH and the basking lamp on.
I think the hide she had for the cool side might be too small, but I know they like to feel it touching them on all sides so I left it to see since for some odd reason she was keeping it upside down like a bowl.
He does have a fairly large ceramic dog bowl for water in there, but it looks like it has lime or calcium or whatever that white stuff built up on it is. Should I try to do somethign about that or get a new bowl or what? My gf suggested soaking it in vinegar to get it off without chemicals.
there is also a really small ceramic bowl in there , not sure what it was for but the onlyl thing I can think of is that she put the frozen mice in there.
I thought the same thing originally about the wrinkles, my gf said he looked really skinny, I thought it was just that the shed hadn't exploded or whatever you call it, lol , that's how I describe it. I mean, he IS skinny, but the wrinkles thing, yeh I thought it might be shed related too. How long should it take him to get all his shed off? it's coming off in tiny pieces, some of it scale by scale. my other BP I had to help him with his eye sheds.
about the plastic tub, I was thinking about that too, but how do you keep it warm without melting it, lol? and what do you do with the cover, just make holes in it?
I guess the slate works will for the gecko cuz they have that pretty small poop/white bird like solid pee thing going on for the most part. I don't remember how snakes pee, lol. maybe the slate would be a mess. I', going to leave him in the tank he came in like it is for a week or so more, just to get him used to it here and less stressed, and then I really want to disinfect it -it looks like it was never cleaned. The care fresh looks new, but the actual tank is filthy. I have been covering half his tank with a pillow case she provided, partly to keep humidity in, partly to dim the lights, and partly so he has something that smells familiar. I wanted to give him at least a week before I handled him, but I can't lie, I picked him up today and held him for a while. He is super calm and nice, was a little active at first but didn't seem freaked out, then he settled on the back of my neck inside my turtleneck sweater ( it has a very loose neck, don't worry, lol) his shed was coming off one scale at a time eveywhere.
I noticed just now he is in his cool side hide, the igloo, but his tail is sticking out a little ways. not sure if it didn't fit, it's hard to see in there if he is taking up all the room. should I leave it for now?
I"ll take pics in the next couple days to let you guys see how big he is, and what size food he should be eating. I'l have to put him next to something to show prospective.
ANYWAY, (told you I babble) thank you SO much everyone for being so helpful and so nice! I joined a tropical fish forum recently ( I just started my first tank but my gf who has been keeping fish for 38 years is answering all my questions) and there was this one member who was really snotty and rude, such a know it all. That's why I post stuff here, because I want to learn to take care of my guys as best as I can, not to get talked down to. YOu guys have been AWESOME!!

Hey hey, nice of you to pick up that poor snake

Anyways, as far as the shed, id suggest following the guide here:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hed-No-problem.

Furthermore, setting up a bin is really easy. You can use your heat pad, but you should have a thermostat. It should get around 90-93 on the inside plastic of the tub. Get a dimmer or thermostat (i always recommend thermostats because they make life easier on you, but cost some more).

You want a temp of 90-93 on the warmside (belly heat) and around 80 on the cooler side. Its good to have two identical hides--one for each side.

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck