mice to rats? no-go

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ok. i think im getting this site figured out

think i should move him back to the 20 gallon?

[Viperk]

A 55-gallon is way to big for a BP. They like tight, confined spaces so they feel secure. At that size I would say stick with the 20-gallon. It might not e eating because it doesn't feel to secure.

Wait until the more experienced handlers give there opinion though.

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Check out the caresheet to correct your temps and get a digital thermometer/hygrometer to measure humidity and the temp on the glass directly above the heater. My immediate guess is that the tank is just way too big and he doesn't feel secure. Log hides don't provide security since you can see right into them (like a predator would). Try moving him back to his original tank (still check temps and humidity according to the caresheet), wait a week, and then try a rat similar in size to the mice, or slightly larger. I say larger because too young of a rat won't move as much as a mouse, which might not entice him to see it as prey, but not too much larger or it might intimidate him.

If you really want to put him in a larger tank, wait until he has switched to rats for a few feedings so you aren't changing more than one thing at a time, but he really doesn't need a 55gal (ever).

Clear as mud?

kk...will do.thanks for the advise. ill work on my skills on the web site. thanks for your patience as i stumbled through my posts...lol..

[Annarose15]

Happy to help

[maczurry]

I disagree about a 55 being too big. My ball python is a 2 year old male he started in a 20 long at a couple months old he got about as long as the aquarium and that's about the time I move my snakes to a bigger aquarium. He's been in a 55 since he was 1 year. The back and right sides are against wall in the corner of my bedroom. Low traffic areas are best and he's got his fav hide so the move never stresses him didn't miss a feeding medium rats now. Biggest question do u give him live or frozen?

Sent from my ADR6325 using Tapatalk

[mattchibi]

A 55-gallon is way to big for a BP. They like tight, confined spaces so they feel secure. At that size I would say stick with the 20-gallon. It might not e eating because it doesn't feel to secure.

Wait until the more experienced handlers give there opinion though.

Definitely agree with this. 55 gal seems too big for a ball python, unless its a huge adult female. Keep him in the 20 gal imo. Also, you definitely want to black out three sides of any glass tank you keep a ball python in. Glass tanks look nice but dont serve their purpose too well. When all 4 sides are exposed, your BP may feel insecure and may not eat for this reason.

I have a friend whos had his ball python for around 8 months. First 5 months, his bp ate two times out of five attempts. Pretty stupid that he only tried feeding him five times in five months but ANYWAYS... after I gave him a bit of advice, he got two identical hides, blacked out the sides, started thawing properly and offering the appropriate sized meals, his ball python hasnt missed a meal since! Not saying proper husbandry fixes all feeding problems though, but it definitely is a good starting point!

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Definitely agree with this. 55 gal seems too big for a ball python, unless its a huge adult female. Keep him in the 20 gal imo. Also, you definitely want to black out three sides of any glass tank you keep a ball python in. Glass tanks look nice but dont serve their purpose too well. When all 4 sides are exposed, your BP may feel insecure and may not eat for this reason.

I have a friend whos had his ball python for around 8 months. First 5 months, his bp ate two times out of five attempts. Pretty stupid that he only tried feeding him five times in five months but ANYWAYS... after I gave him a bit of advice, he got two identical hides, blacked out the sides, started thawing properly and offering the appropriate sized meals, his ball python hasnt missed a meal since! Not saying proper husbandry fixes all feeding problems though, but it definitely is a good starting point!

thanks. switched him back to 20 gallon. working on humidity. gonna leave him be for a few days to get used to the old tank again. also moved him back to the bedroom.

[mattchibi]

thanks. switched him back to 20 gallon. working on humidity. gonna leave him be for a few days to get used to the old tank again. also moved him back to the bedroom.

Good job Let us know if you have more questions

Another thing I dont know if anyone has said is: If you dont already have one, you should purchase a digital food scale so you can track the weight of your bp as well as its food. The reason being.. if you want to keep trying to feed rats, that is no problem at all, as long as your bp isnt losing any weight. Try to find rats that are 10-15% of body weight, anything smaller may not entice your ball python to get a feeding response. You can keep trying to feed rats and dont go back to mice unless your bp starts losing significant weight.

[jmitch]

just remember the rule of thumb tank should be half the length of bp. A adult bp can spend its hole life a 20 long.

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just remember the rule of thumb tank should be half the length of bp. A adult bp can spend its hole life a 20 long.

awesome fun fact! i never heard that before. i just keep thinking he needs more room and more stuff to "play" with. lol.