Very New Ball Python Owner

[BPnewbie1]

Hey everybody out there.
Last week I bought my first Ball Python ever! Im really excited but am also quite nervous as I have never owned a snake or any other reptile for that matter. I have a few questions and concerns, which i am sure this forum has seen this a million times but you know I just want to do whats best for Nagini (Her name) LOL. Like I said I have had her (not confirmed her but I just call her a her) and she is definitely a juvenile she's fairly small still. I bought her from a Pet Store, and they had her on a regular feeding schedule, so I actually fed her on the 3rd day I had her. I did feed her in the enclosure because I didn't want to stress her out by picking her up, but feeding in a separate enclosure is what I plan on doing from now on. She ate like a champ, so I wanted to know if this was a good thing. She has not pooped since though its almost been a week and this concerns me as I am not sure how long it should take her to poop. Another thing is since she is fairly small I only have a 10 gal. terrarium, but plan on building her a large one that will be a lot nicer for when she gets bigger. I keep her warm side in the high 80's low 90's and the cooler side about 80-82. I have one hide, when I bought it i did not realize how big it was until i put it in the terrarium, and the way i have it is that half is on cool and half is on warm. As I use a screen top, I have a heating pad on the far right, so this is the hotspot, and a 60W bulb in a heat lamp that goes sort of more in the centre but it seems to be keeping the temps just where i think they should be according to many forums out there that I have read. I would like some opinions on this set up if somebody out there is willing to comment and let me know what they think. One big questions I have, is I really really want to handle her, but Im not sure the tell tale signs of a stressed BP, and am wondering if its wise, she NEVER comes out of her hide, I have not slept in the last 2 days I had a campout outside her terrarium watching for her to come out and she will not come out. When I lift her hide she is always in the exact same spot curled up, and she looks like she is pulsing a little (I assume this is her breathing.) Yesterday my roommate was giving the terrarium a spray for me, and she was spraying near the snake and she instantly looked like she was going to eat her hand, no hissing or striking but she looked exactly as she had when i threw a mouse in the tank last week, just like she was going to eat it, so maybe her feeding instinct kicked in I am not sure. So should i try to handle her now, I really want to get her used to being handled or should I give her another week to settle in? I really just want what is best for her. Although I want to handle her whether she likes it or not I just don't want her to hunger strike on me, (which I have full expectations of) and am not sure if she's happy. So any opinions on anything I have mentioned in this post would be very very much appreciated!

[BPnewbie1]

Cheers

[Andybill]

Give her another week to adjust. Do you have a thermostat to regulate the UTH? If not get one asap. You dont need to build them BIG enclosures BPs like smaller enclosures. A good rule of thumb is 1 square foot per foot of snake.

Here is a caresheet if you havent already seen one:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...thon-CARESHEET

[Vypyrz]

Hello, and to BP.net...

Congratulations on your new little friend. To address some of your concerns:
- Snakes will, on the average poop about every 2-3 weeks, but it is not uncommon for them to go a little longer, especially if they are getting ready to shed.
- Your temperatures seem fine. It is best to have 2 identical, snug hides. One on each side of the enclosure.
- Since your snake has already eaten in the enclosure, I would recommend sticking with what you know works. Sometimes, moving them to a separate feeding bin can stress them out, but if you want to try it, and the snake eats, and you are comfortable with it, then go ahead.
- Don't get a bigger enclosure for when the snake gets bigger. Get a bigger enclosure when the snake gets bigger. An enclosure that is too big can also stress out a Ball Python and cause them to refuse food.

Here is a link to the caresheet for reference:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

[Lisn123]

My new BP didnt' poop for 5-6 weeks and that was with regular weekly feedings!! We think she was very underfed from pet store. And from what I learned the young ones use up a lot of their food to grow.

I second the part about two smaller hides. Mine likes small one from reptilebasics.com the best (and I've tried many

Heating pad?? or "under tank heating mat"? Just concerned if your using a regular heating pad?

Also, the "experts" here suggest No handling until she's had at least a couple meals. (and you know not to handle for 48 hrs. after eating? let her digest)

Ours was jumpy- sometimes still is. But it was explained to me, when they are so small, they are the smallest in the food chain and think everything is out to get them. This will improve as they grow.

Be patient- I was the same- wanted to handle her all the time. But I think it took 6-7 weeks for both of us to figure each other out. Eating regularly, A good shed, A good poop, Good temps, good humidity and now we're both happy.

[BPnewbie1]

Thanks for the replies. The heating pad doesn't appear to be too much of a heating pad, it came with a kit, and its like a rubber material and i can hold it and its only warm to the touch but Id like to get a better one, but i do have a thermostat on order anyways! I think I am going to go with the 2 hides, Im going to pick those up shortly, but feeding in enclosure, I have heard a lot of mixed feelings about this. If I continue to feed her in her enclosure, my biggest concern is that she will think my hand is food when I go to pick her up. Is this true?
-As far as leaving her for another week, I would like to make sure that she won't develop unfriendliness are they okay to go a few weeks without handling without getting used to being left alone? I assume its fine as I know a lot of people who wait 2 weeks, but I have had others tell me that I should be picking her up ASAP and keep it consistent so she gets used to you. But I personally feel I would like her to be fully comfortable with her living environment before I go picking her up. Another questions, I fed her live, thats what she is used to eating, what are the true downsides to this? I have heard it is not recommended by some and others say its the only way to go as you have a better chance of her taking the food.
-thanks for clearing up the pooping situation, i thought they should poop within a few days and I was starting to worry.
-A question on this, is it ok if I feed her before she poops? or will she get a tummy ache lol?

[BPnewbie1]

I would not be surprised if the pet store was underfeeding her as well. They did not seem to know a whole lot, in fact I had to reach in and grab her myself as they guy was too afraid to even go near it as she was in with about 7 other baby BPs. Also he told me to use a 100W heating bulb for a 10 gallon tank, and when I brought the stuff to the counter there was a fellow snake owner who was like umm, this will cook your snake! But apparently she was fed on the same day of each week but she seemed pretty hungry when I fed her, she had the mouse killed and eaten in less than 10 minutes. So who knows, I think ill feed her once a week for now, unless somebody suggests otherwise. I still can't get over though the people at the pet store, they had about 20 babies split between 2 small 15 gal. max terrariums and 2 sub adults and they did not have hot or cold side whole temp. was sitting at 80. I really wish I could have bought them all to rescue them but I had a hard enough time convincing my fellow roommates to let me have one LOL i could not imagine bringing home multiple!

[Vypyrz]

I strongly recommend a thermostat or at least a dimmer to control the UTH. Your body temp is 98F, so, even if the heat pad only feels warm to you, it could be well over 100F. Another thing to consider is that when the pad is mounted to the bottom of the cage, if the substrate level is too thick, it can trap heat underneath it, causing dangerously high temps along the glass. If the snake should burrow or push the substrate aside and reach those high temps, you have a potential for a burn. If you are using one of the wood type substrates, it should only be about 1/2'" to 1" thick.

[Vypyrz]

A good feeding schedule is about every 7 days. Make sure that you are feeding an appropriately sized prey. It should be about the same girth as your snake, at the widest part of her body. If you have a scale to measure their weight, the prey should be about 10%-15% of the snakes weight...

[BPnewbie1]

I do have a thermostat on order, although she never really sits where the heating pad is, but I really do not want to burn her, I am using plantation soil for substrate and its not too thick but i have noticed she likes to borough and she hasn't moved from this borough that she has made in almost a week, but I have only recently started using it as I have a screen top and I found it hard to get the husbandry correct. I plan on feeding her every friday. And the pet store in which I bought her has the perfectly size feeder mice, they were perfectly sized, just a teeny bit smaller than her widest girth. Im just concerned that feeding in her enclosure will give her bad biting habits.