Hello everyone, couple questions from a 1st time BP owner.

[fhbob]

Hi everyone, I was glad to find an active community such as this to help me learn about my new pet. I bought him a little too hastily to be honest, but I have been doing more research as I go to make sure I take good care of my little guy. I bought him from a PetSmart in my home town. I know that's not the best source, but he has been a very docile snake and a great eater in the two weeks I have had him. I just had a couple of questions for now, I will probably think of more later. Firstly, is being a good eater the best sign of a happy and non-stressed snake? I have fed him three F/T mice in the two weeks I have had him and he has taken the mouse right away every time. Secondly, how big of mice should I be feeding him, the woman at the pet store handed me a 6-pack of 5g fuzzies which she said would be good. I suspected they were a little too small which is why I have fed him three times. Just for reference he is about 16-18 inches long and weighs 85 grams. Also, he just got done shedding and has a few little pieces left on him on the back of his head and upper "neck". Is that ok? The eye caps came off as far as I can tell. And finally, where is the best place to get frozen feeders for a single snake? PetSmart prices are ridiculous. Thanks in advance for any input!

[CCfive]

Feed him a mouse/rat no bigger than the thickest part of your snake. When your snake is getting ready to shed,(in the blue) bump up your humidty to around 70-80%. There are many companie that sell frozen feeders. You might try RodentPro.

[mackynz]

Take a look here!
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Feed 15% body weight.

Online or local herp shops have much better prices.

[rickIM]

At 85g he should be eating meals that are ~12.5g, but as stated above, not bigger than the largest part of the body. Would anyone disagree that 2 mice at the right size totaling ~12.5g in 1 feeding session would be ok for a young BP? There are 2 sticky threads at the top of the general BP forum page for info on the shedding process and what to do with a bad shed. Sorry I didn't link!

[The Serpent Merchant]

Would anyone disagree that 2 mice at the right size totaling ~12.5g in 1 feeding session would be ok for a young BP?

Feeding multiple rodents that add up to the right size is ok if the snake will eat the smaller rodents.... when dealing with rodents less than 10 grams you might have a hard time. It is always preferred to feed a single rodent that is the proper size due to simplicity, but there isn't anything wrong with feeding multiple rodents.

- - - Updated - - -

Check out these 2 threads that I think all new BP owners should read!

(the first one has already been linked to in this thread by Mackynz)

Caresheet:

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

Cage Heating:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...04#post1845904

I buy my frozen rodents from Rodent Pro. The shipping isn't cheap but if you buy a few months worth of rodents you end up saving a lot of money. (on average I save $250-$300 over a 6 month period vs buying from my local reptile specialty shop)

http://www.rodentpro.com/

[SRMD]

make sure there is no shed on the tail to that can be a bad situation!

[RetiredJedi]

For getting better prices for f/t rats, you could order online like others suggest or check to see if there are any Repticons in your area and you could save a chunk in shipping.

Congrats on the new guy and welcome to the addiction.