Rescued a BP.. omg poor thing!! :(

[chimp54321]

I feed my ball p's right in their tubs. The whole feed box thing seems a little strange to me, I've never had a problem feeding them in their tubs. I don't handle them at all the day I feed and at least 2 days later. Just think when you eat a turkey on thanksgiving your not really in the mood to move around a whole lot now think if you've just eat a tenth of your body weight. I don't poke my ball p's in the head either they hate that, I just stay calm and pick them up slowly and they stay calm. That's awesome that you picked up that snake he's lucky to find you and that's awesome he already eat too!

[MissStress]

Thanks chimp54321! I couldn't believe how fast he took down his dinner!! I literally dropped it in, it walked about 4" and then he struck. About 5 seconds from drop to dinner.. lol

[Vesper]

You won't need the basking light. For a lid...what sort of tank is it? Just a regular glass one?

[Annarose15]

You won't need the basking light. For a lid...what sort of tank is it? Just a regular glass one?

She might need a heat bulb for ambient temps, depending on the winter temps in the house. However, do bear in mind that you don't want to leave a light on overnight, which is probably when you'll need the extra heat the most. You can use a ceramic bulb (no light) or an infrared bulb (minimal visible spectrum light) if you do need the temp bump.

[I-KandyReptiles]

Feel the need to mention, he can probably eat adult mice. Hoppers would be so small

[rabernet]

Feel the need to mention, he can probably eat adult mice. Hoppers would be so small

I was surprised no one else picked up on this. Hoppers are for hatchlings. An adult male can easily eat a small rat while he's recovering, and then to smalledium rats the rest of his life. I wouldn't even bother with fuzzies.... That's not even a hor'dourve

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[RoseyReps]

I use a combo of infared (on a dimmer) and uth (with tstat) to keep my temps where i want them. I also agree that hoppers are too small, if he's an adult he should be eating small rats. BUT if he's been underfed for a long time adult mice would be good until he puts on some weight. I would try and switch him to rats once he's gained some weight back and is recovering nicely. He may never take them though, plenty of balls out there are mousers and shun rats.

[MissStress]

Ok, maybe I don't have my mouse age terminology right. The mouse looked like a young adult, full fur and was roughly the size of his widest part (from what I could see through the tank). He had to work to get it down! lol.

The tank is a glass tank with warped black vinyl strapping around the top and bottom. It had a strip across the centre but it looked like it had been melted by a light and was severely warped so I cut it out. Was thinking about taking the whole thing off and replacing it with 1/4"x2" wood trim and attaching the plywood top to that with latches for easy removal?

Hard to explain but it looks good in my head!

[angllady2]

I'd like to chime in here honey, ditch those gloves!

One thing, he's going to HATE the feel of them, that's going to upset him and make him more likely to bite, not less. Two, a bite from a ball python is just about a joke. I've had mosquito bites hurt worse. Even if he hunger strikes you and wraps you up, he's only got tiny little pinprick teeth that are no big deal at all. Here is a link to pictures of my worst ever ball python bite: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...icture-Warning! You can see what I mean.

I agree hopper anything is going to be way to small for your guy. If you are feeding mice, he needs at least adult mice. If he's on rats, that is even better and you can give him weaned/small rats. It will look like way to much food, but believe me he can handle it. It might not even be a bad idea to start a little bit small with prey, and offer on a 5 day schedule instead of 7.

I've done rescues myself, and one important thing to share with you is this: It is very common for starved snakes to become ravenously aggressive when given food. It is not being mean, but rather inability to control themselves. If you have ever had experience with a neglected kitten or puppy, or even an adult cat or dog that bolted it's food without chewing, growling the whole time and hovering over the food bowl then you know what I mean. The snake has been without food for so long, that it takes a while for it to comprehend food is going to be regular now. I rescued a female who'd been starved for so long, she would have literally eaten until she burst if I had let her. She snapped at anything and everything that moved near her enclosure. She'd bolt down her rat and actively hunt for more. She even tried to strike at someone else's rat in the tub next to her. I named her Mori, because for the first six months I had her, that was her life. " More, more, more, more, more mommy, more!"

So fair warning, if he gets really worked up and starts striking a lot, chances are that is why. He will need time to figure out the food isn't going away again.

Gale

[MissStress]

OK.. I just found a YouTube video and he was a bit older than a hopper but still young. There is only one place in my town to get them and that is the only size she carries. We're going to get 6 this afternoon for breeding but won't have any full adults for a while yet.
I didn't get any pics of him eating but my son did, I'll grab a copy from him so you can see the size.

Don't know if I can ditch the gloves the first time.. I don't know what to expect.. he doesn't know what to expect.
I DO want to be able to bare hand handle but I think I'll wait until he's recovered from starvation. I'll find some soft leather gloves, they'd probably feel better than my calloused man hands anyway!

Posted some pics of him when he poked his head out today to the album above. Man I can't wait to get him out of that filth!!