My first baby Ball, how am I doing?

[Stefan92]

I just joined the forum today and I love it already, anyways after months of research and preparation I got my first ball python about a month ago from Pet smart, I would have gotten one from a reputable breeder but I felt the need to rescue one from a chain store, and so far so good with minor problems but I'm looking for suggestions or advice. For my set up I first had him set up in a tub but I didn't like it so I switched to a 10 gallon tank, I'm using aspen bedding, a heat mat with thermostat set at 92 degrees, I mist every so often to keep humidity around 60 (70 during shed), Hot and cold side obviously, large water dish changed daily. For the first month I had him I was starting to become concerned because he hadn't eaten while in the pet stores care for 2 weeks according to their feeding chart, I offered him a frozen/thawed hopper that had been warmed on three different occasions with no luck, he seemed to be afraid of the mouse i wiggled in front of him. I found out about 4 days ago that he was in the shedding process so this could have been why but im not sure. So two days ago after he had no shed stuck around his face (whole lower body was shed free but upper body and neck area still was fully covered in bluish grey skin)(he also had been without a meal for about a month) I dropped a smaller adult mouse in the tank which pet smart said would be too big of a meal but I had no other choice after 3 frozen meals had been rejected, and in less than 10 seconds he snagged it and was done feeding within about 8 minutes from the first strike, so I was happy with that, I guess I got a picky snake. The snake is doing great today and I just gave him his first bath, I put him in a tub with a wash cloth and luke warm water and he seemed to be very unhappy trying to keep his body as much out of the water as he could, I left him in there for about 45 minutes and he stuck skin was loosed and I just let him crawl through my hand with the wet cloth to peel it all the way off, he seemed very agitated and tried very hard to get away (the fastest iv seen him move lol) so i was just wondering if that was normal for them to be unhappy during a bath? other notes are he has pooped a little but it was smaller than I was expecting and I also noticed that his vent was a little swollen a few days ago but it seems okay now, maybe because he was on the verge of pooping? idk?... Ill post a few pictures to show you what iv got and any suggestions will be much appreciated!! Thank you!!
-Stefan

[The Serpent Merchant]

Welcome to the site!

To post pictures you will need to upload them to a site like photobucket first for more info checkout this thread: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)

How thick is the layer of aspen? I ask because if it is too thick your UTH won't be able to heat through it properly. What are you using to measure temperatures/humidity in your tank? What is the room temperature of the room that the tank is in?

BP's do not like baths. It is very stressful for them, and because of this BP's should only be bathed in extreme cases like bad sheds and if the BP has mites.

Your BP's vent could have been swollen due to the shedding process or due to needing to poop.

[Stefan92]

Thanks for the reply! did the pictures not come up? they are showing up on my computer, and the aspen is is less than an inch think, I had to take some out for that very problem, it wouldn't heat up, I'm using a digital 3 in 1 thermometer that has a probe directly on the hot spot in the tank about the UTH, the thermometer sits in the tank on the cold side to messure the ambiant air, it also measures humidity in the tank, and yes I put him in a bath because of the shedding issues, he shedding in a ton of tiny scraps and had some stuck on him for a few days, He didnt strike at me but I could tell he was very stressed out, he is curled up in his hide right now after his bath.

[The Serpent Merchant]

No, they didn't. It looks like they are linked from an email or something and the forum doesn't have access to it. The thread I linked to in my first posts shows how to post pictures step by step. (a lot of people have issues with this)

Are you using something like this?



I've found that substrate layers should be about 1/2" thick for UTH's to work at their best.

Next time you see his eyes go blue bump up the humidity a little higher. I shoot for 70% - 80% during sheds and 60% the rest of the time.

[Stefan92]

That is the exact thermometer I have lol

[The Serpent Merchant]

Ok, looks good. The only thing that I would change is the hide.

Ideally you want 2 identical hides. 1 on the cool side, and 1 on the warm side. Half log hides aren't the best as they are prone to mold (due to high humidity) and they don't make BP's feel really safe & secure. The best hides are snug fitting and only have 1 entrance/exit. (THe BP will guard this single entrance)

This picture shows a good snug fitting hide:



Another comparison. The snake in the picture was using the hide in the middle at the time of the picture:



Here is where I get these hide boxes. I highly recommend them: http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

[Kaorte]

Sounds like someone did their homework! Welcome to the forum!

Yeah, some of them don't really like baths. I usually put the snake in a tupperware container with holes in it so I can let the snake soak for a while. Most of them are not cooperative when I remove stuck shed.. Such is life!

I would stick with the live feedings for the next couple meals to ensure he is getting enough to eat, then you can try a similarly sized frozen mouse or rat and see if he will switch. Sometimes babies won't eat F/T too well at first, but will eventually get used to it.

You could also get different hides, like the ones suggested by Aaron. I use those middle ones for my hatchlings.

[Stefan92]

Thanks for the advice! I knew about the two hide rule but when he isn't inside the log hide he gets on top under the leaves but I agree with you very much, those hides are awesome and I will definitely get two of those when I get paid next! what size do you recommend for the baby?

[The Serpent Merchant]

The small size is good for most hatchlings (the mini size is too small for any BP)

This picture compares the mini, small, and medium size hide boxes. The BP in the picture was about 200 grams at the time (2-3 months old)

[Stefan92]

Wow for some reason in the picture that looks like a much bigger snake, much thicker than mine but it could be due to the fact he wasn't fed well at pet smart which is expected, I will start feeding him live smaller adult mice ever week to get him back to optimal health, I knew getting one from a chain store like that would bring some problems but so far so good, and unfortunately the only repuatable reptile specific store in my small town went out of business