Questions, questions, questions!

[emroul]

So when you all talk about putting your ball python into a bath of water, what exactly do you mean? Do you mean actually in the tub? How much water do you put in?

You could put your ball python in a sink filled with water, or yes, the bath tub. Just make sure whatever you fill with water to put your snake in, that the water is only about 2" deep or so. Just deep enough for your snake to crawl along the bottom but still be submerged in water. The water should be warm, not hot, to the touch. You'd be suprised just how hot the water is. When it feels luke warm or so, it is usually about 87F-91F (I have a temp gun, that's how I know). Those temps, by the way, are exactly what the water should be. So basically, don't let it go past the "luke warm" stage.

And one more question. I'm just curious, what did you all name your pythons?

I have, lets see, 21 ball pythons, and a few of them are named. Shayla, Sadie, Brooke, Xandira, Caesar....

Right now, I'm feeding him adult mice. At what age or length should I start feeding him rats? How big?

You should get him on rats as soon as possible. If he is eating adult mice right now, and just one is leaving a bit of a lump in his belly, then he could be eating rat pups right now (those are basically fuzzy rats). He could be on small rats soon, I bet. If you are feeding him more than one mouse at a time, he could definately be taking small rats right now. Age and length don't matter as to what he can eat. You have to judge by the girth of the snake. Ball pythons can eat a prey item anywhere from 1-2 times the size of the THICKEST part of their body. Even if it doesn't look like they can get it past their mouth, they can; trust me. In case you aren't too sure on rat sizes, take a look at this: http://rodentpro.com/catalog.asp?prod=2

Questions are great! Glad you care about your snake enough to ask.

Jennifer