Getting another BP need advice.

[jimmysmom]

She ate with no problem. I ended up feeding her 2 med sized rats and a live small mouse. I have noticed that she never goes on her warm side. The temp there is 85 and the humidity is at 54%. AT first I thought the temps where not right. I called the previous owner and asked about her not going to the hot side and staying on the cool side. After a 30 minute convo I discovered the ambient temps in their house never go about 75. They kept her warm side around 82 and her cool side around 75, dropping down to 80ish and 72ish at night, and the humididty around 40 %. To me I feel that those numbers are very very very low. It makes sense why she stays on the cool side. She is not used to the warmer temps. How should I acclimate her to the warmer temps? I just don't know what to do ?

[cristacake]

Edit: Oops, irrelevant message.

[cristacake]

The temps and humidity she had before were indeed too low. You are right to have her temps set to the standard ball python numbers. I don't think you need to do anything about that, other than just letting her figure it out. The good thing about giving them a temperature gradient is that they can choose what they're most comfortable with. If she was really overheated, she would probably be trying to soak in her water bowl.

Also, that is a lot of food. I would really cut it down to one rat per week. They can get overweight just like any other animal, and digestion is a big process for their bodies. Take it easy on the food and she'll be fine. If she's not used to proper feeding schedules especially, it will be quite a chore to digest all that. Don't feel bad though, she will be fine eating a lot just this one time. Sounds like a good sign that she is an excellent eater!

[LittleTreeGuy]

The temps and humidity she had before were indeed too low. You are right to have her temps set to the standard ball python numbers. I don't think you need to do anything about that, other than just letting her figure it out. The good thing about giving them a temperature gradient is that they can choose what they're most comfortable with. If she was really overheated, she would probably be trying to soak in her water bowl.

Also, that is a lot of food. I would really cut it down to one rat per week. They can get overweight just like any other animal, and digestion is a big process for their bodies. Take it easy on the food and she'll be fine. If she's not used to proper feeding schedules especially, it will be quite a chore to digest all that. Don't feel bad though, she will be fine eating a lot just this one time. Sounds like a good sign that she is an excellent eater!

Agreed!

[jimmysmom]

The temps and humidity she had before were indeed too low. You are right to have her temps set to the standard ball python numbers. I don't think you need to do anything about that, other than just letting her figure it out. The good thing about giving them a temperature gradient is that they can choose what they're most comfortable with. If she was really overheated, she would probably be trying to soak in her water bowl.

Also, that is a lot of food. I would really cut it down to one rat per week. They can get overweight just like any other animal, and digestion is a big process for their bodies. Take it easy on the food and she'll be fine. If she's not used to proper feeding schedules especially, it will be quite a chore to digest all that. Don't feel bad though, she will be fine eating a lot just this one time. Sounds like a good sign that she is an excellent eater!

I feed her that much food because they said she had not ate since Dec and they were only feeding her one med sized F/T rat once a month. I wanted her to have a full belly so that I could watch for signs of aggression that was not hunger related. The first night I had her she was about a 85 on a scale of 1 to 100 for aggression. I knew some of it was due to being moved to a new place and I was sure the rest was do to simply being hungry. Now that I am pretty sure she is not hungry ( I am from the south where we feed everything and food makes life better) I can watch her acclimate to her new place and get a more accurate display of her true nature and characteristics. I would like to feed her at least 2 med rats ( if she will eat both ) a week alternating with just one med rat for a month and begin to taper her to one med rat once every 10 days. I am not sure as to how much and how often I should be feeding a snake of her size. I have not had her vetted yet nor weighed. She is about 47 inches. And a lot bigger than my other bp

[DennisM]

I wouldn't switch her to live, I'd switch Jimmy to f/t. it's rarely difficult to do. I've had well over 100 snakes in the past couple of decades and I've never had a single one refuse f/t including several who had been fed live for much longer than your new snake has. only the most stubborn of hatchlings are offered live in my collection and they all come around soon enough.

[bks2100]

You really don't need to feed two medium rats a week. Large females only need a small/medium rat every 7-14 days. I could see feeding a medium rat once a week for a month but after that you don't need to catch up much more. And I'd probably give her a couple weeks without food with all that rodent in her belly.

[LittleTreeGuy]

I feed her that much food because they said she had not ate since Dec and they were only feeding her one med sized F/T rat once a month. I wanted her to have a full belly so that I could watch for signs of aggression that was not hunger related. The first night I had her she was about a 85 on a scale of 1 to 100 for aggression. I knew some of it was due to being moved to a new place and I was sure the rest was do to simply being hungry. Now that I am pretty sure she is not hungry ( I am from the south where we feed everything and food makes life better) I can watch her acclimate to her new place and get a more accurate display of her true nature and characteristics. I would like to feed her at least 2 med rats ( if she will eat both ) a week alternating with just one med rat for a month and begin to taper her to one med rat once every 10 days. I am not sure as to how much and how often I should be feeding a snake of her size. I have not had her vetted yet nor weighed. She is about 47 inches. And a lot bigger than my other bp

I wouldn't hold what they say in too much regard... Unless she came from a very reputable breeder. As said above, One good size medium rat is probably enough for her every week to 10 days. Don't worry about the aggression, it will fade. Keeping her on a set regular feeding schedule of one appropriate sized feeder is the best thing for her. Feeding her regularly, and letting her be (no handling) for a couple of weeks may be the best option.

[jimmysmom]

So I have had Lola for a week now.. Got her Saturday night, fed her Sunday ( 2 med F/T, 1 smallish live mouse). I have not bothered with her much as I wanted to give her time to settle and digest a rather large meal. I have added plants and branches over the past week, and have changed water daily. I am wanting to bring her out Tuesday and handle her. My other (Jimmy) is only 325 grams and Lola . well.. she's a lil over 4 feet and heavier than Jimmy. I a reluctant to pick her up. Not that I am so much scared of her but more intimidated than anything by her size. She has not been out of her hide that I know of. I am sure she has drank and I know she moves around. She has stuck her head out and watched me as I went around the room. it maybe that she only moves in the late hours after I have retired for the night, and that Jimmy is out and about all hours of the day and night. Should I give any more time before bringing her out? As for getting her out, what would be the best way to move her hide off of her and picking her up? As I am sure it will take both hands to get her. Once she is out I am fine, it is something about pulling her hide off and picking her up that weirds me out. Ant adivce, tips, and tricks will be implemented.