Baby ball python husbandry/pet store rescue

[amfedor12]

Until he's eating consistently handle him as little as possible. I would give him a month.

Keep the initial handling sessions short, no more than a few minutes. One or two short sessions per day is better than a longer session every few days, so he learns that you won't hurt him.

So an update for those that would like to know, he's eaten for me consistently every time I've fed him since I switched to the pinkies. I handle him usually about once in the morning and once at night for around five minutes or so and he seems like he's warmed up to me a whole lot since getting him.
Today I noticed his eyes turned an opaque greyish color so I'm assuming he's getting ready to shed? What should I be doing in these next couple days to ease the process? Also because his feeding day will be coming up in two days so should I skip it or feed him like normal?

[butterballpython]

So an update for those that would like to know, he's eaten for me consistently every time I've fed him since I switched to the pinkies. I handle him usually about once in the morning and once at night for around five minutes or so and he seems like he's warmed up to me a whole lot since getting him.
Today I noticed his eyes turned an opaque greyish color so I'm assuming he's getting ready to shed? What should I be doing in these next couple days to ease the process? Also because his feeding day will be coming up in two days so should I skip it or feed him like normal?

I'm new to ball pythons myself, but have learned that when they are in shed, they can turn into antisocial little beasties and it's best to leave them alone. Someone told me that much of it has to do with that opaqueness making it difficult for them to see. One of mine eats every time, shed or no shed, and another one goes off her feed when it happens. You could offer the meal and see if he'll take it.

[amfedor12]

I'm new to ball pythons myself, but have learned that when they are in shed, they can turn into antisocial little beasties and it's best to leave them alone. Someone told me that much of it has to do with that opaqueness making it difficult for them to see. One of mine eats every time, shed or no shed, and another one goes off her feed when it happens. You could offer the meal and see if he'll take it.

I handled him today he was very active today but still has not shed for me? The eyes are not opaque/grey anymore tho..I have the humidity up to 65 right now and am going to try feeding later on tonight should I be worried or just stay patient? Or maybe he's not ready to shed at all and the eye color was from something else?
This is all considering he is a he and not a she, and speaking of which how and when could I find that out?

[cchardwick]

I handled him today he was very active today but still has not shed for me? The eyes are not opaque/grey anymore tho..I have the humidity up to 65 right now and am going to try feeding later on tonight should I be worried or just stay patient? Or maybe he's not ready to shed at all and the eye color was from something else?
This is all considering he is a he and not a she, and speaking of which how and when could I find that out?

Congratulations on your first ball python! This is my first year keeping snakes and I'm up to 17 snakes right now, about half are ball pythons and I can tell you the learning curve is pretty steep. There are a lot of different opinions out there and most people will just repeat what they have heard over and over without really trying it themselves.

I just went through a major snake mite infestation, you may want to keep an eye out for them. They are tiny little black specs on the snake and in the substrate. I actually just switched to paper towels and realized I had tons of those little blood suckers. If you don't see any I'd probably wait for a few weeks until he gets several meals in him then switch to a paper towel substrate for a week or so and watch closely to be sure there's not one single mite in there, they can reproduce like crazy, I had hundreds if not thousands of those little buggers in my tubs. I'm almost afraid to get another snake after my war with the mites.

Yesterday I had the same thing you had with the blue eyes that cleared up with no shed on two of my snakes, I thought that was very strange because I've never heard about it before.

As I was reading through your posts I was thinking rat pups myself. Not sure I'd ever feed a live mouse to a snake again unless it was a decent sized snake, too much risk of the mouse biting your snake. I've had several get bitten, none serious, but they can take an eye out of your snake. It's much safer with live rat pups. A rat pup that is just about to open his eyes is as big as a jumbo mouse and much less likely to bite. Personally I prefer to feed fresh killed mice or ASF first, putting them down with CO2, then if that doesn't work follow up with rat pups. Almost all that refuse the mice will go for the rat pups unless they are in a deep shed.

I actually started my collection with glass critter cages (aquariums) and found that those really stress out the snakes. I had snake hides in each and all the snakes would just hide all day. I went to a professional ARS rack system with tubs and my snakes are much happier. Now I use my aquariums to raise mice and rats. If you use the aquarium for your snake I would not use that wooden hide as the only hide, I'd use a snake hide with a single opening, something like this below. My snakes loved these hides because they feel really secure. Now I use tubs without anything besides substrate, much easier to clean. My mice and rats get these hides now LOL.



I've also found that handling your snakes for short periods on a daily basis does more good than harm, in fact since I'm at the end of my war with the mites and I was handling every snake every day they have all mellowed out to much that they don't even seem like the same snakes! I'd probably start with several short sessions of just a few minutes and work up from there. I have one snake that really wants to get out and be held as much as possible (a big Woma python).

Personally I don't worry too much about humidity, I'm still using paper towels and it jumps up and down like crazy. I just spray it down every day or two and when it dries out spray it again. Just make sure it stays high when they are in shed and that it doesn't get too dry for several days at a time if possible, my snakes get really sluggish after several dry days, but just one day at high humidity and they are back to themselves again.

Most people suggest too high of a temp. I think mid to upper 80s max for a hotspot is perfect. I also keep my snake room in the mid 70s. They all seem very happy. If you don't have a thermostat on your heat source it's better to just heat the room with a space heater to mid 70s until you can get your setup correct.

I also keep very small snakes in large tubs that are not clear (grey tubs) and have no problems at all with a stressed out snake. If they were in a glass aquarium or clear tub they would be stressed out to the max, not so in a grey tub that they can't see out of with minimal light coming in. I'm sure at some point I'll have a few more ARS racks for baby snakes and grow outs, probably easier to keep them in smaller tubs, but for me just starting out I can only afford a rack with full size tubs, I won't have to move them around and it seem to work just fine.

You may also want to do a 'sniff test' of your tank every day or two. Now that I've switched to paper towels I see that these snakes go to the bathroom every few days and stick up the cages. Usually a snake won't eat if the cage is stinky. It's hard to see and smell with aspen as it kind of dilutes it out.

I hope all of this info helps!

[amfedor12]

Congratulations on your first ball python! This is my first year keeping snakes and I'm up to 17 snakes right now, about half are ball pythons and I can tell you the learning curve is pretty steep. There are a lot of different opinions out there and most people will just repeat what they have heard over and over without really trying it themselves.

I just went through a major snake mite infestation, you may want to keep an eye out for them. They are tiny little black specs on the snake and in the substrate. I actually just switched to paper towels and realized I had tons of those little blood suckers. If you don't see any I'd probably wait for a few weeks until he gets several meals in him then switch to a paper towel substrate for a week or so and watch closely to be sure there's not one single mite in there, they can reproduce like crazy, I had hundreds if not thousands of those little buggers in my tubs. I'm almost afraid to get another snake after my war with the mites.

Yesterday I had the same thing you had with the blue eyes that cleared up with no shed on two of my snakes, I thought that was very strange because I've never heard about it before.

As I was reading through your posts I was thinking rat pups myself. Not sure I'd ever feed a live mouse to a snake again unless it was a decent sized snake, too much risk of the mouse biting your snake. I've had several get bitten, none serious, but they can take an eye out of your snake. It's much safer with live rat pups. A rat pup that is just about to open his eyes is as big as a jumbo mouse and much less likely to bite. Personally I prefer to feed fresh killed mice or ASF first, putting them down with CO2, then if that doesn't work follow up with rat pups. Almost all that refuse the mice will go for the rat pups unless they are in a deep shed.

I actually started my collection with glass critter cages (aquariums) and found that those really stress out the snakes. I had snake hides in each and all the snakes would just hide all day. I went to a professional ARS rack system with tubs and my snakes are much happier. Now I use my aquariums to raise mice and rats. If you use the aquarium for your snake I would not use that wooden hide as the only hide, I'd use a snake hide with a single opening, something like this below. My snakes loved these hides because they feel really secure. Now I use tubs without anything besides substrate, much easier to clean. My mice and rats get these hides now LOL.



I've also found that handling your snakes for short periods on a daily basis does more good than harm, in fact since I'm at the end of my war with the mites and I was handling every snake every day they have all mellowed out to much that they don't even seem like the same snakes! I'd probably start with several short sessions of just a few minutes and work up from there. I have one snake that really wants to get out and be held as much as possible (a big Woma python).

Personally I don't worry too much about humidity, I'm still using paper towels and it jumps up and down like crazy. I just spray it down every day or two and when it dries out spray it again. Just make sure it stays high when they are in shed and that it doesn't get too dry for several days at a time if possible, my snakes get really sluggish after several dry days, but just one day at high humidity and they are back to themselves again.

Most people suggest too high of a temp. I think mid to upper 80s max for a hotspot is perfect. I also keep my snake room in the mid 70s. They all seem very happy. If you don't have a thermostat on your heat source it's better to just heat the room with a space heater to mid 70s until you can get your setup correct.

I also keep very small snakes in large tubs that are not clear (grey tubs) and have no problems at all with a stressed out snake. If they were in a glass aquarium or clear tub they would be stressed out to the max, not so in a grey tub that they can't see out of with minimal light coming in. I'm sure at some point I'll have a few more ARS racks for baby snakes and grow outs, probably easier to keep them in smaller tubs, but for me just starting out I can only afford a rack with full size tubs, I won't have to move them around and it seem to work just fine.

You may also want to do a 'sniff test' of your tank every day or two. Now that I've switched to paper towels I see that these snakes go to the bathroom every few days and stick up the cages. Usually a snake won't eat if the cage is stinky. It's hard to see and smell with aspen as it kind of dilutes it out.

I hope all of this info helps!

Thanks for all the info,
Good news my snake has started his shed as of yesterday! Keeping humidity high to aid with it, what else should I do to help out? All I have in the cage is a wooden hide and water bowl and hygrometer