new to snakes

[erebus45]

It is your snake and all I can do is strongly advise against it, good luck with your new little guy!

Ps. I'm a her

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

im sorry about that I was in a hurry typing and didn look at picture or name. thank you for advice.

[erebus45]

I would wait a week with no handling and then give it a go.

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

yes not getting getting him out sucks but I haven't done it yet lol

[Fraido]

yes not getting getting him out sucks but I haven't done it yet lol

It is a struggle.😛 I just got a new snake and it's killing me not to take her out and enjoy her.

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

[erebus45]

thank you everyone for the advice. Oh and the snakes name is erebus, erebus is the greek god for darkness on earth I figured it fit cuz ball pythons in their natural habitat love to borrow in the ground plus I love greek mythology lol.

[dkatz4]

Sounds like you're set up is pretty good, although as someone mentioned you might want to mist the little when he goes into shed to get the humidity up temporarily. I also advise against feeding live. Whether the risk is small or great that your snake could be injured by the feeder, there is also the possibility that he won't want to eat (as Ball-Pythons are famous for) and then you'll end up with a pet mouse. And, not for nothing, being constricted to death is a pretty nasty way to go; most reputable producers of frozen feeder rodents euthanize the animals with carbon dioxide in a process where they slowly lose consciousness and then gently expire, much more humane in my opinion. Anyway, just my two cents – much more important is that you post some pictures of your little beauty for all of us to admire.

[Coluber42]

For what it's worth, your snake will still strike and constrict the thawed prey, and most likely stay wrapped around it for way longer than you'd think would be necessary given that it's obviously not moving. If you want to give him they thrill of the hunt, you can lead him around the enclosure with it a bit before letting him have it, or wiggle it a bit once he's wrapped it so he feels like he has to work at subduing it.

But I'd make sure he's well established and eating for you consistently before playing any dinner games.

Every snake is different, but many BP's are rather secretive when they're eating. That makes sense, because if a predator were to attack when they have their mouth full, they wouldn't be able to bite or hide or flee very effectively at all; they're sitting ducks while they're eating. If I am too obvious about trying to watch my snake eat, he drags his rat into his hide with him before swallowing it (I guess he doesn't realize that I can still see the hide bumping around and moving while he wrangles his food around inside it). It might be helpful to cover the front of the tank with something on feeding day so he can't see you.

One last thing to keep in mind about feeding live vs f/t is that even if it's perfectly convenient for you to stop by the store and pick up a live mouse or rat once a week now, you're going to have your snake for a very long time and that might not always be the case. You might move, the nearest store might close, etc. You can keep months' worth of feeders on hand in the freezer, so a snake that eats f/t will always be fairly undemanding to care for. Caring for a snake that only eats live could become a real pain if circumstances change and make live feeders harder to get.

[erebus45]

Ok guys y'all have convinced me I will feed f/t I realize that yes it is in their nature to hunt... But the covenince is way better with f/t....and it will give me a reason to use my deep freezer again..... I heard you do not out then in microwave and stuff like that so my question is do i put them under hear lamp or just let sit out till they get to room temp?..... Another question do I have to wait till he feeds for the first time to handle him and if so when I do get him to feed for me for the first time how long do I have to wait till he I can handle him (anticipation is killing me) plus a little flaw is that I work third shift 10pm till 8am yes I work ten hr shift 6 days a week lol....so I don't get to really see him roam around at night....so what is a good sign that he will eat for me....sorry if I'm double asking questions....and is it ok that he sticks to kinda the middle/cool side of the cage 100% of the time that I am hear during the day (if that makes sence).... Thank you everybody for the advice and thank you for not getting nit picky at me

[erebus45]

What is the (safe) but hottest the basking spot can get?
Thank you

[jbzapanda]

I usually put the rodent in a ziploc bag and just let it thaw out in tap water for about 30 min, then dump the water out, let the sink get to the hottest temp water it can reach and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. I usually blow dry it in my room (which is where his enclosure is) and when I'm about halfway done he's already surfing the glass because the smell entices him. That's just how I personally do it.

Oh, and making sure the head is warmer than the rest of the body really helps with them striking and getting it head first. I learned that the hard away after he took it bottom first the first couple of times.

[Alexio]

What is the (safe) but hottest the basking spot can get?
Thank you

I think 92 is the max that anyone would recommend. If they are very young still I would hang closer to 88/89.