Confessions of a newbie.

[lizzynfriends]

Hello all, Well like so many, my first Ball came as "oh, she`s so cute!" we got her at a reptile show and brought her home, thought, oh, how easy, throw her a mouse, give her some water and wala! A pet! (especially when told by the vendor that that`s the way it`s done). So we got her a mouse which lived with her for days (oh what we didn`t know). Soon after it began to dawn on us that she may be getting hungry, after all don`t they eat every day?? Just like us?? We woke up one day to discover that her eye`s were opague, wow, a shed! Should we help her pull it off? Called the local pet store who said just to keep her dry. Woke up another day to discover brown spots on her, oh no, what`s this? Ticks!! Where in the world did they come from?

Well you get the gist, another doomed snake.

Except this time we searched the net, gathered all the info we could and put it to use. It was a job getting the imbedded ticks off of her, the easy part was her second shed, which was helped along with higher humidity and daily warm baths, she now has correct basking temps and cool spots, both regulated closely, hidey spots, and branches. The hard part was that her being wild caught and never having eaten in captivity, she wouldn`t. We tried all the ways possible and then tried them all again to no avail.

We have had her for 11 weeks now without her eating, and who knows how long before that. Thursday we force fed her. Yes, we`ve been to the vet, to have her wormed and checked, and then to feed her for us, which he wouldn`t do, doesn`t do. After reading as much as possible we did it, got the mouse down (yes, killed first) and she has actually been a bit more lively since. An experience that I hope to never go through again. Of course we would if needed, but she`s been "scouting" for the first time!

She has captured our hearts and deserves the best we can do for her, thankfully she`s one that escaped the newbie "isn`t she cute" symdrome.

A lot of our info came from this forum, and a heartfelt thanks to those of you who tirelessly give out info day after day to all of us newbies.

[invadertoast]

Welcome to the site! And glad to hear you did the right thing and got things fixed as opposed to thinking the vet is too expensive and a snake isn't worth it (see that aaaalllllll too often ) Best of luck with her, getting a bp to eat can be a painfully frustrating process. Sounds like you'll make a great snake owner, and I'm sure she'll make a great companion

[sk8er4life]

At first i thought u shouldnt even have that w/the way you were saying to care for it then i read on and i can only congradulate u for doin all the right stuff!

[gen]

Sounds like you're on the right track now. Good luck, and welcome to the site!

[sophie42204]

Welcome! I'm glad you found us and you were able to find some helpful information. As gen said, sounds like you are on the right track, please keep us posted on how she comes along.

[Ironhead]

Welcome to the site lizzynfriends. Good luck with your bp.

[Schlyne]

Welcome. I'm glad you finally got your bp to eat Good luck with it.

[Marla]

It's great to see you caring and taking the time and effort to try and care for her properly. Now that she's eaten, she may be more willing to eat for you again, as well as to accept mice as food. Welcome to the forum, and I look forward to updates!

[lizzynfriends]

Thanks everyone for your kind replies and big welcome! It really is such a shame that so many perish due to folks getting them and never taking the time to learn to cater to their specific needs, im so glad that I woke up before it was to late and now I have a beautiful, happy girl to show for it. As soon as I can figure out how i`ll post a pic.
I have a lot of unanswered questions still, but im sure that it will all come in time, with experience, and with your help. I just hope that someday i`ll be able to help someone also. Thanks again!

[led4urhead]

Welcome indeed! I'm glad you found us and found us so helpful


As for the picture posting, check out this thread. It should answer all your questions, if not ... feel free to shoot me a pm and we'll get ya all figured out