New snake owner, specific questions.

[sevenlilies]

Hey all! My fiance and I have just adopted our newest family member, Andromeda. She's almost two years old and is a firefly ball python. Hoping y'all could help me on a couple things I could not find information on elsewhere (and I've read all the stickies that are relevant to me!)

Questions:

• She's currently being fed live pinkies, one every Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Is this an appropriate feeding schedule? Everywhere we've read says once a week, but the breeder said to do twice because she's growing.

• We want to train her onto frozen - should I do a couple live while she's in her new home as to not change too many things at once? I plan on feeding her this Sunday evening (8/6) and we brought her home yesterday (7/31).

• With her red heat lamp, it's currently only 80°F on her hot side and probably around 70°F her cool. Humidity is holding steady at 60%. I have a heating pad coming in to warm up her hot side, but is she going to be okay for the next couple of days? Is there anything I can do in the interim?

• If I put her water bowl on top of her hide but obscured the edges so she still felt safe, what is the likelihood she would use a substrate-covered hill to get to it?

• Does she need a water bowl on her hot side?

• Would she benefit from a basking spot under her heat lamp?

• I've read that she does not need UV light or any other kind of light and that it might even be NOT recommended. Could someone please verify this?

Currently:
1. How long have you had your ball python?
Just one day.

2. How old (or how big) is your snake?
She's 1 year and 7 or 8 months. She is probably 1.5 feet long - I'm bad at spatial recognition though, so take that with a grain of salt...

3. Does it eat on a regular schedule?
The breeder says she's a great eater and eats every Sunday and Wednesday evening.

4. How long since its last meal?
I imagine she was fed on Sunday - but the breeder had her in a store and she was handled the Monday after. So far she shows no signs of distress or illness and I have not seen any regurgitated food.

5. What type/size prey is being offered?
She was getting live pinkies.

6. How often do you offer food?
I need help on this one!

7. What type and size of enclosure does it live in?
She has a 40 gal glass tank with a screen lid. I think I might want to get some plexi-glass or something to sit on top to help keep moisture in.

8. What are you using as substrate? If it has depth, how deep is it?
Eco-earth, probably 2 - 3 inches deep.

9. What type of heating do you use?
Heat lamp, 60W. New Fluker's lamp coming soon that has a dimmer switch, and also an UTH pad coming soon.

10. Do you use a thermostat to control temperatures?
Thermostat is coming for both a new lamp and a new heating pad!
11. What do you use to measure/monitor temperatures?
The heating pad I ordered will have its own digital thermostat, and there is currently one Zoo-med combo humidity/temperature analog gauge on her hot side. Another of the same is coming for her cool side, but I am open to suggestions for a reliable digital thermometer. I have one for my hedgehog, so I might just get another couple of those or try to find one with a hygrometer in it too.

12. What are the surface and ambient temperatures in the enclosure?
The thermometer stuck to the back of the glass tank reads 80°F on her hot side so I'm really looking forward to that UTH pad!! I am worried for her.

13. What is the average humidity level?
Staying level at 60%. I misted her enclosure this morning anyway since I would be at work all day.

14. How many and what type of hides does the snake have?
One big plastic hide on her hot side. I want to make her another hide for her cool side.

15. Is water readily available at all times?
Yes. She has a big dish on her cool side.

16. Does the snake live alone or does it share the enclosure with anything else?
She lives alone.

17. How often and for how long is the snake typically handled?
She was handled for probably an hour or hour and a half yesterday (between taking her out at the store, taking her home, and setting up her tank). She was super chill and didn't seem anxious to leave. When we put her in her tank, she stayed out in the open for several minutes before going into her hide. We don't plan on handling her again until next Tuesday (if we feed her on Sunday).


18. Does the snake have any medical history (old injuries or illnesses)?
I asked the breeder and he said no; the only thing to watch for would be a wobbly head that pastels are prone to.

19. Do you have any other reptiles? Have you brought in any new reptiles recently?
No other reptiles at present, but we do hope to get a bearded dragon and maybe another BP in the future. It wouldn't be until probably the late winter or next spring, though.

20. Is there anything specific or unique about your situation that we should be aware of?
I have three indoor cats and a hedgehog! The cats have investigated Andromeda and tried to rub on her, but no one was aggressive and we didn't let them interact too much because... well, it seems like a dumb idea! We'd love for them to be friends, though, lol.

[monks98]

I can answer best off of personal experience.

At her age she should be eating once a week and much larger than pinkies!! We have one girl of similair age. A couple months younger. And she eats small rats and is growing at a rate that she will be bumped up within the next 6 months easy.

Heat lamps are generally not recommended because they suck the moisture out of the air. BPs need a certain level of humidity. My advice is ditch the heat lamp, add a UTH with a thermostat and cover half to 2/3s the mesh lid with saran wrap or tinfoil.

Also once a snake is in a new home we don't handle or offer food for 2 weeks. If you are switching live to f/t it's also a good idea to skip a meal or two (at least that's something we have had success with) before offering the f/t. Where I live its illegal to have living rats period. So all our snakes were purchased as f/t eaters or if shipped in or purchased out of province immediately switched over. It didn't add any extra stress. Make sure it's warmed to real rat body temperature and you have long feeding tongs. Hold it in the tongs by the tail and wiggle it. You will know if she is interested really quickly.

Also the thermometers from exoterra that stick to the tanks suck. I also recommend a digital thermometer gun. We have 22 snakes (4 babies at the moment) and that's what we use.

Feel free to ask away if you have any questions!

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[tttaylorrr]

Questions:

• She's currently being fed live pinkies, one every Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Is this an appropriate feeding schedule? Everywhere we've read says once a week, but the breeder said to do twice because she's growing.

• We want to train her onto frozen - should I do a couple live while she's in her new home as to not change too many things at once? I plan on feeding her this Sunday evening (8/6) and we brought her home yesterday (7/31).

• With her red heat lamp, it's currently only 80°F on her hot side and probably around 70°F her cool. Humidity is holding steady at 60%. I have a heating pad coming in to warm up her hot side, but is she going to be okay for the next couple of days? Is there anything I can do in the interim?

• If I put her water bowl on top of her hide but obscured the edges so she still felt safe, what is the likelihood she would use a substrate-covered hill to get to it?

• Does she need a water bowl on her hot side?

• Would she benefit from a basking spot under her heat lamp?

• I've read that she does not need UV light or any other kind of light and that it might even be NOT recommended. Could someone please verify this?

1. pinkies, whether mice or rats are WAY too small for the average two year old female! how much does she weigh? weight is a huge part in knowing a beeps overall health
   
2. yes i would not change too many things at once as you're bound to get a refusal regardless. leave the snake alone for 5 days up to a week so she can get acclimated to her new environment.
3. 70° is too cold for ambient temps. ambient temps should never drop below 75°, but i never let my temps drop below 77°.
4. odds are she'll end up knocking it off and making a mess. i would not do this.
5. she needs a water bowl big enough to fit in, doesn't really matter where.
6. beeps don't "bask," they will stay in their hides the vast majority of the day only moving to thermoregulate. this is why you need two IDENTICAL cave-like hides — one over the (soon to be coming) UTH and one on the opposite side of the enclosure) so the snake doesn't pick a favorite and sacrifice thermoregulating for security.

5. What type/size prey is being offered?
She was getting live pinkies.

6. How often do you offer food?
I need help on this one!

like i stated above: pinkies are too small for the average two-year-old female. get a weight on her and use the feeding chart as a guide.

10. Do you use a thermostat to control temperatures?
Thermostat is coming for both a new lamp and a new heating pad!
11. What do you use to measure/monitor temperatures?
The heating pad I ordered will have its own digital thermostat, and there is currently one Zoo-med combo humidity/temperature analog gauge on her hot side. Another of the same is coming for her cool side, but I am open to suggestions for a reliable digital thermometer. I have one for my hedgehog, so I might just get another couple of those or try to find one with a hygrometer in it too.

what type of thermostat are you getting?
AcuRute digital thermometer/hygrometer all the way. ditch those stick-on dials they're basically garbage in terms of accuracy.

12. What are the surface and ambient temperatures in the enclosure?
The thermometer stuck to the back of the glass tank reads 80°F on her hot side so I'm really looking forward to that UTH pad!! I am worried for her.

pick up an infra-red temperature gun to measure surface temperatures. when your UTH + 'STAT comes in this will become an invaluable tool.

14. How many and what type of hides does the snake have?
One big plastic hide on her hot side. I want to make her another hide for her cool side.

two identical cave-like (only one opening) hides are SOP for beeps. i commented on this above.

17. How often and for how long is the snake typically handled?
She was handled for probably an hour or hour and a half yesterday (between taking her out at the store, taking her home, and setting up her tank). She was super chill and didn't seem anxious to leave. When we put her in her tank, she stayed out in the open for several minutes before going into her hide. We don't plan on handling her again until next Tuesday (if we feed her on Sunday).

don't handle her for about 5 days, then try to offer food.


where did you get this snake from, may i ask? a breeder with a 2 year old that's eating PINKIES is someone i would be side-eyeing. were they POSITIVE she was 2? i have an almost 3 year old male that's on small rats and over 900g, and typically he should be much smaller than your girl.

ask as many questions as you need! we're here to help.

[robert7107]

Lot of questions lots of answers within many threads posted here I can touch on a few in no particular order..

First I recommend getting a food scale and see how much she weighs I got mine from Amazon for $18.
Next feed her according to that you can Google it on feeding size charts for ball pythons or something like that. I tend to feed my snakes on the smaller size I have a female that is 1, 300 grams and another that is 1100 and one that is 700gr. They eat a small rat once every 4-5 days.

Your temp is too low..
Hot side on mine are 89-92 with a ambient temperature 78-82. I keep mine in a rack unit.

Water bowl on cool side or towards middle.

40 gallon is on the large size I'd recommend a hide box on both hot an cool side some Small so she can squeeze into not overall large when she starts to wear it as a hat then get a bigger one...
Cover the top of tank at least 90% or greater use plex glass or aluminum tape which would hold heat an humidy better look on Amazon for a hydrometer there anywhere from 6 to 20 bucks don't buy the ones they sell at Petco or PetSmart do you have a heat gun again do not buy the analog versions at Petco or PetSmart they're garbage gonna run you about 20 to 50 bucks.

Are you running thermostat with a probe you can pick up one I use vivarium v200 they are about $120.
Put probe between heat pad an tank I assume your heat pad is a undertank so the probe will be sandwich between the two.

Live to frozen transition can be as simple as just taking the rat and dangling in front of her with tongs and see if she takes it or putting the rat next to her hide box and leaving the room nice and quiet and dark as possible I don't feed my life the quicker you can get her on Frozen thawed the better


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[sevenlilies]

Great! Thanks for all your answers.

Feeding:
Okay, my fiance corrected me and she's eating rat pup twice a week. Phew. Sorry for the alarm. I don't have a weight on her (forgot to ask) but I'll get one when she's ready to handle again. Again, I'm going to try to feed her, based on your feedback, a live... something... rat pup? Mouse? On Sunday, and then leave her alone to digest for at least 48 hours. Do you think I should feed her live once on 8/6, then skip a feed and try f/t on 8/20? I think I'm going to go to once-weekly feeding, despite her being on twice-weekly before, if you guys don't advise otherwise.

Temps:
Do y'all think she'll be OK for the next little while at her not-ideal temps? Again, more heat coming in but I don't want to be neglectful of her in the meantime.

Hide:
I'm getting another hide exactly like her current one, and I'm thinking of maybe putting something like moss inside because she seems too small for it. (It's about 9" x 15" and she takes up maybe half of it.)

Age:
My fiance is also questioning her age, but it's definitely hard for me to say. I have a few pictures, if that will help?

Origin:
We got her from a family-run exotic pet shop in town, and they breed their snakes in-house.

Supplies:
Based off the feedback here, I've got the following on order in addition to the things I mentioned before:

• Another identical hide
• AcuRite thermometer
• Aluminum tape (for insulation of heat and humidity)

[sevenlilies]

Heat lamps are generally not recommended because they suck the moisture out of the air. BPs need a certain level of humidity. My advice is ditch the heat lamp, add a UTH with a thermostat and cover half to 2/3s the mesh lid with saran wrap or tinfoil.

I'm totally ok with ditching the heat lamp, but I'm not sure that our house stays warm enough to maintain a good ambient temperature. Your thoughts?

I'm up for daily misting (2-3 daily fits easily into our schedules) to maintain humidity, and some insulation efforts. We do live in Virginia, where it is quite humid naturally, even indoors.

[monks98]

We have a room that is temp and humidity controlled. Is it possible to have a space heater in the room the snake is in if temp is a worry?

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[sevenlilies]

Ooh, not a bad idea. It's a pretty large room so it might be hard to maintain that way, but we can look into it. Would you recommend this over the heat lamp or CHI?

[tttaylorrr]

Great! Thanks for all your answers.

Feeding:
Okay, my fiance corrected me and she's eating rat pup twice a week. Phew. Sorry for the alarm. I don't have a weight on her (forgot to ask) but I'll get one when she's ready to handle again. Again, I'm going to try to feed her, based on your feedback, a live... something... rat pup? Mouse? On Sunday, and then leave her alone to digest for at least 48 hours. Do you think I should feed her live once on 8/6, then skip a feed and try f/t on 8/20? I think I'm going to go to once-weekly feeding, despite her being on twice-weekly before, if you guys don't advise otherwise.

Temps:
Do y'all think she'll be OK for the next little while at her not-ideal temps? Again, more heat coming in but I don't want to be neglectful of her in the meantime.

Hide:
I'm getting another hide exactly like her current one, and I'm thinking of maybe putting something like moss inside because she seems too small for it. (It's about 9" x 15" and she takes up maybe half of it.)

Age:
My fiance is also questioning her age, but it's definitely hard for me to say. I have a few pictures, if that will help?

Origin:
We got her from a family-run exotic pet shop in town, and they breed their snakes in-house.

Supplies:
Based off the feedback here, I've got the following on order in addition to the things I mentioned before:

• Another identical hide
• AcuRite thermometer
• Aluminum tape (for insulation of heat and humidity)

PICTURES ALWAYS HELP! please post with an item we can perceive perspective with (like a banana!)

a rat pup is still too small for the average 2-year-old beep; check the feeding chart i posted again. i'm really beginning to doubt the age...but idk why a shop would lie. either you have a VERY malnourished snake or one that's younger than stated. either way, once you weigh the snake refer to the feeding chart i posted earlier.

anyway: you could try live or fresh killed once or twice and try the switch. i don't have much expertise in this so hopefully someone else can help you.

beeps handle colder temps better than hotter temps. keep everything around ~80 until you can dial everything in with your new supplies. the snake will be fine.

you're well on your way to a happy, healthy beep! please read over and research our advice as i promise we're trying to steer you in the right direction. get a weight on the snake, figure out what prey item you need based on the chart, continue to upgrade the enclosure (or DOWNGRADE in size) and keep us posted!!! we're here to help you!

[sevenlilies]

PICTURES ALWAYS HELP! please post with an item we can perceive perspective with (like a banana!)

a rat pup is still too small for the average 2-year-old beep; check the feeding chart i posted again. i'm really beginning to doubt the age...but idk why a shop would lie. either you have a VERY malnourished snake or one that's younger than stated. either way, once you weigh the snake refer to the feeding chart i posted earlier.

anyway: you could try live or fresh killed once or twice and try the switch. i don't have much expertise in this so hopefully someone else can help you.

beeps handle colder temps better than hotter temps. keep everything around ~80 until you can dial everything in with your new supplies. the snake will be fine.

you're well on your way to a happy, healthy beep! please read over and research our advice as i promise we're trying to steer you in the right direction. get a weight on the snake, figure out what prey item you need based on the chart, continue to upgrade the enclosure (or DOWNGRADE in size) and keep us posted!!! we're here to help you!

Okay! Pictures. Baby wipes for scale because I did not have a banana.

Also, I can clearly see here (and now with a bit more understanding thanks to you all!) that her hide is too large for her. I'm hoping to help her feel more secure in there by adding some moss to take up space with her.

Here's another of her more stretched out


I'm remembering now that I talked to someone who was just a store employee who misspoke about her sex, so I think I'll call the store back and see if I can clarify a) her age and b) her weight.