I had always wanted a large snake so eventually I ended up at Reptile Rescue in Richmond BC Canada to see what was available because a baby snake was $150 at the time so with acceptable tank etc it was going to be a lot more than I had available at the time. Time was 2015. My good luck was that they were overflowing with Ball Pythons and I got a 4ft for $20. I was overjoyed and brought my precious home.
I was told that she was a "problem feeder" and it was difficult to get her to take a frozen thawed rat. Well I tried that and then thought that since snakes do not eat something they have not killed normally I got some small live rats. After some hesitation she started taking them. Problem was that if she did not eat for a while the rats would get too big for her. Everyone that supposedly "knows" these things told me they would only eat South African rats but that turned out to be untrue. She would eat them but they zoom around enough to freak her out. Regular rats were better but she could be fussy too.
So I thought since snakes eat pretty much whatever is moving past them that will fit down their mouths I got some mice. Well, THAT went well. After a bit of initial confusion she dove in. She is now a little over 5ft long and turns out she prefers to eat once a year, not every week like everyone has told me. That said last year about this time she ate 34mice a couple of days apart over a few weeks and then stopped eating until now. As of a couple of weeks ago she has begun feeding again and has so far taken a dozen and will likely take at least that many more. She is thick and healthy all the time.
I was also told that live feeding was dangerous for them and they could get hurt. Well THAT was another untruth. I drop a mouse in front of her hide and it is doing well if it gets 3 steps before its wrapped up. Damn she is FAST. Blink and you missed it. So far she has taken well over 60 mice and there is NO time for them to bite or scratch her. Now when she is hungry when I come close to the tank she will come right out of her hide and put her nose right up to the crack in the front doors and wait for me to drop in a mouse. I never thought that reptiles were much in the way of learners but she is VERY clear she wants food.
I have her in a 40gal double door glass tank with a screened lid and she seems to be quite comfortable and is ok with being handled occasionally. I call her a "her" because she is apparently a fair bit longer than a male would be. After she stops eating for a while I put a 9in dog dish in her cage because she likes to soak sometime and I think that has to do with loosening up her skin to shed which she does several times a year these days. A friend named her Monty before I figured out she might be a she. Monty Python is alive and well. Full natural colours and I really dig the purple sheen she throws off when her skin is fresh.
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