General BP Questions

[ddbjdealer]

Hi all!

My name is Ken, and I am a brand new bp owner and this is my first herp ever. Did a lot of research on them before and have done a lot more research after the purchase.

A little background: I bought the bp from a local pet shop. It is a normal bp (captive-bred). They didn't seem to know much about how old it was, feeding schedule, shedding schedule, etc.. After doing more research to find answers to the every-day questions that keep rising, I guess I should have bought one from one of the breeders on the net/this forum.

I got him on a Thursday, and fed him at the advise of the salesperson (who's dad is a bp breeder) on that Sunday. He took to the mouse very easily, and has fed once more since then. He eats twice a week right now on a 4/3/4 day schedule, although after reading more, I guess I should try two mice on the same day and then a 7-10 day wait?

After his first feed, the day after, we found a pile of bp poop right next to his hide, along with a couple of white "pellets". I'm guessing these pellets are the undigestibles? (Teeth, bones, fur)

The second feed, he seemed to be a bit more aggresive, took the mouse right away, swallowed it faster... but no poop. We did find the white pellets as before, but no poop. Then later on that day, his eyes became a little glassy and I thought "yeah! I've read about this... he's about ready to shed!" Then his eyes went back to normal yesterday (about 2 days after we noticed the change in appearance.) But no shed! What gives?

Along with any corrections to what I've already written, I have some pointed questions to ask:

1.) How often to bp's shed? As far as I can tell, he is around 24" long, and I have no idea of weight. According to the pet store, they estimate his age at around 4 to 5 months.

2.) How soon after feeding do they usually deficate?

3.) How large of an enclosure do they require when full grown? We currently have him in a 20 gallon (long) all glass aquarium with a screened locking lid.

4.) I've been feeding him in his normal enclosure for the first two feeds although I have read that it is sometimes benificial to feed in a seperate enclosure. Why is this, and what benefit does it give us?

I've already learned so much, and I'm driving my girlfriend nuts with all the "the book says" and "the pros on the internet say" stuff I tell her about handling and feeding, and general husbandry and care.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ken

[new2BP]

welcome to the site. first off your bp will not poop after every meal. i have had my bp for 8 weeks now and she has only gone twice. the white stuff is basically there urine. they are very efficient when it comes to using what they eat. secondly u are better off with a 7 day schedule for feeding. i am also cuirius as to how large your BP is? Your BP should shed in the next day or 2. there eyes clear up a couple days prior to there shed and a lot of "us" bigginers get all confused when this happens. as far as feeding in the cage. thats up to you. i was planning on feeding outside the cage untill i noticed that most people feed inside. i have had no problems and the snake feals totally safe and secure in his home. i wouldnt want to try and feed in another invironment just because it would be a new area for my snake. these little guys get stressed pretty easy and after feeding, u dont need to handle the snake to place it back into its cage and he doesnt have to get used to another inclosure while he feeds. my bp feeds, then retreats to a hide and thats where she stays for about 48 hrs, so i leave her alone only to change the water dish. good luck.

[elra]

its a good idea to feed your bp in a seperate container for the sole reason that it may develop cage aggression. if you feed it in its tank then it will associate you reaching into the cage with feeding, and may strike at you when you try to handle it.

regarding the size of the vivarium for an adult bp, you should be good with a 30 gallon. just remember that most of the problems that you encounter will have something to do with temperature and stress, if not both. so when in doubt.. check your temps. good luck!

[frankykeno]

Hi Ken and welcome to the forum.

First off I'm a newcomer as well having only had our two ball pythons since May of this year so please remember what I say is just what we do, not necessarily the only way to do something. Ours are 26 and 28 inches long, a 6 month old from the pet store and an 18 month old rescue who was underfed a long time so is catching up right now.

Both our snakes eat 2 young adult mice every Saturday night. They both just started to do this recently. Both do not have a regular cycle of pooping or passing urine/urates...they do so when they need to. The white stuff is their urates, basically what is left after their systems extract the liquid they need. From what I understand they digest everything from the mouse/rat...so these aren't like owl pellets. They can also pass regular liquid urine. They don't always poop when they pee or pee when they poop.

We feed both of ours in their regular enclosures, neither is cage aggressive as they are regularily handled and we are in there with our hands cleaning or refreshing water all the time. The only day we find them at all "nervy" is feeding day but that's to be understood really. We use hemostats to feed pre-killed mice. Lots of people feed either in the enclosure or in a seperate tub, really it's your choice.

From this forum, we learned good husbandry is key to keeping balls happy and eating well. Temps, humidity, stress play a huge role in these snake's lives. You get that sorted out (and it's not all that hard really) and I'm sure you'll enjoy your ball python as much as we do the 2 we own.

[Adam_Wysocki]

its a good idea to feed your bp in a seperate container for the sole reason that it may develop cage aggression. if you feed it in its tank then it will associate you reaching into the cage with feeding, and may strike at you when you try to handle it.

Personally, I don't believe this to be true at all. I've fed all of my ball pythons in their enclosures for the 25 years I've been keeping them and have never seen anything remotely close to "cage aggression". As long as you take your ball python out of the cage on a regular basis for handling and cage cleaning, it will definitely learn the difference between feeding day and and regular handling.

That's my experience for whatever it's worth.

-adam

[frankykeno]

My brain aches trying to figure out the work and hours and organization you'd have to put in if you had to take them all out individually to feed Adam. Lordy!


~~Jo~~

[Forrest]

Ken,
Here are the answers to questions as best as I can answer ( I have had my BP for a few years now, he is a very large male {4.66lbs} and near 5 feet in length) Question#1 Your Bp should shed 1-2 every month until he is about 1 1/2 years old then he will start to shed once every month to mont1/2 (its never on a strict schedule). ONce he is adult it is common to go 3-4 months with out a shed.

Question#2 The will usually deficate 7-10 days after a feeding (don't worry if it is shorter or longer than this, like the shed it usually is not a strict schedule).

Question#3 30 gallons will be okay for the entire life of your snake but a larger enclosure is ok for an adult snake.

Question#4 That is all a matter of your snakes needs and personal preference (If it works for you it can't be that bad). Good luck with your new pet and welcome to the forum.