Snake slightly underweight

[shhhli]

-woot- Intro:
about a year and a half ago, i was hot and heavy into herps reading every thing i could about them before buying a snake. well, i guess my bug bit my friend and she got herself a ball.
however, she didnt study and relied on what her mother told her (who had a snake back when she was 14 or so).
I never did get a snake then, but after my friend deciding to sell her ball i decided to him (or i believe it is a him, small head- rather obvious spurs [but i plan to have him sexed by a vet in the next month or so]) for 50$, 72 gal, lamp, accessories and all. -total-steal-.
anywhoo

i did not know she kept him on mice the entire time and hes three years minimum now. i just got him thursday and his next feeding is comming up. i want to make the switch but since he's in a new place with a semi-new handler, should i just keep him on mice for a month or so (if he eats) and then switch him to young rats?

also, any advice on trying to switch him from live to prekilled would be appreciated.

oh- and any other suggestions on getting his eyes uncapped would be appreciated. he had little humidity in his previous set up. and some nasty sheds.

grazie!

[daniel1983]

If it eats mice...why switch?

For the retained eyecaps... supply the proper amount of humidity(50-60%) at all times and you can ad a humid hide around the next shed time. They should come off with the next shed.

[shhhli]

ive always heard that rats were more nutritious than mice food wise.
his weight seems off- but until i can get him on a scale i wont know for sure. i figured the mice werent cutting it for him or she wasnt feeding him as regularly as told.

thanks for the humidity bit i wasnt sure if it was safe or not for them to keep the caps on until the next shed assuming they dont come off before then. (i plan on soaking him in the next day or so to clear up a bit of left-behind shed and wasnt sure if the water would help his eyes or not)

[mr~python]

he should get a pray item as thick as the thickest part of him once a week.

the water will help with the eyecaps, infact just today my male had a bad shed with both eyecaps and skin on half of him and all it took was a 20 min. soak and all it took was rubbing him with a washcloth for about 5 min. to get it all off.

good luck with your BP, they're awesome creatures to keep.

[daniel1983]

Since the nutritional requirements of ball pythons are not known, knowing the nutritional value of mice and rats really does not help you know what is best for them. Also mice and rat nutritional values vary depending on what they are fed. But from the studies that have been done, there is actually not really a big difference in mice and rat nutrients. Here is a good read if you are interested on the actual nutritional values of mice and rats:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=38

Very experienced breeders have raised ball pythons on mice and rats with no notable differences. Feeding mice is just fine. An adult ball python can be perfectly healthy eating 1 large adult mouse a week. Also, multiple mice can be fed if needed.

What to feed is all about your personal and your snake's preference. If it is easier for you to get rats or you do not want to feed multiple rodents...try to make the switch to rats. If mice are just fine for you...stick with them. If your snake will not take rats...ha ha...mice are great.

If you decide to make the transition, several things can be done to get your snake to take rats. Is it currently eating live, f/t, or p/k?

[shhhli]

thanks mr~python on soaking

daniel: right now he's been eating live mice. (thanks for the bit on nutrition-
i wouldnt say that its the value of what he's eating- moreso in size. unless i can find some thicker mice [all that ive seen have been much much smaller than the snakes middle] i would really rather switch him to rats.)

[daniel1983]

You could always offer two mice

I would offer a f/t small rat(slightly less around than the girth of your snake)at the next feeding and see how things go....you may luck out If that does not work, there are a few tricks like scenting that you can try to get the bp switched over.

Just wondering....How is big ol' enclosure set up? What are you cool and warm side temperatures?

[shhhli]

Right now he's in a -whatsit? 72 gal i believe- with aspen bedding. Only one hide for now and a waterdish large enough for soaking. Ive got some sort of lamp clipped to the top of the aquarium. I havent checked brand. and i dont have exact temperature or humidity measurements. Though i am hitting up the stores out of town tomorrow (well- today, but it is 12am X_X)

Everything is set up and run how she did which is the best i can figure until tomorrow when i do get all the whatsits and etc. the lamp is set up on one half and run during the day- off at night. the heating pad is on continuously on the opposite side of the tank. ive got it set up on a rack so that air circulates just enough.

hmmmmm two mice.... lawd.
will try the suggestion. i'll probably go for two mice and two rats (ft) and see if he'll atleast take the mouse. if he does i'll work him on the next mouse next feeding and swap to rats after that assuming.
if he doesnt take that i'll have a live mouse sitting.
-eh-

[mr~python]

you'll actually need 2 hides; one on the cool side, and one on the warm side for him to thermoregulate. its best to have them the same exact shape and size also, so he doesnt favor one over the other.

[frankykeno]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined us! Just a suggestion since you're going out to get some things for the bp's enclosure. Here's a pic of an Acu-Rite, sold at WalMart for around $12.00 (or Lowe's or Home Depot though under different brand names). With the push of a couple of buttons it can measure warm and cool side temps plus humidity. Very handy thing so you can see where that big tank really is sitting at (don't forget the AAA battery LOL).



Bigger enclosures are sometimes finicky to get right but with this sort of thing you can at least know where you are at now and what needs adjusted.

We've had snakes come in with retained shed and caps. Please don't mess with the caps as there is a real danger you could accidentally injure the snake's eye. With proper humidity and a soak if needed the caps will usually come off on their own during the next shed.

If any questions come up after you've read the caresheet here please feel free to ask. Oh and we love pictures! LOL

~~Joanna~~