Newcomer looking to jump into the scene.

[dsirkle]

I'm directly in Middle Tennessee, so Atlanta isn't painfully far away. I'm just worried about having a snake shipped, even if it isn't very far. Something about it is just unsettling. I'll check them out right now, though, and look around. Thanks.

There is a guy that breeds snakes in Pulaski that posts on Faunaclassifieds.com but his name escapes me at the moment. A big caution about Petco or any other chain is that their ball pythons are most likely imported and it may be tough to get them to eat. They may be less than truthful about if it was captive bred or captive hatched or if it has eaten.

[CircleOfSnakes]

Once they discover that the hides are good and safe they're un-pryable. Most new snakes don't seem to know what the hides are for, or aren't sure about the safety, so they avoid them. Every new snake I've brought home has spent the first week or two curled up in the corner behind the hides. Heck, my new adult Het Albino female is curled up in the center of the tub with her chin resting on her branch(in the store, she was kept in a medium sized acrylic display box due to lack of room) since she's so used to open spaces. Her tub is covered, tho, to make her feel more secure.

As for a thermostat, if you're short on money I would suggest you order a ZooMed ReptiTemp 500R rather than spending your money on a maddening dimmer. Trust me, I fiddled with dimmers and rheostats for months at first before discovering that the ZooMed stats are just fine for short term use. They typically run about $20-30 and do a great job keeping temps once you get everything dialed in properly. Of course, you'll want to save up for the good stats (Johnson or Herpstat) ASAP, but the ReptiTemp will give you peace of mind about temps until you can get a better t-stat. The best site I know of for those stats is ReptileSupply.com.

I'm not so worried about it anymore. He really seems to be quite the happy guy, and the only one ever in the room he's in is me, and I'm not running through the sight of his cage constantly so he shouldn't get stressed out outside of his hide. I'm just surprised, after reading so much about freshly brought-home babies being so timid and stressed, that he's really the opposite. I guess I won't know for sure until he feeds (Sunday), but as far as his shyness and other signs of stress, there are none. He's incredibly friendly, and you'd think he's already been tamed. He's pretty active, especially now that I've turned all the lights off. So I'm excited, and relieved.

As for getting the temperature under control, I bought a dimmer for one, and I do plan on getting a thermostat eventually, when I upgrade his tub/move him to a tank when I have more funds. If I'd have read that post before I bought the dimmer I probably would have taken that route. The dimmer of course doesn't give me a temperature reading, so I just have to regulate it with my hand. Between the dimmer and the bottom of the tub I have a piece of cotton cloth, just to make sure the direct heat doesn't get too hot for his belly. Between that and the dimmer, the UTH is doing well. To get the temperature up a bit more, since I was clocking it anywhere from 80 to 82 degrees F on his warm side, I bought a clamp-light, and put it above the tub facing downwards on the warm, and a 75 watt nocturnal basking light, and it seems to be doing a bang up job keeping the temperature adequate, anywhere from 88+ (I've been having to turn it on and off because if I leave it on I don't know how hot it would eventually make the enclosure). Plus, it does a good job of keeping the humidity at a decent level. Because it seems that when my temperature is getting too low, the humidity is getting too high, so it evens things out quite nicely. I'm going to buy a lower wattage bulb, though, in hopes of being able to keep it on for longer than about 10-15 minutes at a time before having to turn it off. Very hands-on.

[dr del]

Hi,

How are you measuring his temps again?

I was just asking because of the "The dimmer of course doesn't give me a temperature reading, so I just have to regulate it with my hand. " comment. If you already have one the best solution would be to leave the probe from the acurite (wallmart $12 apparently and does humidity at the base unit too **is beginning to think wallmart should give the site commision** ) in the hot end hide and use that as your guide to adjusting the dimmer - bear in mind you will need to check very often at first or if your room temp varies a lot.


dr del

[CircleOfSnakes]

Hi,

How are you measuring his temps again?

I was just asking because of the "The dimmer of course doesn't give me a temperature reading, so I just have to regulate it with my hand. " comment. If you already have one the best solution would be to leave the probe from the acurite (wallmart $12 apparently and does humidity at the base unit too **is beginning to think wallmart should give the site commision** ) in the hot end hide and use that as your guide to adjusting the dimmer - bear in mind you will need to check very often at first or if your room temp varies a lot.


dr del

I have a thermometer/hygrometer, but it isn't an Acurite. I've actually searched both of the surrounding Wal-Marts here and I've not been able to find one, so I got a Fluker's digital instead. Its only drawback is it doesn't have a probe, so I'm probably just going to end up ordering an Acurite online. To make sure the UTH isn't too hot I've just been laying my hand on it, and playing with the dimmer. I can feel the pretty significant changes, so I've kept it at what doesn't feel too hot, but will still give enough warmth to keep the temperature up and keep him snug. He seems to be staying ontop of it, too, not really going near the cool side of the tub.

[Monty]

Everyone says to avoid Petco for very good reasons. Inknsteel, your snake has mites...where do you think they came from?? I'd bet Petco since it's a new snake....

hey starmom its me inksteels friend that works at petco they did have mites but he came up and i told him how it was to wait a lil bit till i see them clear up how long have you have bella now for man she awesome post a pic of her x marking


o and yes i did get rid of all the mites and anyone that comes in i refer them to this board for info and tell them to set up there enclosures a couple of days a head of time so they are ready to bring home a new animal and not stress it out messing with the temps

[CircleOfSnakes]

Pictures!

Setup:
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture002.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture004.jpg


Bazzel:
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture007.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture098.jpg

Very minimal at the moment, but I plan to expand upon it eventually and hopefully at some point he'll end up in a decked out tank that's actually pleasant to look at.

Also, update from a previous post: He's actually using his hides now. Well, one of them anyway. And he's still very slithery and curious, and hasn't balled up, hissed, or struck at me once. I'm really impressed. His first feeding day is tomorrow, and if his behavior is any indication of what I can expect, I will be relieved and happy for sure. And he'll be full.

[CircleOfSnakes]

Well, to my great relief... he fed! I tried giving it to him with tongs at first, but he was too preoccupied trying to slither out of his tub to be worried about it, so I sat it in between his hides and left for a little bit, and when I came back about twenty minutes later I found it halfway devoured. So it was fun watching him get the rest of it down. I took a picture, but the focus on my camera was messed up and it came out too blurry to really see anything in it. But oh well, at least we're both smiling happy now and it put me at ease about how I've been doing with him.

[CircleOfSnakes]

Hey guys, little update and a question.

He's been doing well. He finally figured out that both of his hides are alright to use, but he mostly stays in the cooler one. I fed him Sunday, and he's digested well, and he pooped Saturday night before I fed him.

The question is, how often do they drink? I've not seen him drink once, and his skin seems to be a lot "looser" than when I brought him home. He looks wrinkly sometimes. Not all the time, just by looking at him, but if you move him or if he's sitting on me and moves around his skin doesn't seem to be as tight as it was. His humidity is always between 50 and 60, if that has anything to do with it. To keep his humidity up, because sometimes it drops a bit too low, I'll dip my fingers into his water dish (with clean hands, of course) and drop a bit onto the newspaper, which of course absorbs it and helps a great deal with the humidity. Could that be why he isn't drinking? A spray bottle may be the smarter idea.

Any info. would be greatly appreciated. Everything is going awesomely, and I'd hate to screw it up now.

[missi182]

Hey guys, little update and a question.

He's been doing well. He finally figured out that both of his hides are alright to use, but he mostly stays in the cooler one. I fed him Sunday, and he's digested well, and he pooped Saturday night before I fed him.

The question is, how often do they drink? I've not seen him drink once, and his skin seems to be a lot "looser" than when I brought him home. He looks wrinkly sometimes. Not all the time, just by looking at him, but if you move him or if he's sitting on me and moves around his skin doesn't seem to be as tight as it was. His humidity is always between 50 and 60, if that has anything to do with it. To keep his humidity up, because sometimes it drops a bit too low, I'll dip my fingers into his water dish (with clean hands, of course) and drop a bit onto the newspaper, which of course absorbs it and helps a great deal with the humidity. Could that be why he isn't drinking? A spray bottle may be the smarter idea.

Any info. would be greatly appreciated. Everything is going awesomely, and I'd hate to screw it up now.

I almost never see my bp drink, but he has always got plenty of water should he need it. I notice him go for a drink a few hours after eating, but thats it.

This wrinkliness you speak of, does he look a bit shiny? It could be the beggining of a shed cycle. You will notice a slight pink belly, a darkened shade to his skin, and eventually his eyes will go milky white/blue. After a few days of this (milky eyes), his eyes will clear, then he should shed.

Check this out for more detailed info

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28794

I would have to agree that a spray bottle is a much better idea

[soy.lor.n]

I've seen Uli drink twice and it's SO cute