Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 662

0 members and 662 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 47,180, 07-16-2025 at 05:30 PM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,905
Threads: 249,104
Posts: 2,572,100
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, Pattyhud
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 19
  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-16-2008
    Posts
    41
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    Well I wasn't planning on getting a ball python til I moved out of my parent's house at least, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity! A neighbor kid was giving his away for free, with a 20 gallon tank and all accessories. So I went over to get it this Saturday. The snake is docile, eats well according to them, and has no wounds, signs of URI or other illness...

    BUT! (There's always a but... Especially with 'free' animals.)

    For one, they never took him to the vet. And he is rather undersized. They got him from a Petco around 2 years ago... And I weighed him today and he's a mere 144 grams and 18 inches. But not emaciated by any stretch- he just seems to be very small.

    They fed him live adult mice, which can be okay but... They apparently used to feed him mice they caught from outside! So I'd bet money this guy is chock full of all sorts of nasty parasites- which may help account for how small he is. They said they fed him once a week, but I dunno, something seems off. Maybe they were feeding too small stuff for too long? As soon as he's settled in and eating so I can get a stool sample I'm taking him to a local vet.

    Because it was hard enough to convince my mom to let me take him, I'm going to be trying to switch him to f/t and I've ordered some from Big Cheese Rodent Factory. But if he really won't, I'm sure I can get him to eat live still... But I bet he just didn't like the nasty frozen feeders they tried from Petco. Yuck.

    Here's a pic I took of him with some stuff for reference...



    And here's the tank he came with. I have changed nothing yet, except to stick in some digital thermometers/hygrometers, cover most of the top with plastic wrap to hold humidity in, and to cover the sides with dark foam sheets so he'll hopefully feel more comfortable. Thankfully, because he came with his old home with familiar sights and smells, the move hasn't been too traumatic! But I still need to add some decent hides and maybe take out that gigantic water dish... I also need to get a UTH. It's all currently on the way in the mail!


    I will definitely be changing things in here! More, better hides, and lots of fake plants for cover.

    I use a temperature gun to measure the temps... It's around 90 under the light and around 75-80 throughout, overall seems too cool... I hope once I get the UTH I can raise the temps all around some more.

    I plan to try feeding him this week once the feeders come in.

    So, any recommendations? I've been leaving him alone except to weight him once and to change his water bowl and such. Is he really scarily small for his age or is it not too bad? Will he be able to catch up? It doesn't seem like they neglected him so why would he even be so small...? I'll find out more from the vet in a few weeks I suppose...

    (I do have some experience with herps- I've had a bearded dragon for 3 years, and I've had leopard geckos and currently have a crested gecko, but snakes are new to me.)

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran starmom's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-08-2007
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    5,194
    Thanks
    147
    Thanked 291 Times in 251 Posts

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    The triangular body shape suggests a very underweight snake. It is important that you get food into him!


    ~~McKinsey~~
    "Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."
    ~The Little Prince; Antoine de Saint Exupery

  3. #3
    BPnet Veteran darkangel's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-05-2007
    Location
    Summit, NJ
    Posts
    1,378
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
    Images: 8

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    How often were they feeding him? I've heard an absolutely frightening amount of people say that their friend, relative, whatever feed their pet snake once a month. And probably not even the correct size at that.

  4. #4
    BPnet Veteran _Venom_'s Avatar
    Join Date
    12-27-2007
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    725
    Thanks
    51
    Thanked 56 Times in 32 Posts

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    Wow that's a huge waterdish.
    www.scorpionforum.darkbb.com
    myspace.com/aztekvamp

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    06-16-2008
    Posts
    41
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    Feeders arrive Thursday so I'll be attempting to feed that night with every trick I know of since it's used to live... But I can definitely go get a live mouse if that doesn't work.

    They said they fed him once a week, but it does sound quite suspicious to me judging by his weight. (And the guy admitted he hadn't had time to care for it which was the main reason he was giving it away, so I bet it hadn't really been fed that frequently.)

    Quote Originally Posted by _Venom_ View Post
    Wow that's a huge waterdish.
    That's what I thought too! I was thinking of getting something smaller so I can fit more hides in there perhaps.

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    05-14-2008
    Location
    CANADA!
    Posts
    549
    Thanks
    9
    Thanked 38 Times in 21 Posts

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    Quote Originally Posted by Ivyna J Spyder View Post
    the guy admitted he hadn't had time to care for it
    Ball pythons have to be one of the easiest pets to take care of.

  7. #7
    BPnet Veteran starmom's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-08-2007
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    5,194
    Thanks
    147
    Thanked 291 Times in 251 Posts

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    What size prey are you getting. At 144g this guys gonna need something little for a while. For rats I guess that means a pup and maybe a mouse hopper? (I don't feed mice...)

    Also, this guy needs 2 hides: one for the cool end and the other for the warm end. Remember a thermostat to control temps on the UTH!


    ~~McKinsey~~
    "Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."
    ~The Little Prince; Antoine de Saint Exupery

  8. #8
    BPnet Veteran Sonya610's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-10-2008
    Location
    Redneck Country, Georgia
    Posts
    242
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    Since he is so thin I would definitely get him checked for parasites. The herp vet office near me said fresh poop is best, so even if you can't arrange to bring the snake in for an appointment the day he poops in you can always drop off the sample.

  9. #9
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-28-2006
    Posts
    24,845
    Thanks
    6,116
    Thanked 20,811 Times in 9,584 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1
    Images: 6

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    They got him from a Petco around 2 years ago... And I weighed him today and he's a mere 144 grams and 18 inches. But not emaciated by any stretch- he just seems to be very small.
    While I do not doubt you I seriously doubt this BP is 2 years old 18 inches and 144 grams.

    This BP is likely couple of months old at the most.

    As far as feeding if he is used to mice you can feed him one adult mouse once every 5 days until he catches up, than once well established if you want to switch him to rats, try rat pups!
    Deborah Stewart


  10. #10
    BPnet Veteran littleindiangirl's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-31-2007
    Posts
    8,193
    Thanks
    637
    Thanked 794 Times in 487 Posts
    Images: 25

    Re: Got a free ball python, and it's rather undersized...

    Quote Originally Posted by Deborah View Post
    While I do not doubt you I seriously doubt this BP is 2 years old 18 inches and 144 grams.

    This BP is likely couple of months old at the most.

    As far as feeding if he is used to mice you can feed him one adult mouse once every 5 days until he catches up, than once well established if you want to switch him to rats, try rat pups!
    It might have been one of those things where a kid owns a goldfish that's 5 years old.

    Mom and Dad might have pulled a fast one on the kid.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1