New Baby Ball Python Owner. Behavior problems

[Melicious]

you sure?

Before I moved to tubs and racks, I had my snakes under white bulbs for a year. I think you'll be fine for a night or two. My suggestion goes further, though when I say that if you want to buy another snake, you might want to setup the enclosure BEFORE you buy 'em. -Grins.- I made the same mistake at the beginning.

[keepzrollin]

he should be ok, just dont delay to much on getting all the required stuff for him.

[jason221]

Not to scare you or anything, but in all honestly if the temps/humidity are too high/low and the snake doesn't have enough places to hide, he most likely won't eat because ball pythons are extremely shy snakes and in general don't quite have the strong feeding response of a snake like a red tail boa (which has a very strong appetite). Keeping the temperatures/humidity correct in a tank also isn't easy. While using a bulb can maintain heat, it can dry out the cage to the point of 20% humidity or less. Using an under-tank heater will help maintain the warm spot (about 90-94 ºF), but the air temperature and humidity of the tank will be exactly what the room the snake is in is currently at. My advice, if you don't feel like switching your snake to a tub setup (like a sterilite bin. Sounds crazy but is actually really easy to maintain temperatures and humidity. Just poke a few holes in with a soldering iron or a drill for proper air flow), cover most of the screen lid with something.. enough to keep air temperatures and humidity somewhat, but not so much that no fresh air can circulate through the cage. And as others have said, try not to bother him until he's eaten for you.

Good luck! Once settled in, ball pythons are awesome pets.

[mckittie]

I wanted to get all set up first, but saw this snake and knew I wanted it. Did originally plan on waiting it out for alittle while longer.


He/she does have a decent place to hide. I bought a little cave like hut with a doorway type entrance and a place to go under to get in. Looks like the Flinstones house minus windows!

The shop said the snake ate recently, So I plan on holding out til this upcoming Friday or Saturday. I did receive instructions to put him/her into a separate bin while feeding because the snake may see your hand as a food supply or something like that. If that's true or not?

[Melicious]

I wanted to get all set up first, but saw this snake and knew I wanted it. Did originally plan on waiting it out for alittle while longer.


He/she does have a decent place to hide. I bought a little cave like hut with a doorway type entrance and a place to go under to get in. Looks like the Flinstones house minus windows!

The shop said the snake ate recently, So I plan on holding out til this upcoming Friday or Saturday. I did receive instructions to put him/her into a separate bin while feeding because the snake may see your hand as a food supply or something like that. If that's true or not?

I feed all of my snakes in their normal enclosures. Scent the room before you offer your prey item. How to do that?

http://ball-pythons.net/modules/Sect...warticle&id=60

My only addition to that scenting is that I would use tongs/hemostats and hold the rat/mouse by the nape of the neck. Don't touch the prey item at all.

[mckittie]

This morning I go into the spare room where the snake is kept and it actually moved around quite a bit from where I last saw it last night. It was sitting in it's water and drinking it. Seemed a ton more mellow. I kneeled next to the cage and it did not seem to even consider striking.

I am definitly a believer in alone time now. Just 8 - 10 hours alone and I've seen a major improvement with it's comfort level.

Again I do not plan on attempting to handle til this upcoming weekend.


Feeding question...

The store clerk said the snake ate recently but could not specify, Should I just wait for the 1 week from purchase mark to feed or try it out mid week?

[Gloryhound]

As far as the nippy goes we have had a couple that were a little nippy at first and they got over it. We just got a Yellow Belly over Christmas and we had origionally named it Mellow Yellow. Well we had a little photo shoot with him yesterday and he bit me around around 9 or more times during the whole ordeal. This is probably the most aggresive guy we have seen. He is now called Hell Spawn. We are going to give it another week or two of not being handled and try it again. He is housed like all the rest of our ball pythons, so I don't think the environment has anything to do with it. Some snakes are more prone to it then others. I'd also rather have him bite me to pieces while he weighs less than 500 grams than have him decide to bite me to pieces at 1000 grams.

[rabernet]

Hi! Glad you're going to keep him and work with him!

A few things - several people have linked you to our caresheet and that's an excellent tool to use to make sure you get him set up properly. I particularly like the "Why won't my snake eat?" section - to help you rule out each reason.

He is going to need a second hide - and hides need to be SNUG and tight. If he continues to hang out in his water dish - it could indicate a few things. One could be mites - they will soak to drown mites and give themselves some relief. Another could be that the hide doesn't feel secure to them, and when they are in the water dish, they can feel something touching them on all sides (the water) - they don't realize you can still see them.

Hides need to be small and SNUG - they want to feel something touching them on all sides and on top. If he's really little, a plastic flower pot saucer with an entrance soldered out is great (you can get it at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot for under $1). If he's a bit bigger, many of us use plastic cereal bowls from the Dollar Store with entrances soldered out and turned upside down to make the hide. I can provide pictures if that helps you visualise.

As for feeding - it IS recommended to wait a full week for them to have a week to acclimate before offering food. AND - if he refuses, don't offer food again for another week. Offering food too frequently can actually work against you in your attempts to feed.

Ask the store if they fed live or pre-killed or f/t - you want to stick with what he's been eating to start. I happen to feed live to all of my crew.

The idea that they will be less likely to view you as prey if you feed in a separate enclosure is a myth. You don't smell like prey (if you wash your hands after handling prey items), and you are probably going into the enclosure for other things than just feeding (changing water, spot cleaning, handling, etc) - so they don't think that every time you open the enclosure that you're going to feed.

I feed all of mine in their own enclosure - that also gives them the security of their hides to hunt from.

Belly heat aids in digestion, and is recommended as your primary heat source, since ball pythons are nocturnal and do not require special lighting.

I use the digital thermometer/hygrometer that's pictured in Connie's post and recommend you get one too - it's absolutely necessary to KNOW your temps and not guess at them. And the stick on dial's are junk (and usually cost more than the digital one you get from Walmart).

Continue to ask questions, that's how we learn! And congrats on your new baby!

[mckittie]

The snake came out of it's water dish and is now sitting up top near the heat source just kind of looking around at things. Like I posted earlier seems a lot more relaxed. Going today to get a temporary fix by getting a red bulb at petsmart. I'm just a bit broke this week. I get paid on Monday and will buy one of those under the tank heaters.

The snake does have a rock hut thing, I don't think it's too big. If you take a look at the picture of the cage I posted earlier it is that size and the rock hut fits in there with room to spare. The snake just sits on it though, Haven't seen it go in.

It's got a small entrance in front and a small crawl space in back like a little cave.

Haha Today I am not too afraid of him. I bought some gloves last night at kmart for 3 bucks that are pretty sturdy for when it is time to begin working with him. Just in case

[mckittie]

I am also going to buy one of these

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...52554#prodTab1

If the humidity is low how do I increase it and vice versa?