new ball python

Miket20 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-03-2005, 10:12 PM

i've recently aquired a 8 month old ball python, i;m a bit concerned he might be dehydrated as his spine is quite pronounced, just after he's neck where the body and larger girth starts, only a few inches then the rest of him is ok is this normal, i have observed him drinking once, temps and humidity r fine, i'll post a pic if it helps

pandora1985 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-03-2005, 10:33 PM

i acquired a ball python that was severely underweight, so her spine stuck out all along the length of her body except down by her tail. I'm not sure if this is the same scenario...pics would be best.

ball python chick · #3 (**permalink**) 04-04-2005, 02:39 AM

i do rescue and have 17 ball pythons of my own. pics would be best. is he dehydrated or is he just thin? thats great that you saw him drinking. is he eating? as long as you have his humidity and temp where they should he should be fine. i have done alot when rescues come in soak, vitamin spray,raise humidity and ive found if there drinking and eat within the firstweek or two it usually fixes itself with the right living conditions. good luck

Miket20 · #4 (**permalink**) 04-04-2005, 05:46 PM

yeah the setup is fine i keep the cool end at 75-80 and 85-88 in the hot end, humidity is 55-60, he's eating habits are a bit of a concern one week he'll 2 small mice then a month will pass where his has only eatin a pinkie rat, i've tried several different sizes of rodent rats and mice seems to change his mind on what he likes, i would'nt say he's thin he has grown quite considerably in the time i've had him, he's looks fine from the neck down round and quite chunky, i might just be being a bit paranoid due to his sporadic appetite i'll post a pic shortly for you to look at obviously you have alot experience with ball pythons as you have seventeen !! so tell me what you think,
i thought i was getting to many snakes i only have 3, bci, kingsnake, royal

Miket20 · #5 (**permalink**) 04-04-2005, 11:21 PM

what do you think, i have'nt handled him for a while due to the lack of appetite but i thought i'd get him out tonight looks reasonable healthy to me, do you think he's a decent size for 6-8 month old male,

xxxjustinxxx · #6 (**permalink**) 04-04-2005, 11:51 PM

nice ball

Mark_scuba · #7 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 12:04 AM

Looks healthy to me....
Looks to me like he is closer to 6 months

Miket20 · #8 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 04:14 PM

tried feeding again last night pinkie rat and small mouse, put both in his hide and covered the viv and left them in there overnight still no luck, just worried he's losing his appetite at such a young age looks reasonable chunky so hopefully he'll be alright

Miket20 · #9 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 05:59 PM

just seen the pics of fang an awesome specimen, hopefully mine will turn out like that how old is he hows the feeding goin any problems?

lethargiic · #10 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 06:31 PM

1. Ball pythons are notorious for not going on a regular feed schedule. dont freak about it.. it's normal for them. I had a female ball that went off feed for 8 months before finally eatting again...the brat. but she did lose a lil weight but she got back to feeding last week and took 1 small rat the first night and we gave her a 2nd rat the next night and she ate em both (i have a feeling she's going to go off feed again that's why i fed her 2x) and try too keep your snake on f/t rats if possible for nutritional reasons. If you have to leave the snake and the rat alone over night as you have done before.

2. Dont feed in the enclosure..we cant stress this enough. use a separate container or a rubbermaid tote to do this. snakes are pretty keen when it comes to recognized actions...lol last thing you need is a ball python who thinks he's gonna be fed every time you open his viv up...

3. you'll know if a snake is dehydrated..his skin will seem very loose and you will notice "wrinkles" in his eyes... if this happens just up his humidity a tad and if you want you can soak him in water (temp should feel neither hot or cold to your touch) and this will "encourage" him to drink.

4. lastly again..dont stress!!! if your snake doesnt feed right away. its the way they are and they are pigheaded about it too so just let it go and try again next feeding time..like every living being...they'll get hungry eventually.. lol

jtrott · #11 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lethargiic

2. Dont feed in the enclosure..we cant stress this enough. use a separate container or a rubbermaid tote to do this. snakes are pretty keen when it comes to recognized actions...lol last thing you need is a ball python who thinks he's gonna be fed every time you open his viv up...

I don't post here much, but I totally disagree with this statement. I think that a ball python will stress even more if you move him/her to a different container, then try and offer food. The best thing to do is offer food in the same cage. Even if you do get bit, you are not going to die from it....I guarantee you. Getting bit is something you learn to deal with when owning reptiles. It is eventually going to happen. I have tried numerous times to get a ball python to bite me, and I have only been successful once. I do not know of any animal that I would recommend doing this with. I have 4 burms, and a retic, and all of them get fed in their enclosures. Animals eat/hunt by smell and heat, not by the frequency of their cage being opened. You just have to build up a routine. When I feed my ball pythons......2.12 currently, and expecting 50 more in 2 weeks, I just open the tub, throw in the rat, and sit back and watch them. When I am opening the tub to feed them, I open the tub, and watch them for a minute or so. They learn they are not getting fed. To get back on subject, do not take your snake out of the enclosure they are living in. It just adds more stress to the animal.

To answer the question in the origional post:

In this case, I would recommend putting in a small BLACK hopper mouse in late at night, and leave him/her alone. Do not check on him/her until the morning. You will be surprised how often a ball python will eat when you leave them alone. I only handle mine to clean cages. They do not come out to "watch TV with me" or "stretch their scales". The only time they get touched is when I am cleaning the tub, or doing their weekly check for bugs, poop, urates, or to fill water bowls. ALL of my ball pythons eat every 4-7 days.....GUARANTEED. The majority of my ball pythons eat better, and percentagly(is that even a word?) more often than my burms, or retic.

Just my $0.02

Jason

ann0306 · #12 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 07:12 PM

Like Lethargiic said, don't feed in the enclosure, but on top of that, you said you put the food items actually in his hide? This is definitely not necessary. I wonder if it would even be stressful?

lethargiic · #13 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 07:24 PM

Know what..im not even gonna bother arguing with you Jt because it's not worth it. I'll just leave that up with the rest of the community to decide.

and it looks like someone already agrees with me.

jtrott · #14 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lethargiic

Know what..im not even gonna bother arguing with you Jt because it's not worth it. I'll just leave that up with the rest of the community to decide.

and it looks like someone already agrees with me.

You have your opinion, and I have mine. I was not trying to argue with you, just giving my opinion. I did not know that that meant I was trying to argue with you. Just stating my opinion, as I thought I was entitled to......I must have missed the PM about you way always being right.......

Jason

schmelkdog · #15 (**permalink**) 04-05-2005, 07:48 PM

Jason, here's the thing as I see it. You started off by saying you totally disagree and then come back with another wise crack about "missed the PM about you way always being right."
I don't agree with everything you say but then I think some of it has value. Balls do get easily stressed. Course the idea of "trying" to get one to bite you seems silly and I'll assume you were just trying to make a point of them not being too nippy.
The biggest thing, on this post and by others on other posts, is WHY can't we just offer advice. Talk about what works for us and the thought process around it without attacking anyone else. Even with alot of advice that I agree with it seems at times that people take a holier than thou, MY WAY IS THE ONLY WAY, tone and who really needs that.

Advertisement