getting a ball python tomorrow, New to snakes and need some advice

[bugarella]

So here's the story, a co-worker is moving in with his girlfriend and she hates snakes so naturally he needed to find a home for his ball python. He begged me to take it, because he knows I'm a very good owner and I take excellent care of all my animals. I have always wanted a ball python, so I said I would give it a home. I'm getting the snake and the 55 gallon tank and everything else tomorrow. Here are just a few questions I have:

My friend says he thinks its a male? How do I tell?
My friend has fed him live mice all its life (1 mouse a week), and I don't really want to do that. How do I transition it to pre-killed? Or will it not matter at this point in its life?
My friend says its at least 4 feet long, is that close to full grown?
A LPS owner that specializes in reptiles (I still don't really trust a LPS too much) said a snake that big should be fed something larger than mice, I'm so terribly new to snakes I don't know if I should just continue with 1 mouse a week or give it something bigger. I assume that if its lived this long on 1 mouse a week its fine right?
I wanted to make an appointment at my vet clinic to get it a check up (which I do to all new animals I adopt) is this a waste of time or a smart idea?
The LPS (again, taking her advice with a grain of salt) said that a smelly snake is an unhealthy snake. Is this true? Again, I'm new to snakes so it didn't occur to me that a python might stink.

Thank you for any advice, tips and general help and knowledge. It is very much appreciated.

 

[Gamebred]

The only way to tell gender is to pop or probe. Youtube has some great videos on this.

4 feet long and eating mice still? You may have to move up to rats. IMO frozen thawed is the best way to feed. Food should be no bigger than the girth of the snake.

Females get bigger than males, so there's no way to tell if it's full grown until you know the sex and age.

Snakes shouldn't smell. Only its piss, but that depends on how often you clean it's habitat.

My advice would be to join ball-pythons.net. Create an account and ask questions.
Make sure your humidity and temps are correct. Use an UTH (under tank heater) regulated by a thermostat. You can find a cheap one on Amazon. Although they don't look as nice, i'd go with a tub as oppose to a glass tank. Glass tanks don't hold humidity as well. If your snake does not have one complete shed you need to work on your temps.

hot side temps should be 85-93 degree. Cool side at room temp. Humidity should be at 50-60 and bumped higher during shed cycle. Enjoy! I did over 9 months of research before I got one. Great first snakes.

 

[bugarella]

The only way to tell gender is to pop or probe. Youtube has some great videos on this.

4 feet long and eating mice still? You may have to move up to rats. IMO frozen thawed is the best way to feed. Food should be no bigger than the girth of the snake.

Females get bigger than males, so there's no way to tell if it's full grown until you know the sex and age.

Snakes shouldn't smell. Only its piss, but that depends on how often you clean it's habitat.

My advice would be to join ball-pythons.net. Create an account and ask questions.
Make sure your humidity and temps are correct. Use an UTH (under tank heater) regulated by a thermostat. You can find a cheap one on Amazon. Although they don't look as nice, i'd go with a tub as oppose to a glass tank. Glass tanks don't hold humidity as well. If your snake does not have one complete shed you need to work on your temps.

hot side temps should be 85-93 degree. Cool side at room temp. Humidity should be at 50-60 and bumped higher during shed cycle. Enjoy! I did over 9 months of research before I got one. Great first snakes.

Thank you so much for all this advice ^ I will definitely do more research, I usually do but I also don't usually get "spur of the moment" pets like this. Hes a good friend and he loves this snake. I want him to be able to visit it, so I went all softy and said yes. I will transition it to frozen thawed rats and make it a nice tub. I will get more info on its age when I receive it. He also fed it a mouse 2 days ago, should I wait another 5 days or so then try a frozen thawed rat or do you think it could still be hungry? Going to sign up for that website now. Thanks again

 

[pa3k_87]

I'm not sure if your snake will need the transition, my BP just takes whatever I have available for him. I used to give him mice when he was younger because I was breeding them. Then I stopped so I switched him to frozen thawed rodents. He didn't really have a problem switching. Just make sure the rodent is warm and dance it around a little to get his attention. A blow drier becomes handy to warm things up. lol! he doesn't just get a dancing dead rat, he gets one all blow dried, frizzy and fabulous! lol! Also, they go for months fasting. Don't be surprised that one day, he'll just stop eating for no apparent reason. Mine's a male, so I assume its because of breeding season, or maybe because it's just their season to fast. As long as he looks healthy, no ribs sticking out or anything, then he should be fine. During this time, offer him a meal every 2 weeks or so until he finally eats. I know, I know, it's a lot of wasted rodents. Mine's around 4 feet too and he's currently feeding on frozen thawed small rats. Adult mice are just too small for him now, unless you offer like 2. But he usually doesn't eat seconds.

BPs shouldn't stink either. Their poop sure does. So make sure to take it out as soon as he goes (once a month or so) to keep things clean.

Taking him to the vet is also a good idea. Make sure to take a poop sample do they can screen for parasites. Also your vet can probe your snake to check if its a male or female.

 

[Arachtion]

And watch out royals are escape artists!

 

[bugarella]

Ok so this poor little snake hasn't been kept correctly since he was purchased from the pet store completely dry enclosure, a stick but no hides, a heat lamp over the whole top, and just a super small shallow water dish. Turns out my friend got him 3 months ago from a guy that kept him in a 10 gallon tank with a heat lamp hood and a climbing stick with no hides so he figured that was the setup, oops. Sometimes i want to smack people for not doing research before getting pets at least i knew about the general care and the importance of proper heat, humidity and hides. The 55 gallon tank is way to huge for it, it is definitely not 4 feet long, he lied about the size of his snake :sarcasm:. It was either really stressed or isn't used to being handled because I got bit when I reached in to take it out to measure it. I am making up a sterilite tub for it today with 2 hides, a large water dish, and a thermometer/hygrometer and UTH. It should be happer and maybe won't want to bite me. I'm going to stick to the live mice because its used to those, I will just keep an eye on it during feeding time. I'm having trouble finding a vet that sees reptiles in my area. I found 1 vet an hour away ::

I will post a few pictures of the enclosure and of mr. snake later today.

Thanks again everyone for all your help. You guys are great. Mr. Snake will eventually be a happy, handleable snake :biggrin:

 

[Arachtion]

Why don't you just try buying a frozen rat and thawing it then warming it and dipping it's head in boiling water for a minute, it may take anyway, it will be the smartest thing you could do for the wee guy if he does as you can buy them about 40 times cheaper and buy like 10 at a time and not worry about either A) keeping them alive/feeding them or B) buying a fresh one every week as that sucks ass, also they are spooked uber easily and will always be shy to a degree, any fast movements around the face area usually results in either drawing their head back really fast and curling up, or in the rare case leaping forward and striking as yours did, but good news is you are on the right track, when you approach him, offer the back of your hand towards him first (open handed) and move towards really, really slow, (this avoids him noticing you at the last minute then being startled and striking) and secondly he should start to ease down a little now he has a hide, I've noticed a lot of snakes that don't have a hide, develop a "stand and fight" mindset as opposed to the natural "run and hide", I'd give him a week to ten days to settle in before offering food or handling him, that way he can establish himself properly, then once he is feeding regularly (hopefully on defrost!) then start handling him, the more, the better, I'd start with handling him in a quiet, dimly lit place as he will be more jumpy around crowds and bright lights/blaring TV's, hopefully he will turn it around you sound like you care for the little guy

joe

 

[bugarella]

Yeah, I was tired and made a mistake by reaching into the tank way to fast. He got the back of my hand and it didn't hurt so much as it startled me. Woke me right up! I'm dumb but that's ok, I have learned and won't make that mistake again.

I'm probably going to at least try pre-killed frozen food for him. But he ate 3 days ago so he shouldn't be that hungry yet. You do bring up a valid point. I'm not a huge fan of rodents. I don't like the smell of them. I don't want to be stuck with a live one.

I'm going to re-house him tonight then let him chill in the closet where its quiet and no one will bug him. Hopefully after a week he will be fine. I really would like to have a pal to do house chores with. My dogs just make more work, they don't help so much.

 

[bugarella]

The tub I made up. 32 qt locking tub. I need to make some more holes, not enough ventilation. (Getting bigger bowls today, salad bowls are too small)

Trying so hard to fit in that salad bowl

So beautiful! I just LOVE the markings. I'm sure I did the popping thing right and if I did do it right its a girl! Now I need a name!

 

[Arachtion]

That looks spot on that mate my females are called Pandora (chubby little blood python) and Gid-gids (6' Burmese eating machine that likes to open her viv and wake me up licking my feet in a morning!)

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

You have a Burm that continually escapes its enclosure?

 

[Arachtion]

You have a Burm that continually escapes its enclosure?

She's done it two or three times, she knows how to push it open if I don't put the wedge back in, I have a viv lock but I read they can cut themselves on it and didn't wanna chance it, so I removed it, glad it wasn't my H.doriae that woke me up licking my feet mind you /

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Just be careful. You don't wanna get tagged by it. I stupidly got tagged by my fiancee's 6' Dumeril's during feeding, and I imagine a Burm hits even harder.

OP, nice looking BP and good set up.

 

[Arachtion]

Just be careful. You don't wanna get tagged by it. I stupidly got tagged by my fiancee's 6' Dumeril's during feeding, and I imagine a Burm hits even harder.

OP, nice looking BP and good set up.

Yeah I hear ya, she's soft as a brush though, I've had her since a hatchling, not head shy in the slightest and very calm and confident, she sits at the front each evening waiting for her walkabouts (I let her roam the living room each night) I open it and she will rest her chin on the palm of my hand and them she "anoints me" (she will lick/taste my chin then my nose then my forehead) like she's checking who it is, really funny snake, very smart as well.

 

[bugarella]

That looks spot on that mate my females are called Pandora (chubby little blood python) and Gid-gids (6' Burmese eating machine that likes to open her viv and wake me up licking my feet in a morning!)

You don't think the tub is too small? I read on ball-python.net that they don't need a lot of room because they spend most of their time piled up under a hide and she can't be more than a foot and a half long. The floor space is more than a 10 gallon but its not a very tall tub which I assume doesn't matter. I just feel that the tub might be too small but if it looks good to you then I won't worry about getting a bigger tub. I have the accu-rite temp/hygrometer in there and everything is perfect. She seems soooo much happier now! My boyfriend hasn't started warming up to her yet, but he's ok with my tarantulas and scorpions now so he will eventually be ok with snakes

 

[Arachtion]

You don't think the tub is too small? I read on ball-python.net that they don't need a lot of room because they spend most of their time piled up under a hide and she can't be more than a foot and a half long. The floor space is more than a 10 gallon but its not a very tall tub which I assume doesn't matter. I just feel that the tub might be too small but if it looks good to you then I won't worry about getting a bigger tub. I have the accu-rite temp/hygrometer in there and everything is perfect. She seems soooo much happier now! My boyfriend hasn't started warming up to her yet, but he's ok with my tarantulas and scorpions now so he will eventually be ok with snakes

No it looks fine, maybe when he/she gets another foot upgrade it, I recently bought a wardrobe system complete with shelves and large containers that wil house both my bloods, my royal and my rainbow boa pretty much for life, I will post some pictures on this thread when I get it all sorted later this week as I'm waiting for the last couple of tubs to be delivered as they only had two in store, maybe even post some pictures of the guys too

As for your BF warming to snakes, he'll come around, T's for the most part are "looky-looky no touchy-wuchy", where as snakes can be quite sociable if they are handled correctly, personally my bloods will sit on my lap while I watch TV and just chill, my Burm likes a wander round the lounge (is that what you guys call it?!) each evening and likes to do her thing and doesn't mind interaction on my part in the slightest, so in their own way the can be more fun than T's (if you like hands on pets anyway, as I like T's just as much but in a different way)

Joe

 

[bugarella]

Just be careful. You don't wanna get tagged by it. I stupidly got tagged by my fiancee's 6' Dumeril's during feeding, and I imagine a Burm hits even harder.

OP, nice looking BP and good set up.

Thank you I'm glad I got her. I already love her to death.

---------- Post added 06-03-2013 at 06:02 PM ----------

No it looks fine, maybe when he/she gets another foot upgrade it, I recently bought a wardrobe system complete with shelves and large containers that wil house both my bloods, my royal and my rainbow boa pretty much for life, I will post some pictures on this thread when I get it all sorted later this week as I'm waiting for the last couple of tubs to be delivered as they only had two in store, maybe even post some pictures of the guys too

As for your BF warming to snakes, he'll come around, T's for the most part are "looky-looky no touchy-wuchy", where as snakes can be quite sociable if they are handled correctly, personally my bloods will sit on my lap while I watch TV and just chill, my Burm likes a wander round the lounge (is that what you guys call it?!) each evening and likes to do her thing and doesn't mind interaction on my part in the slightest, so in their own way the can be more fun than T's (if you like hands on pets anyway, as I like T's just as much but in a different way)

Joe

That would be wonderful to see your setup I never planned on getting a snake but now I think after I have caught on to taking care of this one I want a rainbow boa. Soooo pretty

I think I will like being able to take her out and hold her while watching a movie or whatever.

Thanks for all your help

 

[Jessie]

We recently got a ball python from the reptile expo in Renton. According to the seller, he was fed live. I was concerned, but my love for the snake won out. I bought him and a bag of frozen medium rats. After the initial settling in period, I attempted to feed him. I made the rat dance and got the snake to strike, but then he let go when I startled him putting the lid back on his enclosure. I let him be and he ended up eating the rat with no problems. For the second feeding I put the rat in his hide after heating it up with a blow dryer (after thawing the rat in the fridge) and he ate that one, too.

One thing I was not prepared for was the volume of urine! That is what makes a snake stinky -- well, the enclosure, rather. I have to clean out the tub every other day the week or so after feeding. This is another reason tubs are superior to bulky glass tanks for snakes... they are much easier to clean.

 

[bugarella]

We recently got a ball python from the reptile expo in Renton. According to the seller, he was fed live. I was concerned, but my love for the snake won out. I bought him and a bag of frozen medium rats. After the initial settling in period, I attempted to feed him. I made the rat dance and got the snake to strike, but then he let go when I startled him putting the lid back on his enclosure. I let him be and he ended up eating the rat with no problems. For the second feeding I put the rat in his hide after heating it up with a blow dryer (after thawing the rat in the fridge) and he ate that one, too.

One thing I was not prepared for was the volume of urine! That is what makes a snake stinky -- well, the enclosure, rather. I have to clean out the tub every other day the week or so after feeding. This is another reason tubs are superior to bulky glass tanks for snakes... they are much easier to clean.

She took a frozen/thawed fuzzy mouse just now. Latched right on and gulped it down. I'm positive fuzzy mice are too small so I will be going with small rats for her next meal.

I had her sexed (female) and measured, roughly 42" (she didnt want to hold still) and about 3" diameter at her thickest point.

The renton expo was cool. I had never been to a reptile expo before, I ended up taking home a mature female B. Smithi and an inmature (5" dls) unsexed B. Smithi for dirt cheap. I saw so many snakes I wanted but at that point I wasn't sure about actually getting one. Now that I know how cheaply I can house them and how easy it is to care for them, I'm certainly going to get more

 

[Arachtion]

She took a frozen/thawed fuzzy mouse just now. Latched right on and gulped it down. I'm positive fuzzy mice are too small so I will be going with small rats for her next meal.

I had her sexed (female) and measured, roughly 42" (she didnt want to hold still) and about 3" diameter at her thickest point.

The renton expo was cool. I had never been to a reptile expo before, I ended up taking home a mature female B. Smithi and an inmature (5" dls) unsexed B. Smithi for dirt cheap. I saw so many snakes I wanted but at that point I wasn't sure about actually getting one. Now that I know how cheaply I can house them and how easy it is to care for them, I'm certainly going to get more

That's good news, at 4'(ish) she could manage a medium-large rat every 10-14 days