New BP owner

[pressiniron]

Hey everyone. First post and first time snake owner here. Picked up this guy from the store last Sunday and looking for some advice on how to handle him for the first time since being in his new enclosure. He struck at me the other day when I got close to the tank, but I did approach it a little fast. It's also time to feed him so how would you recommend getting him comfortable with me prior to feeding time? I'm assuming he'll ball up when I take him out. Let him sit there for a while until he loosens up or try to unball him? Not overly worried, but don't want to freak him out. Thanks!

31674

31675

31676

31677

[millertime89]

http://i.imgur.com/QjbasRJ.png

I would cover three of the four sides of the cage (as well as the top to keep in humidity. Is that hide even big enough for him to fit in? Doesn't look quite like it. Just give him some time to settle in. I would offer food about a week after you got him home and don't handle or disturb him for that week either. When you take him out allow him to unball on his own.

[Ouroboros]

Minimum thing to add would be another hide, one on the hot side and one on the cold side. The thing about BPs is that they LOVE hiding, hence the adage "a happy BP is a hidden BP," and he'll want to thermoregulate via swapping from hide to hide as he feels necessary.

Also, new snakes generally take a week or two to become comfortable enough for handling. Generally, I keep my new guys in quarantine for 10 days before even attempting to feed, let alone handle. I'm sure you've read that balls can be super finicky about feeding, so you want to make sure he's comfortable in his new environment before wasting time/money thawing out a frozen rat for him if he decides he isn't ready.

As for taking him out to feed him, it's unnecessary. I go into my snakes enclosure daily, either to change out water, mist down the sphagnum to keep humidity at the right spot, or to spot clean any poops/urate piles, so none of my noodles associate my scent or the tank opening with feeding. They've all got great responses once they smell a rat, though!

[Ouroboros]

Here's a photo of my current BP enclosure for reference
http://i.imgur.com/QdgKcY5.jpg

EDIT: I've got a Animal Plastics T3 coming in about a week, and he'll be upgraded to that. Can't wait to not have to keep foil atop that silly aquarium to keep heat and humidity in!

[pressiniron]

Thank you all for the input. I took him out day before yesterday and he loosened up after a few minutes. He got pretty active. I fed him a small live mouse in his enclosure and he ate it after a few minutes of being in there. He was all over the place after that...must have given him energy.

One more question. Can anyone guess at his age based on his size? The pet store guy said he was under a year.

[prairiepanda]

Thank you all for the input. I took him out day before yesterday and he loosened up after a few minutes. He got pretty active. I fed him a small live mouse in his enclosure and he ate it after a few minutes of being in there. He was all over the place after that...must have given him energy.

They tend to get excited and look for more food after eating, so it's normal to see extra activity immediately after feeding. Note that this does not mean you need to feed more; they will normally do this regardless how much you feed.

I do have a couple comments on your feeding, though:
1) Whether you wish to feed live or prekilled is up to you, but most people prefer frozen/thawed prey for the sake of the animal's safety and to reduce costs. If you want to continue feeding live, be sure to never leave live prey in the enclosure unsupervised. Always watch closely.
2) It would be a good idea to switch him over to rats if you can. Adult ball pythons are quite beefy and need a lot of food. Even jumbo mice won't be enough, and you'll end up feeding several mice at a time if you stick with mice. It would be more economical, and easier on the snake, if you could simply offer one rat per feeding. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to make the switch.


One more question. Can anyone guess at his age based on his size? The pet store guy said he was under a year.

Growth rates of snakes in general are extremely variable and it depends largely on how much and how often he's been fed. But if the pet store has had him since he was a hatchling then their estimate should be accurate. Do you have a scale to weigh him? Or maybe you could take a picture of him next to a can of coke or some standard sized object so we can get a better idea of size?

[pressiniron]

1) Whether you wish to feed live or prekilled is up to you, but most people prefer frozen/thawed prey for the sake of the animal's safety and to reduce costs. If you want to continue feeding live, be sure to never leave live prey in the enclosure unsupervised. Always watch closely.
I fed live as I believe that is what the store was feeding him. I've done some reading and wanted to make sure that he ate the mouse and not the other way around lol so watched very carefully.

2) It would be a good idea to switch him over to rats if you can. Adult ball pythons are quite beefy and need a lot of food. Even jumbo mice won't be enough, and you'll end up feeding several mice at a time if you stick with mice. It would be more economical, and easier on the snake, if you could simply offer one rat per feeding. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to make the switch.
The place I got the mouse from didn't have any small rats and I read that you should generally feed them prey similar in size to the thickest part of the snake's body. I was cautious and didn't want to feed him anything too big so went with the mouse. I'll try upping the size of the mouse next feeding.

Do you have a scale to weigh him? Or maybe you could take a picture of him next to a can of coke or some standard sized object so we can get a better idea of size?
Here is a pic from the other day. I've got big hands, but will try to take a pic next to a common object tonight. I need to get a scale to keep track of his weight...it's on the list. Thanks for the input!

[Albert Clark]

True about the widest part of a reptiles mid body, but that feeding should leave a slight bulge as well. There is also the 15 -20% rule which based on the animals weight they should receive that percentage of a feeding. Your bp looks like he should be eating rat fuzzies or rat pups which are a bit larger. It would be easier to switch him over now rather than later. Good luck! :blink:

[reptiledude987]

From the pic in your hand I'd say around a year sounds right.

Get him onto frozen as quick as you can as its much safer for him especially when hes on to bigger food items.