Ball always balled...

[BallPython13]

I baught a ball python yesterday from mt local petshop.He is currently in a 10 gallon tank with reptile mulch,1heat rock,1 branch to climb on with 1 15 w bulb.HE is 14 iches long and is doing great.Except for one thing.He is always curled up in a corner.why does he do this?He is not curled up when I hold him,hes up and about.ALso I dont know if this is a problem but behind his head there is a raised group of scales in a triangle postion,is this ok?And about feeding,my petshop says to feed him frozen fuzzies.SO this is what I did twice,I thaw out a frozen fuzzie in hot water,take the snake out and put him in a 2 gallon tank to feed.I add the fuzzie and all the snake does is sniff it once or twice and turn away and try to get out.Is this normal?The lady at the petshop says they were born in captivity and should eat what she gave me.They have had there balls for 2 weeks and havnt fed them yet.Can someone help me?Also hi and im sure I will like this wonderfull forum...:(

[asphyxia]

1 Get rid of that heat rock before it cooks your Ball
2 Get a humid hide BOX
3 get a pic of the scales but i think its fine
4 15 watt buld seems low what ARE THE temps?

read more care sheets please

B

[BallPython13]

the temp is between 75-90(I move the tank into the sun in the evening).I know what you mean about the heatrock,im soon getting a head pad to cover the bottom of the tank,but until then I covered the rock with some much so it wont burn him...

[ReptiZone]

Hello..

Well.. i bought a ball python not too long ago. First, a 10 gallon should do..but mine is in a bigger home made inclosure. Obviously, youre gonna have to make him a bigger cage, in time. The reptile mulch is good. (Most of the Zoo Med stuff is really good.) As for the heat rock, i dont think that they are good ideas. They could sleep on it and never move, and that equals to thermal burns which is really bad. For the eating methods, the fuzzies are good and there could be many reasons why your ball didnt eat. It could be from stress when you brought her home, different enclosures, too much handling, anything! But to be honest with you, i bought my ball on Saturday and i made his cage with plenty of hide boxes, 2 heat lamps(one on each side of the cage), water dish, and i put it on black earth(usually i put all new arrivals on newspaper, but i knew the breeder personally). When it came to feeding it (tonight, which is in reality, the next day!) i tried hand feeding it, he was interested but he made no feeding responses so i watched him for a few minutes as he made his way to the hide box and when he was in it, i placed the dead fuzzy just in front of the hide box so when he flicks his tongue, its right in his face. I left and came back after an hour, and to my surprise there was no rat!! I really didnt expect him to eat. Needless to say this was a true captive bred, picked it up yesturday and it toughed a two hour drive home, it toughed the whole looking at it and handling for five minutes, placed into the rubbermaid while i set up his cage, then he had me bugging him every 20 minutes or so to check the temperatures and humidity and he ate like a champ today! And on top of that the pet store told me it would not eat dead and that it was stuck on live.

All in all, do your research, get rid of the hot rock, find and adequate heat sources(I prefer from above but youll hear a lot of different opinions) and enjoy your experience. I hope you have many years of doing this hobby!

Snake Lady (I didnt sign out of my bfs account again!)

[Emily-Fisher]

Caresheets man...you need more caresheets ;) A 10 gallon should be fine for one or two more months...then you should upgrade.

[ReptiZone]

Hey this is Chondro Python,

Man, she can rant in a short amount of time!(Snake Lady)

Everything she said is relatively good and yes you gotta chuck the freakin' rock! Get an overtop heat source, even the heat pad is not good. But if you absolutely want to get one, dont cover the whole bottom of the cage with it. You still need a heat gradient. I say that you stated that you placed your tank under the sun in the evenings, it may be cost efficient on the heating bill but it could kill your snake in the long run. It is what you call the green house effect. In other words,(i dont know if you place it directly outside or by a window sill with closed windows),but im gonna assume the worstand think that you place it beside a shut window and the sun was beaming though it.

Have you ever fried an ant under a magnifying glass or burnt little holes in paper? Notice the sun rays pass through the glass and land directly onto the ant or paper with extensive heat that leads to burning the ant? Well, just imagine the rays passing through your house window and your aquarium glass(even if the rays dont go directly through the aquarium glass and just through the top, the effects are just as bad). It will overheat the tank and cook your ball python.

With a few minor adjustments im sure youll be fine.

[yankeefoxtrot]

I totally agree with asphyxia. get rid of the heat rock and get a better light for it asap. There are lots of care sheets out there, read up on it and you should be fine. Congrats on the new kid!!!


Lucas out

[CyberGhost]

Well you python is in a ball hince the name Ball Python its what they do. Now you should have never picked it up. Leave it in tis home let it get used to it or it will get stressed which it eveidently alredy is because it won't eat. Leave it alone for a couple of days then try feeding, hold the tail of the mouse with a pair of thongs and dangle it in front of the snake he should styke and eat. Then leave him alone for 3 more days then it should be fine to handle after that and feed him like that if you must.

[BallPython13]

ok,ill tak ethe heat rock as soon as I can,and I wont put him in the sun again...Hes not balled right now instead hes like laying in a s position.He hardley evr goes on the heat rock!I covered it in mulch so there isnt much heat.But all he ever does is stay off of the rock.Is this normal???

[killaclown]

For all heating product you need a Rheostat heres a good link on this site that shows how to wire one up.

http://ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15615

[depressor86]

next time, dont buy anything before researching it. :)

[BallPython13]

I did do research,I have had my python with a heatrock before and he did fine but better safe that sorry...

[depressor86]

then you didnt do enough, any educated herper knows not to use a heatrock. dont try to lie... i wasnt blaiming you just informing.

[CyberGhost]

Yah anybody whose anybody and knows anything about any herps should know that heat rocks are evil.

[BallPython13]

well I cant trust my petshop they told me that they were great...

[HeatherRose]

Certain petshops seem notorious for not being trustworthy :) Try to get more than one opinion.

[BallPython13]

Ill dot that next time...

[CyberGhost]

Yah their great, great for fried snake.

[BallPython13]

would it be ok if I covered the intire rock with some mulch?I did this and not much heat is getting off the rock.Ill get a heat pad soon so I wont have to worry about the rock for long...By the way the temp in his cage is always 77f is this ok?I dont know how hot the heat rock is though,hes never on the rock...

[BallPython13]

hey I have a question(second opinion).I have had my ball python for 3 days and I made the mistake of handling him from the first day.My question should I leave him alone for 2 weeks so it will get used to his enviorment.Or is it to late???

[ReptiZone]

no it is not too late and you asked me in a PM if they would feal neglected well the answer is no. they dont want to be picked up in the first place we just like doing it.

[tHeGiNo]

Dude toss the heat rock, period. It may not seem hot now but they tend to get extreme hot spots which will without a doubt cook your snake. A little bit of moss wont do much bud. Also, it is unlikely that your snake will enjoy having to go out of hide and onto the rock in the open to heat up.

[tHeGiNo]

Also Herp Rule #2: Do not ever trust pet stores, they are there for the money not the animals well being (for the most part anyway...)