Tips please

[squirtsbaby]

hey guys

so i have been reading what you guys have been saying for a while and thanx a lot for all the tips all over it makes keeping my snakes a lot easier.keep up the good work.

I have 4 bp and I am hoping to breed them for next year and I was wondering if you guys have any usefull tips for me... i have lamps as heaters and i find it difficult to change the temp to precise degrees and i was hoping someone could give me a tip on how to do things.

also i think my one female is too small to breed still as she is only 2.5ft and skinny as hell cause she is such a shy eater and the other female is a monster that wont stop eating everything that moves even tried to eat my hand(haha) it hurt like hell.

if you guys have any tips please let me know...
and on another note my one male have not eaten anything yet and i was wondering if i should be worried or if there is something i could do to get him to eat. its been 2 months and he is losing a lot of weight.

thanx again.....

have fun guys

[smeagel]

for one thing, give more info the setup you have them in. The temps, humidity, the size of the cage, how many hides. Lamps as heaters are not ideal. BP nead belly heat as they are semi aboreal, they don't bask. They need a hot spot to lay on. Also, for the female, a weight and a pic would be very helpful. And males often fast for long periods of time. I have one that hasn't eaten since December. You say he is loosing a lot of weight, what is a lot of weight to you? More detail will help us give you better advice.

[squirtsbaby]

I will make sure to take some picks on the weekend and hopefully have them up by monday.and ill also try to find out how much they weigh.thanx for the help so far anyway.

[havenbounce]

They're not housed together are they?
Ginnette

[JCReptile]

you need to get a digital thermometer. if you're using heat lamps you can raise them to cool the air or if your good with electrical you can attatch a rheostat to dim or raise the output of the bulb. your female should be at least 1000 grams and in good health before you decide to breed her.
read the ball python manual.

Julian

[squirtsbaby]

thanx guys. and no my snakes are not together.well the two females are but the males each have their own place to call home. in each tank there is one hide,one water bowl and a tree like thing where they can also hide if they feel like it. I have also 3 lights in each tank one that goes on for 15 mins and off for 15 during the night just to keep the heat up. then i have lights (uv,heat) that are on during the day for a certain period of time to simulate the days getting longer and shorter. the temp right now is usually around 87F during the day and around 78F at night and i am hoping as winter comes i can keep the same light scedule at night and that because my room will be colder it would be a good temp in the tanks.I think my one female is well over 1000g but ill have to weigh her to be sure and i will do so on the weekend when i am home.When do you put the snakes together?? and do you guys have any tips for me on how i should go about using the male to make the other one a little more agressive in the sack?? also i am looking for a het albino female and het ghost female that are ready for breeding if you guys know of anyone looking to sell some i am very interrested.

thanx again for all the help guys...... i love you all.

[Kathy Shaw]

Lights are really not a good heat source for BP's. Having a light go on and off at night is very bad. Balls are nocturnal and need to have normal day and night cycles.
Get some under tank heat pads and and a controler (Dimmer switch, rheostat or thermostat) and a digital thermometer. You can make your own heat tape with flexiwatt tape and have one heater that goes under all of your cages so you only need one set up to regulate all of your cages.
If your temps are not right and not changed at the proper times you will greatly lessen your chance of getting eggs. If you want more info on this send me an email Kathyshawreptile@aol.com

Bps should be in individule cages especialy if they are not eating well. The roommate could be stressing them. Never feed with more then one in a cage.
Good luck
Kathy Shaw
Kathy Shaw Reptiles

[nita]

Most likely the female isn't eating well cause her roommate is stressing her. Also to have the lights constantly on and off is not good, they need normal day / night light schedule. Your temps are too low, that will also cause poor feeding since they can't digest without proper heat. Hot side should be 94 - 95 cool end 80, use an under tank heat source. Balls are terestrial snakes, they are on the ground and underground in the wild not up in trees, they come out at night to bask on the warmed earth. I wouldn't breed a snake under 1200g, preferably 1500g. Before breeding get your husbandry straightened out or if you do get eggs they probably won't make it not to mention egg laying is stressfull on a snake if they aren't in excellent health before hand it could kill them.