hi, i am new here

[totheend]

Hello and Welcome:). I think that you need to feed more often than every 2 weeks. He should be fed weekly and you could start giving him appropriately sized rats instead of mice.
Good luck with your new soon to be very large pet:p!!

[MorbidMindset]

I am 17 yr. old male, i live in the USA in the state of oklahoma. i just bought my first snake today. hes a reticulated python and hes under a foot long..he just eats little mice right now the shop said and to feed him in a couple days and then feed him every 2 weeks. hes already in a shed with the skin right now so my mom put a branch in his tank so he can rub on it to help get the shed off. we put a never used glass ashtray in the tank for a water bowl and bought 2 mice and a small cage to keep them in also. i have not named the snake yet because i wanted to know which sex it was but the shop said it was too young to tell. mom said to name it a name that either sex can use but i wanted to be specific..hes gentle and likes to be picked up...hes a good size for a baby and my mom likes him too! we got a heating mat which we put under the glass bottom of the cage and then put the bedding down on top of that so he can stay warm but not too warm. nice to meet you all here...its better if you send me pm instead of an email cause i never check my email that often!:blink:

[MorbidMindset]

uhhhh, its not a python its a boa i was wrong...the shop said it can grow to be up to 6 ft. long and it is small now so we feed it mice..rats would dwarf it stilll...maybe in a few months we can start with rats.mom knows a little bout snakes and she says that rats are too big for it still..so i wait

[MorbidMindset]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j282/luvinmomofone1/thenewsnakeinthefamily.jpg

[totheend]

That's a ball python. The sooner your start them on rats the better. They can be hard to switch over. You can put him on fuzzy rats.

[gonesnakee]

It is a Ball Python as mentioned. It should be fed weekly (or every 5-7 days)& should be started on fuzzy rats ASAP. Its water bowl should be large enough for the snake to soak in if it wants to. Your setup will not be good for holding humidity, you may want to put in a couple humid hides specially for shed cycles. Temps you are looking for is 85F for a "coldside" & 95F for a "hotside". Most all Snakes can be sexed at birth, yours can be sexed at any time by either probing or popping by an experienced person. BPS can be sexed fresh outta the egg. Your BP will maybe hit 4 ft tops, likely won't get that big even. Seriously recomend buying a BP book ASAP & stop taking advice from the petstore as the advice given so far is poor. There are many good begginer books out there for $5-$10 each again I seriously suggest picking one up ASAP & reading it. Mark

[MorbidMindset]

thanks that is next on my agenda..i have to go to the libraray anyway so i will see about the book there til i get paid again! also this may be a stupid question but what is a hide? and where do i goto get one. i have not misted my snake sincei got him but i do rub water on his skin when i hold him..i am afraid the misting might cause him to get a chill cause this house is drafty. this is why we moved him ot the living room under a light with the heating pad underneath the cage...the light dont give alot of heat off it but its better than in my room where its kinda cool. ok so rats..i have 5 hoppers in the cage at the moment so i feed them once a week to the snake and then when they are gone buy small rats? or large mice? i need some more advice..thanks:suspicious:

[gonesnakee]

You are not starting out the right way going about things as you have. Should have gotten a book & done your research prior obtaining your new pet. Do you have any idea what the actual temps are in your setup or what temps are even requied to keep the snake healthy? You are looking for 80-85f in the temp all the time with a hotspot of 90-95f. Hides are what the snake hides in ;) you should have around 3 of them in your tank, its important for a BP to have them. Hotside, coldside & middle so the snake can hide where it is comfortable temp wise & feel secure. You need to seriously read up on the proper care & husbandry of your new pet sooner than later or you are going to end up with a sick snake. Also sounds like you are feeding it live prey, again BAD IDEA. Will the snake not take FT prey (frozen thawed) preferably rats? You have a lot to research & learn before your snake starts getting the proper care. Like I said this should be done prior obtaining the animal. Somethig to remember next time as you are now playing catch up at the risk of the health of your snake. Anyhow good luck with it, Mark

[agirlnamedrita]

Try this link here...that should give you an idea on the care of your snake

Ball Pythons, a Troubleshooting Guide to (http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/)

[agirlnamedrita]

By the way i feed all 10 of my ball pythons live prey....I just watch them carefully when feeding and if a mouse or rat bites while coiled I put something between the mouth and the snake...there have been too many snakes die because of problems with the frozen thawed and causing gas build up in the snake causing stomach rupture....but that is my personal preference...and my snakes...they won't take f/t

[gonesnakee]

By the way i feed all 10 of my ball pythons live prey....I just watch them carefully when feeding and if a mouse or rat bites while coiled I put something between the mouth and the snake...there have been too many snakes die because of problems with the frozen thawed and causing gas build up in the snake causing stomach rupture....but that is my personal preference...and my snakes...they won't take f/t

In my coming up on a decade of keeping 100s of various snakes at any given time & having dozens of breeder friends that do the same (some keep closer to a thousand) NOT ONCE EVER, (thats EVER) have I heard of what you are suggesting here with FT Sorry but I have to LMAO at that one. Who told you that BS anyway? I do however know of several instances where snakes were seriously injured or killed due to feeding them live prey. Your support argument for feeding live is the weakest one I have ever heard in 10 years LOL & one of the silliest things I have ever heard. If someone was stupid enough to feed their snake rotting prey it would regurge it long before its stomach exploded :rolleyes: & if it was not rotting it would be digested the same way that live prey is. I would like to see a single example of a snakes stomach exploding due to FT prey LOL As for your snakes not taking FT prey its all about time & patience. I have gotten snakes from others multiple times that have never taken FT prey ever before that I switched over to FT no problems with a little persistance & effort. More often than not folks that feed live do so strictly for their own convienence/pleasure. I think you will be really hard pressed to find anyone that supports what you have stated here anyway LOL If you want to risk your snakes lives every feeding I guess that choise is yours, but if they were raised right to begin with there would be no risk at all feeding FT. Gas buildup stomach ruptures LMAO Sorry to make fun at your expense but I find that line very amusing, Mark

[DaVincisCode]

lol hiya Mark, Diggs from Era's forum here. I read the previous post and was like WTF? never ever heard of any stomach exploding from gas build up. would like to know where that one is starting, to re-guide some of the newbs that read that.

[Birdy75]

HAHA thats funny, I just sent you a PM.... I guess your post just answered my question..... heh!

[gonesnakee]

lol hiya Mark, Diggs from Era's forum here. I read the previous post and was like WTF? never ever heard of any stomach exploding from gas build up. would like to know where that one is starting, to re-guide some of the newbs that read that.
Yeah if you find anyone else trying to pass off that BS let me know & I'll give them "both barrels". I don't post to be anal whether it comes across that way or not, but somethings people think/post just HAVE to be set straight. Mark

[agirlnamedrita]

Go to kingsnake.com and read the forums...I have read a couple posts stating just that WITH pictures...If the rat or mouse wasn't frozen properly OR left unthawed too long it will start to decompose which causes it to rot before it digests..I am NOT an idiot....I have owned snakes for a good little while...research it...that is what I did...geeesh

[totheend]

Go to kingsnake.com and read the forums...I have read a couple posts stating just that WITH pictures...If the rat or mouse wasn't frozen properly OR left unthawed too long it will start to decompose which causes it to rot before it digests..I am NOT an idiot....I have owned snakes for a good little while...research it...that is what I did...geeesh

Which will cause the animal to regurge.........not explode and die!

[gonesnakee]

Go to kingsnake.com and read the forums...I have read a couple posts stating just that WITH pictures...If the rat or mouse wasn't frozen properly OR left unthawed too long it will start to decompose which causes it to rot before it digests..I am NOT an idiot....I have owned snakes for a good little while...research it...that is what I did...geeesh
As orginally stated if one is stupid enough to feed rotten prey to their snakes & even then it will just regurge it not blow up LMAO There are snakes that eat carrion in the wild & they don't blow up or regurge the prey. I have to totally disagree still sorry & if you actually believe that well maybe you are an idiot? I do not have to research it as I know from first hand experience its a crock of BS as does anyone with LOADS of experience. As stated I have kept literally 1000s of snakes over the last decade & almost ALL my friends are snake breeders too & some keep WAY more snakes then I do. At any given time there are 100+ snakes here & as many as 500+ during baby season. I actually posted a thread on another more active forum quoting you & placed a poll as well & not 1 person is in agreement with your statement. Not one. Anyway if you feel the need to put your snakes at continual unnessicary risk for the rest of their lives go hard. To each their own. Don't try to pass along your BS stories about FT causing snakes stomachs to rupture as a common occurrance as it is so extremely rare that people with decades of experience with 1000s of different snakes of 100s of different species have NEVER had it happen ever or even heard of it happening to anyone they know. Nuff said Mark

[DaVincisCode]

LOL Go mark!!

[gonesnakee]

Go to kingsnake.com and read the forums...I have read a couple posts stating just that WITH pictures...If the rat or mouse wasn't frozen properly OR left unthawed too long it will start to decompose which causes it to rot before it digests..I am NOT an idiot....I have owned snakes for a good little while...research it...that is what I did...geeesh
Can you provide a link to such? THX Mark

[gonesnakee]

A link someone sent me who went searching for info on the topic, remember this story folks? Mark

Exploding snake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_snake)

[Invictus]

Every time I think I've found the stupidest person on the internet, someone like this comes along and proves me wrong. I'd like to congratulate the previous person who I thought was the stupidest person on the Internet, you've just moved up in the world.

I've been keeping snakes only a short time less than Mark. In that time, I have worked with well over 1000 individual specimens of over 100 different species, and unless it has been absolutely necessary, I only feed F/T. Never once in those years did a snake ever rupture its stomach due to gas build up. I also have many of the same friends as Mark oddly enough, so that's two of us now that have probably seen tens of thousands of snakes being fed F/T without problems.

I absolutely PROMISE you that if you showed me 10,000 snakes that have been fed live, 100 are dead and at least 1000 of them are injured. All of which could have been avoided by feeding F/T prey.

You say "there have been too many cases" of F/T prey causing death, as though it's some kind of pandemic occurring in the reptile hobby, but evidently you have done NO reasearch into the ACTUAL pandemic which is live feeding injuries. Even if what you said is remotely true (which it is not), the numbers would be absolutely staggeringly biased toward live feeding injuries.

I guess you just don't care about your snakes enough to minimize the risk to them. Take that assessment to heart.. because my alternative assessment is that you are too stupid to know the difference between fiction and reality.

You say that you put something between the mouth and the snake, but here's the thing bucko.. what that means is that by the time you intervene, the injury has ALREADY HAPPENED and could have been avoided if you actually cared enough to make the right decisions. By the way... since you're so big on research, do some research about the guy who fed his boa a live rabbit and everything looked like it was going fine, but what he didn't know is that the rabbit bit the snake's tongue off. That snake died, probably from stress, because they depend on their tongues for their entire perception of their surroundings. Think there's anything the owner could have done about it? NO. So saying that "it's ok because I supervise" is a completely moot point. Tick tock, tick tock... your snakes are going to die one day. Hope it doesn't hit you too hard when it does.

And as for exploding snakes.. you're full of crap. Sorry.

Sincerely and with love,

Ken LePage
Experienced breeder

[Birdy75]

I just want to say to the "newby" who started this thread....... don't let this conversation deter you from posting more questions... thats how we all learn... just every once in a while, some people need to be corrected. K? Keep us posted on how your doing? :):D

[DaVincisCode]

Well said Invictus! I just recently purchased a boa, and was so relieved they are fed F/T. thats just my preference, because I wouldn't want to cause any injury.

[gonesnakee]

I just want to say to the "newby" who started this thread....... don't let this conversation deter you from posting more questions... thats how we all learn... just every once in a while, some people need to be corrected. K? Keep us posted on how your doing? :):D

Yeah sorry for jacking yout thread & welcome aboard, Mark

[agirlnamedrita]

Kingsnake.com - Herpforum - RE: f/t mice and rats (http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1550112,1550114)

[Birdy75]

Yeah sorry for jacking yout thread & welcome aboard, Mark

Honestly I whole heartedly think this thread needed to be hijacked!!LOL But I just didn't want it to discourage the newby from asking more questions. It seems as tho he really needs to be asking questions.... heh! Yes, I agree that he totally went about this the wrong way, but at least he is here looking for answers now. :D

Cheers to everyone!

[gonesnakee]

Kingsnake.com - Herpforum - RE: f/t mice and rats (http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1550112,1550114)

So a link to a thread you just started about this proves what? LMAO Heres the content there so far, Mark

Posted by: agirlnamedrita at Fri Jun 27 18:28:22 2008 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

I know i read on this forum somewhere that it is possible for a f/t rat that is bad to causestomache swelling and possible death to a snake...was i right?...If I am than someone on another forum is calling me an idiot for nothing..and pretty much calling me an idiot for feeding mine live prey

Posted by: toshamc at Fri Jun 27 18:33:53 2008 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

It's not just f/t -- there is a possibility that any food item (live or f/t) not digested properly will rot in the snakes stomach causing gas, bloating, regurge and/or death.
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Tosha
JET Pythons


Posted by: jyohe at Fri Jun 27 19:33:36 2008 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

dogs don't get sick eating rotten food....most animals don't........I have seen snakes eat bloated-should have been taken out of cage yesterday-ugly -stinky mice that they killed the day before.....eat them and like it......rare but happened.....

2 people told me of side winders that ate mice ONLY after biting and killing them and letting them set day /days till they bloated and turned really ugly and all -then were eaten.....

....personally have used 3 year old frozen thawed mice.......(no not 3 year old fuzzies ,frozen for 3 years((just so smart butts don't chime in)) )

......

usually it's a temp thing......parasite, or maybe toxins???....

temp would be number one..and they usually just puke it out if it's too hot or too cold......

..
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......


Posted by: PHLdyPayne at Sat Jun 28 07:06:20 2008 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

Its not the state of the rodent when eaten that can cause problems but improper temperatures available for the snake to bask on, ensuring temps in its body are hot enough to allow proper digestion. Thus bacteria continue to thrive in the prey item and cause bloating in the snake.

Proper temperatures allow for proper digestion which prevent gas build up...or at least that is how I understand it.
-----
PHLdyPayne



So this backs up this "theory" LOL how??? Mark

[gonesnakee]

Heres a link to where its being discussed elsewhere as well, Mark

Reptiles Canada Forums (http://www.reptilescanada.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29531)

P.S. only one "yes" that no one will admit to or provide any support for or even any "heresay evidence"

[Aaron_S]

I've never been much of a fan of F/T feeding to my snakes. HOWEVER, before you lynch me here Mark or Ken, I don't like feeding live. I use P/K. I also have been used to having way less snakes to feed then both of you. Except for my days in the pet stores, but then I always had a steady source just steps away for those animals.

[gonesnakee]

FYI I myself feed live pinkies/fuzzies to neonates all the time to get them going & then switch over. 1-3 meals tops usually. I also have some female BPs that are pretty much live feeders too but not becasue I think they will "blow up" otherwise I will also feed off "leftover" live pinkies & fuzzies to snakes that would otherwise eat FT too. Mark

[Aaron_S]

Yah, I agree this sounds like the worst theory I've ever heard.

Live pinkies and fuzzies are good to get things started, but you switch over. I assume for ease of switching at a younger age then having a snake set in it's ways with live food.