Ball Questions

[Cowgirl_1970]

You might have read my posts on the general board, I am looking to get my 1st ball, I have only been around one and she was very friendly, never struck, never hissed or bit, never grumpy.... What can you tell me my chances are for getting another Ball like this? Are they ALL pretty much like she is or what do I look for when going and looking at adults to purchase? Will it take the snake time to get used to me, or will there be a chance might not like me at all? I've read nothing but good about Balls and their attitude, just alittle leary of bringing one home and having problems w/ it.....

[stephanbakir]

there is always a chance of getting an aggressive snake, out of the 100-150 balls ive seen, only 1 was aggressive.
You can always hook train them if you want and that can more or less solve your problems. My advice would be to buy from a breeder, you get papers about the snake saying who the parents were, the chances that the snake is in good shape are higher, and you generally can expect the snake to be eating frozen.
If you buy from anyone, its always a good idea to swing by a vet and get it checked. It's also a great idea to quarantine the snake for a while, if you own any other herps.

[Cowgirl_1970]

Ok, one more question, looking at a 6 yr old thats in shed, hasn't been handled in 2-3 months, they say he has never been aggressive but only has had one handler in his entire life. Something I should try? Really good deal for me.... ????? Decisions, decisions.....

[stephanbakir]

If it hasn't been handled in months I would think possible abuse? If you really want this snake in particular, i would advise you ask the current owner to bring the snake to a vet, and show you the vet response.

[Cowgirl_1970]

What do you mean abuse? They apparantly moved and were unable to take the snake with them, I keep asking them when was the last time they fed him and get no response. She had her mom send me two pics of him, he is halfway out of the hide (to small) for him, I feel sorry for him, looks alittle thin from what I can see, maybe I should just just get him, I got them talked down to $40 from $100 for the snake and the 55 gal tank because they can't care for him anymore. I guess I can take a chance with him and see what happens, theres no vet around here that does snakes and that's not an option for them either.

[Nektu]

If they refuse to tell you when he ate last, take it slow at first. Don't try to force him to eat. He'll need time to adjust to his new surroundings. Get him a bigger hide. From the sounds of it, there may be even more they aren't telling you about the snake.

[dshin963]

Would it be possible to see the pics you got of the snake?

also other things to look for is hissing/weezing and/or bubbling around the nose these are signs of a respiratory infection.

another thing is mites... these little buggers are a pain from what I hear... look under the chin there is a groove there they like to hide...

You will also want to check his skin for any retained sheds on the tail, eyes etc.

there are other things to look for but for the life of me I am drawing a blank... if I remember I'll post it later

[stephanbakir]

In my opinion, if the owner isn't meeting the requirements of the rep, in ANY way its abuse.
When you get a pet you should plan for as much as possible and know where to find information you might not have.

[infernalis]

just curious how handling meets the requirements?

Handling is stressful to the animals, I have never heard of lack of handling being detrimental to the proper care.. Heck I rarely handle my snakes.

They get inspected for health issues at each feeding, I look in on them often.. I take them out for brief intervals to take photos, but rarely do I ever take them out for the sole purpose of "playing with them"

We have mammals in the house for that.

[stephanbakir]

I was refering to the lack of knowledge of the animal, the fact that the owner cant answer his questions would worry me as a potential buyer.

[Swan]

Sounds like you have a lack of knowledge. Don't jump to give advise if your not clear on what the topic is. You don't have to have an answer for everyone brother. Calm down and learn from the many knowledged people on here. It's not fair to people who are listening to you and getting wrong info. I'm not trying to start anything but you've said alot on here that's wrong info.

[Cowgirl_1970]

Well, I've decided to go get him after work tonight, feel bad for him, I tried to send the pics from my cell but not having any luck at all. So what should I do, I know his tank needs cleaned or should I just leave him be for a couple days when I get him home? All input will be helpful, thanks!

[Lankyrob]

If you are picking up the snake, tank and all then he should settle quicker as he has familiar surroundings, i would still leave him a week or so to settle personaly with just water changes and spotcleaning as required, i definitely wouldnt handle him until he has eaten for you and then once he is eating, but not in the 48-72 hours after feeding, try handling him for a short time and see how it goes.

[Cowgirl_1970]

Wish me luck, picking him up at 5:30 tonight, this is the second person that I have found w/ snakes for sale that aren't taking care of them right, heck I'm new to this and I know what they are doing wrong, lol. I hope I can make him comfy, lol. They just told me that he hasn't eaten for 3 weeks and he is shed right now so I should try to feed him in a week?

[mistersprinkles]

another thing is mites... these little buggers are a pain from what I hear... look under the chin there is a groove there they like to hide...


Also the heat pits and the eye socket believe it or not. You can gently (like 1/100th of a lb or force) move the skin back a hair and expose the crack between the skin and the eye itself where the mites sometimes hide. They sometimes even hide in the vent but that's less common. Mites aren't that hard to get rid of if you ever do have them. It's 'involved', but it isn't very difficult and you have a high success rate if you do it right.

[Cowgirl_1970]

Here is one of the pics they sent me before they couldn't have the snake at his new apt. looks like a nice ball.
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