First ever Ball python....

[MDT]

I acquired a Ball python from someone who was moving and couldn't take the sake with him, so he gave it to me. I've kept snakes since I was 12....never had a Ball though. I've got her set up in a Sterilite tub with belly heat, bedding, water and a hide. I have to read up on Balls now I guess.

Here are some pics....
http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh572/mtucker66/ball/fbcd0252.jpg

http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh572/mtucker66/ball/ff820b41.jpg

Snake stick for size reference
http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh572/mtucker66/ball/aa27f7c5.jpg

[Edmond Y]

Cool!! you will soon find ball is very different from the other snake, I call them tube puppy.

Edmond

[alessia55]

Sweet... Hope you enjoy her :) IMO they are really great pets. Let us know if you have any questions about how to take care of her!

[MDT]

Alessia, just looked at your site for Ball python care. Wow! Very, very nice. Very complete. This is really strange for me....getting a new (to me) species, I feel like I'm starting over from scratch. What is so weird is she is a fat stubby little thing. Not at all like my Carpets, or even my Boa (which is a little chunky).

[Snakefood]

But they are awesome creatures, I love the chubbiness of them!!

[snake man12]

Not as chubby as blood pythons

[Snakefood]

Ya, bloods are too big for my personal tastes, They're gorgeous though!! too bad they didn't have a dwarf version!!

[MDT]

Well....feeding failure today. Today was feeding day for my snakes. It was the first time I have offered food to the ball. It absolutely was not interested. It does look like its going blue though, so I'll watch her for a bit and offer food next Monday. It was a freshly killed med rat offered with hemostats. We'll see......

[Snakefood]

do you know what he was fed before??

F/T
F/K
live??

[snake man12]

Bloods don't get any longer than balls just a lot chubbier

[Snakefood]

Bloods don't get any longer than balls just a lot chubbier

I'll tell ya, Henry Piorun's breeding pair of bloods are way huge compared to his BP's!! I didn't measure them or anything, but I'll take a closer look at them when I'm out there again this coming weekend!!:bouncy:

[MDT]

do you know what he was fed before??

F/T
F/K
live??

The guy who gave her to me said she would take all of the above. I will try again after a bit, and may try live mouse.

[Snakefood]

mmm, if she'll eat killed food, I would wait her out and keep her on killed food (my personal opinion). It's not like she's underweight.

It took Torruk a couple weeks to eat for me when I brought him home, quite common in a new environment.

[MDT]

Yes, my preference would be keeping her on killed prey....

[Snakefood]

if so, I'd say wait her out, she's healthy and thick and there's no reason to give in to live prey anytime soon.

Eventually, she'll get hungry enough to strike at what you serve.

Also, I leave the prey in Torruks cage for a couple hours, sometimes he strikes it right out of my hand and sometimes he sneaks it after I have walked away. You could give that a try next feeding

[snake man12]

He does not look underweight to me. Maybe look online and compare his weight in grams to his length

[MDT]

She's def a pig. That's a great idea, thanks!

[alessia55]

It's normal for a ball python who just move to a new environment to not want to eat. Wait another 7-10 days before offering food. Next time, you can leave the prey in the enclosure with him overnight. In the meantime, just let him settle in, avoid handling, and offer food next week.

[MDT]

Thanks for the tip Alessia!