What to feed my new wild caught Sub-Saharan BP and when?

JustMeNmySnakes · 10-14-15, 09:15 PM

I'm picking up a female sub saharan BP from Fedex in the morning.
She's wild caught and recently imported. Thanks Outback Reptiles!!
She tipped the scale at 3400+ grams. I'm curious since I've got a collection of frozen large and jumbo rats if I should try introducing her to FT rats already and if so, when?
I'm asking because I've never received a snake like this. I've always acquired mine locally.
Maybe it won't matter what, but is it best to wait a day or so? Mike at Outback said she was so new to them that he didn't have a chance to offer her a meal yet.
Thanks for your input!!!
Scott
I'll include pics on my next posting��

sirtalis · 10-14-15, 09:45 PM

May i ask why you bought a wild caught adult bp when 1000's of captive bred are readily available lol no offense, is it for breeding?

JustMeNmySnakes · 10-14-15, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirtalis

May i ask why you bought a wild caught adult bp when 1000's of captive bred are readily available lol no offense, is it for breeding?

Yes for breeding, but it's a gift for my sister since she's the snake charmer in the family. She's not fully grown since those particular BP's can reach 5000, 6000 and I've heard of and seen 7000 grams.
Anyways, it's a surprise for my sister. She mentioned how she couldn't find one so I was able to find this female and since she's 6-7 hours away, I'll keep the BP under quarantine, have her checked by my retics vet and personally deliver her once she's medically cleared and eating well. Then there's no risk of contaminating her entire collection of BP's and RTB's.

**Minkness** · 10-14-15, 10:09 PM

Er....tbh. that just sounds like a bad practice. I know that introducing wild caught helps keep captive bloodlines better, but that mew? No quarintine? I hope you ha e a good quarintine set up for her....

As for your question, I'd let her sit for a good 2-3 weeks without food then try to offer her a f/t. The wait won't kill her but should make her hungry as well as give her time to relax a bit since it sounds like she hasn't had the chance yet.

When you do introducethe f/t rat, I suggest that you get it REALLY warm and atart with something slightly smaller than what she may be used to. I also suggest tryingan african soft fur or a f/h gerbil since ahe will be used to african species and not the usual domestic kind.

Good luck, look forward to lics and updates on her.

JustMeNmySnakes · 10-14-15, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

Er....tbh. that just sounds like a bad practice. I know that introducing wild caught helps keep captive bloodlines better, but that mew? No quarintine? I hope you ha e a good quarintine set up for her....

When you do introducethe f/t rat, I suggest that you get it REALLY warm and atart with something slightly smaller than what she may be used to. I also suggest tryingan african soft fur or a f/h gerbil since ahe will be used to african species and not the usual domestic kind.

Good luck, look forward to lics and updates on her.

Yes. Quarantine is a set of Herpcages. Plastic Stacking units. Easy to sanitize.
I already feed my Retic ft so I figure I'll use the same method to feed Sahara.
Pics. Definitely. Looks like I'll have her for a while till I make the drive. I'll probably deliver Sahara early January when the repticon is in town.

**Aaron_S** · 10-15-15, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustMeNmySnakes

I'm picking up a female sub saharan BP from Fedex in the morning.
She's wild caught and recently imported. Thanks Outback Reptiles!!
She tipped the scale at 3400+ grams. I'm curious since I've got a collection of frozen large and jumbo rats if I should try introducing her to FT rats already and if so, when?
I'm asking because I've never received a snake like this. I've always acquired mine locally.
Maybe it won't matter what, but is it best to wait a day or so? Mike at Outback said she was so new to them that he didn't have a chance to offer her a meal yet.
Thanks for your input!!!
Scott
I'll include pics on my next posting��

Wait a week and then offer f/t. I'd start there and see what happens.

Why did you want to buy a freshly imported animal that hasn't even eaten yet?

JustMeNmySnakes · 10-15-15, 10:36 AM

My sister. For my sister. There's a long version of the story, but I'd do anything to make her happy. She wanted this import, so I got it for her..

Sasha2 · 10-15-15, 11:04 AM

I would love to see a pic. I had a wild caught bp years and years ago when petstores still carried them, it had mites and ticks(I was a newb to bps and didnt know they were wild caught till later) anyway she ended up being a great pet.
Ive stopped buying anything wild caught after I got in two pairs of tokays from a certain big online reptile store and every single one died from a RI, the first one in just a few days after getting her, we tried treated them but they were just too stressed and sick.All died within three weeks of getting them.

reptiledude987 · 10-15-15, 11:31 AM

I personally have no issues with ordering wild caught. Yes you are taking a chance on the health the animal will arrive in as there can be issues before they're caught. Issues can develop before or during shipping and I expect right off that there may be some losses. I got my asian vines in wild caught. They were $10 each on the list. I ordered 6 and was left with 4 survivors which is better than I was expecting. Sold 2 and kept my pair. However if I never ordered from improt lists of wild caught specimens I wouldnt have some of the rare and unique things I have. So i completly support your order. Ive never heard of that type of BP and am looking forward to seeing pictures.

**Aaron_S** · 10-15-15, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustMeNmySnakes

My sister. For my sister. There's a long version of the story, but I'd do anything to make her happy. She wanted this import, so I got it for her..

That's very sweet of you. As I said, wait a week for the animal to settle then offer f/t. It won't hurt to try it first and see what happens.

From my limited experience with the Volta region I found most animals stay within 5000 grams or so. So your female should grow a decent amount more.

This is what I like to call a teachable moment. When ball pythons were imported decades ago they acclimated fairly well to our prey items and mostly were docile. What was rather difficult to do was breeding them. The first person in Canada to do it, and probably one of the first people ever, had to build a full on rain chamber!

Later on what was found out was the larger import females just happened to take longer to acclimate in captivity to be breeding ready. They usually bred 2 - 4 years after capture. So it became a thing that as they became more and more common to just raise up normal females as it took the same length of time for the imports to come around.

Hopefully your Volta girl isn't one of those and that she steps it up sooner rather than later. I say this not to be a downer but to hopefully keep your sister's expectations reasonable so she isn't disappointed if nothing happens this year or next.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reptiledude987

I personally have no issues with ordering wild caught. Yes you are taking a chance on the health the animal will arrive in as there can be issues before they're caught. Issues can develop before or during shipping and I expect right off that there may be some losses. I got my asian vines in wild caught. They were $10 each on the list. I ordered 6 and was left with 4 survivors which is better than I was expecting. Sold 2 and kept my pair. However if I never ordered from improt lists of wild caught specimens I wouldnt have some of the rare and unique things I have. So i completly support your order. Ive never heard of that type of BP and am looking forward to seeing pictures.

I agree. I have no issues with wild caughts or importation (legally) especially when someone wants to start up a project with specific bloodlines or locales. It has to start somewhere.

JustMeNmySnakes · 10-16-15, 07:57 AM

Not to deviate from the purpose of this thread, but if anyone's curiosity is churning. I'm adopted. In 1998, 35 years later, I found my biological mother, father and several half brothers and sisters. Ede, the reptile enthusiast and I bonded like we'd been together from childhood.
So that's the shorty version if anyone was curious.
Alright, back to snakes��
I'll snap some pics once she adjusts to her new surroundings. A trip to the Vet will follow asap as well..��

JustMeNmySnakes · 10-16-15, 08:00 AM

Regarding feeding. I do hope she adapts to FT rats. The seller was certain it wouldn't work and I can understand that since she's been chasing live all her life. Wish me luck..(-;

JustMeNmySnakes · 10-16-15, 05:48 PM

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/attac...1&d=1445039071
She's being a little shy. Or she's sizing up my fingers or maybe my hand.. Had to put my hand and phone inside the box, her hide, to get this. She popped her head up as I was positioning the camera. Sorry, best I can do for now.

daisymaisy · 12-02-15, 01:56 AM

great family story and beautiful snake! any updates?

JustMeNmySnakes · 12-03-15, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daisymaisy

great family story and beautiful snake! any updates?

The only thing that has changed with Sahara is she shed, she pooped and she is constantly in her water bowl. Well, what little bit of her will fit, but she tries. I'm constantly drying her enclosure from the displaced water.
To date, she still hasn't ate.
I've been trying to figure out if I drop the temp in her enclosure if that will encourage a feeding response...I'm worried, but the place I got her from says some of his imports he holds back go without a meal for months sometimes.
Too bad I can't force feed her like new hatchlings that need a kickstart, but I could see where trying that with her, as large and strong as she is would probably only stress her all over again.
I guess it's time to order a gerbil and some frozen African Soft Fur rats since live appear to be illegal here in California.