Thanx for the info Mykee & Piers

Daniogirl · 06-14-04, 09:40 PM

ok... if anyone can tell me how the mom is made responisble for taking care of the kids snake.. the please let me know... hehehe..

and no Mykee, this post is not a joke... it was a serious concern which is why i posted. why anyone would joke about something like this is beyond me.

Re: Mykee's suggestion #1,2 &5 regarding dumping the heat lamp: i do have an undertank heat pad,( turned it off for the summer because the temp was rising to 105) but without it, the temp was dropping down to 65 at night and only rising to 80 during the day, even when we did cover it up. which is why i added the heat lamp. BTW the heat lamp is outside of the tank...we have a screened lid on the top with clamps. and the lamp rests on the screen away from the lip/edges, she is not able to rest near the lamp at all to get burned.can i maybe try the tinted window insulation on the outside to help keep heat in?

and i do have a good size water dish which she lays in

#3 Rats: what is 100g in size /age relation to a rat? i hate to admit it but yes i am from california, and the type of work i deal with only involves tons& freight cars... so am i looking at a baby rat that is just bigger than an adult mouse? or can i just give her more mice. and since she has always had live meals, then how do i switch her to something dead??? i mean she is such an aggressive feeder, dispatching them very quickly... isn't the live/ dead/ frozen/ freshly killed thing basically a handlers preference/ opinion?

i rent from someone else, and i know they would not appreciate frozen animals in their freezer, which is also an issue with the housing situation. i

If i had money to spare i would do what i can, but the deal on being able to keep the snake is that the housing has to be visually acceptable to the homeowners, so a wooden cage in the living room is not acceptable to them... i have a wooden reptile cage available, but the owners will not let me bring it onto the premises, because it is even bigger than the fish tank.(which kills the downsizing idea) so i just have to figure out how to make the tank work. (i have a pic of the tank on my profile)

i will honestly look into & consider all of the suggestions you have given me.. the more i work with her, the more i want to keep her, she seems to be a really nice animal. Since i have basically done a hostile takeover of caring for the snake from my daughter & my boyfriend, who like the status of "owning " a snake, i am actually trying to make her quality of life better. it just can't happen as fast as i would like. (being unemployed, while going to school for a coupleof more months). i am not ready to give her up yet. i will start with the rats...i guessi will get a tape measure to get some measurements onher as well to know what i'm dealing with. now if i can just figure out the "g" thing...

another question i have.. so how long & thick should she be at 15 months old?....just looking for a guideline... you both said she is too small, show what are the average sizes?

IN the mean time, I"m on my way out to buy a rat for Lilo.... thanx

mykee · 06-14-04, 10:01 PM

Ok, there are many questions that you asked, I'll only answer a few so that there are plenty left over for others. A well-fed 16 month old ball in my house would weigh in at 1100g-1300g or so. In relation, I'm guessing your ball is around 400-500g. Now, the heat: Get rid of the heat lamp. Period. Use your UTH all the time, BUT put a rheostat or dimmer on the heat source to REGULATE the amount of heat your ball gets. (90-95 deg.) It's quite clear that there is no such dimmer on your heat source if the heat is getting up to 105. Again, please please please read some online caresheets or go out and buy at least one book on the captive husbandry of ball pythons. It's admirable that you want to learn, but also realize that every day that you haven't read how to properly care for your bp, it's one more day that she is having to live in a less than acceptable environment.

mykee · 06-14-04, 10:07 PM

Ok, I quickly looked at your gallery pics. Few things;
1. Your temp. probe is too high, unless your BP hovers 14 inches off the ground. You need to know what the temps are where the snake is, that means on the ground. Get a $10 digital thermometer from Wal-Mart.
2. Put more hiding places in the tank, preferably on the other side to the one that's in there now.
3. You need to get the humidity in that tank up to 60%. I noticed the bad shed (s)?. Humidity needs to be 60% all the time, and 80% when she's in shed. To get that bad shed off, soak her in a luke-warm bath, and then wrap her up in a damp towel and let her slough it off. That's all for now.