feeding sizes

blazinreps · 02-04-04, 11:19 PM

I have to bps at about 20 inches long and iv had them for four dayd ans i tryed feeding them f/t rat fuzies rubed in used hampster beeding and they wouldent eat so ileft them in ove rnite and still nothing should i be worried the rat fuzzies were about an inch to 2 inches long. should i be feeding them adult mice or what????? any help would be great thanx
Blair

mykee · 02-04-04, 11:23 PM

Firstly, I sincerely hope you do not keep the two snakes together. Regardless, if you've only had them for 4 days, I would give them at LEAST two weeks to acclimate to their new environment(s). They are probably stressed from the move and should be left completely alone for a while until they unstress, attempting to feed them during this two-week 'cooling-off' period will only stress them out more.

blazinreps · 02-04-04, 11:27 PM

they are housed togetehr in a 50 gallons tank. i believe they were housed together before i bought them.

sapphire_moon · 02-05-04, 08:27 AM

doesn't matter if they were housed together before you bought them. It is a BAD idea to house 2 snakes together.
Take Mykee's advice. Seperate them, and wait atleast 2 weeks before feeding them. Do not handle them, do not attempt to feed them, and keep them in a low traffic area.

It is easy to keep them seperate you do not have to go out and buy another tank. Just get a rubbermaid and drill holes in the side (kinda near the top) all the way around. Put a heating pat underneath on one side (with a lamp dimmer or something to keep it from getting to hot), add a couple of hides (one on each side) appropriate sized water bowl, and newspaper or paper towel for substrate.
If they were kept together I am going to assume that you got them from a pet store. The ONLY reason a pet store keeps snakes together like that is for space. If you got it from a breeder......well I won't say anything because every breeder I have talked to keeps their hatchlings seperate.
anyways......

Wait 2 weeks
no handling
no attemped feedings
keep in a low traffic area
keep fresh water in there, about ever 3-4 days take and clean out the bowl and give fresh water, and spot clean.

after 2 weeks attempt to feed, if they feed, great.
don't handle them until atleast they have eaten like 3-4 times (so about 3-4 wks). After they have successfully ate 3-4 times in a row (not in one sitting!, but 1 every week) then start handling them.

They should be fed something the size of adult mice. DO NOT scent with hamster bedding or they might get stuck and only eat it like that, or only eat hamsters. Do you really want to pay 6 dollars a week, then up to 40 dollars for 6 hamster for 2 adult ball pythons? Hamsters don't breed like rats and mice do. They can only have a 1.1 pair, and you CAN'T leave the male in there.

Something the size of a rat fuzzy-1.5wk old would be about the same size.

Auskan · 02-05-04, 09:43 AM

Also, check with the seller what they were eating before you got them. Some BPs are hard to switch to rats if they are used to eating mice. If you do a search in the BP forum you will find lots of tips for how to encourage them to make the switch. However, I do agree with Mykee and Sapphire Moon about keeping them separately, and also about waiting at LEAST two weeks before feeding. Remember, they can go months without eating and not even lose weight, so waiting a few weeks for them to acclimate before feeding is not a bit deal.

ballpython101 · 02-05-04, 09:53 AM

yea i agree with sapphire.... for ball pythons they like there space n their home for themselves....

i have a 4-5 month old female ball she is 27-30inches n about a month ago i put my new ball with her. he is 17-19inches, at first she would run from him n hiss....... and for the past 2 weeks i put him back in there n she chases him out ( no fighting ).... but leave ur snakes alone for at least a week n a half, u need to handle them alot....

then try to feed them in 2 weeks, seperated !!!!!!! my snakes eat like animals !!!! except for sheding time ! but jus go by sapphire n u will get through it..........

keep us knowing ..........!

tHeGiNo · 02-05-04, 01:56 PM

After waiting two weeks, if the snake still isn't eating try feeding live.

sapphire_moon · 02-05-04, 04:11 PM

no, don't feed live.

Try f/t in these manners:

brained
nose cut off
head dipped in HOT water
body dipped in hot water
head dipped in chicken broth
leave the f/t in the cage overnight
leave the f/t AND the bp in a small rubbermaid (with ventilation) overnight

and as a last resort, THEN try feeding, but only something that would be smaller than they would normally eat, like a fuzzy, that don't have it's eyes open. Even if your bp is eating something the size of adult mice, only a fuzzy with it's eyes still closed, or a rat fuzzy with it's eyes still closed. Because they are not yet dangerous to your snake.

elevation24 · 02-05-04, 04:18 PM

I would so rather feed live than cut the nose off of a mouse.

Ewww!!

tHeGiNo · 02-05-04, 04:45 PM

Sapphire, the most important thing is that the ball python is eating. It is still young, and may not yet be accustomed to feeding f/t. Young ball pythons often need to added movement from hopper mice to engage their instincts and the like. The long the snake goes without eating, the more difficult the situation gets. Whats important is that the snake is healthy and eating, then you can fool around and get him on f/t rats.

Look at what your telling him. Keep in mind that after every attempt, one is supposed to wait a week before another attempt:

1. attempt brained

one week break

2. attempt nose cut off

one week break

3. attempt head dipped in HOT water

one week break

4. attempt body dipped in hot water

one week break

5. attempt head dipped in chicken broth

one week break

6. attempt leave the f/t in the cage overnight

one week break

7. attempt leave the f/t AND the bp in a small rubbermaid (with ventilation) overnight

On top of the two weeks that she should go before trying to feed, thats a total of eight weeks that the snake has gone without eating. And who knows when the last time the snake ate was. This is a young ball python, we aren't talking adults here.

tHeGiNo · 02-05-04, 04:53 PM

After that, let me advise you on what to do. First off, get two separate enclosures for each ball python. I am recommending rubbermaids, which are cheap and efficient. Get a heating device under each one, such as a heat pad. Achieve temperatures of 92F on the hot side, and 75F on the cold side.

Next, in order to secure your snakes security (lol) you will need proper hides. For ball python, a proper hide is something that they fit into snugly, specifically they will want contact with the hide on their backs. This is essential.

Make sure you also have a waterbowl in there.

Once this is set up, and they have been given two weeks to acclimate, attempt feeding a f/t rat pup, slightly larger then the snakes girth. If this attempt fails, only after you correct the husbandry errors I suggested, attempt feeding a live hopper mouse.

jfmoore · 02-05-04, 09:00 PM

Okay, well, you've gotten lots of advice, some conflicting. Sort it out and start trying some suggestions. I'll just give you one piece of advice:

DON'T LEAVE TWO SNAKES IN THE SAME CAGE OVERNIGHT WITH FOOD AGAIN! OKAY?

mykee · 02-05-04, 09:29 PM

I would also second the live feeding if you have a picky eater. Most balls will snatch a live rat in seconds, just BE CAREFUL and PAY ATTENTION if feeding live.

Tim_Cranwill · 02-05-04, 10:02 PM

Also, under-size the food item a bit. The "standard" measure is 1-1.5x the snake's largest girth. For a non-feeder being offered it's first live meal, I'd feed it even a bit smaller than 1x the largest girth and sit and watch the entire time.

You've gotten tons of advice and hopefully some of it will do you some good.

Good luck!

blazinreps · 02-05-04, 10:06 PM

alrite i will eather be setting up to rubermade containers or i was wondering if i could just divide the 50 gallon in hlaf with like plexi glass and if that would work? im goiun to the store tommorow to get some f/t medium sized mice and a pair of live adult rats so i cat eventual breed my own food.