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Who's got balls?

luckycharm318

luckycharm318

New member
:p I just acquired a BP from a friend's boyfriend who was talking about letting him go because he didn't have time for him anymore. I said no no let me take him don't send him to his doom! And so now I have Fidel the BP, pictures to follow when he's settled in a bit. Anywho, I haven't been able to modify/improve his habitat and it could definitely use it so I will be doing that after pay day, but in the meantime, any pointers to good care sheets would be appreciated! Also going to be converting from live to f/t when the time comes for him to eat, so this should be interesting. Tips and tricks are welcome!
 
Cypress mulch makes a great substrate, especially if he's an older one. Don't be surprised if he doesn't eat at all. Once you figure out what humidity and temp HE likes everything to be at, don't forget it! If it's off by a little bit, he might get picky and decide to not eat.
 
Royals can be problematic if the humidity is not monitored. These animals are easily stressed with excessive visual movement around the habitat. I’ve seen these animals react to vibrations from excessive music.
 
Thanks Robbie, I'll try the cypress once he gets settled in a little bit. That's just your garden variety cypress correct? I thought I saw something about microwaving with a cup of water in the middle to kill off any critters that might be hiding in it, is that right?
 
luckycharm318 said:
Thanks Robbie, I'll try the cypress once he gets settled in a little bit. That's just your garden variety cypress correct? I thought I saw something about microwaving with a cup of water in the middle to kill off any critters that might be hiding in it, is that right?
Click to expand...

Haha! If you get it from WalMart, or some place like that, then yes. That's your best bet. :) I have seen some pet stores that carry it, as well. But you'll wind up paying a prettier penny for it. The cypress is going to help you maintain the humidity a LOT easier, as it doesn't mold if it stays damp.
 
Snakes Incorporated said:
Royals can be problematic if the humidity is not monitored. These animals are easily stressed with excessive visual movement around the habitat. I’ve seen these animals react to vibrations from excessive music.
Click to expand...

I hope my house will be quieter and less stressful than where he's been living, if he was indeed stressed from the activity/noise that is. Thanks for the tips!

RobbiesCornField said:
Haha! If you get it from WalMart, or some place like that, then yes. That's your best bet. :) I have seen some pet stores that carry it, as well. But you'll wind up paying a prettier penny for it. The cypress is going to help you maintain the humidity a LOT easier, as it doesn't mold if it stays damp.
Click to expand...

Sweet! Gotta love mold resistant substrates, thanks again Robbie. :)
 
Newspaper would be a good way to go for a new snake. This way you could tell what the animal is passing and how well its passing it.

I have around 12 balls here. Should be getting my rack for them real soon. Most of the Keepers and breeders I know here in MN keep them on paper. Its so much easier to clean as well. Pull out the paper and slide in fresh.

When they are kept in a dark rack, they tend to do a bit better as well. I enjoy working with the balls in my collection.
 
tricksterpup said:
Newspaper would be a good way to go for a new snake. This way you could tell what the animal is passing and how well its passing it.

I have around 12 balls here. Should be getting my rack for them real soon. Most of the Keepers and breeders I know here in MN keep them on paper. Its so much easier to clean as well. Pull out the paper and slide in fresh.

When they are kept in a dark rack, they tend to do a bit better as well. I enjoy working with the balls in my collection.
Click to expand...

That would be a good alternative as well, I'm all for simple, cheap and clean! He came with a pre-furnished tank, and I figured moving was enough stress, I'll save the habitat change for another day. Maybe tomorrow, I don't think the shavings have been changed in a while. :awcrap:
 
I have tried many brands of cypress, but the one from Ace Hardware seems to be a little softer and more absorbent than others I have tried. It has a drawing of an eagle on the bag, and "American" is part of the name, I believe. I use cypress for all of my BPs and also my Amazon tree boas.
 
Well I discovered a few things cleaning Fidel's tank tonight.
One, that bedding hadn't been changed, like ever. :puke01:
The UTH was a 10 gal. size, and the tank is 20 gal. :headbang:
I thought Fidel seemed a little thirsty, so I cleaned his water bowl and put him in it to see if he'd drink, and he was underwater for about a minute drinking away. He had water but there must have been some bad tasting scum in the water. :awcrap:

Some people should not have snakes. :nope:

On a good note, he's exploring his new digs and seems to like them! :dancer:

I might pester him with some pictures tomorrow, I think he's had enough excitement for one day. I think he might be a bit underweight as well, his feeding schedule has been pretty intermittent thus far, on live mice, poor guy.
 
Just a little FYI---sometimes switching from live to F/T is not an easy task for BPs, they can be finicky eaters at best. I would recommencd trying pre-killed first and then if they don't eat it, you can freeze and try again at the next feeding. You get two chances with the prey that way and once they have a couple feedings of P/K, it's much easier to get them on F/T.

http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_ball_python_care_sheet

Check out the above care sheet from VPI, Dave and Tracy Barker who are some of the most respected breeders of BPs. If you have any other questions, shoot me an email!
 
I have not had great luck feeding f/t to BPs. The babies would often take f/t, or could be trained to it. But once they become adults and go on their first fast, I found that unless they were in "feeding frenzy" mode, I threw away A LOT of f/t rats that were too big to feed my corns (or anything else I was keeping). BPs are just too weird about their "feast and famine" feeding habits. If you have to feed f/t, I would get a boa or some other garbage gut herp that can eat med or larger rats. Then you can always feed the ball first, and give the leftovers to the other snake (assuming that the ball is completely healthy - there is always a risk of cross contamination). A trick that BP keepers use is to heat the f/t rodent with a hair dryer - they say it often works. But I had to finally give up - just couldn't stand throwing away so many rats. I now feed live to my BPs, or at least the adult balls, anyway.
 
zamora said:
Just a little FYI---sometimes switching from live to F/T is not an easy task for BPs, they can be finicky eaters at best. I would recommencd trying pre-killed first and then if they don't eat it, you can freeze and try again at the next feeding. You get two chances with the prey that way and once they have a couple feedings of P/K, it's much easier to get them on F/T.

http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_ball_python_care_sheet

Check out the above care sheet from VPI, Dave and Tracy Barker who are some of the most respected breeders of BPs. If you have any other questions, shoot me an email!
Click to expand...

That's a good care sheet, thanks! I'm hoping that it's been long enough since he was last fed that he'll take a f/t mouse for me... I also hope that because I don't look forward to pre-killing mice, but if that's what he'll take, so be it I will become a mouse murderer. And if he doesn't jump on the p/k train either, I guess he's back to live. I'll just have to keep it secret from mom because she would be so upset if I were killing "poor innocent little mice", lol.

kathylove said:
I have not had great luck feeding f/t to BPs. The babies would often take f/t, or could be trained to it. But once they become adults and go on their first fast, I found that unless they were in "feeding frenzy" mode, I threw away A LOT of f/t rats that were too big to feed my corns (or anything else I was keeping). BPs are just too weird about their "feast and famine" feeding habits. If you have to feed f/t, I would get a boa or some other garbage gut herp that can eat med or larger rats. Then you can always feed the ball first, and give the leftovers to the other snake (assuming that the ball is completely healthy - there is always a risk of cross contamination). A trick that BP keepers use is to heat the f/t rodent with a hair dryer - they say it often works. But I had to finally give up - just couldn't stand throwing away so many rats. I now feed live to my BPs, or at least the adult balls, anyway.
Click to expand...

Garbage gut herp :roflmao: Thanks for the tips, Kathy! I'm assuming the hairdryer is to prevent a soggy, wet mouse? Sounds like a bit of a pain, but if it's only for one snake I'll give it a go for a while at least if he's not on a hunger-strike. I know he's hungry, I hope he'll just take it and not be too finicky!


I will try to pester him for a couple pictures in a little while here. I just heard back that he's ~3 years old (from the first owner, not the one I got him from). He seems small to me, in girth at least, compared to other pictures I've seen of BP's, but then again I'm not sure of their growth rates and what not, so he could be just right for his age! I'll put in a dollar bill for size reference, lol. Making a mental note to get to Wal-Mart for a scale by the end of the week.
 
Pictures

For size reference
142woyd.jpg


"What are you dooooing?"
23xw9.jpg


Folds
2emh003.jpg


Thin? He looks thin to me
24v8z79.jpg


Some belly
30vc57r.jpg


This one didn't turn out very well, but he just kind of "squishes" when I pick him up.
2mxhcab.jpg


More folds
235p54.jpg


nl8whz.jpg


25pprp0.jpg
 
Many pythons (including BPs) and some boas have heat sensitive pits on their "lips", somewhat similar to those of rattlesnakes. So a nice, warm mouse may excite them enough to overcome a reluctance to eat f/t. The hairdryer will make it warmer than body temps without making it wet. Don't use a microwave though - it can create hot spots that can burn the snake's mouth.
 
kathylove said:
Many pythons (including BPs) and some boas have heat sensitive pits on their "lips", somewhat similar to those of rattlesnakes. So a nice, warm mouse may excite them enough to overcome a reluctance to eat f/t. The hairdryer will make it warmer than body temps without making it wet. Don't use a microwave though - it can create hot spots that can burn the snake's mouth.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, the heat pits. I was admiring Fidel's today, pretty close up, that is until I realized how close I was and remembered he was hungry. :eats02:

If plain old f/t doesn't work I'll have to try the hair dryer method, along with many other potential alternatives if he decides to be picky.
 
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