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Concerning Ball Pythons

tinybubbles

tinybubbles

New member
I've been thinking about getting a ball python for a while now (going on a couple years actually) What I really want is a piebald, I'm willing to save up for one, I realize they're quite expensive, but I just love them so much. Before I shell out the big bucks though I want to get a cheaper morph, or even just a normal to see if I really like the balls temperament enough to spend so much money.

There just seem to be so many stories of balls that are bad eaters or regurgitate. This keeps scaring me away from them.

Opinions?
 
Out of the 7 ball pythons my fiance and I have we have one finnicky feeder. We have also actually switched all of them over to frozen/thawed in the last year and most of them are taking rats now as well. I've personally never had any of mine regurgitate either. I think you will love them. They are so docile and are very handleable. If you want a piebald, save your money and buy it from a reputable breeder. :)
 
I have had Ball Pythons for around 7 years now, and I have never had a regurge. So I can't chime in on any of that kind of experience.

As for Bad eaters, I have had a few that are picky eaters. Those are normally my WC.. And with WC I have had amazing results with feeding Gerbils.

With CBB babies I have got, whether they are morphs or normals, I have had some that can be kinda picky. Some want mice rather than rats. I just work with them. Feed them once a week. If they refuse one week.. No biggie, try them either in a few days or in week. Give them what they prefer, then around 500+ grams I switch them totally onto Rats. With some time and effort most of mine are solid eaters, waiting for food once a week.

-Ashley (This is Andrew's wife, he didn't really know how to answer this question.(You know he is more into the Giants). So I jumped in.)
 
Mom's boyfriend added ball pythons to our house a few months ago. The first one, a little male eats fine, sheds fine, and has never been a problem. The bigger female held off eating up until like 2 weeks ago (However, this can be attributed to many things- cohabbing, mites, temps being off--- NOT my snakes, please don't flame me. I'm working on getting the cohabbing issues dealt with, and they are going through mite treatment now!)
 
tinybubbles said:
Thank you very much Ashley!

Just one thing; what are WCs and CBBs?
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WC - Wild Caught

CBB - Captive Born - Bred

But watch out.. don't be fooled by CB and CBB. There is a difference.

CB - Captive Born
These animals are also known as CH. (Captive Hatched) These animals are from farms in Africa, or they are babies that are hatched out from imported gravid females.
 
Ditto... we have four BP's at this point and only one was ever a finnicky feeder. We moved her into an animal plastics 2' x 2' cage, and she hasn't skipped a meal since, and her sheds have improved dramatically. I'd say if you're nervous about a BP, simply take the time to make sure that EVERY aspect of their care will be ideal... if one little thing is off, they may go off food. You have to watch for humidity, proper heat (they like things way warmer than corns, for instance) and adequate food size (slightly larger than what corns prefer when compared to the snake size-- they also like it hotter) I am only generalizing from my experience with ours, of course. They are quite enjoyable as pets, though, if you can meet their needs.
 
Thank you everyone for all your help, I have about a month until the exotics expo in Oregon, if I get one it would probably be there.

Another question; when you buy from expos how do you know if they are reputable breeders or not? Is there anything to look for?
 
tinybubbles said:
Thank you everyone for all your help, I have about a month until the exotics expo in Oregon, if I get one it would probably be there.

Another question; when you buy from expos how do you know if they are reputable breeders or not? Is there anything to look for?
Click to expand...

Most shows have a list of vendors posted on their site.
Talk to friends/ other people to get their experiences with different breeders, that they have gone through.
Look around on forums.. look for bad/good guy threads.

I know many people look on the BOI on Fauna..
 
Woops another thing when looking around at shows or online for animals.

Don't go after the first Amazing deal you see. Yeah its awesome to save money, but in most cases you get what you pay for.

Get something that you are happy with, take some time and shop around if you don't find something right away, just keep looking.

-Ashley
 
my bp never skips a meal, although she is a live eater, won't take f/t but then i never really pushed it. she is sweet and has never stricken at me or any of my friends, a real sweetheart.
 
tinybubbles said:
I'm probably going to cave some time this year haha. What do you do with your finniky one?
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She is a little more insecure while she eats, so we feed her and don 't bug her for a few hours. It also helps because we feed her in her house on newspaper. I think between feeding her in her home and not bugging her it has made a huge difference in the way she eats. Also I feed Frozen Thawed so there is no risk of her getting injured.
 
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