I said I didn't want a Ball python

[BeckyG]

Now I have two. I got this one last week from a co-worker. He'd moved and his new landlord doesn't allow pets, not even snakes. So I said I'd take Slider in for him. The guy I got him from doesn't know how old he is, nor does he remember precisely when he got him. He said, "It was right before them four hurricanes hit Florida". I'm guessing Slider is 1 1/2 to 2 years old. He is approximately 31 inches long. We don't know what gender he is, either, but we're calling him a he until we find out. He was being fed two to three live mice at a time. I asked Rob how often he fed Slider, and he said whenever he had enough money to buy mice. Rob couldn't remember precisely when he'd fed Slider last. He said it was a couple of weeks ago. I plan on switching him to f/t rats, if I can.

He also said he'd shed not too long ago, and it must not have been a very good one because I've been finding bits of skin all throughout his tank. Rob gave me the setup too. He is in a 20L with some kind of dark colored bark for substrate. I plan on switching him to aspen. He has a UTH under one side, but only had an analog thermometer stuck to the glass at the top of the tank. I already got digital one, and found the temp in his hide to be 102'. I also bought a lamp dimmer to get the temp down. As for hides, he only had one on the warm side. I put a second one in there on the cool side the day I got him, and now Slider mostly stays in that one. I felt so sorry for the snake, not being able to feel safe while cooling down.

All he has for a cover is an aquarium hood with a big piece of wood on top. I was going to go to the nearest pet store today and get a cover and some aspen, and also try to figure out what size rats to get, but we're in the midst of an ice storm, so it'll have to wait. He is nice and fat, so I'm not worried about him going without food. I just hope by the time I can get him something to eat, he'll be hungry enough to switch to f/t rats with no problem.

Well, enough chatter. Here he is:

 

[bballmatt100]

Thats a great looking bp, I have a few myself. With his (her) next shed when you start to notice the sighns of shedding mist the cage maybe once or twice a day tell the acuall shed. You will be amazed at the effects! Anyway its a great looking ball and im happy hes in better hands! Congrats

 

[BeckyG]

Thats a great looking bp, I have a few myself. With his (her) next shed when you start to notice the sighns of shedding mist the cage maybe once or twice a day tell the acuall shed. You will be amazed at the effects! Anyway its a great looking ball and im happy hes in better hands! Congrats

Thanks for the suggestion. I mist my colubrids, but usually use a humid hide with my son's BP and it works well, so I'll go with that for this one, too. He is a nice looking ball, considering the care he's been through. He seems a bit on the small side, though. I've heard other people talking about their BPs being 3 ft at one year, but we've only just gotten into keeping them, I don't really know.

My son suggested we offer to give the snake back if Rob ever moves again, but I said he's better off with us, cause we got sense.

One more question--can you give me an idea from the pictures about what size rats I need to be looking for?

 

[bballmatt100]

Hmmm. Looks like h might be able to handle small maybe smallish medium rats.. I really dont know sorry i couldn't have been more help.

 

[BeckyG]

Ok, thanks. And you were a help, because you responded. That's more than everyone else did.

 

[kimbyra]

Howdy Becky!
That is a beautiful bp. I'm glad he found a much better home. I would feed him a couple of smaller sized rats instead of a larger size, until you get a sense of what he needs, and because of his former treatment. He probably is so small because the guy hasn't been fedding him often, or maybe that and he is pretty young. I'm sure you'll work everything out. :cheers:
BTW, what part of Mississippi are you from? (If you don't mind me asking.) I've lived in Hattiesburg (college days), Pascagoula (high school), and Gautier.

 

[CaptBogart]

That's how I pretty much got my BP, only this one looks waaaaay better than the one I rescued which also had a bad RI. He looks nice and fat with clear eyes from what I can tell from the pics, so not much to worry about there. I would soak him in some warm water to loosen some of the old shed and also to check for mites. I started mine on a small pre-killed just to see the size of the lump and was glad I bought two small and a medium. He took the second small and I froze the medium for the next time since he handled the two small ones well. Good luck..

 

[CaptBogart]

Oh yeah, if the small rat didn't make a noticable lump I would have given her the medium too... I also gave her to a friend before moving down here, and last I heard, she is producing some awesome babies for him....

 

[bballmatt100]

Looks like i was right on the rat size after all. Glad i could help

 

[2i2_D3gr33s]

Congrats on the new BP!!!! I just picked up one myself about two weeks ago. Might as well post a couple pics!!! lol.

 

[BabyMowgli]

Yeah for BPs! I have now too. It was a rescue situation and he is in good hands now! He is a little skinny and has some scars from mice, but ate his first f/t with me tonight! So I think we are on the right track! He is as sweet as can be! I'll post pics when I have a minute.

You guys have beautiful snakes by the way!

 

[BeckyG]

Howdy Becky!
That is a beautiful bp. I'm glad he found a much better home. I would feed him a couple of smaller sized rats instead of a larger size, until you get a sense of what he needs, and because of his former treatment. He probably is so small because the guy hasn't been fedding him often, or maybe that and he is pretty young. I'm sure you'll work everything out. :cheers:
BTW, what part of Mississippi are you from? (If you don't mind me asking.) I've lived in Hattiesburg (college days), Pascagoula (high school), and Gautier.

Thank you. That is a good idea. I will feed him smaller rats and work up to the bigger ones. He'd been being fed adult mice, so a full size meal might just be too much for him.

I am currently living in Grenada MS, but I was born in Texas. I'm a bit farther north than the towns you mentioned--almost to Memphis, TN.

 

[BeckyG]

That's how I pretty much got my BP, only this one looks waaaaay better than the one I rescued which also had a bad RI. He looks nice and fat with clear eyes from what I can tell from the pics, so not much to worry about there. I would soak him in some warm water to loosen some of the old shed and also to check for mites. I started mine on a small pre-killed just to see the size of the lump and was glad I bought two small and a medium. He took the second small and I froze the medium for the next time since he handled the two small ones well. Good luck..

I've checked him pretty well for retained shed, but haven't found any. I have found several bits of skin in his tank, though, so I'll keep close eye on him for next time. I've also checked him carefully for mites and signs of RI. So far, so good.

2i2_D3gr33s, your BP is gorgeous, too. So is Mouse.

Thank you for all the replies, and I apologize if I sounded a bit impatient earlier. I was wanting to go to the pet store and see if I could get him a rat to eat, but it's a moot point now, anyway. We had an ice storm blow through this past weekend and I didn't want to risk driving on the roads.

Since we're posting pics, here is my son's BP, Monty.

 

[kimbyra]

Howdy Becky!
I think I've been through Grenada before. It's pretty and green there. I live north of Austin, Texas now. It's funny that there seem to be a lot of people here from Mississippi, and some who have lived here and have moved out there. I hope Katrina didn't spawn off too many tornadoes up there. Hattiesburg got hit hard I hear. Cheers!