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My first ball python

NH93 said:
Everyone messes up a bit at times :)

Firstly, do not refreeze a thawed rat and try to feed it again! You know how when you thaw chicken to eat, and then if it sits out for 5 hours you can't rethaw it and hope it'll be good the next time you thaw it? Same thing with snake food. If they refuse it and it sits out, just throw it out. Not worth getting your snake potentially ill the next feeding, you know?

If you have a thermostat with UTH (set around 90F), that should be enough to not only have a hot spot, but warm the entire tub to where it should sit around 80F, I would think. I'm not sure if UTHs are ok on plastic tubs, though... Sorry I can't remember what source of heat you are using for your BP. But you do not want to get too high of a wattage bulb that may heat up the tub TOO much.

I don't have any experience with tubs, I just use glass tanks, so I'm not much help there!
Click to expand...

Well seems like I dodged a bullet right there with the refrozen mice thank god he didn't ate it :D Can't really say I haven't eaten meals that have been reheated more than once though, chicken might be involved LOL

Sadly, the UTH doesn't warm up the air just the bottom part of the tub/glass tank. I'd guess that maybe with higher temps it could? But then I'd be risking my ball :/ I think the oil heater is doing wonders now. My room is at 80F but my humidity took a bit of a hit and it's now at 45%. Hopefully the temp will get higher soon. The only real problem would be if my power goes out. I don't have a standby generator and no UPS gonna hold on my 1500 W olive heater.
 
I personally think your snake be just fine, from what you've said. If you think the humidity is low, get a water spray bottle from a dollar store and spritz the tub once or twice daily (like the sides of the tub) and it will go up in no time! :)

I can't believe you can stand an 80F room though... good on you.
And depending on the size of the UTH, some will actually just heat up smaller enclosures simply because of the way the heat escapes into the air, if that makes sense, especially when a lid is on. Do you have a temp gun, or how are you reading the inside of the tub? I agree with you that you shouldn't up the UTH :)
 
I think I've been living on 85-95F temperatures all my life and I actually get a little bit chilly below 70F and have to use a sweater or at least long sleeves shirts, so 80-82F is perfect for me.
 
So just an update, my ball python still doesn't eat :( I offered him a rat pup and nothing. Maybe next week he'll eat :( but he's getting quite thin... and he has drop weight considerably.
 
YES HE ATE! :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

But a live one... now here's hopping no regurges please!
 
Glad to hear he ate! Though I can't imagine he got thin that fast. If he did in fact get thin that quickly, he may have a health issue you need to look into. He doesnt seem to be a baby from your photos, so a few skipped meals shouldnt have a negative impact like that. My ball python used to go without food for 6 months + and not lose weight. Once I got his cage set up differently the longest he has gone without eating is about 2-3 months. Each one is an individual.

Also, a hopper is a very tiny meal for him. Most ball pythons hatch eating larger meals.
 
AliCat37 said:
Glad to hear he ate! Though I can't imagine he got thin that fast. If he did in fact get thin that quickly, he may have a health issue you need to look into. He doesnt seem to be a baby from your photos, so a few skipped meals shouldnt have a negative impact like that. My ball python used to go without food for 6 months + and not lose weight. Once I got his cage set up differently the longest he has gone without eating is about 2-3 months. Each one is an individual.

Also, a hopper is a very tiny meal for him. Most ball pythons hatch eating larger meals.
Click to expand...

I don't know I think my scale is weird. It wasn't going above 85 grams yesterday BUT last week he was on 133 grams (he gained weight since he first got here?).

Tested the scale with my phone and its off by 4 grams and now I'm wondering if my corn snake is really 11 grams after all those meals...
 
m1n054 said:
I don't know I think my scale is weird. It wasn't going above 85 grams yesterday BUT last week he was on 133 grams (he gained weight since he first got here?).

Tested the scale with my phone and its off by 4 grams and now I'm wondering if my corn snake is really 11 grams after all those meals...
Click to expand...

I'm going to guess your scale is wrong. To save you some stress and extra money that you would otherwise spend on frozen mice/rats, heaters, and humidifiers, just order a 15 or $20 scale off amazon! :) Get an accurate weight on your python and I'm sure you'll feel a lot better.

I highly highly doubt he actually went from 80-ish grams to over 100 grams (or vice versa) in the time you've had him. Like others have mentioned, it takes a long long time for ball pythons to lose weight.

Ball pythons are very sedative snakes, meaning they just sorta sit still and hide most of the time so they don't really burn very many calories. They are also heavy bodied snakes so they store up a lot of energy and can go a long time without food! So try not to worry so much :)

I remember when I first got my rosy boa how worried I was when he didn't eat all the time. I use to get so panicked about it, but now I'm use to his little hunger strikes and don't worry so much. My rosy boa is much smaller than a ball python but he hasn't eaten in over 2 months and he is still doing just fine! Sometimes snakes just don't like to eat as much in the winter.

Good luck with your python!
 
xStaticSnow said:
I'm going to guess your scale is wrong. To save you some stress and extra money that you would otherwise spend on frozen mice/rats, heaters, and humidifiers, just order a 15 or $20 scale off amazon! :) Get an accurate weight on your python and I'm sure you'll feel a lot better.

I highly highly doubt he actually went from 80-ish grams to over 100 grams (or vice versa) in the time you've had him. Like others have mentioned, it takes a long long time for ball pythons to lose weight.

Ball pythons are very sedative snakes, meaning they just sorta sit still and hide most of the time so they don't really burn very many calories. They are also heavy bodied snakes so they store up a lot of energy and can go a long time without food! So try not to worry so much :)

I remember when I first got my rosy boa how worried I was when he didn't eat all the time. I use to get so panicked about it, but now I'm use to his little hunger strikes and don't worry so much. My rosy boa is much smaller than a ball python but he hasn't eaten in over 2 months and he is still doing just fine! Sometimes snakes just don't like to eat as much in the winter.

Good luck with your python!
Click to expand...

I think I just didn't use the scale right or something here's the ball python being weigh again.

http://imgur.com/K9xU5nG

I took him outside yesterday to check on poop, water, etc (3 days after feeding).

http://imgur.com/8KSZNv8
http://imgur.com/RXTD2kY
 
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