I need as much advise as I can get...

Subject: I need as much advise as I can get... Sun May 11, 2008 8:07 pm

My teenage son moved in with me and begged and begged for ball pythons. He claimed he knew all about them and I would love them. I bought him 2 baby ones (they are about a foot long) and then later he got 2 large ones (one is 2 years old and one is 3 years old). Well I have been handling them and quite honestly being the one to feed the babies regularly. Well this is where I need advise. My son decided to move back to his dads house and left 2 of the snakes here. I kinda like them and do not wish to part with them at this point. I dont have any experience at all and I want to do the best for them. The pet stores all have different ideas and do not sound like they know much at all really. So, I have one baby (sex unsure of) and I handle her without a problem and I feed her one live baby mouse a week. She eats great. I put her in her feeding box with a mouse already in there and she snags it before I know what is going on!! I then let her sit for a bit after she eats it and put her straight in her tank. She is in a 20 gal tank. She has shed pretty regulary and usually all in one piece. I have a tupperware bowl with lid attached and a whole cut and edges protected in her tank. I usually keep a bit of water in the bottom and place this directly under her tank heater and she loves it in there. I also have a good size water dish in there for her. She seems happy. Right? I handle her often too. I have no fear of her. She is a little shy and coils into a ball but then I talk to her and she relaxes and checks me out. Her name is Shylo.
Now the other one he left is the 2 year old one (sex unknown). He is about 2 1/2 feet long and solid. He is actually beautiful. He was in a maybe 60 gal tank but I have since put him in a like 30 gal now. His name is Squirrel. I do not think I am intimidated by him, I do handle him often. I just dont see that he is as active as Shylo and I cannot get him to eat. I offer him a small mouse every week and he is NOT interested at all. I have tried rats as well. He has no interest. He is not thin, his skin does not hang on him and he has shed twice in the 4-5 months I have had him and has NEVER eated for me. He does not shed whole. I hear that it is ok for him not to eat in the colder times of the year, but 4 months? I just worry that I am doing something wrong. It would kill me if I hurt him due to ignorance. Soooo....any advise would be deeply appreciated.
Also, everyone says you should not house your snakes together, but my son had both big snakes in one tank and both little snakes in another. Now I am left with one big snake and one little - can they be housed together or not? I would like to put them both in the 60 gal tank together instead of having 2 snake tanks. I dont have to, just want to if they wont hurt each other. They both used to have another snake with them and now are both alone with nobody to coil up with like they used to.
Thanks in advance for all advice I can get!!

Joined : 16 Mar 2008 Posts : 13 Location : Nottingham, UK

Hello there.

I am going to post a link for you of I forum that I am on. It is UK based but it has lots of information about Royal (Ball) Pythons.

I find the people on here really useful.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/

Hope that helps

Suz
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Suz

Pets:-

Royal (Ball) Python - Cassie
Sheltie - Buddy
Sheltie - Sparky
Westie - Snowy

Subject: To answer your questions Tue May 13, 2008 10:03 am

Hello Swikes38, welcome to the forum.

Your major question is about Squirrel and his not eating. A Ball Python can go for a long time without eating and not have any problems. I have a male who is going on 10 months right now and still looks as healthy as the day I got him. Don't get me wrong they should eat and on a regular schedule.

You may want to try a pre-killed prey item. Some breeders start their animals this way and this is the only way the snake knows how to eat. A good and quick way to kill a rodent is to hit it on the head with a hammer. Then hold it by the tail and dangle it in front of Squirrel.

As for housing the two together you will not have a problem. I have two females and one male housed together right now and they are only about a year old. When you place them together keep an eye on them all day to watch for a change in behavior. I would be willing to bet that they will enjoy the company and curl up together.

If you have any other questions please feel free to post the here as a new topic.

Eric Rovegno
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www.ballpythonplanet.com
Pueblo, CO

Subject: Re: I need as much advise as I can get... Tue May 13, 2008 4:05 pm

Nice responses!! I am glad to find such helpful people because I really want to do right by these lil fellas. I really believe in pet responsibility and not giving up due to circumstances - they deserve it. So the help is very much appreciated. Thank you.

I am going to go ahead and put Squirrel and Shylo together in a few minutes and watch them for the evening and see how it goes. I will let you know.

As for prekilled prey,,,that might take me a couple tries...yow!! I have tried frozen and he is not interested. I have tried dangling a live one in front of him so it cant run (probably not smart as I did it with my fingers but sheesh I was desperate!). I will work on the prekilled and let you know.

Thanks so much and I will keep you posted.
I will also check out the other forum recommended...thanks so much!!