Do you have a snake at home?

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CruisnGrrl said:
For feeding I recommend using heavy leather gloves to handle your snake. Your hands are the size of a large rat and when wearing a long shirt or a sweater it could trigger a feeding response. This will hurt you and possibly the snake (they may leave teeth embedded in your skin) with a larger snake a trip to the hospital would be required. When handling my burmese python I use welding gloves.
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I never had a problem with Aspen. I have a humidity meter in the tank it's it always in the green. I also a sealed top that I open once in a while. I also have a space heater in the same room set to 72 degrees.

The way I feed my snake is with a pair of plastic tongs or large tweezers. That way to don't distract the snake too much.

Also, don't bring your wife/GF to the reptile store. Because she will see the "pet" bunnies and think they are cute until someone tells her why there's bunnies in a reptile store (don't ask how I know).

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hello google these guys for some good info. on what you need to know. look at there care sheets. Also as for vets if you need one

Markus Jayne ballpython.ca Corey Woods coreywoods.com Ralph Davis ralphdavisreptiles.com
NERD newenglandreptile.com
Greg Graziani grazianireptiles.com

vets
Guelph animal hospital guelphvet.com
Burloak anaimal clnic vetpet.com

this should help it is where i got most of my info when i started to breed ballpythons
 
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Impy said:
hello google these guys for some good info. on what you need to know. look at there care sheets. Also as for vets if you need one

Markus Jayne ballpython.ca Corey Woods coreywoods.com Ralph Davis ralphdavisreptiles.com
NERD newenglandreptile.com
Greg Graziani grazianireptiles.com

vets
Guelph animal hospital guelphvet.com
Burloak anaimal clnic vetpet.com

this should help it is where i got most of my info when i started to breed ballpythons
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Thank you! Great info!
 
Splash said:
I never had a problem with Aspen. I have a humidity meter in the tank it's it always in the green. I also a sealed top that I open once in a while. I also have a space heater in the same room set to 72 degrees.

The way I feed my snake is with a pair of plastic tongs or large tweezers. That way to don't distract the snake too much.

Also, don't bring your wife/GF to the reptile store. Because she will see the "pet" bunnies and think they are cute until someone tells her why there's bunnies in a reptile store (don't ask how I know).
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I used the tweezers and they seem to work fine.

How can I increase the humidity? The top of the tank is a mesh...
 
My former roomie had a ball python. she walks around the house with it wrapped around her. Even brought it to work for some coworkers to see it. Very social if they are trained that way. I was told she learned she was supposed to handle them a lot. But yes moisture is a big thing, they need the humidity.
 
A.K. said:
Thank you for all your replies.

Some of the "wise" comments cracked me up! :-)
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I have a mice in my house, can I borrow your snake?
 
Cat13 said:
My former roomie had a ball python. she walks around the house with it wrapped around her. Even brought it to work for some coworkers to see it. Very social if they are trained that way. I was told she learned she was supposed to handle them a lot. But yes moisture is a big thing, they need the humidity.
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I bet ours will get a lot of exercise with us.

Just bought a humidity gauge...
 
I had a lizard and it never bit me until I wore a bright green nail polish. It thought my finger nails were food. Not sure if snakes do that but something to keep in mind if you have any ladies putting their hand in the tank.
 
rafiki911 said:
I had a lizard and it never bit me until I wore a bright green nail polish. It thought my finger nails were food. Not sure if snakes do that but something to keep in mind if you have any ladies putting their hand in the tank.
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I promise I won't wear green nail polish! :-)
 
Just a heads up about Ball pythons specifically. They're picky eaters and they're proned to skipping meals. So if you're snake doesn't eat then skip a meal before trying again. Trying everyday to get it to eat will stress it out. Believe me when I say after missing a meal, it'll be good and ready to chow down. Also keep the tank well humidified. Too much dry air can lead to a bad shed.
 
ABadjusterrider_5 said:
Just a heads up about Ball pythons specifically. They're picky eaters and they're proned to skipping meals. So if you're snake doesn't eat then skip a meal before trying again. Trying everyday to get it to eat will stress it out. Believe me when I say after missing a meal, it'll be good and ready to chow down. Also keep the tank well humidified. Too much dry air can lead to a bad shed.
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Thanks for the info!

I bought a humidity gauge yesterday and it says 11%, where it should be 60-70%. I already solved the heating problem (it was too cool even with the heating pad), now I am going to work on the humidity issue. Meanwhile I have a spray bottle to increase the humidity at least twice a day.

Do they need a permanent 60-70% humidity or is it OK to bring it up to that level twice a day?

If they need a permanent 60-70% would it increase the chance of developing mold?
 
ABadjusterrider_5 said:
Just a heads up about Ball pythons specifically. They're picky eaters and they're proned to skipping meals. So if you're snake doesn't eat then skip a meal before trying again. Trying everyday to get it to eat will stress it out. Believe me when I say after missing a meal, it'll be good and ready to chow down. Also keep the tank well humidified. Too much dry air can lead to a bad shed.
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As said above, don't worry if your ball misses a meal. Pythons can go months sometimes without eating. I have had mine now for a few years. I got her when she was a baby and she is now 4 feet long. Just be sure to switch her to rats when she is big enough for small ones. Some people have better success feeding in another area but also as others have said, I too feed mine in her tank. I have always stuck with frozen rats so far, but it can sometimes be a little bit of a challenge. Feeding live rats can be dangerous if you leave them together for any amount of time as the rat may injure the snake, and it can also make the snake a little more agressive. The rat should be 1-1 1/2 times the size of the largest part of the body. It my look like it is having trouble getting it down but that is normal, it usally takes approx 15 mins or so to finish. Their jaws unlock and they are capable of swallowing more then you would think. I have seen pythons swallow some pretty big prey before. The biggest challege is to keep the right temp and humidity for proper shedding and appetite.
 
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DVS Bullet said:
As said above, don't worry if your ball misses a meal. Pythons can go months sometimes without eating. I have had mine now for a few years. I got her when she was a baby and she is now 4 feet long. Just be sure to switch her to rats when she is big enough for small ones. Some people have better success feeding in another area but also as others have said, I too feed mine in her tank. I have always stuck with frozen rats so far, but it can sometimes be a little bit of a challenge. Feeding live rats can be dangerous if you leave them together for any amount of time as the rat may injure the snake, and it can also make the snake a little more agressive. The rat should be 1-1 1/2 times the size of the largest part of the body. It my look like it is having trouble getting it down but that is normal, it usally takes approx 15 mins or so to finish. Their jaws unlock and they are capable of swallowing more then you would think. I have seen pythons swallow some pretty big prey before. The biggest challege is to keep the right temp and humidity for proper shedding and appetite.
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Thank you for the info!

Today we bought an automatic mister, but it is very noisy and it doesn't produce the mist quality I was looking for, so tomorrow it goes back to the pet store. We'll try to put a wet towel on top, also, I got an advise to put moss in the tank to increase the humidity. Sooner or later I'll have it all figured out.

By the way it is very good to see that I'm not the only nut who likes snakes. :-)
 
A.K. said:
I used the tweezers and they seem to work fine.

How can I increase the humidity? The top of the tank is a mesh...
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One of my snakes is a ball python and they don't need a high humidity environment. Keep a container of water in there that is big enough for the snake to fit in. They will use that for their " humidity control", especially when they are ready to shed.
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