its arriving tommarow

[roastedspleen]

my ball python is arriving tommarrow! im so stoked i plan on taking tommarow off to get see my first reptile.
now can anyone tell me what i should do for the first few days to get him tame?
i have read that younger snakes are nippy.
should i leave him alone or try to handle every other day?
also im having trouble getting tin foil so im going to use seran wrap to cover it for now
also i have a UTH and a CHE could i use both? or should i just use one?
one last thing, when should i try feeding?

 

[Jason]

congrats on the new snake!

give him about a week to settle in before handling or attempting to feed. I would try feeding first (He may not eat the first try, don't stress, just give him more alone time and try again a couple days later) , then give him a couple more days to digest before handling. as far as heat goes. you could use either one; the che or uth, but both probably won't be needed unless it's cold where you are. just monitor your temps and adjust as needed.
I wouldn't put saran wrap on top of your tank. If you need something to lock in humidity i'd use a damp towel. whatever you use to cover it make sure there is still good ventilation. Poor ventilation and excessively humid conditions lead to respiratory problems. I'd rather my enclosures be to dry than too humid. I don't even cover my tanks. I use a couple water dishes (one under the heat lamp), eco-earth or another humidity retaining substrate, and frequent misting to keep humidity up.

 

[Strange_Evil]

^x1,for the most part i agree with Jason. Leave him be for about a week, after that try too feed, do not get impatient or worried if he doesn't eat after the first week, just wait and try again in another week. If your feeding F/T make sure you warm the rat up, if its too cold he'll ignore the rodent. Right before you feed dip the rodents head in some more hot water to give him something to aim for.

Never start handling your snake until it's an established eater. Wait for about the first three feedings. Afterwards, you can start to handle, start off first with about 10-15mins, too see how it goes, if he stops eating after this you know. Just give him more time. Ball pythons are very shy snakes, and stress out fairly easily,so don't over do it.

Use either tin foil or towel, the towel method imo is just too much work. Cover your tank with about a 3rd of tin foil to leave room for ventilation. A lot of people are under the impression that just high humidity alone causes RI'S but that's not true , it's high humidity with a bad air flow that will cause it.

Just a tip,try to keep him on rats now, or soon you'll regret it.

Here are a few cool books to check out if you want,
The biology, husbandry, and health care of reptiles Volumes i,ii,iii by Lowell Ackerman DVM

Anything by Roger Conant

The keeper and the kept by: Carl Kauffield

Snake s and snake hunting by Carl Kauffield

The Reproductive Husbandry of Boas and Pythons by Richard A, Ross M.D.,MPH and Gerald Marzec

Anything by Chris Mattison

Anything by Arnold Kluge

Good luck on your new BP, post pictures !

 

[spidersandmonsters]

We don't have any sort of heat or anything on ours, but it also stays hot and humid here. Congrats though! You'll really love him, ball pythons can be pretty shy at first, but they're super easy to handle and care for once they're out of that. Just try to be really relaxed when you start handling him. Getting bitten is no big deal, it happens to everyone and it probably won't even hurt coming from that guy, so don't be afraid of him and he'll relax and probably not bite anyway. But definitely let him get his feeding established first.

 

[Strange_Evil]

We don't have any sort of heat or anything on ours, but it also stays hot and humid here. Congrats though! You'll really love him, ball pythons can be pretty shy at first, but they're super easy to handle and care for once they're out of that. Just try to be really relaxed when you start handling him. Getting bitten is no big deal, it happens to everyone and it probably won't even hurt coming from that guy, so don't be afraid of him and he'll relax and probably not bite anyway. But definitely let him get his feeding established first.

Wow,where do you live,fl? I think you should at least have the heating pad on after your feed to help aid with digestion.

 

[spidersandmonsters]

Alabama haha. It's knocking on 90 here right now. The dude we bought him from has been breeding them forever and never used a heat source, and he told us that they like it that way and would freak out if they were put on a heat source. Of course, this last part was taken with a grain of salt, but he's a very healthy sub-adult and has never had an issue with the breeder. When it gets really cold we will use a CHE, but that isn't very often at all.It definitely makes for a good tarantula keeping environment.

 

[Strange_Evil]

Ohh,Sounds good. I do know a few breeders who just heat the room instead of hundreds of snake racks, so it works. But a heat source won't stress them lol, mines will often move everything out of the way in order to get closer to the uth. Normal behavior.

 

[Dirtydmc]

Ball pythons are a snake. Your gonna get bit eventually. I wouldn't worry about letting him be. Handle him. Get him used to you. Just make sure to support his body so he feels secure. Don't put your hand in his face. Don't be fast moving. Just be deliberate and calm. As far as feeding goes, try it. Never in his home though. Where he eats his his hunting ground and everything there is fare game. Cardboard box works great. He might not eat for awhile. But a few weeks without eating is nothing for them. Try once a week. He will eventually scarf one down.

 

[roastedspleen]

it came this morning he/she is very shy. i got a few pics but dont know how to upload them to the stupid computer im using as it wont take the SD card

 

[Strange_Evil]

Congrats, pics would be cool.

Ball pythons, are very shy and do not do we'll with constant and constant handling, leave him be for a while, you start handling now, you'll stress him out and in return when your snake does not eat for months you'll be stressed.

 

[Dirtydmc]

Congrats, pics would be cool.

Ball pythons, are very shy and do not do we'll with constant and constant handling, leave him be for a while, you start handling now, you'll stress him out and in return when your snake does not eat for months you'll be stressed.

I've had two. Handled both of them as soon as I got them. They had no issues. They ate within the first week as well. Strange.

 

[Strange_Evil]

We'll that was your snake and only two, so if your two we're aggressive does it mean all BP's are aggressive? That was your choice to risk that, i'm trying to help him keep his snakes on track, why give advise that may very we'll end up stressing his snake out? It's better to be safe then sorry. Doing things the right way.

where are they now and how old we're they when you got them?

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Just like everything else they're all different, they all have their own personalities and quirks, it just takes time to find out what those are. Some are more nippy than others and calm down in time while others don't and just don't like being handled but will tolerate it.

Depending on where you live and what temps you keep your house at you may or may not need heat. If you use a UTH make sure its on a thermostat since they can and will move the substrate to get closer to the heat when they need to.

Triggers use to try and get a piece of me every chance he got, from the day I got him till the day he died,.. and I have a juvi now that's the same way. While some are a little more iffy and others I can do what ever with and not worry about them striking.

That same juvi (no name yet) stresses easily,.. he didn't eat for almost 4mths when I got him as a hatchling. He came with three others all from the same breeder and they took right to it. For him to feel comfortable and eat (hopefully just for now) there can't be any others around him. No heat signatures what so ever,. so his tub is blocked off on three sides and he has his own shelf.

They're all different,.. it just takes time to figure it out but eventually you will.

 

[james.w]

As far as feeding goes, try it. Never in his home though. Where he eats his his hunting ground and everything there is fare game.

This is very subjective as well, I have always fed my snakes in the enclosure and have no problems.

 

[roastedspleen]

mmm i had to take him down and handle him a tiny bit this morning cuz he was climbing on the suctions for the probes on the thermometer. didnt wanna risk it falling

 

[Strange_Evil]

He'll climb, searching for a way out, i hope you have locks on your lid because he can and will escape given the chance. Got pics of your cage as we'll?

 

[roastedspleen]

he cant escape the top is to heavy
and again i have pics on an SD card but brother is using it

 

[jdpFL]

You'd be surprised what strength they have for escaping! I have six. Locking lids or clips on all tanks.

 

[Strange_Evil]

he cant escape the top is to heavy

That's what i thought at first. Your choice.

 

[jdpFL]

Oh, and just personal experience, I have handled all of mine, but minimally, not just fooling with them for the fun of it. They're all excellent eaters, and as I matter of fact I never believed or saw a BP that would refuse to eat. UNTIL we got the two sickly ones. They have terrible eye caps and are stressed and we could only get one of them to eat. So yes, it does happen! And it is a scary thing.