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BOTL UPCOMING MAINTENANCE
Hi Everyone, as mentioned in my introduction post, BOTL needs quite a bit of updating, patching and whatever else I might come across. Over time BOTL may be unreachable on occasion as I do migrations or updates, etc. Just be patient - we'll be back! I'll generally try to keep these maintenances until later in the evenings.
Anybody have a Snake????
- Thread starter tobby4
- Start date
AZsteelman
April 2006 BoM
Yeah, but...never mind...
AZsteelman
April 2006 BoM
so???
Never ask about another man's snake.
I can rent a snake at the local Home Depot for $55 bucks, in order to clean out my girlfriends clogged sewer line.
Then I found some plumbers in the yellow pages that only charge $55 bucks to do it for me.
It feels a bit wrong to hire some one to do for me what I can do for myself, but then I remember that I always throw up if I have to snake a line...
Ohhhh.........different kind of snake. Sorry.....
Then I found some plumbers in the yellow pages that only charge $55 bucks to do it for me.
It feels a bit wrong to hire some one to do for me what I can do for myself, but then I remember that I always throw up if I have to snake a line...
Ohhhh.........different kind of snake. Sorry.....
smokinafuente
This space for rent.
If this is your first snake, I would not suggest a Ball. Instead, I would go with one of the hundreds of different Corn or King snakes. Here is a brief overview of the Ball (Python regius) that I did for ReptileAdvice.com , a reptile site that I moderate at. Sadly, the admen over there could not care less about reptiles. And the site is dying a slow death. But as long as it's there, I will be too. There main focus is fish and they have a very successful site called AquariumAdvice.com . We have keep salt and fresh water tanks for many years and my wife is a moderator on that site. In other words, if it has scales, we can help. LOL We also have over 40 Poison Dart Frogs, so we can help out there too.
Ball Python (Python regius)
Over View:
Ball pythons (Python regius) are so named because when threatened they roll themselves into a tight ball, tucking their head inside their coils. In Europe they are usually called Royal Pythons. Growing to an average size of 3 to 5 feet, all though 6+ feet is not unheard of. In the wild they are found around the forest edges and savannas of Central and Western Africa. During the day, they spend most of their time hiding in rodent burrows or termite mounds. There nights are spent hunting small rodents.
Choosing A Ball:
Ball pythons are notorious for refusing to feed, but this is a much larger problem with wild caught specimens. Wild caught Balls tend to be very stressed from capture and transport and often have a very large parasite load. Captive bred snakes can be more expensive and harder to find, but they are worth the extra cost and effort. Choose a snake that has a well rounded body, clean eyes and vent, and that shows no signs of respiratory problems (wheezing, bubbles around nostrils) or odd body positions (holding its head straight up, called stargazing). It's eyes should look "full", this is a good indication that the snake is well hydrated. If the eyes are dented or sunken then it is more than likely dehydrated. Look for one that is alert and curious and gently grips your hand/arms when handled, they may be skittish but should calm down after being handled for a bit. It's not a bad idea to ask to see a feeding schedule or to get a guaranty that the snake will eat. I also find that a "nippy" youngster tend to be better eaters.
Cage Setup:
Size- If you start off with a baby Ball, you should start off with a small enclosure. A 10 gallon tank works well. Balls, like most snakes, like to feel secure and stay hidden. Young Balls are about 15" when they hatch and should be expected to grow about a foot a year during the first three years. The cage and hide spots should be size appropriate and grow with the snake. You will need at least a 30 gallon tank (preferably 55 gallon) for an adult Ball. If you are building a custom setup a good size would be 3' long by 2' wide and 2' high.
Hide Spots- A hide spots should be placed on both the hot side and the cool side of the setup and can be any thing from a simple butter tub to an elaborate rock cave. No mater what you use, make sure that it is safe for your snake. There should be no sharp edges on anything, and I would suggest the you use "man made caves" instead of real rocks witch can be knocked over and injure the snake.
Substrate- First off NEVER use cedar shavings. Cedar has oils in it that are toxic to reptiles and cause respiratory infections. I go as far as never feeding rodents that were raised with cedar for a substrate (it's bad for the rodents too) . Newspaper works well and it's cheap. Aspen or reptile bark make a nice choice for a naturel looking setting and would let the snake burrow adding a better sense of security and can be spot cleaned. Due to a chance of impactions, you should move your snake to another cage with no substrate for feeding.
Heat & Humidity- You should always provide a heat gradient by using an incandescent light and/or heating pad on one side of the cage. If you use both, make sure they're on the same side of the cage. NEVER let your Ball touch the heat source and DO NOT use heat rocks. These can produce hot spots and can cause severe burns. During the daytime, temps on the hot side should be about 90-95° F with 80-85° F on the cool side. Temps can drop around 10-15° F at night. However, the temp in the cage should never drop lower than 73-75° F. Humidity should be at approximately 60-65%.
Water- Water should be available to your ball at all times. The bowl should be big enough for the snake to curl up in touching all sides. Only fill the bowl about half full so it doesn't overflow when the snake soaks in it. A good bowl should on the heavier side, with the base as wide or wider than the top so that it's harder to tip over.
Food- Young Balls are normally feed small adult mice or pinkys/fuzzy rat pups every 7 to 10 days. It is better to feed two smaller food items than one large item. Adults generally will eat one or two small to medium rats about ever two weeks.
Ball Python (Python regius)
Over View:
Ball pythons (Python regius) are so named because when threatened they roll themselves into a tight ball, tucking their head inside their coils. In Europe they are usually called Royal Pythons. Growing to an average size of 3 to 5 feet, all though 6+ feet is not unheard of. In the wild they are found around the forest edges and savannas of Central and Western Africa. During the day, they spend most of their time hiding in rodent burrows or termite mounds. There nights are spent hunting small rodents.
Choosing A Ball:
Ball pythons are notorious for refusing to feed, but this is a much larger problem with wild caught specimens. Wild caught Balls tend to be very stressed from capture and transport and often have a very large parasite load. Captive bred snakes can be more expensive and harder to find, but they are worth the extra cost and effort. Choose a snake that has a well rounded body, clean eyes and vent, and that shows no signs of respiratory problems (wheezing, bubbles around nostrils) or odd body positions (holding its head straight up, called stargazing). It's eyes should look "full", this is a good indication that the snake is well hydrated. If the eyes are dented or sunken then it is more than likely dehydrated. Look for one that is alert and curious and gently grips your hand/arms when handled, they may be skittish but should calm down after being handled for a bit. It's not a bad idea to ask to see a feeding schedule or to get a guaranty that the snake will eat. I also find that a "nippy" youngster tend to be better eaters.
Cage Setup:
Size- If you start off with a baby Ball, you should start off with a small enclosure. A 10 gallon tank works well. Balls, like most snakes, like to feel secure and stay hidden. Young Balls are about 15" when they hatch and should be expected to grow about a foot a year during the first three years. The cage and hide spots should be size appropriate and grow with the snake. You will need at least a 30 gallon tank (preferably 55 gallon) for an adult Ball. If you are building a custom setup a good size would be 3' long by 2' wide and 2' high.
Hide Spots- A hide spots should be placed on both the hot side and the cool side of the setup and can be any thing from a simple butter tub to an elaborate rock cave. No mater what you use, make sure that it is safe for your snake. There should be no sharp edges on anything, and I would suggest the you use "man made caves" instead of real rocks witch can be knocked over and injure the snake.
Substrate- First off NEVER use cedar shavings. Cedar has oils in it that are toxic to reptiles and cause respiratory infections. I go as far as never feeding rodents that were raised with cedar for a substrate (it's bad for the rodents too) . Newspaper works well and it's cheap. Aspen or reptile bark make a nice choice for a naturel looking setting and would let the snake burrow adding a better sense of security and can be spot cleaned. Due to a chance of impactions, you should move your snake to another cage with no substrate for feeding.
Heat & Humidity- You should always provide a heat gradient by using an incandescent light and/or heating pad on one side of the cage. If you use both, make sure they're on the same side of the cage. NEVER let your Ball touch the heat source and DO NOT use heat rocks. These can produce hot spots and can cause severe burns. During the daytime, temps on the hot side should be about 90-95° F with 80-85° F on the cool side. Temps can drop around 10-15° F at night. However, the temp in the cage should never drop lower than 73-75° F. Humidity should be at approximately 60-65%.
Water- Water should be available to your ball at all times. The bowl should be big enough for the snake to curl up in touching all sides. Only fill the bowl about half full so it doesn't overflow when the snake soaks in it. A good bowl should on the heavier side, with the base as wide or wider than the top so that it's harder to tip over.
Food- Young Balls are normally feed small adult mice or pinkys/fuzzy rat pups every 7 to 10 days. It is better to feed two smaller food items than one large item. Adults generally will eat one or two small to medium rats about ever two weeks.
Wow, thank you....
Aquarium advice is a site that I frequent and have posted at occassionally... We used to run a 175 gallon salt and a 30 gallon fresh, now just down to the fresh...
But thank you for the information, I will do a little more research (i have just started that process before I do anything)
Aquarium advice is a site that I frequent and have posted at occassionally... We used to run a 175 gallon salt and a 30 gallon fresh, now just down to the fresh...
But thank you for the information, I will do a little more research (i have just started that process before I do anything)
AZsteelman
April 2006 BoM
yeah, WTF happened? It's gone!
smokinafuente
This space for rent.
That is odd. There was some good advice in the post too.