I purchased my first ball python last week. I got him home, set up his cage, and left him alone for a day. His cage has a hot side with a hide box for him as well as a hidebox on the cooler side of his tank. The temperature gradient varies from approximately 80-85 degrees fahrenheit on the hot side down to roughly 70-75 degrees fahrenheit on the cold side. Humidity ranges from 50 to 100 % but averages 60 %. Now that hes happy its time to feed him.

Hes eating well, all though im a bit unsure of how much to feed him. He is approximately 20 inches long and weighs 75g. I started him out on some frozen 5g fuzzies and he ate three of them in a week. He doesn't constrict the frozen mice before eating them (I plan on feeding him some live food soon, maybe then he will constrict his prey). He purposely locates their tail end and eats them tail first. Is this common?


I thought maybe the fuzzies were too small for him so he didnt really have to worry bout locating the snout before eating, so I got him some 7.5g frozen hoppers to see if that would make a difference. The hoppers are a bit bigger than the fuzzies, approximately 1.5 times as large as the snakes head. He ate one hopper, snout first. It may be too early to confirm my theory; however, i plan on feeding him a few smaller fuzzies and some hoppers over the next month or two and see how he eats them.

Also I have not found any information regarding ball pythons elimination. How often does a ball python produce fecal material? What color and consistency should it be?

Do you see a noticeable lump in his middle after he eats, if not, its time to go to the next size. Why do you want to feed him live if he is already eating frozen. That is going backwards in my opinion and f/t is better, no chance of snake getting injured. Mine doenst constrict either. Bp's poo a few days to a week after they eat and it is normally part white and part brown. Solid.

__________________
MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

i don't have ball pythons but I have 3 snakes and all of them eat frozen thawed easily. i'd never want to risk them getting bitten by a mouse thats not completely stunned or anything. and its alot easier. most people switch from live to frozen thawed, not the other way around, alot of people here think its easier to feed frozen thawed. you're not constantly running out to get food because it can be ordered in bulk and stored in the freezer for a long period of time. at first I didn't think my snakes would go for it but I was shocked at how easy it was to switch from live to frozen thawed. mine don't constrict their prey either. they've also taken their meals backwards as well sometimes, especially when they were little. good luck with your new python.

__________________

yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

[quote=venus;140189] Why do you want to feed him live if he is already eating frozen. QUOTE]

When an animal does not display behavior common to the species, to me thats a red flag. It may just be hes not constricting because he doesn't have to, but I need to know if he is capable of constricting live prey.

Freezing destroys vitamin d. I plan on supplimenting his frozen food with some live food to ensure no vitimin deficiencies.

If he is unable to constrict prey, maybe theres something wrong with his brain, and its more entertaining for owner and snake when the snake constricts its prey. Perhaps all this captive breeding has breed the soul out of the snake. When I do start breeding ball pythons, I will probably want to introduce wild stock into the gene pool so theres no unpleasent mutations likely to show up.

Thanks Darkmagician

the snake has no need to constrict the pray, because its not live. Why would it constrict if it doesn't have to.

So you want to feed it live food and risk it getting bit just so you can have a little entertainment watching it constrict? I would think owning a pet would mean providing a safe and healthy environment and taking care of an animal, not providing entertainment.

Here are a few photos of a snake that was left with an animal for a VERY short period of time and how badly it was injured.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Your snake is not confused nor does it get entertained by squeezing its food and there is nothing wrong with his brain. I have never heard of freezing destroying vit D, maybe in veggies but not rats. If this is true they do make supplements you can use rather than risking your snakes health or for your entertainment. You can also feed freshly killed which will still have the vitamins but safe

__________________
MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

I also have not heard that freezing reduces vitamin D. I have to admit this is the first I've ever heard of switching away from f/t. The benefits so much outweigh the cons. I currently have 4 boas and none have ever had live (but in my case all 4 of them constrict, every time).

__________________
Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Also, just to add to the discussion, your temps are a little low. You want the hot side closer to 85-95, and your cool side around 75. Also 100% humidity is WAY too much. The humidity should stay firmly between 50%-60%. Too low can cause respitory problems and too high can cause infections. Also, if your worried about your bp not constricting, try using tongs to dangle the snake in front of him. Our bp does constrict, but our kingsnake does not. It's really just up to the snake, some just find it effortless and know it's dead already. Also a mouse contains its vitamin d in its blood, freezing it will not destroy the vitamin d, not in a mouse anyways. And obviously if it did, its not harming the snake because there are lots of people here who feed their snakes f/t mice and seem to be healthy. As for the size of mouse you use... A snake can eat 1 1/2 size of the thickest part of their bodies. My BP is about 22inches long and we feed him small rats. You should check the caresheet on here on ball pythons, its full of all the information you need. And just like everyone has said already, it is a VERY bad idea to feed your snake live prey. They can seriously injure your snake or even kill him.

__________________
I tried to get rich, but I just ended up with more pets.

1.0.0 Boxer Mix Canine (Admiral)
1.0.0 Ball Python (Bam Bam)
0.0.1 Cali King Snake (Beatlejuice)
0.1.0 Tabby Feline (Nina)
0.1.0 Feeder Mouse (Lucky)

Jer

I pick confused owner. Personal opinion. Please read and re-read the other posts. Thanks Liz for the pics.

__________________
Kat