my first ball

[xEl Chupacabrax]

well as famous as this statement is my little ball python wont eat  i have researched and am at a loss.. im not freaking out but he is a little on the thin side so i really want him to eat. when i got him he was in partial shed (it was a nasty shed due to lack of humidity at the pet store  ) so i soaked him and figured he would readily eat the next day.. the pet store fed live so i figured that i would get him nice and healthy and then try and switch to frozen/thaw. so today (3 days after i got him and at least a week since his lats meal) i went out and got a small hopper put him in a well ventilated box (pet store instructions) and let him go at it for an hour.. the hour goes by and nothing at all has happened the snake did not even move (he has been lethargic since the moment he saw the food).. every time the hopper goes near he shy's away?? his setup has a water dish (big enough for him to fit into), and a hide rock. his temp is around 85ish and i mist inside the tank in the morning to keep it humid so i dont think that my setup is the case. so does anyone have advice?
a few other things wile i was looking i read that shying away from prey could be stress related is that it? and ill get some pics up later tonight of him i know this gets asked alot because they are finicky little eaters but i dont no who else to ask

Thanks

[zuk450]

i had a stubborn baby ball python and I incresased the temps on one side of the pen to about 90-92 degrees. once the pen warmed up i never had another problem with her feeding again.... stuck sheds from struggling with humidity at that temp from time to time, but no more feeding issues.

[xEl Chupacabrax]

thank you very much for the temp tip.. but sadly this morning i woke up and saw him (stanly) upside down  i went in to investigate and picked him up he was alive but hardly.. it was awful to watch he passed shortly there after.. it must have been much worst than i presumed, i think internal parasites.. either way stan is in a better place not suffering im glad i gave him a few great last days  r.i.p. little guy

[bad-one]

Yeah, he must have been very sick with something and pretty far along. I'm sorry for your loss 



Ps. If need help with getting into bps I can give you a lot of info.

[honuman]

thank you very much for the temp tip.. but sadly this morning i woke up and saw him (stanly) upside down  i went in to investigate and picked him up he was alive but hardly.. it was awful to watch he passed shortly there after.. it must have been much worst than i presumed, i think internal parasites.. either way stan is in a better place not suffering im glad i gave him a few great last days  r.i.p. little guy

Sorry for you loss.  He was likely an import.  They sell them in droves and they sometimes come in in bad shape.  Take him back to the pet shop and ask for a refund or at least store credit.  They should accomodate you if he only died a few days after you got him home.  I suggest you get one from a breeder.  CB are the best way to go and directly from the breeder.  Normal ball pythons are VERY inexpensive you can likely get a male normal CB for as low as $20-$25  and you have the person there who bred it and can assure you of what it is eating. 

Steve

[xEl Chupacabrax]

thanks a lot im not going to let this drive me away from having a snake of my own if nothing else he was a learning experience, i just hate to see one of my animals suffer but there was really nothing i could do  and that store has a "no guarante on reptiles" policy  prolly wont be doing business with them any more. and as far as local breeders go most of them reside in Chicago which is 3ish hours away from where i live (the quad cities).. but regardless im going to search for another little friend and now i have loads more knowledge than before  thanks for the support it helps alot 

[xEl Chupacabrax]

Okay so i just stumbled on this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5t5leHQPA4 thats is what mine was doing so this peaked my interest.. so i looked at the comments and it is called IBD (inclusion body disease) i Googled and found that this is piratically untreatable and nasty in pythons :/ but on a lighter note i found a cb ball around my town!!!! im not sure if it is a male or female yet (i dont even no how to tell) but if it turns out female Lemon is the name and if a male Paco.. he is a tiny lil sucker and a wee bit ski-dish of my hands but once he gets use to me he will warm up PICS

my favorite.. what a beaut!






nice and fat


im so excited

[honuman]

dissinfect everything or start with brand new stuff.   

[xEl Chupacabrax]

i did clean out the setup vigorously haha and paco is doing so well! he took his first meal on Friday like a pro!!    

and i have a few questions whats a good size sterilite container for an adult ball and second what is a good temp or size heat pad for this tub and last can i use a heat lamp with a sterilite?

thanks

[bad-one]

Size wise, I have an adult tub (forgot how many qts it is, I want to say 26 or 28) that measures 13 1/2 in wide, about 23in long, and 5 1/2 in tall that works well.

I use a 20 gallon size heat pad and you shouldn't need a heat lamp( I don't see how that would work anyway). You should get a thermostat if you don't already have one to control its temps. The warm side should be 89-95*F with a preference of 90-92 and the ambient air temps and cool side should be 80-84*F.

[xEl Chupacabrax]

ahh for some reason i thought you would be the first to respond haha today i went out and got a 105qt (26.25 gallon) sterilite container for him! he loves it and it should be his final home

[bad-one]

Of course I'm the first to answer bp questions. To me, bps are where it's at! lol 

[xEl Chupacabrax]

haha i hear ya! "paco" is slowly becoming my favorite.. but not by much i love all my little guys ohh and btw ivy your spider is to die for that morph is sooo cool

[bad-one]

Yeah ball pythons and cresteds are my favorites!

  And thanks, Ivy has quickly become my favorite snake, spider bps are just wild looking and have goofy personalities. I've nick named her the "little sausage" because of how she eats. Had her take food in full blue last friday, she didn't even flick her tongue at it   

Paco is a great lil normal boy though , I love how that bright white borders the flames on his sides 

[xEl Chupacabrax]

haha Thanks! and next time ill go straight to the bp expert for my next question 

[bad-one]

Aww thanks, I've been keeping them for 4 years now so I'm no expert, I still learn new stuff

Also www.ball-pythons.net is an awesome resource for asking questions!

[xEl Chupacabrax]

ohh thank you thats exactly what i wanted! without even asking you are a pro!! lol

[bad-one]

Lol!! I'm just psychic, nothing special!