Ball Python - Male, 2.5ft Long and in need of some TLC [Archive]

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MissAnne2u

07-10-2009, 09:49

My husband and I rescued two beautiful ball pythons from a lady in Kent that was absolutely TERRIFIED of them, she said she couldnt feed them because they would strike at her. When we got them 10 days ago, the lady said they hadn't eaten in 3-4 weeks, no wonder they were striking and hissing at her ... they were starving !!! It didn't help matters that she had pet rats, mice, gerbils and tons of birds that she handled right before trying to feed the snake... her hand probably smelled better than the food she was offering !

Well, after 10 days with us, they are eating F/T medium rats with no problems, the larger one (the one we are keeping) no longer strikes or hisses at us but the little one is still having occasional hissy fits. He is still shedding. I've been misting him to help him finish his shed and it seems to be helping. It's amazing what the right environment, a little food and TLC will do for an animal and its disposition.

We have been handling them everyday. One is a little head shy and skittish, and the other larger one is not at all.

The one up for adoption is the smaller of the two. We have decided to keep the larger/older one. The smaller one is approx 2 1/2 ft long, not sure of his age.

Thanks !

EDIT: The small one that is up for adoption is a little hissy right now .. actually tried to strike at hubby when we went to feed him (in the feeding tank of course). He really needs alot of handling and TLC... Just be forwarned.

snakelady

07-10-2009, 10:01

oh my goodness! with all my cat drama, I totally forgot to email you back! If no one else can take him, I will, lol - so sorry for not getting back to you sooner

MissAnne2u

07-10-2009, 10:59

Its Okay Katie .... I'll let you know. We just need to find a home for him and possibly the other one too .... we haven't decided if we can keep both or not. But we do know we want to find a home for the smaller/younger one.

MissAnne2u

07-10-2009, 11:05

Here are some Pictures

http://i43.tinypic.com/20rob5e.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/20h83u9.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2z59lee.jpg

Adams Family

07-10-2009, 11:10

hey.... med. rat seems REALLY to big for that guy.. a small rat is the size it should be eating. just wanted to let u know.:flowers:

good luck finding homes- glad u got them

dalvers63

07-10-2009, 11:25

He's a nice looking fella! In a couple of the pictures it looks like he's got some stuck shed?

I agree with Shauna, too. Just about every ball python out there, especially males, do fine with one small/small rat a week. Feeding more than that can cause fasts as a ball python will stop eating to lose weight if they are overfed.

MissAnne2u

07-10-2009, 11:55

hey.... med. rat seems REALLY to big for that guy.. a small rat is the size it should be eating. just wanted to let u know.:flowers:

good luck finding homes- glad u got them

Sorry ... the smaller one is getting SMALL Rats and the Larger one is getting Medium Rats ... should have clarified. :)

Thanks ! They are actually really sweet snakes, just need more handling and some TLC

Beatrice

07-10-2009, 11:57

awe, he's so handsom!

MissAnne2u

07-10-2009, 11:59

He's a nice looking fella! In a couple of the pictures it looks like he's got some stuck shed?

Yeah, the lady that had them, had them on Aspen shavings, no water, no heat, just a little 40w bulb. We gave him a good soak and almost all the stuck shed has come off :)

MissAnne2u

07-12-2009, 11:37

We may have found a home for the smaller BP with a guy in Longview that already has two female BP's and is willing to work with this grouchy guy to calm him down and give him a good home. I'm trying to work out logistics with him due to he doesn't have a car and I really don't want to drive all the way down there.

MissAnne2u

07-12-2009, 16:01

Yeah !!! The guy from Longview is driving up to get Twister today ! He has a complete 30L enclosure all set up and waiting for him and already has two other BP's and is part of the Ballpython.net forums. I truely believe Twister will do awesome once he is in his own enclosure.

stamp4hobby

07-12-2009, 16:49

That sounds like the perfect home for him. :)

snakelady

07-12-2009, 21:56

hey Anne - sorry for not getting back to you today - Herman was taken back to the ER vet last night, and it's been a crazy day

MissAnne2u

07-13-2009, 12:28

freddiesinmyseat

07-16-2009, 22:55

Well, the young man showed up last night around 8pm and Picked up Twister !!

He was very polite and he and his friends were very excited to add Twister to their home. The funny thing is ... as soon as this guy was handed Twister, its like the snake knew he was going with someone that could take care of him (not that I couldn't) and would love him to death (not that I wouldn't) because he took to this young man like white on rice. Coiled around his hand and sat there. No hissing, no striking, just chilled out on this guys hand.

I'm so glad Twister found an awesome home !!!

I must admit I squealed with glee a little when I read that lol.

glad I got the chance to meet you up in tacoma, Zach is having a wonderful experience with -insert any given name here- and the two of them are doing great. he has kept to minimal handling to acclimate -insert any given name here- so that he calms down a bit and will be ready for future handling starting next week.

(btw, I say -insert any given name here- because Zach has chosen to call him a new name every time he is being talked about...until he gets tired of thinking of new names or until he finds the perfect name for him lol)