From: mojo@reed.edu (-><-)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
Subject: Re: advise wanted re. buying baby ball python
Date: 12 Aug 92 22:46:46 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Youth Hostile, Portland, OR Else

In article <1992Aug12.194123.9066@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> daved@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (david.dougherty) writes:
>	is newspaper the best cage lining (if changed daily, which i will)?

I like vermiculite, personally---it looks classier than newspaper---but I
don't think it's a big deal.  Just don't put 'em on gravel or, I dunno, in an
acetone bath or anything.

>	when can i expect my new baby to take its first meal (if it hasn't
>		eaten yet? should i buy a baby snake that has not eaten?
>		(the store owner told me that baby snakes may not eat for some
>		time, possibly months! is this correct?)

Ideally, you want one that has eaten.  Balls have a reputation as, um,
difficult feeders, but that's principally a problem with imported adults.
There is an established art of getting ball pythons to eat, and if you get a
healthy snake that hasn't eaten yet you should be OK.

>	i've had really good luck using under-the-tank-heating-pads with my
>		brood of collared lizards. will this method of providing heat
>		work will with snakes?

I'm no help here; I keep my room at 80F anyway, for the benefit of other
animals.

>	i've also had good luck using vita-lites as a source of uv light. i'm
>		assuming that this will be acceptable for snakes as well. am i
>		right?

Works fine for me.

>	what about vitamin supplements? i give my collards healthy doses of
>		calcium carbonate as a supplement to their diet of
>		crickets. do snake require this as well?

If your snake is living on pinkies, it may not get enough calcium; to be on
the safe side, you might shoot the pinkies up with a calcium solution (maybe
half a tablet, slurried in however much water).  Other vitamins/nutrients
usually aren't a problem.

>	what should i offer my little one to eat? i imagine the choices are
>		limited to either pinkies or small mice. what's the best
>		way to immobilize the little beasties (mice) before
>		offering them to my new baby? i'm not really squeamish, but
>		bashing a mouse over the head is not my idea of a good
>		time!

Pinkies/fuzzies, eventually moving upward.  My ball pythons are about 4 months
old and can eat mice now, and the big one ate a rat pinky at 7 weeks.

>	i think i know what to look for when selecting a snake (i.e., look
>		mites and ticks, scrapes, protruding (or visible) ribs,
>		partial shedding, mouth rot, clear eyes, etc. is there
>		anything else i should look for?

Respiratory infections; ball pythons seem to be kind of prone to them.  Look
for mucus accumulation in the mouth, laboured breathing, etc.  (This can get
quite serious; I came pretty close to losing one of mine because I didn't
recognize that he was elevating his head to try to breathe---I thought he
was just communicating with aliens or something...and we did end up having to
shoot the poor little guy up with Amikacin for a while.)

Finally, buy the Philippe de Vosjeli book on ball pythons; it's one of the
little white "Herpetological Library" series.  Excellent book.

Best of luck!  Ball pythons are neat snakes; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
far and away the best "hands-on" animals I've had.  (Of course, their major
competition comes from aquatic frogs and a hedgehog...)

	NT
-- 
Nathan Tenny / ...tektronix!reed!mojo \ mojo@reed.UUCP / mojo@reed.BITNET
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