Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone noticed a learning curve with baby balls? My new ball is just over one month old and he seems to be having trouble figuring things out. He loves to climb the fake trees in his cage, but I've seen him fall 3 times and after I go to bed I sometimes hear him "thump" to the ground. The fall can't be more than 10 inches so I don't think he is getting hurt, but he doesn't seem to be figuring out how to climb any better.

Also, I've fed him twice now and he ate both times. The first time I fed him in the dark and then left and did not watch him swallow. This time I stayed to watch and it took him over 45 minutes (the entire 1st half of the Eagles game) to find the head end of the rat. He kept chewing on its neck (literally chewing).

I guess I'm just curious to know if balls can "learn" or if the need practice or if mine is just special. My wife and I love him and he couldn't be any sweeter or cuter, I just hope he figures stuff out.

He's just a baby with a not-so-good basic survival instinct. He should get 'better' at eating and other things as he gets older, but what you've probably got is a snake that in the wild, would have been eaten by now. Maybe.

That's just my take. My snakes have all been little garbage disposals almost from day one.

~jenny
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"The python has, and I fib no fibs,
318 pairs of ribs.
In stating this I place reliance
On a seance with one who died for science
This figure is sworn to and attested,
He counted them while being digested."
~Ogden Nash

jenny.thegreenes.org

"If you're happy and you know it,
Bomb Iraq!
If you cannot find Osama,
Bomb Iraq!
If the terrorists are frisky,
Pakistan is looking shifty,
North Korea is too risky,
Bomb Iraq!

Every now and then you will come across a "Special" one. I have one female that will kill her food and tries to swallow it from each leg over and over. Now when I feed I put the rat in a tube then let her go in and start swallowing. Then I remove the tube and she eats it normally. Hope this helps

Some snakes truely are a little slow, but he'll figure it out in time. I had a baby rock python once that took a while to figure out where the head was, and once he got that down pat he pushed it around the tank trying to push it down his throat for twenty minutes. Didn't realize he had to hang onto it with another part of his body . Was comical the first time or two.

As for the falling while climbing. Balls are just not generally adept at climbing. I've got two 16 year olds that still have that problem .

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

He'll probably get better at eating most of the time, but will occasionally forget how to do it right! As far as those thumps go, if you keep him in a lower-profile cage as he grows, it will be better. I've had a set-up in the living room since 1999 that's 2ft tall with a nice climing branch...The bigger the snake, the louder the thumps. Even without a climbing branch if the enclosure is tall, they'll try to climb up a corner and fall over. I really should have built that thing about 8 inches lower! I've never seen any indication of injury, though.
Paul