Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My daughter 8 has a ball python, but yet I have to do all the work. My questions are can you give the snake a bath and if so how? and with what? Also she is getting big I am feeding her 1 frozen/thawed adult mouse a week. I would say she is about 30 iches long and pretty fat. When should I up her prey to rats? Thanks for any replies I really don't know much about these things other then she wanted a snake LOL.

They do not require baths. But some enjoy a little soak.The only real time they would need to soak is if they have a bad shed and need to get the skin off, or if they defacated and got it on them. Usually what I do is fill the sink with warm water not to hot, let them swim around and use a towle or wash cloth and just rub them a bit. As far as upgrading the size good rule of thumb is to go with the roundness of the body and get something about that size.

Ball pythons can start off on rats. I would go ahead and make the switch. Make sure the rat is no thicker than the thickest part of ball python. You really shouldn't have to give you snake a bath. Just make sure his/her heat and humidity is right. If he/she deficates and gets it on himself/herself, then use a warm/wet rag, and wipe her down with it. If you need any other info e-mail me. I would be gald to help. Good luck, and hope this helps.

Thanks for the responses. I will get some rats and see how she likes them.