Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just took in a ball python from a person my sister baby sits for, who could no longer care for the animal. Just had a few questions. Im wondering if there was an easier way to sex it other then probing. its aprox 30-36" and currently at 500 grams. This sound about right for a healthy ball? I dont really know much him or balls, i know he was purchased from a local pet shop as a baby and is captive bred, otherwise i know little about him. attached a pic. let me know what u guys think.

this is a big step for me, i hate snakes

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1.0.0 Sandfire x red/gold Beardie (Whitey Ford)
1.0.0 Red/Gold Beardie (Foster)
0.1.0 Red Flame/Hypo Red Beardie (Rosie)
0.1.0 Yellow/German Giant Beardie (Helga)
1.2.0 Pastel beardeis (Tarantino, Mia, Alabama)
1.1.0 Senegal Chameleons (Francois & Fifi)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleons (Eros)
1.2.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)
0.1.0 Brown Basilisk (Leroy, I know shes a girl!)
0.0.1 Marbled Gecko (Chalmers)
0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Rescued Beardie missing limb (Lefty)
0.0.1 Rescued Ball Python (Murray)

looks alright from you bad picture. Probing is a simple way to sex a snake and something that old should not be "accurately" sexed any other way. You can take a good guess based on spur size and structure. Male spurs should be much longer than female spurs and I have often noticed slight darker discoloration at the base of the spurs in males and light uniform color in females. This is just from observation and has never been proven as well as the question "what is a slightly larger spur and what is a slightly smaller one?" I would probe it or have someone probe it for you. Many petshop employees that deal with reptiles have probe sets, ALL breeders have them, and most people at shows would be more than willing to help you out. Good luck. Nice ball python.

First, you think the size is good for an adult ball? Like I said hes 30-36" and over 500 grams. What's the appropriate size enclosure for an adult? I have several sizes avail. so getting it set up for him is no prob. I also have all the necessary under tank heating as well. What size feeders should I look to feed a full sized ball? Like I said, IM new to this Ive been in reptiles for several years, but this is my first time with snakes.
thanks a ton

BTW sorry for the crappy pic, its hard to post decent pics when ur limited on size.....
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1.0.0 Sandfire x red/gold Beardie (Whitey Ford)
1.0.0 Red/Gold Beardie (Foster)
0.1.0 Red Flame/Hypo Red Beardie (Rosie)
0.1.0 Yellow/German Giant Beardie (Helga)
1.2.0 Pastel beardeis (Tarantino, Mia, Alabama)
1.1.0 Senegal Chameleons (Francois & Fifi)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleons (Eros)
1.2.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)
0.1.0 Brown Basilisk (Leroy, I know shes a girl!)
0.0.1 Marbled Gecko (Chalmers)
0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Rescued Beardie missing limb (Lefty)
0.0.1 Rescued Ball Python (Murray)

ADULT...U would not have guessed that was an adult and that is a bit small. As far as the size of it, I think it looks to be a good weight for its length. If it is an adult it might be a little small and I am sure then it is male. And adult female would be much more than 500 grams. I think that snake has some growing to do as well. As for feeding, small to medium rats, its hard to tell without seeing the snake but my guess is sm to med rats. For an enclosure, most people use rubber maids but thats because it is cheaper. I like to say enclosure size by gallons. A lot of people believe a 20g long is perfect to house an adult ball python into adulthood...with females especially I like to go bigger like a 40 breeder tank or a 55 gallon, but I am generous. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I think your snake is not full grown yet and you will be fine using a 20g long tank for a while and I would move up tank size if you notice (him) getting too large. Good luck!

thanks a ton
i have to say, im not sure on the age, but ill try and find out how long the former owner has had him. Im getting all this info second hand through my sis. I wasnt sure if he was full grown but i kinda figured he wasnt. From what i seemed to have remembered, they were a bit larger then he is. Either way, i have him set up in a 30 gallon long for now, under tank heating, lots of hiding places so he should be ok now. I believe they told me he at 3 days ago so i have some time before the next feeding? should i try live or frozen rats? im not sure what they had him on. I guess i should try and find this out as well huh? oh well
thanks a ton for ur help
patrick
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1.0.0 Sandfire x red/gold Beardie (Whitey Ford)
1.0.0 Red/Gold Beardie (Foster)
0.1.0 Red Flame/Hypo Red Beardie (Rosie)
0.1.0 Yellow/German Giant Beardie (Helga)
1.2.0 Pastel beardeis (Tarantino, Mia, Alabama)
1.1.0 Senegal Chameleons (Francois & Fifi)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleons (Eros)
1.2.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)
0.1.0 Brown Basilisk (Leroy, I know shes a girl!)
0.0.1 Marbled Gecko (Chalmers)
0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Rescued Beardie missing limb (Lefty)
0.0.1 Rescued Ball Python (Murray)

always try ft first. I hate killing rats anyway since they are cute and intelligent (i have much less touble with mice). It might also be small enough to stick with a couple large mice if the ft rats dont work (those are a little safer if it needs live since their teeth are way smaller, but still be there to supervise). Also many people will say get to rats asap...I dont think its that urgent. I feed weekly...its simple and works well so you have a few days to worry about it. Good luck and keep me posted. This is a female that is 19.5 months...she still has quite a bit of growing to do.