Reptile & Amphibian Forums

do you think if i buy a ball/royal python advertised as captive farmed,it will have eating problems??? i really want a ball python,the only thing putting me off is the eating problems..

To be honest, I have yet to have any signifigant problems with the Farmed babies I import. This year alone we imported approximately 1000 and so far out of the total number we imported we have only had very few not feed. Just about all of them started feeding within 2 weeks of arriving and some started earlier. The ones we have now that have not started to feed are right at a month old and most of them are still looking great and I feel they will start feeding shortly. Most of the babies advertised now online are feeding for the seller. I sold a 10 lot of pre-feeders last week and the customer received them on Tuesday, well as soon as they arrived he offered them all large fuzzies and they all tok and ate the fuzzies offered. As long as the seller is a honest person you should not have a problem. If you would like a site where you can check to see if sellers are good guys or not please feel free to e-mail me privately.
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Rob Trenor
RK Reptiles
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If you get your captive hatched animals from a good source they are virtually impossible to differentiate from Captive Bred animals. Usually the first groups of animals to hit the States are the best. They spend the least amount of time on the farms and usually have their first sheds right here in the States. I bought 22 females this year and all but one has eaten for me. 19 of these are eating rats and two still prefer mice. I like CH animals better then CB because I feel the blood is stronger! Just my opinion.

Oz
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ok thanks for that you guys, if i get one[which i probably will,im torn between an amel or snow corn or a ball python]it will either be from my local shop (im not sure whether theyre captive bred or farmed yet,il have to check it out,but theyre only young so i assume so, £46) or from easyexotics.co.uk which are 2003 captive farmed at £44:99 £20 courier. i really really want a ball python as i would like a friendly tame snake,of an impressive look and size(theyve got much more girth than corns) and i can handle a lot, the only thing which is putting me off is the eating problems,but if i go for captive farmed/bred,will i be ok?what do you think?

If the pet shops where you live are anything like the pet shops here in the States, I would not buy a reptile from them. Most of the ball pythons the pet shops have are wild caughts (aka Bush Babies) that are infested with ticks, mites, and who knows what else. These are not the same as Captive Hatched (meaning conceived by wild adults but hatched in captivity). Can't you find a breeder or importer? Ball Pythons are definitely more challenging then a corn snake... if it's your first snake go with the corn. If you really want a ball then do the research. If provided with the right care a ball python with eat well with only the occasional fast. I recommend the Ball Python Manual and I recommend you buy the book first.

Later,
Oz
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I would agree, I'm from the UK and it isn't so much the pet shops that are the problem but the wholesalers. I was given this 3 month old CF by my local shop as she only weighed 50g when I got her, her digestive system had completely shut down through malnourishment - she couldn't even absorb water-, she was anaemic, severly dehydrated and needed a weeks worth of vet care costing £120 which consisted of twice daily feeding of a food supplement and fluid injections daily. She also has at least 3 broken ribs and reeks of coccidia. If you are new to balls and worse can't view the animal before purchase I would beg you to get a CB from a breeder who will gurantee you it is healthy and feeding. They are just about to start popping up all over the place.

Some wholesalers do not provide proper conditions for their imports nor do they offer them a meal and hence you end up with balls that end up in the same condition as mine was. Luckily I have been able to bring Gretchen around and with proper care and patience she has miraculously started feeding on her own and gaining weight but it could have so easily gone the other way.

Also consider the moral aspect of buying a WC animal. If you ever took a trip to Ghana or Togo to see a BP farm, you might think twice about buying wild-caught animals.

And to say that wild blood is stronger is not only assinine, it shows a complete lack of understanding of basic population genetics and genetic drift.

I agree completely....i made the mistake of buying my first ball because of the price...wild caught hatchling...getting her to eat was frustrating and quite worrysome....i was uneducated and should have never bought her without the proper research..

i got lucky.....but only after spending countless hours, techniques, and dollars than i could have...

i also did some very eye opening reading on wild caught snakes and how much it depletes the areas they are taken from....i didn't realize the impact they had on the enviornment they are taken from...i should have...i do now....

i adore my snake....i'll thank her for being with me by learning everything i can to take the very best care of her....but you know, i think she deserved to be right where she was born...

i go with captive bred now...

Which part of my statement is asinine? In the wild only the strongest animals survive and thrive enough to reproduce. It's called Natural Selection... ever heard of it?

Oz
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