Reptile & Amphibian Forums

howdy folks. i obtained my first ball python on monday. i had seen it at one of the local shops for a while now, it had lots of scars and looked kinda sad. upon further inspection i noticed it had ticks. i baught the animal to get it out of the hell hole of a shop it was in. the vet had removed 16 ticks, one of wich was sticking out of its eye socket. knowing that this is a wild caught ball, does anyone have any pointers for me as far as any suprises i might have with wild caught animals. also if anyone could tell me how to sex this animal without popping and probing( i dont know how to do either) that would be most appreciated as well. thanks in advance.

~JQ
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1.1 normal KSB
0.1 flame KSB
0.1 anery 2/3 het albino KSB
1.0 cal kingsnake
1.1 betta
0.1 ferret
1.1 hypo and albino cornsnake

you do a search on "import" and "WC". You should find plenty of information to get you started. The vet visit was the first step. Is he being treated internally? Once you take care of internal/external parasites, your job gets (slightly) easier.

You should have reported the pet store.

Good luck!
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Jay A. Martin

I would wait on the sexing; that really is not as important right now as other things.
In my experience, many pet stores keep their BPs in too-dry conditions. Are their pieces of retained shed stuck on the snake? An hourlong soak in plain warm water, in a lidded rubbermaid, can easily fix that. I just rescued a BP from a complete ignoramus, and he had gross retained shed; it all came off with a simple soaking. Just don't put so much water in that the snake has ti fight to keep his head abovewater! A soak can also sometimes dislodge any remaining ticks, especially if you add a small amount of regular dish soap to the water (so it is sudsy.)
I would be VERY concerned about your other herps catching ticks from him. Definately keep him quarantined in a seperate room at least! Are there mites present too? Mites are not native to Africa, so they may not be present on your WC unless he caught them at the importer's or the store.
You are in for a rough ride. Rehabbing WC BPs can be a pain, especially if they decide to go on a hunger strike. You'll want to get him dewormed; I have never had to do that, so maybe someone else on here can inform you; you should work with your vet for that anyway. If he defecates, save it and bring it to the vet for an examination.
I wish you luck!
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4.1 Ball pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black kittycat
3.1 Oscar cichlids
Also have fancy goldfish, african cichlids, and rats. And 1 Paint horse mare

WC balls will go in either direction; they either adapt fairly well or they're a royal pain in the a$$. Taking it to the vet was a good first step. If it had ticks, then (as it's been my limited expereince with WC) it's probably got internal parasites as well. Is your vet a good herp vet? Did he do a fecal to check for worms? It may be a good idea to have that done, so you can get the snake started on meds if needed. Once he's treated for all the ailments that WC have (ticks, mites, worms, injuries, etc), put it in the cage and leave it for a while. Check water, temp, humidity, spot clean if necessary but disturb it as little as possible. Give it a lot of time to settle in and get comfortable, then offer food. Preferably not anything white. You should probably start with a small (weanling size) black or brown rat, if it eats it.... Great!! But be prepared for it not to WC don't normally recognize rats and mice as food, you may have to try gerbils or hampsters. Be prepared to keep said gerbil/hampster for a long time, balls can go forever without eating. Also it's best to keep WC balls on a substrate they are used to (Cypress mulch works best) Make sure they have a good hide or two and all the appropriate temps and humidity levels and eventually (fingers crossed) it should settle in. You should also keep checking it for mites and ticks to be on the safe side, It's really likely that a couple can get missed. Unfortunately snakes aren't like dogs, they don't recognize that you've "saved" them and immediately become your best friend, be prepared for a long journey and hope for the best! Oh and about sexing it - there is no reliable way to sex a ball without popping or probing. If it's an adult snake probing will work best. Hope this helps. Congratulations on your new addition!
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Tosha

8.10.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and currently un-named)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
7.9.5 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer