Reptile & Amphibian Forums

road hogg is the ball that is a trouble eater. I am waiting till friday to try again on feeding. I have him under a lamp no heat pad... is that bad? Anyway, the pdate is that he is MUCH more confident! usually he will just curl up into a ball (he IS a ball python tonight he was just cruisin around my hand as content as can be! also, he is definately losing weight! his spine sticks out slightly and his skin is getting slightly baggy.
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

no handling until he has fed several times. Even if he doesn't seem nervous, handling is stressful. You should avoid any stress possible until he is an established feeder without any health problems. Once he reaches that point, a little new stress won't hurt him, and he will get used to handling to the point where it won't really be stressful any more.

ok.......heat lamps totally suck.........

heat rocks suck too.......

under tank heater if necessary......

large water bowl.......

moist hide box........

............

balls are balls...........they do that........at times for months and months..even years.....

and....isn't this the corn forum?.........
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yes this is the cornsnake forum. I have been coming to it for several months. And one thing I have noticed is that the ppl in this forum actually ANSWER my questions.
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

you mean you don't like the bragging,advertising and general fighting in the ball forum?........people with big heads?....no brains?...........money to blow yet no snake keeping or breeding skills?.........people that haven't posted in 11 months that now come in there bragging and showing off their new morph so you all want one...cry for them.......and try to get you to spend your money with them so they can make money for overpriced stuff you can get elsewhere for half that amount?.....

yea.it drives me nuts too........

..anyways........

balls like it humid.............

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I agree, don't handle your ball at all until he is feeding well. I once worked with a baby ball that took me close to 4 months to get him to eat. There were several times when i thought he just wasnt going to make it, but working closely with a good vet full of advice and not quitting, he started eating and turned out fine. A few things that worked for him...

1. Keep it humid but not wet. A humidity box works well, or my vet suggested a sponge in the tank as long as you replace it often as they are close to impossible to steralize.

2. Get rid of the heat lamp and use an UTH. For a very timid ball a lot of light can be stressfull. You can also try keeping it really dark. I had mine's tank completely covered with towels so it was really dark and quite in there.

3. What have you tried feedingand what methods have you used? You may have posted this before, but i haven't been following, sorry What was he eating before you got him, frozen or live?

4. One feeding tip the vet recomended was after he had had several days of dark and quiet with absolutely no handling was to try putting a flower pot upside down, or a box of appropriate size with a hole cut it in in the tank with the mouse inside. This method only works for frozen/thawed because you should never leave a snake, especially a timid one, unattended with a live mouse. This way the snake can sneak in and eat and sneak out again when he feels like it.

The biggest thingsi can think of though are keep it humid (but not wet, this is very important, wetness causes infections!), dark, quiet, and absolutely NO handling.
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0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
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0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
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