Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just wondering what are some of the good or bad experiences with wild caught adults. I'm getting some tomorrow and I haven't dealt with imported balls for a long time. I'm sure they'll be alright. But any tips on what to expect from them? Any particular time frame you notice them taking to come around and settle in? Thanks. Ryan.

"They won't be that bad"....lol
I have 2 that I got 2 years ago...still haven't come around...I had one breed this year and gave me 3 eggs...but they sporadically eat...for a while I was having to shake-n-bake rats in gerbil bedding. Half the time they'd eat it...most times they wouldn't. I had one go 11 months without eating...ate once then didn't eat for another 4 or 5.

If you have the time for them...go ahead...but with the amount of snakes I have now and the chance at parasite spreading...I dare not get WC's again. The female that laid....who has been clean for a good year almost laid eggs...with a nice FAT tick sittin on top.....
They are a good learning experience though....
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Luke Martin
Bronze Serpent Reptiles

Well, having had and still own some (actually, just one) WC Ball Pythons, I choose to avoid them - we are talking adults. Many people get them because they are breeding size or close to it and feel like they can fatten them up by breeding season. But here are my reasons why I choose not to deal with them:

1) They are normally sporadic feeders their entire captive lives. Most lose a considerable amount of weight while adjusting. I sold off all but one. She took almost a year just to start feeding. She's done very well for me over the years but she is just one out of many that were nothing but trouble. Ball Pythons are notorious for going off-feed. A WC compounds this problem.
2) They come with internal/external parasites. Few have real quarantine procedures in place.
3) It supports exploitation of this awesome animal.
4) The time spent hoping to get a female up to breeding size and successfully breeding is better spent put into a CB hatchling - raise it and after a few years, breed it. Consistency is key.

Sometimes you get lucky but most of the time you don't. I have had 100s of WCs from about 700grams up. Very few were worth the effort. I spend my time (more wisely) raising my hatchlings to breeding age.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I have many female WC in my collection and have had many others. I have found them to be not as bad as others make them out to be. The main thing I have noticed is. You want to give them certain conditions when they are settling in. Like plenty of water, a hide, a real substrate like aspen, and plenty of privacy. Dont disturb them much for the first couple of weeks. Also for the first couple of feedings. Let them eat as much as they can.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. Guess I'll just see what happens with them. I used to work at an exotics pet shop when I was about 10 and I was the one who pulled the ticks off of 100 imports at a time. So I'm well aware of how they can be when they come in. But it's been so long since I actually owned one of them, I can't even remember how they are. CB is so much better.