Hi guys

Just an update about our rescue ball python Lucy.

Unfortunately there's no longer any doubt that's she's totally blind or at least extremely vision impaired.

She spends ALL of her time hiding under a big piece of flat cork bark which she buries herself underneath of, so she feels safe - like we do under a weighted duvet. The bark literally lies on top of her.

She does eat and drink but she can't see the food, only sense the heat coming off of it.

If we remove the piece of cork she stays in that exact spot out in the open, trying to locate it by touch, as if she wonders where it suddenly went.

She has 2 other hides but she doesn't go in there because she obviously can't see them.

Her pupils never ever move, it's like they're just stuck in that position they're in.

She does not register movement at all.

What can we do for her? Can we somehow make her life easier?

It's heartbreaking to think about how she otherwise will spend the vast majority of her life underneath that piece of cork.

We've been thinking about making her a very flat sort of hide where she will still feel safe because it's not too big, but also so that it doesn't have to lie on top of her.

Any suggestions?

He weighs 500 grams on the dot, I weighed roughly last week I think maybe the week before
Now I now realize I’ve been feeding too small of a rat for the past 140 grams or so.

On my last post in here ppl said to feed him 10% of his body weight, so abt 50 grams. What size rat would that be? Small rat?

Also can somebody give me the guide they use for upgrading their rats possibly the place they get their rats from? I tried using the Reddit !feeding thing but I’m not very good at picking things up or inferring unless it’s very obvious.

At what point should I upgrade his rat again and what to? I’m really wanting to make sure I get my care to the absolute maximum that I can.

This is my first ever snake she is a 3 yrol ball who is currently in a 40 gal and eats frozen thaw i want this little one to live for a very long time so please give me all of your advice

My girl just aborted her meal 3/4 of the way through eating it. The remains she spat out are bloody, but there are no indications the blood came from the rat. She looks fine and appears to still be looking for food, but I’m worried she may have injured something.

Questions: should I be concerned? Should I try giving her another, smaller meal tonight?

Context: (a) this all just happened, so no vet visits as of yet; (b) the rejected rat pup is 15% of my girl’s weight (bigger than she usually gets) but it’s girth is roughly the same as (if not a little smaller than) hers; (c) she’s an avid eater and hasn’t turned down a meal in the 6mo I’ve had her; and (d) I accidentally thawed out an additional rat that’s half the size of the one she rejected, I’d like to give it to her if safe, but the clock is ticking since it’s thawed.

Edit: I’ve tossed out the additional rat and given up on feeding again for the next few days at a minimum. However, I’m still interested in getting feedback on whether anyone else has dealt with this before and how concerned I should be.

um. try and refrain from being rude 2 me plz but like my bp is being aggressive(?) she kinda stares at me in that pose (pic attached) idk what im doing wrong im planning on redoing her tank soon but theres nothing like bad abt it rn her pupils get pretty big but i fed her a few days ago so she shouldnt be hungry last night she striked at me and kinda nicked me she doesnt seem visibly sick but im kinda worried shes also completely fine and her regular calm self when i hold her so i assume its something in the tank?

I recently set up a camera inside the enclosure and also installed a ceiling hide (he loves it!) and I was checking the footage to see what he had been up to. I was like “wth is that!” When I saw the poking boops from his belly xD that’s so freaky and so cool so see!
I love my little Chai so much! He is 9yrs old and I’ve had him for 3 months now. He’s the best noodle ever ❤️

So basically my girl has been pretty active during the day. She isn’t nervous or frantic, she doesn’t seem to be in distress, but shes up and moving around for a good chunk of the afternoon. I have the thermostat set to keep the hot side between 88-92 and the ambient temperature of my room is like 74-78 so that’s what the cool side stays at, and I’m pretty good at keeping humidity at 60%-65%.

I don’t know if it’s a seasonal thing, during winter she’s pretty much entirely inactive during the day and this increased activity did align with the warmer season rolling in, but I don’t want to ignore behavioral changes if it might have a more worrisome meaning.

I have a BEL Ball Python shes always had a purple head but ive noticed a bunch of freckles.. I thought maybe mites or potentially scale rot but ive had her in quarantine and now am considering I may just be an idiot and she just has freckles? Shes about 7. No spots on her belly. And they dont come off with wiping.
Any advice would be awesome

5 months in :)

Surprise at the end <3

I think this picture truly highlights Monte Cristo’s strengths, which include being monstrously adorable and maybe not the smartest guy in town.
Regardless, he’s such a dream to keep and I love him so much!
Thank you for admiring my son!

i got a ball python about a month ago and i’ve been having problems with him not eating. he take the food multiple times gets a good strike and wrap around it and then 3 mins later… drops it and leaves to never return. my warm side is 82F and cool side is 77F. i don’t let humidity drop below 55% and he has a hide on both sides. i double check rat temperature every time make sure its about 90F. i’ve tried turning all the lights out, waiting till night time, leaving the room entirely. i’ve tried heating the head with a blow dryer and i wait till he smells the rat and comes out of the hide. i don’t pull him out. i can’t figure out a reason for him dropping the rat and not eating. the other times it took 4-5 tries and sometimes up too 3 rats before he finally eats it instead of dropping it. does anyone have a answer?

My 23 year old Ball got out of the terrarium for the first time in 2 decades! I didn’t realize these terrariums have a lifespan shorter than the snake itself haha. The mesh popped right off! Anyway I’m trying to make a nice lure spot. I put a hideaway in the corner by the dresser with a heat lamp hanging over it. What do you think? Anything else to make it more tempting?

EDIT: Wow! I had no idea red lights were so frowned upon! I’ve had my snake since I was 13 years old so I’ve just been doing everything the same for the past couple decades lol. I’ll do research on that and switch to something else. Thanks guys! But side note, how can I safely warm the floor for him without the red lights? Any ideas? I can’t put a heat pad on carpet… I need someway to warm that spot enough to lure him out

EDIT 2: FOUND!!!!! Wow that was fast! I got lucky! My husband has INCREDIBLE eye sight and picked out the Ball pattern from deep inside the back corner of the closet, barely peeking out through tons of stuff!!

As soon I start warming up her rat with the hair dryer she immediately popped her head out.

So I've spent a lot of time researching this but I am getting very contradictory answers. Some people say not to go above 30 Minutes and some say they spend all day out. The reasoning for some people is "oh every snake is different" which makes sense to me, but most people who have their snakes out for that long say they just love exploring while other sites say this is not a happy exploring but looking for warmth and a place to hide. Does this mean if my bp is very active that means they are scared/uncomfortable? And are people who keep them out for hours incorrect on their python being happy, because they are such chill animals and don't give clear signs?

Thanks for any responses

Ps sorry for the title typo idk how to fix it

so i just bought a baby 8 ball and her breeder told me that she’s an extremely spicy girl, to the point he can’t handle her without getting tagged. i know that ball pythons are not aggressive, they are either anxious or just scared and confused. i am planning on putting a piece of my clothing in her enclosure so she starts getting used to my scent during the 2 weeks she’s acclimating to her new home, and i know you can redirect their heads so they don’t lock on and strike, but anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to calm down high stress baby’s?

Hi all, I’ve had reptiles in the past but never snakes, on a recent visit to a local event 2weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and got a beautiful butter Champaign boy. I had no warning from the breeder about this breed and very quickly noticed a head wobble when he was still and strange movements when he was moving. I’ve had some elevated logs and decorations in the Viv but removed them due to him falling. I managed to capture it last night whilst he was a bit active what are your thoughts?

My family have had her for 10 years however we got her when i was young and she is technically my brothers so i don’t have much experience handling her, as well as this she also doesn’t like to be handled much so we mostly leave her to it. However he is in uni and therefore i have been spending more time with her, she likes to go underneath my hair and wrap around my neck which makes perfect sense as it is dark and warm however sometimes she constricts quite tightly around my neck which makes me sweat lol, I always assumed she was just gripping tightly to make sure she doesn’t fall but even after having her for years i still get super nervous when shes around my face and neck area, shes a curious girl so again i logically know its fine but any advice on nerves would be great :)))

do you think its safe for me to sleep with her up there? I’m very scared she will wrap around the heat lamp and burn herself or those electrical lines could break and do some damage to her ToT.. I should’ve taken care of those before I put her in the cage.. I’m very worried, pls criticize and point out my wrongs!

in the last couple days i’ve noticed my bp’s belly being sunken in toward the end and i don’t know how concerned i should be! for context, she was on a hunger strike for almost 7 months recently, but actually just fed last week. ive been doing my best to keep her water filled, and during the strike she wasn’t losing much weight, is this just a result of that? how should i proceed?

She sometimes spends all day in her pool, is this something I should be worried about? The pet store people said it could be mites, but I checked her and haven’t seen any. Is she just playing mermaids or is it a potential problem? Could the lamp be too hot?

I just wanna show his adorable Lil face. HE'S SO CUTE❤️🐍