Just lost my reptile virginity !

[kybaryal]

Hi guys,
I am brand new at this so bear with me please. I have just bought my very 1st reptile ever.. Have wanted one for years and my husband finally caved. Just a few questions. She is a 18month old female stimsons python, I have her tank all set up properly. warm side with a heat mat sitting at around 30-34 degrees. She always seems to be in the hide on the cool side of the tank, is this normal ?? I guess she will know when she gets too cold, but when I pick her up she feels like an ice block. Another question, the feed sheet I got with her says she has been eating mice/rats about 10gms in weight, from what Ive been readingshe should be eating at least an adult mouse, Is that right or am I completly off base here ??? Also the guy i bought her off got her on the 1 June and there is no mention of her shedding whist he had her. Is that normal and if so how long between sheds ? I know these may be really stupid questions with no right answer but I just thought Id ask. She did eat a 5gm fuzzie mouse ( looked more like a pinkie to me, no fur and eyes closed and about half the size of my little finger) last monday, but she just lazily come over and gently took it, no striking and no constricting which was 2 days after I got her and 23 days after her last feed. Any opinions on all this would be a great.. Thanks

 

[thomasssss]

dont know much about ants but id think that it could take more than a 10g rat or mouse , how big is it , someone will come along that knows ants and will be able to say for certain but id think it could take bigger

 

[kybaryal]

Ants ???

 

[Grogshla]

I would say let her settle in for a week and get used to her new surroundings. Once she feels safe then offer her a nice hopper mouse. She should be able to take it easy. I would feed her a few more of these over the course of a few weeks then I would upsize her to an adult mouse in about 1-2 months. This is all based on the fact that she is eating smallish food and going on her age. Can you tell us how long she is and how wide the thickest part on her body is? Usually you can feed a snake a rodent that is roughly 1.3-1.5 times the width of the widest part of its body.

 

[shrinkie]

mine usually has a couple of months between sheds but i guess it depends on how much you feed her also as tomasssss asked how big is she ?

 

[Grogshla]

Ants ???

Antaresia = Ant.

as in Antaresia Stimsoni

 

[DazTopEndPythons]

probably need more information such as how long is she and how much does she weigh etc before an estimate of what she should eat , as for "ants " he means anteresia type pythons

 

[kybaryal]

She is 60cms long and about 3cms wide at her widest. Thanks

Ive just weighed her and she is 78gms

Change that to 2 cms at widest.. sorry

 

[DazTopEndPythons]

should be able to eat something around 10-15 grams then

 

[Skelhorn]

FYI Kybaryal

My 19 old Month stimsons eat Hopper rats. Not saying that yours is the same but it should be able to eat a velvet rat. Ensure that you warm the rat slowly in warm water (as to not cook it) and it does take a couple of water changes and patients.
My stimsons are slightly bigger...tipping in at about 70-75cm but they had their first hopper rat at the age of 1 year!

As mentioned above the hiding is normal. Maybe take a peice of clothing, a smell sock and put that in the tank. That will get the python used to your scent

Don't forget to post pictures and most importantly ENJOY

 

[FAY]

Size of the food, go by the girth of the snake...not the head.

 

[Icarus]

She is 60cms long and about 3cms wide at her widest. Thanks

Ive just weighed her and she is 78gms

Change that to 2 cms at widest.. sorry

my antaresia childreni has very similar measurements to your girl and he eats 15-20 gram weaner mice / small adult mice

 

[StellaDoore]

Congrats on finally being allowed a snake! Stimmies are an excellent choice, love them to bits! Make sure you put a photo up!
With the food, the general rule that I go by is food should weigh 1/4 to 1/3 the snakes body weight. Since your snake is about 80g, I'd be feeding her rats that weighed about 20g. Or, give her food that leaves a nice sized bulge in her.

Because she's a new addition she'll still be getting used to her surroundings and will want to hide. Try putting a hide up the hot end so she has the option of hiding in a hot or cool spot.

With shedding, it will generally happen every 1-2 months, but is dependent upon how much she's being fed.

Good luck with your baby and don't forget to post pics up!!

 

[kybaryal]

Thanks for all the info guys, she has a hide at either end but seems to favor the one in the cold side. Will go and grab some weaner mice tomorrow. I have just tried to feed her and she just curled up on top of it and went to sleep. are there any rules on feeding ? should I wake her and have her out for a bit first or just grab her out of her hide and straight into her feeding box ?

 

[JrFear]

hey Kybaryal!
my stimmys are the same size as urs and eat adult mice with out eze!
and like urs dont strike, they slither over and casually bite and start eating!