Ball python feeding, and plants in cages...
Dear VPI,I just purchased a baby ball python from a pet store. Since I dont really know a lot about snakes, I was wondering if someone with some knowledge could help me out. Are there any live plants that I could put in his cage that wont harm him? I have had him less than a week and upon getting him home I discovered some loose scales on the top of his head--are these normal or is it possible they might be infected? About feeding, depending on the person some say live while others say stunned and some say dead. What is really the best way to feed my snake? I thank you for your time and patience. Good advice is hard to come by. Sincerely, Michelle. Dear Michelle,We feed all our ball pythons freshly-killed mice that we "hand" to them with a pair of 10" forceps (giant tweezers.) They grab them off the forceps and squeeze them a bit and then eat them. Many of our ball pythons will eat dead mice that are laid in their cage, but some require that they be fed. We keep them on aspen bedding that's about 3" deep and give them a hide box and a water bowl. They are in about 60% humidity. This species is fairly tolerant of a wide range of humidity. The loose scales are probably pieces of the last shed that were stuck on. See how things look after the next shed. So far as I know, almost any live plants that the snake doesn't destroy will be fine. Certainly ivy and ficus and spathophyllum and those sorts of hardy houseplants work great. Dont overheat your snake with the lights necessary to make your plants happy. Good luck. DGB.
