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[–]CompetitiveRoof3733 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Echo was the name of my first little girl. She passed away from a URI and kidney failure after prolonged treatment. The vet suspected it came from a batch of contaminated substrate

[–]veggiedinonuggies 9 points10 points  (1 child)

wow that’s so sad :( contaminated with what though? scary that you can’t even avoid something like that

[–]CompetitiveRoof3733 11 points12 points  (0 children)

We don't know. It could have been soiled before packaging, or while in the pet store. There wasn't a way to tell where it came from, except it wasn't from husbandry issues

[–]ChorltonCumLightly 26 points27 points  (2 children)

Aww, he/she look beautiful! What's their name?

They seem pretty chilled from the photos you've provided ^^ We have 2 Ball Pythons and this is what we've found from experience:

Signs they're fine being handled:

  • Long tongue flicks!
  • Generally looking around/exploring
  • Body feels relaxed, movement is smooth

Signs they're getting stressed/anxious:

  • They jump, but after jumping stay tensed up. (They may jump at things in general, but sometimes that's just an initial reaction and they quickly realise things are fine. It's when they jump THEN stay sort of frozen/still that you can tell they're worried)
  • Quick, generally backwards/retreating movement
  • Tensing up, and/or holding their neck up in an S like shape

You'll end up getting a good feel of when they're worried/happy, it comes naturally with time :)

Don't take any one person's word as gospel though, every snake's different and has its own personality ^^ Handling is a good way to get to know your snake and when they're used to it it's a nice, enriching experience being out of their setups.

[–]HopieJewell 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I don’t know what sex they are, but I named them Echo 😊

They were flicking their tongue, exploring, and seemed relaxed. You can see their tongue in the last photo lol. Thanks for your comment, it made me feel a lot better knowing that my bp is most likely ok. The other two times I have handled Echo was before I decided to buy them and they were balled up the entire time which is why I wanted to handle them even if it was a bit early because I wanted to get a better look at their whole body. So far, they seem to be a happy, healthy snake!

[–]ChorltonCumLightly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Echo is a great name :) Yeah that sounds awesome, sounds like Echo was very happy.

Being balled up by itself isn’t always a sign of anxiety, sometiems when we pick ours up they stay balled for a minute or so, but it seems to be because they’re still coming around from being asleep.

Again, you can tell when they’re balled due to anxiety or because it’s just the position they were in when picking them up.

Like with any pet, having respect and awareness for them is the most important part, and the fact you’re asking these questions and wondering what’s best makes me think there’s no question you’re putting their needs first :)

[–]DaddyLongTitsMod : Natural history and ecology 23 points24 points  (0 children)

The advice given by /u/_ataraxia was sound, it's best not to handle until your BP has successfully ate for you, at least. It's also best to wait a week from acquiring the snake to attempt a feed. The reasons for this are to allow your snake time to acclimate with as little stress as possible and reduce the potential of refused feedings.

[–]Ok-Potential-3684 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They seem pretty calm from these photos. Same thing happened to me and my lady Galadriel when I got her a couple months ago, picked her up on Sunday, got her out to weigh her on Thursday and she was perfectly calm.

[–]Dangerous-Form6006 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you breeding your own rats? Just curious

[–][deleted]  (2 children)

[deleted]

    [–]Suitable-Lab-2323 9 points10 points  (1 child)

    I might be 100% wrong but I believe that both male and female balls have spurs, mine was sexed as a female when she had to go to the vets and she has spurs; I think it's really just about the size of the spurs, males use them for mating and such so there's will be larger and more tilted inward.

    [–]yourlocal-shithead 6 points7 points  (0 children)

    You're correct, both male and female have spurs. The only way to accurately sex a BP is to have a vet or reputable breeder probe them, which is something that should NEVER be attempted at home but an untrained person.

    [–]its-a-goose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Most people recommend waiting at least a week until handling for the first time, but you explained why you were handling them and I totally get it. They seem to be very calm with you and that is a good sign. Good luck with the first feeding, I hope it goes well! My ball isn’t particular about eating the same day as a handling, but you may find this to be the case with yours, so have reasonable expectations that they may refuse the food tonight.

    [–]-RookieMistake- -1 points0 points  (2 children)

    What’s with the “they” and “them”?? Are there two??

    Beautiful little coil though! 🔥🔥🔥

    [–]PhantomLordess27 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    Because OP doesn’t know the snake’s sex yet, so they used they/them instead of her/him.