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do balls have teeth?

M

mbrown

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do they? if they bite is it as bad as a Boa's bite? or as little as a corn's bite? is it true they are bad eaters?
 
Yes, they have teeth. Their bite may be slightly worse or comparable to a corns. But in my opinion they are the best pet snake because they rarely bite. Out of the 60+ we have now, a few can be nippy, but they are still young and are getting better. As for feeding, if you purchase captive animals and they are kept properly, there should be no feeding issue. They are known to seasonally go off feed, but this is okay.
 
A lot of Ball Pythons can have feeding issues for no apparent reasons. Their bite depends on their size, and your tolerance for pain. Not the beginner snake they are advirtised as, but not a bad snake in any respect.
 
Sand&SunReptile said:
A lot of Ball Pythons can have feeding issues for no apparent reasons.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this statement. Currently, we have no feeding problems with our bp's. Not taking the seasonal fasting into consideration. They fast due to instinct, in my eyes thats not a "problem", just something to deal with being a bp owner. Also, every bp I've encountered with a feeding problem, be it mine or someone elses, there was always a reason for it. In the past, I've found that even enclosures or hides that are too large may cause a bp to go off feed. Security is a big stress issue for bp's. I don't think enough owners realize this.

Now, I'm not trying to start a war, if you keep your bp in a large enclosure and it eats fine...great! I'm not telling you that they will never eat in a large enclosure. It does fluctuate from animal to animal. I'm just saying what I know from experience.
 
Different animals have different habits. I've had balls stop eating on me for no reason at all.
Perfectly healthy, CB animals, with proper husbandry requirements. Just up and stop, for some time. Though it isnt a serious problem, it can happen, and does happen with a lot of balls. With the amount of wild caught balls, you may also end up with a finicky wild caught ball, even if sold to you as CB.
If yours eat fine, and dont go off feed for no reason, good for you, you have good specimens. Just because you dont have the problem, doesnt mean the next person wont.
 
Just because you dont have the problem, doesnt mean the next person wont.
Click to expand...

Becky pretty much said the same.......

It does fluctuate from animal to animal
Click to expand...


What was said is what we have noticed over the last 8-9 years.


I've had balls stop eating on me for no reason at all.
Click to expand...
This seems highly unlikely as EVERY Regius we have kept has stopped eating from time to time and EVERY animal seemed to stop for logical reasons.
 
Well, I have had perfectly illogical situations in which one has gone off feed, but not the others.
If they all went off feed, Id assume a problem, or just instinct. But just one, it is illogical, and no apparent reason for it.
 
And in my eyes mbrown, they make GREAT beginner snakes and when housed properly they should have no feeding issues at all.
 
If you get a CB.
If you get an unacclimated wild caught Ball, unless you are lucky as all heck, it wont eat for a good long time, if ever. If a new buyer wants a snake, they should either get a king, corn, rosy, kenyan sand, or something. Or study how to check for external parasites, how to check the underbelly of the snake, and how to check for mouth problems.
Just to be safe, that way you are atleast sure you have a healthy wild caught minimum.
Buy a young one to start if you want one. That way, even if it is wild caught, or farmed, or whatever, you have a better shot to get it feeding on mice sooner than you would with a larger ball that is wild caught.
All the standard buying practices do also take effect... See it eat, make sure it is outwardly healthy ect...
 
Maybe it should be noted that we do not touch WC or CH animals and have none in our collection. The only animals that may not be CB are the first few that we aquired 8-9 years ago.
 
I also don't have any wild caught, or anything even questionable in my collection.
Everything is 100% CBB.
Every once and awhile, the same one will just go off feed. The others feed year round (I don't brumate yet, as they aren't breeding size.)
 
I have been lucy in my years in this hobby and have never had a non feeding ball. But like Mike I only do CBB, its alittle more money but it is worth the extra 15-30 bucks for a CBB it just might save ya some problems in the future. Every animal has teeth of some sort. I dont beleive a balls bite to be as bad as a boas and I have been bit by just about everything from snakes to women..lol
 
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