Quite a few things have changed since my last post - which I put up ages ago. I live in a different apartment, more spacious, so decided to have a tank built for my python. Acrylic, and made to match the size of the metal Ikea cabinet it stands on: 120 cm long x 40 wide x 50 tall. I did a lot of research before I started this off and these are the reasons why the tank is at it is: 1. The material is acrylic. It is very light (I can lift this tank with one hand without any effort), extremely clear (there is no light loss like there is with glass, which is something you don't realise until you see both materials next to each other) and it contains heat a lot better than glass. 2. The dimensions, as mentioned above, are based on the cabinet it sits on. I made it as large as possible so the snake has all the space it needs to go around and explore even when it is all grown up. 3. The sliding doors start at 10cm above the bottom. That means that there is a 10cm deep tray at the bottom, and the reason for that is the substrate I use - I decided to set up a naturalistic vivarium. More about that later. 4. There are two sliding doors, with a lock on each door. Easy access. 5. The top is closed off with two separate pieces of acrylic, held in place with 9 screws each (though I ended up using only 4 for each panel). I only open this for bigger maintenance so not as frequently as the sliding doors. 6. There are 4 rows of 5mm diameter holes (1cm apart) in each side panel. On one side they start about 10cm above the bottom, on the other side they are near the top. Air goes up when it gets warmer so in winter when I use the heating element I put it near the lower holes so the incoming cold air gets heated up and escapes on the other side through the holes that are higher up, and that creates a natural air flow). And that is it. I added heating (in winter) and LED lighting - more about that later. Total cost to get this tank made was HKD 2500, in one of the shops at the Prince Edward end of Aquarium Street in Kowloon. It's an older couple that runs the shop and they are very friendly and helpful.

eat

Watched Jempi swallow a rat for the first time. So far I have always left him alone after he took the rat/mouse I offered him to make sure he eats it and doesn't bring the food back up. Interesting to see how the snake sort of stands up and lets the rat slowly go down.

it's been a while

A few months down the line, and things are going pretty well with Jempi. He eats pretty much everything I serve him - baby rates, mice, frozen/thawed or live, it doesn't make any difference. He eats it all.

I have been feeding him on a more or less regular schedule, every 7-10 days. Earlier this week though I had a conversation with one of the guys who runs Urban Jungle, and asked his opinion on how often and how much I should feed my snake. The guy has been in the business for 22 years so he must have some experience, and he recommended to feed up to four times a week at this point, to really boost the snake's growth. Once it hits the thousand grammes mark I should start to be more careful to make sure it doesn't get overweight, but until then I shouldn't worry about overfeeding.

Will take his advice and start feeding more often, he should grow faster than he does. I bought the snake in July and it hasn't shed its skin once, and that doesn't seem right.

Jempi

Strike!

Two days ago I bought a fresh new pinkie mouse. Took it home. Opened the snake cage and the snake quickly moved towards the door. It slowly moved around the mouse for a second or two and then... strike! Took the mouse, coiled up around it, and that was that. Very happy that he has discovered his instincts.

Now what I am noticing is that when I open the cage to refresh the water or mist the tank, the snake comes towards me with the same curiosity. I feel it will strike at my hand again soon - watch this space.

Bite me.

Two weeks ago I first assisted the snake in eating its first pinkie mouse since it started living with me. Youtube turned out to be a great source of information, there are videos out there that show exactly how the assist feeding is done and what you should look out for. So I gave it a try. The snake tried to withdraw, but as soon as the head of the mouse was in its mouth it didn't take long before it first started to relax, and then coiled around my wrist. At that point I put it down in its box where it curled all around its food. Turned off the light, closed the door and waited for a good 15 minutes before checking. Mouse gone. I put the plastic box into a large brown paer bag so the snake wouldn't get distracted. It all worked very well, a few days later the snake came out of its hiding box and I put it back into its normal cage.

One week later I tried to feed it another mouse. Still no strike reflex, so I assisted again. That was on Tuesday, it is now Friday and the snake came out of hiding again.

When I opened the box (still inside the paper bag) the snake came out and tried to climb out of the bag. This is too high though, so I put my arm in to give it something to climb on, with the intention of then putting it back into its cage. When i did this before the snake first hesitated a bit but after a few moments got onto my arm. This time was different. It slowly circles around my hand for a few seconds, moved toward it as to slide onto my hand... and then it bit my finger and started to coil up around my hand. I sort of expected it as its behaviour was a bit different, but I'm wondering what set it off. I washed my hands right before handling the snake but used the same (slightly scented) soap as before I fed it. Wonder if it is now associating the scent of that soap with food. I'll try a different soap next time, see if that has any effect.

The bite itself was not really painful - bit like when you get stung by the thorn of a rose. I gently uncoiled the snake from around my hand, tail first, and then gently took turned by hand upside down. The snake loosened its grip straight away. Washed my hands and disinfected the two little skin punctures just to make sure. I'm actually pleased that it developed a reflex to strike, hopefully it reserves it for food though.

That ain't a toy you silly worm

Since it has been a few weeks and the snake still has not eaten, I decided to follow the advice Mike Willbanks posted on his site. I had transfered the snake from the larger cage into a smaller box so I could easily find the mouse back in case the snake hadn't eaten it. Bought a live mouse, still quite little. Waited until late evening. Put mouse in cage. Switched off light and left the apartment.

Came back about two hours later. The mouse was nowhere to be seen and the snake was curled up inside the shelter. All looked fine until about ten minutes later the snake started moving around again and that was not supposed to happen. After the feed the snakes normally stay rolled up inside the shelter for a few days while they digest the food. So I opened the box, lifted the shelter and there it was: a little pink mouse, quietly asleep. I mean, seriously... You're not suppsed to play with it, it's your food!!

Gonna stick to Mike's advice and wait five days before I repeat the procedure.

The best product designed by Apple

For as far as I'm concerned the best product Apple has designed so far is the box of the iPod Classic. Sure, the music player itself does what it;s designed to do but the box has turned out to be an absolute hit - with my ball python.

When I first got my python I was looking around te house for something that I could use for shelter and this was the only container compact enough to make sure the snake could curl up inside and feel nicely enclosed. I cut one of the short sides away to create an entrance. Turns out the snake loves it - as a matter of fact it has refused to go into any other shelter I tried to use so far.

I'm not entirely sure what I will do when it gets soiled eventually, guess I'll have to ask all my friends to give me their iPhone and iPod boxes.

A couple of pics

Still not hungry

Went to Singapore for a week on a business trip, thinking that when I got back the snake might have settled down enough to eat. Allowed it out of the cage onto my arm, gently transfered it into a large plastic container with clip-on lid, placed inside a large brown paper bag. I put it in the bag to give it a more enclosed feeling, and to prevent the snake getting stressed by anything moving outside the enclosure. Took a mouse out of the freezer, thawed it in warm water and held it in front of the snake. It sniffed the mouse for a while, went around it, then left it. I left the mouse inside the box, put the lid on and left the snake with the mouse overnight. Checked again in the morning - mouse still there, with the snake resting its head on top. Is he taking the piss??

I'm now going to follow the instructions Mike posted on his site: get a live mouse, put it in the cage with the snake, switch off the light and leave. Return an hour later, check whether snake has eaten the mouse.

Will post about the progress on here.