Need help - getting him this weekend

[BamaGirl]

Hi all. I don't post much here, just lurk for info, but I've come into a situation where I need help. I only have a leopard gecko, so my experience with snakes is pretty much nil. My bro-in-law recently moved in with us from where he was previously living, which was about 4 hours away. He is jobless, so at the time he had to leave his ball python with his sister, her husband and their 3 boys. Well, my hubby and I went down to visit the family this past weekend, and were over at their house so I checked on the snake to see how he was.

Initially, I had my sister in law take him out because he had something stuck to his mouth, plus I wanted to hold him anyway. In the process of that though, I looked into his tank a little more closely, and it is absolutely disgusting. I mean, poo left in there from what has to be MONTHS ago. The smell is horrible, they have NO water in there for him, they LOST his heat lamp so he has no heat...and so on and so on. Soooooo, I tell them to bring the snake up when they come to visit us (this weekend), and I tell my bro-in-law that I will take care of him and feed him until he gets a job. I just can't stand for the snake to live in those conditions.

Here are my questions:
- What kinds of substrate can they live on? He is currently on sand...and it turns out that was what was stuck to his tongue...so I want to take him off of it ASAP. Can I use tile? To me it is the most sanitary.

- What kind of heat source do they need? I'm used to a UTH with my leo, and I would like to stick with that because I know how to regulate them.

- What temps will he need (max high/low)?

- How often do they eat? I keep hearing once a month from everyone I know, but I don't see that as enough.

- What size feeder mouse?

Thanks in advance to all...

 

[Valley Reptiles]

Another Alabama member, thought I was the only one
Balls are pretty easy to keep.
Usually a UTH will be enough heat. Hot spot around 88 to 90 and a cool side around 78 with a hide on each side.

Substrate you can use aspen, cypress mulch, paper towels or newspaper. I'm not sure how well the tile will work.

The size of food depends on the size of the snake. You can feed him something just a little bigger than the size of his body. It should make a noticable bulge when he's done and go away after a few days.
For younger snakes every 7 to 10 days is fine and adults about every 10 to 14 days.

 

[BamaGirl]

Another Alabama member, thought I was the only one

Yeah, I don't see many others on here, that's for sure. Thanks for the info!

 

[dino221]

for the feeding the food item no bigger then the width of the thickest part of the ball..

and to feeding whats his/her age?

 

[tstodard]

I keep all of my BP's on aspen with a hotspot of about 88 degrees, cool side mid 70's. I feed them all rats, and they grow like weeds. Do not use sand, its terrible for them, you risk impactions, mouth rot and possible other injuries. An UTH would be fine for him, just make sure you have a thermostat on it. I had one of those things get up to 135 degrees! I try to feed mine once a week, but sometimes that turns into every 10 days or so depending on work. If he hasnt had water in awhile, I would soak him for a few hours and give him a water bowl big enough to curl up in.

Very easy snakes to take care of, he should do just fine.