E-Mails

Hello Everyone, I have decided I need to give you some information that will help me when I try to answer E-mails. If you send in an email asking about an animal be sure to include what breed of animal it is, not just species, Because A lot of snakes act vastly different. Somebody sent me an email asking about the snake he had just gotten, he included that this snake had bitten him, and that he wasnt sure when to feed the snake, But he didnt tell me what kind of snake it was, Now depending on the snakes breed the answers could be vastly different. I could have replied with anything from "Well Your Corn snake" to "Well your Python" because I did not know the breed of the snake in question. Im going to put a "Message" next showing an example of a very helpful e-mail.

"Hello, TRP I was wondering if you could answer some questions about Ball Pythons for me, I just got one at a local pet store, and I wanted to know if coiling around her head for hours if i tried to touch her was normal. Ive only had her for two days and would really like to know if she is sick or afraid, or if she is just going to do that every time i touch her. And I would also like to know what I should feed her and how often, Shes really little, only a foot or so long, and the pet store wasnt very helpful, my cousin, who has a Corn snake, told me to feed her little mice without fur, but i read somewhere that that was a bad idea. Awaiting your reply, Molly."

The above message is extremely helpful in telling the approximate size of the snake, and the breed in question. It also tells me that the snake was from a pet store, meaning that it was not handled very much at all and it would take a while to get used to people. so I would reply like this

"Hello Molly, I would be happy to answer your questions, Pet store snakes are not handled very much at all, give your new family member a few days to get used to its enclosure, and then start handling it for short periods of time every day, preferably in the evening just after the sun has gone down because Ball pythons are Nocturnal Meaning they are mostly active at night, I have seen a few rare cases where Ballies have adapted to be Diurnal but that doesn't happen often and can be bad for the snake. Ball Pythons are called such because they coil around their heads in a ball when they feel threatened, your snake is just scared shes not sick, and if she gets used to you, she wont do that every time you touch her. I cannot tell you what to feed her unless i know how big around her is, but I go by rule of size, don't feed your snake anything that is larger than just a bit bigger than its largest point around, if you can wrap your thumb and index finger around your snakes widest point and have them touch but not go any further, you're probably safe feeding your snake small rats if you can do the same at the rats haunches (Back legs) and have the same thing happen. Pinkies, Which are new born mice, are almost never fed to ball pythons, If your snake is small i suggest Hoppers, which are smaller than full grown mice, They are adolescent mice, they have a full coating of fur.  Never base your expectations of your Ball Python off of Corn Snakes, or any other snakes for that matter, All snakes are different. Even with in breed, if you take two Ball Pythons and compare them, im sure you'll see differences,   no two creatures are alike. If you want to send me a picture of your Snakes middle with your fingers around it, i will try and tell you what I suggest you feed to her. and smaller snakes usually eat twice a week, but once a week is fine too. Hope this helped, Lily from TRP."

Yes, My Name is Lily, and you are Welcome to use it when addressing an Email to me. So remember, when sending an Email through the "Contact Me" at the bottom, Include Breed of snake and if you can, Include Approximate Size or Weight Or even Age, and any thing else that may help me answer your question. Again, I will always answer emails, either personally or posted on this blog.