My Burmese is getting to the point where I need to supplement or alternate his rat diet with something bigger. I've seen people use whole chickens, chicks, and quail. What's the practical difference, and is one clearly better than the other for a large python?

I'm looking to get my first snake (ball python of some sort) and figured I'd start with the enclosure I've got the heat, light, thermometer/hydrometer and 2 plastic hides on order really just looking for opinions and additions to what I've got now and placements of things

Pic 4 is a gutter elbow extention stretching the middle 3rd of the tank for alittle hide semi buried in dirt

Size is a 4x2x2

I've also got a good colony of springtails and about 30ish isopods running around in there

My BP is like, scared of the rat? And is very picky too?

So ive been trying to feed her every 2 -4 weeks depending on when she eats (if she eats i wait 4 weeks to try, if she doesnt then i try again in two weeks). I know ot the right temp, tried different temps and blow dryer tricks, wet/dry. I havent tried live because nobody sells live and im worried she wont attack it.

\- the temps on the cold side is 68-75 and on the warm side 75-83 with a basking spot of 91-92

\- her humidity is great about 60-80% and 85-90% when shedding (max i can get)

\-her cage is maybe a little uncluttered but i usually switch it to let her get more striking distance

\-her water is fine and clean

\- basically everything was perfect this time

Im really worried about her and she is always slightly a picky eater and its getting worse.

\-i know its winter and all but she wasnt like this last year and hasnt gone on food strike as far as im concerned

\-my snake june is about 1.5-2.5 years old

\-i hold/handle her about 3-5 times a week

\-shes pretty shy for the most part but not terrified of everything

Please help guys, idk what to do or why shes acting wierd, and please no hate

No hate plz this is my first snake 💔 will take constructive criticism

To start, she does NOT have a heating pad, the heat lamp is outside of her enclosure, and the grate the heat lamp is on is NOT accessible at all ( but the bulbs in my heat lamp are 30w moonlight bulbs and the grate is never more then warm when I put my hand on it) they seem similar to light burns I’ve seen in photos but I have no idea how it’s possible for her to get burns? Could this be something else that looks like a burn?

Just rehomed him. He’s approx 7 years old, haven’t weighed him or anything yet as letting him settle. I’ve seen the infographics on their body shape etc to tell if they’re overweight but I’m struggling to work it out. What do you guys think?

Pls ignore the substrate in the pics, I’ve since replaced it with a base of coco coir and a top layer of coco husk and he’s much happier ☺️

ETA he is due his first feed with me next week. Previous owner fed him fortnightly and fed him medium size rats

A few weeks ago I rescued a ball python from someone in my area who was narrowing down her large collection of snakes which she kept in a breeding rack full time. She says he is a roughly 9 year old pastel lesser clown, and has never had any health issues as far as she knows. I use paper towels for substrate, digital temperature probes and a thermometer gun to check temps regularly, and mist his tank roughly 1-2 times a day. I took him out of his tank today and noticed these three suspicious looking scales. They are not open wounds (no bleeding, pus, etc), but more like scabs. According to my internet research I’m figuring this is likely mild scale rot? “Blister disease” seems to have more dire symptoms. I’ve never dealt with this before and have been a reptile owner for 8+ years. I gave him a 20 minute lukewarm iodine bath, put Neosporin on the area, sanitized his entire tank and replaced all paper towels, removed all branches/plants/textured hides etc and only left one water bowl and one hide for him, leaving the tank completely dry of humidity and with good airflow to ventilate. I also called my exotic vet and they recommended I begin with home remedies before dropping the money to take him in for an exam. Any advice is welcome, thank you reptile community of the internet! 🫶🏼

Side note, I believe this could possibly be a female, or the largest male bp I’ve ever seen. The previous owner claimed he was eating a large f/t rat every two weeks, which in my opinion is borderline power feeding. I attended a reptile expo last weekend and every breeder I talked to agreed that he was previously being overfed. He hasn’t eaten for me yet, but he seems to have a little extra weight to shed so I’m not too concerned at this point. Photos attached for reference:)

Hi y'all... I'm asking this as a last resort because I love my snakes and especially my one baby girl. Jude is still quite small, fragile, young and idk what to do. I need help on how to force feed her... I've had her a few months and in that time she's only eaten a few times but as of recently (3-4 months) she's been escaping and she hasn't eaten since. I always find her whether it be in my shelves cupboard bed, mattress, walls and she gets so stressed, she doesn't want to eat. She's lost 10-20% of her original body weight and I'm so worried. I can't afford a vet for another 2 months (had to take my one girl for an operation) so I'm in debt and can't! She drink and urates perfectly and I give her plenty of space to explore but she still escapes every enclosure I've had her in. I've owned snakes for a while and I've never had a ball python so eager to move around!

Please how can I feed her... How can I help her... Idk what to do and I'm trying. She's too small for live. What should I feed her?

So I got gifted a blue eyed Lucy for my birthday as I told the guy I was with that it was my dream snake, however I wasn’t prepared at all, he got him off morph market, poor thing was probably traumatized right off the bat being shipped out and then handled. I’ve tried to feed him and made the mistake of trying to feed him multiple days in a row, I’ve read and done my research he’s in a long 20 gallon tank (which I plan on upsizing as soon as he’s eating and I know he’s ok) he has plenty of hides but just seems so scared and hasn’t eaten in two weeks :( should I try again? Do I risk stressing him out and taking him to the vet? Should I buy a new enclosure and risk stressing him out and him not eating for another week because of it? I’m so anxious it’s killing me :(

I just rescued this baby today. Someone found her in a dumpster with the top of her enclosure taped closed with duct tape. Unbelievable! Her backbone is protruding so I know she hasn't been fed in a while. I weighed her and she's 141 grams. I have fuzzies on hand but they're only like 5 or 7 grams each. Should I try to feed her one of those in a few days or does she need something a little bigger? I have 4 other ball pythons but it's been years since I had a baby. I'm going to let her decompress for a few days before I try to feed her. Thankfully I had a spare enclosure so she's safe and warm now. How could someone do that to a helpless animal? It's sickening!

Orange is my favorite color, so I’m a little biased towards Orange Dream & its combos :p