What do you wish you knew?

[Csondra]

Hi everyone - new here. I've spent some time researching BPs and hope to get one pretty soon.

I was just wondering what's the one piece of advice you wish you'd had when you got your first BP? (Other than they're addictive.)

Or what standard advice have you found to be not important?

Just curious and thought it might be a fun topic.

Alicia

[bcr229]

Build a rack.

[Darkbird]

Well, you beat me to the only real issue I didn't know beforehand. The addictiveness of them took me totally by surprise, and I still see new combos everyday that amaze me.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Housing as already mentioned.
Also it would have been nice to know you will always need another one......

[George1994]

I looked a lot into them before getting one. And knew about fasts. It wasn't until mine went 4 months without eating that I really worried about them. He had tons of weight, was healthy, everything was perfect, he just wouldn't eat.

I knew that 4 months was nothing, but was getting really worried about him. Then, he finally ate! My little one has done a similar thing an it is just something that you gotta deal with. Might worry at first, but you soon realise that is part of the joys of owning a ball python haha!

As Darkbird said, the addictiveness is very apparent! I got one with the intention of owning him alone for a few years. Within 6 months I had another

[AlexisFitzy]

Hell I wish I knew about Thermostats!! I went years and year and years without one luckily without incident and didn't find out about them until I started to visit this site. Just get a thermostat now lol it's the most important thing you will need when caring for your snake.


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[BumbleB]

I wish I went straight to a rack although I love my animal plastics t8 it's not practical for a larger collection, and wish I knew to skip glass tanks all together.

Also wish I knew how impatient I would be waiting for my girls to grow up lol 2-3 years is a long time! I just keep telling myself there's no rush

[thejennabird]

I was just wondering what's the one piece of advice you wish you'd had when you got your first BP?

For me, I didn't realize how much you worry about them! My BP is my first "grown up" pet and I am constantly fretting. To the point that little Gloria looks at me like "Mom, I'm fat and happy! I sleep during the day and hunt for rats at night. I eat, shed, and poop. What more do you want from me?!" (Except... you know... she's a snake and can't really make expressions... or higher-level thoughts.)

What standard advice have you found to be not important?

While not necessarily unimportant, I've found there's a lot of misinformation and heated debate about feeding inside vs. a separate enclosure. I personally feed in the tub because it's convenient, what she was used to, and I didn't want to risk hunger strikes. I honestly feel feeding in the tub is better. BUT, above all else, people should do what works for them and their snake! If your BP only eats in a separate box, do that. Just make sure you put lots of careful thought into your husbandry decisions!

[Running Elk]

1) make a snake fund, and try not to spend beyond it.
2) set a limit at reptile shows and stick to it.
3) remember that that really expensive morph you've been eyeballing will be cheaper next year, then cheaper the next. Recessive genes drop slower than co-Dom or dom.
4) learn genetics, if you see a really wild gene combo, consider making it yourself.
5) there is no rehab I know of for python addiction.


Of course, these steps come after building a rack.

[Sammiebob]

I wish I had known that sometimes they pee blood when they shed. Sometimes they don't eat it the right way, and I wish I had known that it's not all that hard to find a pissy ball 😂