Hello everybody.. picking up my BP in about 11 hours.

[Andariel]

Hey.. my names Christoper (Chris for short) and I'm in Maryland and buyin my ball in about 11 hours.

I'd first like to say that ball-pythons.net has been a huge resouce for my in my decision to get a BP. I've had several friends that had balls out in AZ when i was goin to tech school and now i'm finally gettin my own.

She's a 5-6 month old almost normal coloring, but just a little darker than most of the ones i've seen. (I'll get digital pics asap to post up here if anyone wants to see her).

Just wondering if anyone has any advice for a beginner. I've got a 20 gallon tank with astroturf (perks of working for Lowe's free stuff)... a water bowl about 1 1/2 tiimes her size that fits perfect in the one side of the tank, a fake rock/log thing for her to climb on and around, and a hide box. Got a heatin pad under the tank and its averaging around 82-86 degrees on high and 78-83 on medium settings. I'll be gettin a red light tommorow when i pick her up for a top source of heat. And the tank is near a window (about 5 feet across from it, but still where the sunlight can handle the day/night routine and add a little basking heat). Anything I'm missin or anything u think I should change? Please YOu guys know more about them then I do.

I look forward to learning more and participating on the site Thanks again.

-Chris

Edited by RPlank for content. Please keep in mind this is a family friendly, all ages site!

[RPlank]

Hi, Chris, and welcome!
The only things I would suggest for your setup are these:
1) at least two hides, one for each side of the tank, so she can choose the correct temp and a hiding place;
2) unless you live in a very humid area, have humid hides available for shed cycles-you will not be able to maintain humidity in an aquarium.

Everything else sounds great! Congrats on your new critter, and we can set up a photo gallery for you if you want one. Welcome to the site!

[Andariel]

The log/rock thing i have has a little nook under it that she can hide in for now... Later this week i'm prolly gonna be goin into Fredrick and they have more pet stores then I have around here. Living in western maryland isn't quite the best place for anything... the closest thing we have to any kinda super store is a Super Walmart.. lol. There's 2 pet stores to choose from, and both have BP's but the smaller store seemed to not have as nice of enclosures for their snakes.. tho the rest of the store was immaculate, where as the larger store wasn't quite as nice as the first, but the snake enclosures are fabulous (hence why i'm gettin my snakes there... I've been there 6-8 times over the last 2-3 weeks and every time teh snakes area is amazing). Anyways when i go to Fredrick I'll go to petsmart or petco and see what they have for another hide... maybe a second tank so that i have a seperate feeding tank.

I told the petstore guy i wanna see the snake feed before i bring her home and he said that wouldn't be a problem that they haven't fed them in about 4 days, so tommorow will be 5 and she should be hungry.

I'm gonna do what someone else said in one of the other threads on here.. about placing the water bowl on one of the heat pads (I've got two heating pads, one will be on high (82-86 degree range) and the other on medium which will be 78-83ish. to help with humidity. Plus my house has a humifider in the heating system so actual house humidity is about 50% most of the time anyways.

Just made a list of a couple other things i wanna get. A humidity guage and a second thermostat (was reading thru other posts).

Thanks, and as soon as I get pics i'd love to setup a photo gallery

-Chris

[Wizill]

best advice you can get is...


don't worry. it's easy. . all you have to do is read a few web pages from my experience.

[BallKingdom]

It's good to see you opting for a baby bp, they are definitely the way to go. It's worth the effort to raise them up, trust me. No fun in jumping right into adults.

Sounds like you got it covered, besdies what Randy said. Keeping humidity good will be tricky... It can be done though.

[emroul]

Welcome to the forums, Chris!

It's so good to see a "almost" new bp owner wanting to do good for their animal, and make sure everything is right..heh... Well, it sounds like you have everything under control, and you read up on how to care for them. Like Wizill said, it's cake. (As long as you can put up with them not wanting to eat every once in awhile). But since it's a baby, I wouldn't worry too much. Do you just want to keep her as a pet, or do you want to raise her for breeding in the future? Good luck with her, let us know how it goes.

Oh, and PICS PICS PICS!!! lol

Jennifer

[Andariel]

Well I just brought her home, after stoppin by my best friends house to show his mom.. she was... a little freaked out by the snake

She seems to love her little enclosure, i got a 50 watt red repti bulb and already had a fixture for it. The tank is a little crowded right now, but when i get paid this friday imma get her a 25-30 gallon i think.

I'll try to find my digital camera today and take some pics of her.

-Chris

[BallKingdom]

This reminds me of when I brought Monty home....

Good luck with your bp, we are glad to have you here to participate and learn. It is always rewarding to see new comers take the time to join in forums to learn about their pets. Too many people buy them and use pet store info to improperly keep them for years.

Would you like an album to store your pictures in? Let one of us know and we'll hook you up.

[pimp_n_python]

can't wait to see some pics
my only suggestion would be to not keep the tank in direct sunlight as it can change the temps inside the tank to a lethal temp just piture your car on a summer day with the sunshinning down it cooks you. it will be even worse for the bp with heat lamps and what not
other than that it sounds like you have everything down
as far as another tank for feeding. Go to walmart and get a 5 dollar rubbermaid they're cheaper than a tank and just as effective
good luck