Impending arrival.

[foxoftherose]

I've been on this forum for a little over a month, and would like to thank everyone for their advice and instructions.
I have my eye set on one of two ball pythons that I've been observing at pet shops for the past three months. The facilities at both stores are all well taken care of. The cages are all clean and free of feces and mites, none of the animals that I've handled have any evidence of malnourishment, infection, bad shed, or improper care. The two animals that I am considering are:
An unsexed two year old snake that is somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 feet long. It is being fed live small rats.
An unsexed snake that appears to be less than a year old, less than a foot and a half long, who is being fed frozen thawed rats and mice.
I intend on using f/t feeders with whichever animal that I get, and I have enclosures sized for either one. Which animal would you guys recommend?

I'm quite sure that I have most of what I need, but here's my supply list, and I would appreciate it very much if someone with experience would look over this and make suggestions for items that I've left out, or need improvement.
I have:
An HDE Infrared Thermometer
A Hydrofarm Digital Heat Mat Thermostat (to be upgraded to a proportional thermo when I can afford it)
A 30 gallon standard glass aquarium
A 55 gallon long glass aquarium
A 33'' long x 16'' wide x 6'' tall locking lid plastic tub
22'' of 11'' wide Flexwatt heat tape
Aspen bedding
Newspaper bedding
Sphagnum Moss and washcloths for shedding aids (I grow sphagnum, so if anyone wants some, I'd be glad to give some away)
I need to find suitable hides (I'm thinking of cheap plastic litter boxes), a water bowl, a humidity gauge, PAM, and a stock of frozen feeders. Is there anything else that you guys can think of? I'll delay getting my snake until I have everything up and running.
Thanks!

[gsarchie]

Sounds like you have most of what you need. You didn't mention covers for the tanks, which are a must. Your hide ideas sound fine and you're right about needing a water bowl. I wouldn't worry about a humidity gauge. In my opinion they aren't necessary, and with a glass aquarium and an open top (screen cover of some sort) you will be hard pressed to keep the humidity at anything other than the humidity of the room in which you keep the tank. As long as you mist when they are shedding you should be good to go. Lastly, I wouldn't worry about PAM unless you actually end up with mites. I feel like it would be bad luck to buy it preemptively.

As for which snake to get, pick whichever one you like the most. As long as they are both heathy it should come down to your personal preference.

[foxoftherose]

A challenger appears!
It turns out that I have the resources, time, and space for a RTB.
I suppose the qualities that I'm looking for in looking for in a pet snake are longevity, non-aggressive nature, ease of feeding (although I'm definitely willing to work as much as it takes with a stubborn feeder), tolerance of handling, and a mild to moderate activity level. I hope to one day own both, as well as a Bearded Dragon, but I'm picking up my snake sometime next week, if all goes well.
I'm absolutely thrilled with our local pet shop. The owner and employees are all very knowledgeable and willing to show and talk about any of the animals that they carry. They deal almost exclusively with herps and feeders, and one guy actually breeds carpet pythons. An extra bonus is that they carry honest to god brand name PAM. I'm so excited!
So, what do you guys think? RTB or BP?

[Royal Chick]

Definitely start with a BP in my opinion. I'm on the same page as you as far as getting both. I have two BP's and I'm hoping to get a third in Sept but I've been looking at RTB's off and on and I'm seriously considering getting one in a few years.

I have heard that RTBs are much more active and curious, but they get a lot bigger and can get aggressive if not handled often. Plus you have to get a much bigger food source when they get older which is also something to think about, could you afford something eating a large rat or another animal of equal size every week?

BPs do not show cage agression and can be taken out most anytime without you ever having to worry. They don't get agressive when not handled for long periods of time and are ususally a very low maitenance snake. Plus, if you catch the addiction like everyone else on the forum has then you will definitely be able to house more BP's in a room than RTBs, just saying, rack systems are great lol

I would suggest another water dish to help bump up humidity but other than that you sound good. For a cover for the screen I use two heavy towels to help keep the humidity in. Hope this helps.