New here and just some questions.

[Rodney Allen]

Hello all.I'm and starting to prep for getting a ball python.After reading a lot of care sheets I still have some questions that I couldn't really find real answers to.

-I know that you should feed BP the size of the largest part of it.But seeing how I don't have the snake yet and can not tell what would you suggest for a baby BP? pinkies?

-I know that you should not get too big of a tank for a ball python.But in all the care sheets I've read it seems that it is either a 10g or 20g long tank that I should use.I already have a 20g tank so if I give it enough hides would it still get stressed out?

-I live in the NE and our winters can be really cold.Besides a UTH what would you suggest to keep the ambient temp around 80? I've heard that a with a heat lamp it screws with humdity.Any counters to this?I've thought of using a humdifer on really low but I kinda doubt that would work. Links would be a great help to said counters or products.

-I know that when you feed a BP that you should not handle them for about 48hrs.The thing is I do not plan on feeding my Ball inside his/her tank.I have a storage bin I was going to use.But I certainly cannot leave my Ball in the bin,so would it be ok to handle it so I can put it back in the tank?

So yeah I am pretty sure that is about it.Thanks in advance for all advice given.

[Daybreaker]

-I know that you should feed BP the size of the largest part of it.But seeing how I don't have the snake yet and can not tell what would you suggest for a baby BP? pinkies?

-I know that you should not get too big of a tank for a ball python.But in all the care sheets I've read it seems that it is either a 10g or 20g long tank that I should use.I already have a 20g tank so if I give it enough hides would it still get stressed out?

-I live in the NE and our winters can be really cold.Besides a UTH what would you suggest to keep the ambient temp around 80? I've heard that a with a heat lamp it screws with humdity.Any counters to this?I've thought of using a humdifer on really low but I kinda doubt that would work. Links would be a great help to said counters or products.

-I know that when you feed a BP that you should not handle them for about 48hrs.The thing is I do not plan on feeding my Ball inside his/her tank.I have a storage bin I was going to use.But I certainly cannot leave my Ball in the bin,so would it be ok to handle it so I can put it back in the tank?

~ Pinky mice are way too small for even hatchling BPs. I would wait until you have the snake and better determine what size you need. I use the 10-15% rule: feed a feeder that's 10-15% the weight of your snake. I use a digital food scale that you can get at Walmart or the like. My guess if you're getting a baby would be at least mouse weanlings/adults or rat fuzzys/pups.

~ 20 gallon could work but I can't comment too personally as I keep my balls in tubs. I hear people starting out with 10-20 gallons regularly though.

~ Besides keeping the actual room the snake is going to be in warmer I would recommend the heat lamp + UTH. You can always mist the enclosure when the snake is about to shed or offer a humid hide. Again, just suggestions since my snake room is kept at a constant 79-80 ambient.

~ You can feed inside the tank, I personally recommend it as I do this with every snake I have. None have/gotten "food aggression" from it: they know the difference between my hand and a rat. But yes, after he eats you can gently pick him up and put him back in his tank, that shouldn't be a problem for him.

[The Serpent Merchant]

A BP right out of the egg can eat at least hoppers, pinkies are way too small.

a 20g will be ok for a hatchling

UTH's do NOT increase the air temperature in the cage. You will need a heat lamp to increase the air temperature in the tank. Humidifiers are overkill for a BP, You can use a substrate like cypress mulch that holds in humidity really well, and cover part of the screen top with foil to help maintain humidity. UTH's are great for creating the hot side temperature, but MUST be regulated by a thermostat. Without a thermostat a UTH can and will get hot enough to kill your snake.

I would strongly suggest just feeding your BP in his or her cage. There is no good reason to feed in a separate tub. A BP isn't going to get more aggressive or think that your hand is food if you feed in his or her cage. Many people here and every major breeder feeds their BP's inside their cages without any negative effect, infact you are MORE likely to get bit feeding in a separate tub due to handling a hungry snake in feeding mode to get it to and from the tub.

But to answer your question, you can move the snake back from the tub if you choose to feed that way.

Checkout these 2 threads

This caresheet is very good, not all internet caresheets are:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet\

This thread goes over cage heating in detail:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

[royboy]

Hi Rodney, like you i am new to this forum but I have been keeping our python for about 4 years and he/she is about five feet long. Our snake only eats frozen mice (which i defrost and warm by putting it in a small freezer bag. This is put into a pint glass of hot water. I make the hot water by putting in a quarter cold then filling up with boiled. After the mouse (super jumbo 30g) has been in for ten minutes or so it is ready - feel through the bag to check it is soft.) it will not eat rats - I had to give these to another snake owner.
Our snake feeds when he is hungary, and ALWAYS in its enclosure. When he is hungary he adopts a hunting position, looking sneekily out of one of his tubes. I then look through the window a couple of times and he adopts to this by coming out of his tube a little more. This means it is time to go and prepare the mouse. After 5 minutes I return with the mouse in the glass warming. I put this down to one side and look through the window again. By now he is usually adopting a position ready to strike, a sort od zigzag. After 10 minutes I check the mouse and if ready i take it out or the bag using a pair of tweezers about 6 inches ( 150 mm) and i pick the muse up by one of his front paws. NEVER at any stage handle the mouse and if you buy them from the shop ask the assistants not to touch them. I then open the door and very slowly present the mouse to the snake. He may strike straight away or he may want to come up to the mouse an sniff it a bit; I reckon it depends on how hungry he is. Then once he is coiled around the mouse I back off and leave him too it. Pythons are very shy and your plan to feed him in a bin troubles me. Getting him out will stress in and a stressed python will want to slither away rather than feed.
I have posted some pictures of our set up. the snake tends to use his sleeping boxes as a toilet which I am quite pleased about becase it saves soiling the enclosure. If he changes boxes it is often because he has soiled one of them. The enclosure needs to be fairly large because they like to slither around but the nest boxes can be tiny, just big eough to coil up in seems to be his favorite. I put some kitchen paper on the floor of the nest box about 5 sheets. I do not bother splitting them just fold them on top of each other. It helps to have a tube into the box, most snakes love going down tubes. The size of mouse I use as a rule is a body length about twice as long as his head.
I never bother to mist the enclosure but there is a large bowl of fresh water in there always which he can bathe in. Our enclosure is split into 3 parts and the largest section has its own central heating radiator with thermostat control valve. This keeps the temperature at exactly 27 Centigrade. There are meshed divides to alow the air to circulate but keep the animals apart. There is a light in the form of a ornate lantern security light which you might find outside by a front door. This is designed for weather so it is great for a vivarium. In the lantern I have a 10 watt low energy bulb which provides enough heat for a temperature gradient, and this works off a time 8 hours on 16 hours off so that the snake gets used to day and night.
Keeping the snake like this has been very successful and we have not had any problems. I would not advise forcing him to feed unless on the advice of a vet, and ther wll be times coming up to shedding when they will not feed and Brumation. Brumation is like a fasting, seasonal changes can bring it on. Since I have used the central heating to warm the enclosure it has not happened but even so there are times when they do not eat for weeks, this is normal python behaviour. Now that I have got used to reading his behaviour he tells me when he is hungry and I feed him. Often they will want to eat a lot more before the commencement of a fasting period. Monty is in perfect condition not fat not lean and a very happy snake.

I hope you find some of this useful. Regards
Roy