Hopefully soon to be daddy of a bp

[BBotteron]

Alrighty so first I'd like to say I'm 25 with 4 kids (nb,3,4, and 5). I love my job and my animals I've had in the past. I've kept a few leopard geckos, Chinese water dragons, and a crested gecko. Once I started having kids I had to give my created gecko away unfortunately. So now it's 5-6 years later id like to get a ball python. I've been looking on these forums for about a month just looking and reading and I think I'll be picking up supplies this week or weekend whenever I make it out of town to the pet stores or Walmart.

Here is my plan on items to get and this is where I really want help and I'm a bit confused bc I've never had any kind of snake and it's a totally new world to what I'm used to.

20g glass tank a longer one not tall
2 uth
2 thermostat
since it's winter I was gonna get the spagnum moss or whatever for humidity
some coconut husks for when winter goes poof
2 hides
a small cfl for day/night adjust
One of those digital thermometers with 2 readings to cover both sides and humidity
and a few climbing branches

so now that brings me to the questions..do I need a ceramic heater or anything or will the Uths be good to cover both sides temps? I want to avoid the heat lights for humidity.

The he most important question should I buy from a pet store or online breeder? I've heard a lot of horror stories of pets dead when they arrive and I personally had one bad with one of my water dragon showed up frozen. That's the one and only time I've ever bought online. Update on him though he survived and hated the world couldn't pet him or hold him anything he'd always try to bite and died about a month later.

just looking for extra advice and all help is appreciated! Thank you

[KMG]

If you need a che or heat bulb will depend on the temp of the room. Your cage will need to be at least 75F, but 80F would be best, with a good hotspot. The uth do not do anything for your ambient temps so do not plan on them giving you the needed air temp if the room is cooler than 75F.

Most people will need a lamp and uth. I've found adding moist moss to each hide during a shed works great. I have great shed in a 40 gallon tank and it used to have a 100w che and a 60w bulb over it.

If you have not started searching for a good tstat get on it. There are cheap options out there but I'm not a fan. I have and recommend Herpstat. Get the best tstat you can afford. It is the most important thing you are about to buy.

As to where to get your pet. It doesn't really matter. I've ordered snakes online without issue and is bought them in person. I just say stay away from dirty shops and usually the big box stores are not your best bet. There are a ton of breeders on the side of the forum here. Check them out.

[KMG]

Skip the thermometers and get an IR temp gun. It is a much better method. I use it and just a simple single read thermometer in my cages for a quick read of the air temp.

[BBotteron]

Skip the thermometers and get an IR temp gun. It is a much better method. I use it and just a simple single read thermometer in my cages for a quick read of the air temp.

Thank you Kmg good information.

If if I skip the thermometers (which I already own an IR temp Gun with +/- 1* but how often do I check and is it really easier?

[BBotteron]

I will be setting everything up sometime this week and get temps and humidity right. I will also post update when I figure what route and bring my bp home and all that good stuff thank you all

[KMG]

You can check it whenever you want. While dialing in that will probably be a lot. The beauty of the temp gun is you can check wherever you want as well. This means you can be sure that there are no danger spots anywhere in the enclosure.

When I got a temp gun I found the numbers I thought I was providing were not correct. It took my keeping to a higher level of accuracy.

[BBotteron]

You can check it whenever you want. While dialing in that will probably be a lot. The beauty of the temp gun is you can check wherever you want as well. This means you can be sure that there are no danger spots anywhere in the enclosure.

When I got a temp gun I found the numbers I thought I was providing were not correct. It took my keeping to a higher level of accuracy.

Alrighty I want to get my setup started and in specs for like a week before I do get a bp. Any recommendations on extra care for a baby versus an adult or sub adult? Just curiosity bc I would rather get a baby and learn everything from the beginning.

Ill be sticking around this forum also bc this is probably the most helpful and friendly I've seen from all the search results on google ive done the past month

[Scosta56]

I would personally get a baby so you don't wind up buying someone else's problem. (Ex poor feeder or maybe even sick) I have raised my entire collection from babies. Not saying you can't get a poor feeder or sick baby, but most babies eat like little garbage disposals once acclimated properly. I have yet to get any sick babies , but I also do not buy from any Joe Blow. I did extensive research on the breeders I purchased from over the years. There are tons of reputable breeders on this site with some amazing animals. Definitely top notch quality. My opinion I would get a baby and raise it up. Learn and grow together it's so much fun. It also always amazed me watching my animals grow. At end of day you have to buy what you feel is a good fit for you. Welcome to the hobby hope you enjoy it !

[BBotteron]

I would personally get a baby so you don't wind up buying someone else's problem. (Ex poor feeder or maybe even sick) I have raised my entire collection from babies. Not saying you can't get a poor feeder or sick baby, but most babies eat like little garbage disposals once acclimated properly. I have yet to get any sick babies , but I also do not buy from any Joe Blow. I did extensive research on the breeders I purchased from over the years. There are tons of reputable breeders on this site with some amazing animals. Definitely top notch quality. My opinion I would get a baby and raise it up. Learn and grow together it's so much fun. It also always amazed me watching my animals grow. At end of day you have to buy what you feel is a good fit for you. Welcome to the hobby hope you enjoy it !

Awesome will do and thank you. That's kind of a big reason I wanted to get a baby for a learning and personal experience.