New BP owner

[Midnight-Dragon99]

Hi everyone! This'll be my first post here and I'm just looking for some general tips for owning a Ball Python.

I am going to purchase my beautiful boy come Saturday or Monday (weather permitting) from a local pet shop (please don't fuss over that. I know some people get upset about purchasing from a pet store but these were all very healthy, no signs of mites, good weight, and on a perfect feeding schedule)

But besides all that, any tips for a new owner? I'm also not sure what morph he is. If anyone has any idea what morph he is I'd love to know! I THINK he's an Alpha Pastel but I'm not sure.


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I really hope this is the right place! If not I'll be more than happy to move it. Thanks again!

[chickenooget]

Hey I'm a semi-new BP owner as well

As far as any tips I have, I'd say to just make sure your enclosure is up and running with proper temps/humidity for a few days before you get your new bloop. Make sure everything's secured ( like your thermostat probe - mine wasn't and that caused a heat spike ) and good to go.

I'm not sure how much knowledge about keeping BPs you already have, but make sure you leave yours alone for a week once you get it. Keep them in as stress-free of an environment as possible. I didn't start handling mine until I got 3 consecutive meals in him.

When you start handling, I'd say no more than 20 minutes every other day (excluding feeding/post-feeding days). Keep the snake in a quiet isolated area so they can start learning to trust you and the idea of being out the cage. Respect the snake

But that's all I really have to say I think? I was certainly excited when I got my snake (heck I still am!) so congrats! It's a great experience as long as you stay informed. Hit up this forum for any advice - everyone's been great to me whenever I've needed help and I've learned a lot.

But yeah, good luck


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[BluuWolf]

I agree with chickennoogets advice and will just say again to make sure you have all the info you will need ans read up on tbe stickies here if you havent yet before the animal comes home.

Also I would make sure you get the right sized food for him. Pet stores are pretty bad about feeding them prey that is too small so I wouldn't go off of what he is being fed now.

Lastly welcome! And enjoy your new boy! Be just looks pastel to me personally, do the people at the store not know?

If you have any questions feel free to ask! Myself and all the other wonderful members here would be happy to answer them. No such thing as a dumb question, it's always best to ask then take a chance

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[Midnight-Dragon99]

Yeah I meant to ask but I was so excited about the fact I was finally getting one that I forgot to ask what type they think he was.

And yeah I'm planning on taking him to a exotic vet to get him fully checked out just to be sure he's healthy so I'll be sure to ask the vet what size he thinks I should feed him. I'm probably going to try Pinkies first if I can't get in before his first feed.

His name is Desmond by the way. ( after Desmond Miles from the Assassin's Creed series )

Thank y'all for doing so kind so far!

[Midnight-Dragon99]

Thank y'all for doing so kind so far!

*being. I meant to put being. I don't know how I put 'doing'

[BluuWolf]

Yeah I meant to ask but I was so excited about the fact I was finally getting one that I forgot to ask what type they think he was.

And yeah I'm planning on taking him to a exotic vet to get him fully checked out just to be sure he's healthy so I'll be sure to ask the vet what size he thinks I should feed him. I'm probably going to try Pinkies first if I can't get in before his first feed.

His name is Desmond by the way. ( after Desmond Miles from the Assassin's Creed series )

Thank y'all for doing so kind so far!

XD I understand I was real excited when I got my guy as well, just remember to ask when you go to get him Also pinkies would be much to small, hatching ball pythons eat hoppers (The next size up from pinkies) right out of the egg and that's only for the first few meals.

I would recommend waiting to get him home and weighing him before getting the mice then using this chart to buy the mice it is what most people here use.



If you don't have a kitchen scale that weighs in grams I highly suggest you get one. You'll need it to record his growth. If youbdont want to do it that way then get a mouse that is a little bigger then biggest part of his body. I know it may look like it's to big for him to eat but he can do it I promise!



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[BluuWolf]

Sorry didn't mean to post the photo twice XD And forgot to mention, love the name!

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[Craiga 01453]

Hi everyone! This'll be my first post here and I'm just looking for some general tips for owning a Ball Python.

I am going to purchase my beautiful boy come Saturday or Monday (weather permitting) from a local pet shop (please don't fuss over that. I know some people get upset about purchasing from a pet store but these were all very healthy, no signs of mites, good weight, and on a perfect feeding schedule)

But besides all that, any tips for a new owner? I'm also not sure what morph he is. If anyone has any idea what morph he is I'd love to know! I THINK he's an Alpha Pastel but I'm not sure.


​

I really hope this is the right place! If not I'll be more than happy to move it. Thanks again!

Welcome, you've come to a great place to learn.

You say you're getting him from a pet store, but the animal is healthy. Not trying to be rude, but how do you know the animals are healthy? If this is your first snake how can you be sure? I'm not saying it can't or won't be a healthy animal, I'm just trying to warn you that many of those stores do not provide proper husbandry or proper diets to the animals they are trying to sell. They also don't employ qualified reptile keepers and many of the employees are pretty cluless and just there to sell, sell, sell. Most of them don't even keep reptiles. They will sell improper equipment, not tell customers that a thermostat is a MUST, sell the wrong prey items, etc...
In the long run, it could end up costing you a lot more money and discourage a first time keeper. There's a reason there are so many BPs on craigslist and other classifieds, and big box stores are a big part of that.

[Midnight-Dragon99]

Welcome, you've come to a great place to learn.

You say you're getting him from a pet store, but the animal is healthy. Not trying to be rude, but how do you know the animals are healthy? If this is your first snake how can you be sure? I'm not saying it can't or won't be a healthy animal, I'm just trying to warn you that many of those stores do not provide proper husbandry or proper diets to the animals they are trying to sell. They also don't employ qualified reptile keepers and many of the employees are pretty cluless and just there to sell, sell, sell. Most of them don't even keep reptiles. They will sell improper equipment, not tell customers that a thermostat is a MUST, sell the wrong prey items, etc...
In the long run, it could end up costing you a lot more money and discourage a first time keeper. There's a reason there are so many BPs on craigslist and other classifieds, and big box stores are a big part of that.

The person who help me has actually kept many in the past! Including Boas, monitor lizards, etc. He was also sure to tell me that a lot of the stuff in the kits aren't needed but was sure to tell me that a thermostat was needed.

I also owned a corn snake in the past, I bought him from a breeder and he was never healthy that's turned me off from a lot of local breeders.

All this being said, I am going to take the snake to a vet as soon as I can get an appointment to check him out to just be a hundred percent sure he's alright.

As for how I know he's healthy I meant seems, I checked for mites and he didn't seem to be underweight. But I'm not an expert. So I will be taking him to the local reptile vet for a check up. Thank you for the concern! I have seen how awful some pet stores can be. Also thank you for being nice. I've seen so many people tear into others over this issue.

[Midnight-Dragon99]

XD I understand I was real excited when I got my guy as well, just remember to ask when you go to get him Also pinkies would be much to small, hatching ball pythons eat hoppers (The next size up from pinkies) right out of the egg and that's only for the first few meals.

I would recommend waiting to get him home and weighing him before getting the mice then using this chart to buy the mice it is what most people here use.



If you don't have a kitchen scale that weighs in grams I highly suggest you get one. You'll need it to record his growth. If youbdont want to do it that way then get a mouse that is a little bigger then biggest part of his body. I know it may look like it's to big for him to eat but he can do it I promise!



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Thank you so much for that chart! I will be sure to see if our kitchen scale weighs in grams.

How often do you suggest I weigh him to record his growth? Thank you all again for being so helpful.