newbie seeking advice

[Lokua]

im wanting to get a BP soon (within a 1-2 months) and wanted to ask a few questions.

it is my first BP but did own a corn before this, unfortunaly he died. (partialy due to stress and mostly due to an idiotic ***** who used rat poison to kill the mice...thank god she was shut down)

i allredy have a great set up for one but having trouble locating one, not wanting a fancy morph just a normal BP. the only place i can find them anywhere near here (east tx) is at petsmart and i know never buy from a pet store (even though for the most part they seem to know what there doing in terms of husbandry). would it be okay to get a snake from petsmart?

also, shifting the content of the cage around will cause the snake stress however one must remove everything to clean it after it goes. less someone has found a way to take out astroturf without disturbing the items ontop is there any way i can advoid stressing out the snake during cleaning time?

i considered some drainage system but its a glass aquirum so hard to cut into without cracking or breaking it.

one last thing. i know not to use a hot-rock however what about a natural rock with a heat lamp shining ontop of it so it will naturaly absorb and emit heat. would that be acceptable for a snake or still risk burning?

[JLC]

Hi and welcome to BP.net!

First off...I would NOT get one from any pet store. The risk of getting an unhealthy snake that can't thrive is too high. Not absolute...but high. There are lots of great breeders that can ship you a very healthy, high quality captive bred animal for about the same price you'd pay for one at Petsmart. Also, if there are any herp shows/expos in your area, you can look there. But you still need to do a little research ahead of time to know a little about the vendors and what to look for.

Second...it's perfectly fine to do routine cleaning and maintenance on the cage. Once the snake is settled in and used to its routine, such things don't add any undue stress.

Third...I don't think a rock is necessary at all. An under-tank heater is best to achieve a proper gradient and basking spot...but even with just an overhead lamp...if you can get the right temps and keep your humidity levels at the right spot...that's enough for the snake. It doesn't need a rock or anything.

Lastly....be sure to check out our caresheet!

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

Tons of good info in there!

[Nate]

Welcome!

I can't think of any reason why you would need some sort of drainage system...so mark that off your "to do" list

JLC gotcha covered in everything else

[Lokua]

can you tell me the proper humidity for a BP. ive read a couple diffrent care sheets and they all state diffrent humidity levels ranging from nothing to 60% or will say they need low humidity most of the time since there use to arid climates but need 60% for shedding only

[JLC]

can you tell me the proper humidity for a BP. ive read a couple diffrent care sheets and they all state diffrent humidity levels ranging from nothing to 60% or will say they need low humidity most of the time since there use to arid climates but need 60% for shedding only

You will definitely hear a lot of different opinions on humidity. Based on the tremendous amount of success experienced by people here with decades of experience and hundreds of animals.....we like to recommend folks to try to maintain humidity somewhere between 50%-60%. Some folks will say you should bump it up closer to 70% during a shed cycle...but my personal experience has been that if you can maintain that ideal range at or a little above 50%, you can get perfect sheds without having to do anything extra.

I'd aim for extra humidity during a shed cycle if your daily averages drop into the 40's or lower, or if you begin to experience difficult sheds.

[wisski]

No expert here but after seeing the bp's at pet shops I would love to rescue them. But I agree there appear to be some great breeders out there. I am snake sitting a bp the humidity thing said 70 so I thought it was good. Then I took it out and it said 70 everywhere. Got a digital humidity 30! First shed in sept was good this week it was bad (live in Chicago area) . In a glass it is hard to keep humidity. Check the stickys. I got some moss and it is helping. He/she shed and is looking great.

[Lokua]

thanks. im a bit weary about online buys. a trinket off e-bay is one thing but a live animal over the internet, i toured UPS shipping center once, they just literaly tossed items off there truck with no care if it was marked fragile or any other markings. if it fell on the floor 10 feet oh well they will pick it up later...maybe. to have a snake go through that would be frightening and a miracle if it arrived alive.

there is also the fact i would not be able to visualy inspect the animal myself. to make sure it seems healthy.

but i will tour around for good breeders here and elesware. i have only however been able to find breeders selling exotic morphs and not just plain ordinary everyday BP can anyone point me in the direction of someone whom would just sell a non-morphed bp?

[hoo-t]

Most of the breeders advertising "exotic morphs" also have normals. They don't advertise the normals, because the money is in the morphs. Pick a breeder that you are impressed with and call or e-mail inquiring about normals.

Steve

[muddoc]

less someone has found a way to take out astroturf without disturbing the items ontop

Just my opinion, but the easiest way I have found to do this is to take out the astroturf, throw it in the trash and never use it again. I only say that, beacause, once upon a time, long ago, I thought astroturf would be a good idea. The one major downfall of astroturf, is that it can be a breeding ground for all sorts of parasites and bacteria. It is extremely difficult to thouroughly clean and disinfect. I would recommend using some type of substrate that you can spot clean (i.e. cypress mulch, aspen, etc.) or disposable like craft paper or newsprint.

Just a suggestion,

[JoshJP7]

Anyone who has a morph prolly has a normal.. Plus with morph breeding a lot of times you end up with normals... Dont worry bout the shipping... Ive received all but 2 of my snakes through internet/shipping... Just make sure you go through someone whose got their stuff together. They can send you pics and what not to make you feel more comfortable.