I am not a snake person, never have been and probably never will be. But, my son has wanted a snake for some time. So, for his 13th birthday, we got him a small ball. Honestly, we probably should have spent more time learning about them before jumping in, especially since we heard different things from different people about the care of a bp. I hope you guys don't mind me asking a few questions to help clear a few things up.

After spending a few hours on this site learning all kinds of new things, I feel a little better but still pretty uneasy about it all. I know there are several things I need to take care of ASAP. I just hope the poor girl (or boy) isn't too stressed because of our lack of knowledge or care.

We have her in a 20L tank with repti-bark as a substrate. Right now she only has one large hide on the side with the UTH. The large water bowl is located in the middle and a tree limb on the other side. The lights (when in use) sit atop the locking screen top above the hide. She is about 1 1/2' long and I'm guessing (from the pics I've seen here) she is a 'normal' bp. She HAD some greenery in her cage until a little mishap the other day which I'll explain in a moment.


Here it goes the questions....

Is a light source necessary? We were told to have a light (heat source) on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours. We have both a white light and a red light, both of which are 60w if I'm not mistaken. Only one is used at a time. If it is necessary, does it matter if we use the red or white bulb?

UTH - We were told to adhere the UTH to the bottom of the tank and that adhesive strips would be included....but they were not. According to the caresheet I found on this site, this bit of info is wrong. What is the proper thing to do?

Feeding - She was being fed small mice once every two weeks but the majority of the people we spoke with suggested to feed her fuzzies (?) once a week. Does this sound right for her size? Also, would you suggest feeding her in her enclosure or in a seperate enclosure? Keep in mind, my 13 yo son will be handling her. We do have an extra 10 gal tank available.

She is pretty darn active compared to the other balls that we've seen. When we had the greenery in her tank, she would totally re-arrange it by morning. Since taking it out, she hangs out on the tree limb and climbs and explores everything!! Is this normal? Do you think that maybe she is not comfortable in her surroundings, still hungry or what? Any suggestions?

The greenery that we bought at the pet store came with two rubber suctions cups with hooks to hang the greenery from. The other day I went to check on her and I noticed that she was hanging from the hook which was located in the very top corner of the tank. I freaked out because it looked as if it has penetrated her belly and she seemed to struggle to get down. Since I'm too afraid of her and since she seems to hate me I couldn't do much. I ran to grab something to pry the suction cup from the glass but by the time I got back (was out of the room for less than a minute) she was already free from it. As far as I could tell at the time, she wasn't injured (no evidence of blood and the suction cup was still attached to the glass. Later, I was able to see her underside while she was hanging and climbing on the limb and thankfully, I didn't see anything unusual. However, since then she seems pretty upset. Is it possible that she could have hurt herself or maybe just scared her? The suction cup was removed right away so there is no concern about her hurting herself again. My son is away visiting his cousins so she has not been handled the past few days and not since this has happened. I'm afraid of how she might react when he gets her out the next time. Any suggestions?

Tank background - do you suggest it? I've found some really cool dimensional backgrounds on Ebay that could be made to fit her tank size. Right now, she's got a great view of the motocross border that's on my son's wall. LOL

I have a bunch of other questions but I think I'll wait until later to ask more! LOL I can be very long winded as you can tell and I certainly don't want to wear out my welcome. I feel like I should dedicate my first book (post) to somebody! LOL

Any and all information you can give me would be greatly appreciated (links, book titles, your own experience, etc.). I want to be a responsible pet owner and only do what's best for the snake. Even though I'm scared to death of her, she deserves the same care that I give my dogs and horse!!

Thanks a bunch!!
Tanya