New to BPs

We just got our first BP! Have been thinking about getting one for a few months and then Petco had this great sale on tanks so we bought a 40g breeder and later went back for our new snake. He/she is just a normal, and is about 3-4 months old. This site has been very helpful with all its info on Ball Pythons.

Does anyone raise and keep their own colony of mice? Is it a waste of time or is it worth it?

http://i847.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1286399651

Welcome to the forum:gj: Can you give us a bit more detail on your setup? Make sure to read the care sheet, a 40g for a ball that size may be stressful and lead to food refusal. Breeding mice for one snake is a hassle, you will prob be over run in no time,

Welcome to BP.net! And congrats on your first Ball Python! We have 3 BP's and don't raise or breed mice. I know there are some people here who do, but they have quite a lot of snakes. I would just buy mice/rats for each feeding instead of breeding them for one snake. However, this is an addiction. You think you'll be fine with just one... and then two... and then 6! :rolleyes:

I know the set up is a little big for a young BP but I figured if he starts to show signs of distress I could close off part of the tank.

40G
substrate- repti-bark
shelter on both sides
water bowl in middle
Warm side- probe says 90 air 84 I have a UTH and a basking light with dimmer
Cool side- 80

Humidity I have had a little trouble with. I cant get it above 45 so today I covered the top with foil, we will see how that goes.


As far as getting more pythons in the future, I would love too! But I cant imagine having another 40g tank. My corn snake and BP are plenty for now :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Squiggs

My corn snake and BP are plenty for now :)

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But then you'll discover the beauty of tubs :D I'm not going to say too much because I haven't been keeping balls for long, but from personal experience, aquariums are horrible to work with, especially if you live somewhere that gets cold in the winter. I'm in the process of switching all my balls into tubs and so fars its been incredible. If your planning on keeping him in the aquarium though, your going to wanna cover about 90% of the screen top with plexi glass. This will hold the humidity in. Also you can take the light off the top, it really dries out the air...I think. I also put a thick foam material that I picked up at Lowes and put it on 3 out of 4 sides of the tank to keep the heat from escaping through the glass. And lastly, reptibark isn't the greatest thing in the world. It holds humidity good, but I've found that its horrible to clean and would get in my snakes mouth when he would strike at food. He would freak. I swtiched to newspaper....it doesn't hold humidity well in an aquarium but I have no problems because I'm switching to tubs. I can post a pic of my aquarium set-up if you'd like and also my tub set-up...which was ALOT cheaper and more efficient. I'm sure someone more experienced and knowledgable will chime in to help you as well.

Hope that helped a little! Congrats on your first BP, you WILL get more, trust me...

I would go with a pair of rats, rather than raising mice, if you want to raise feeders. Or just switch him to frozen/thawed.

The Repti-Bark is a waste of money. It has to be discarded when soiled, and you will find that snakes actually pee a lot.