New Ball Python Pics and Introduction for first timer.

My name is Jeremy and I live in Iowa. I recently decided I wanted to get my first snake. Upon massive amount of research I decided a ball would be the perfect snake. During the research I came across this site and have been lurking for about 3 weeks now. I finally brought home my first ball python yesterday.

I first stopped at a local petstore called Aqua Land here in Des Moines. http://aqualandpetsplus.com/ They have a great selection of animals and a very knowledgeable staff. They only had some grown balls and baby albinos which are out of my price range and I wanted to grow with my snake so an adult wasn't what I had in mind. I drove to 4 petsmart/petco locations, 2 had balls and 2 didn't. The first one I came across with ball pythons had one. He looked very poor, scars, stuck shed, very skinny. I almost picked him up but I didn't want a vet visit already and this was my first snake. The second one with snakes had 3 in a large tank with separate hides. They all looked very healthy to me anyway. I chose the largest of the group and it was $40. Took her home and measured and he/she is right at 26 inches. I don't have a scale.

The tank is a 45 gallon that I have had setup all week to monitor conditions. The hot side is 91 the cool side stays between 78 and 81 and ambient air seems to stay right at 80. Humidity stays between 60 and 65 with the cheap gauge for now. I have an uth and a hydrofarm thermostat.

I named it Torque...I am a diesel mechanic afterall. It seems like it was always hunting for food non stop for 24 hours so I decided to offer him a rat today out of curiosity. I tossed it in the tank and the rat didn't even have a chance to look around before it was coiled up. Wonderful to watch! I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do or not but it seemed happy. A rather large rat but the guy at aqualand said it was ok. Torque didn't have a problem. I plan on getting a digital hydrometer/ Thermometer from Walmart tonight. Sorry for the long read, just seems like everyone always asks those questions. Let me know how I'm doing and I know the tank might be a little large? Heres the pics!!!

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...n/IMAG0144.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...n/IMAG0143.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...n/IMAG0140.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...n/IMAG0145.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...n/IMAG0146.jpg

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...n/IMAG0147.jpg

On a side not I also plan on buying some poster board and blacking 3 sides of the tank out later tonight also, and find a water dish that better suits him. He doesn't seem to like the hides after he fed?

Plan on getting alot of fake plants in there also so he/she feels comfortable with in the next couple days. It looks kind if barren inside the tank.

Cute BP and good idea on cluttering up the tank with fake plants and blacking out the sides. The tanks quite large for his size. I see you mentioned you'll be getting more digital hygro/thermometers which is good because the analog ones do not read correctly at all! That rat looks much too large for that sized snake, regardless of what the man at the pet store said. Someone else may expand on this, just my opinion.

Congrats on the new addition and welcome to the addiction!

EDIT: Also, he probably is not using his hides and is climbing up the tank in order to find an escape route. Considering there is so much open space he's probably a bit nervous and if that's not the case then he's probably just exploring the new surroundings. Mine explore their tubs each time I change their paper towel substrate, even though I don't actually change anything in the tub. Once you clutter up the tank and he's had about a week to settle in he'll hopefully use the hides and feel more comfortable.

Welcome to BP.net :colbert2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jjj_85

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...n/IMAG0147.jpg

He doesn't seem to like the hides after he fed?

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Hello, and :welcome: to BP.net.
He may have been too stuffed, after eating, to curl up in his hide. It looks almost like he is using his neck and tail to hold his stomach up and keep pressure off of it.

Congrats and Welcome! Your on the right track. I would definitely blackened the sides and back of the tank. The rat does look a little large to me also. If you stick around here you will learn so much useful info. Enjoy your baby and just to let you know they are addicting :) Please don't house two together if you get the fever.

Welcome fellow newcomer! One of my favorite hides is tupperware with a hole in the lid and a couple of wet paper towels inside. They love it!

I like his pattern.

Nice snake. Good thing you seem to have gotten the temps and humidity right off the bat. I know I still fight it sometimes.

Keep an eye on him climbing on your thermometers. Especially the analog ones with the sticky white tape on the back. My first Ball knocked one off (looked just like the gold one in your pics) and I came home and found him curled up with it stuck to his neck. I mean STUCK!!!:mad: When I finally got it off it required a trip to the vet to treat a small wound.
It was bad for all parties involved I assure you. Ever since I use probes instead.

Good luck

Wow didn't expect so many replies so quick! Thanks for the tips...I thought the rat was a little big. I'll go a size smaller in a week. He/She seemed to calm down after eating and is now inside the hotside hide. I leaned the black tagboard I bought at walmart up against the side for now, I didn't want to disturb him much at the moment so I'll fasten it good when hes comfortable. I actually took all the sticky backing off all the gauges because I didn't feel comfortable with that inside the tank and just hot glued everything.