I'm in the market for a BP

Hello BP.net forum-goers,

I am new to the forum and just have a few quick questions! Recently I have been getting more and more interested in purchasing a BP for a pet. Here's a little background of myself. I have owned snakes before in the past (Kingsnakes/Gophers), but never a BP. I am 19 and will be taking my snake with me to college (I will be renting an apartment and have my own room in a pet friendly complex so there should not be any issues), and am looking for a good companion snake. I have chosen a BP as my primary candidate due to the fact that they have the most wonderful dispositions and are very calm snakes.

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me a little about which are some of the more affordable morphs/which affordable morphs would be a good investment if I ever decide to breed in the future. However I will most likely never breed, I would just like to have one BP as a pet (hence why I would like to invest in a morph since the snake will be a companion of mine for a while).

Along the lines of morphs does anyone know a good breeder in the Northern California region? I am about 30 minutes North of Sacramento but am willing to drive a little in order to pick up a BP (I would prefer not to order them from a breeder online and have them shipped as I would first like to see the snakes pattern/color and behavior and I do not want the snake to become stressed by being shipped). I have heard that it is best to stay away from the general pet stores such as Petco for buying snakes. What is everyone's thought on the matter? The Petco near where I live has a gentleman in charge that is a snake enthusiast and seems to take great care of the snakes there. The cages all looked clean, he was able to handle all of the snakes and they were calm, they are already on a frozen diet, and they seem relatively young (right around 16 inches in length). He also highly recommended a BP.

My last question is about the humidity. I have read that BPs can have issues with shedding if the humidity is not in the correct range. I will be purchasing a 40 gallon tank with a top and clamp for the top. I already have a burrow (half of a hollowed out log) for the snake, a fake tree for climbing, water bowl, astroturf (of the variety specifically sold for reptiles in the store), heating pad, lamp, thermometer, etc. As I mentioned I am in Northern California right around the Sacramento region and it can become very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. The cage will be in my bedroom of the apartment which will have one window. Will there be anything special that I will have to do to make sure my tank has the correct humidity levels?

Thank you very much in advance for any help you can provide and I apologize for all of the questions (I hope that I did not post this in the wrong section of the forum).

-Christian

I wouldn't get a 40 gallon, they are terrible for BP's. tubs and PVC cages are a much better choice. Tubs and PVC cages hold in heat and humidity very well and will make your life much easier.

Here is some info on tubs and PVC cages

Tubs: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basics...*DUW*

PVC Cages: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...With-Pictures!

Half logs are possibly the worst hides you can use, as they do not offer any security to the BP. these hides sold at reptile basics are considered to be the best by many.

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/072429b1.jpg

BP's are terrestrial so climbing branches are not necessary but are ok if you want one.

astroturf isn't the best idea. I personally use corrugated wrap for substrate, but paper towels, butchers paper, newspaper, aspen, cypress mulch, and coco-husk are all good choices.

You are also missing the most important piece of equipment. a thermostat to regulate the heating pad. unregulated a heating pad can easily get over 150 degrees. this is hot enough to kill a snake. It also can short out and start a fire. a thermostat is absolutely mandatory. Don't waste your money on the crap sold in pet stores... and don't ask them for advice. they give out terrible information about reptiles.

here are 2 good thermostats:

budget (should be replaced with a better one when possible)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NZZG3S/...13134469453409

Best: http://spyderrobotics.com/

make sure that the thermometers that you get are digital ones. once again the stuff sold in pet stores is crap and a waste of your money. you should get one of these. they are sold at Walmart for $12 and measure 2 temperatures and humidity.

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/photo-3.jpg

overall by not using a heat lamp and glass tank your humidity issues should go away. tubs and PVC cages hold humidity in very well...

You should give this a read: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

As for where to get your snake. stay away from petco/petsmart. not only do they charge ungodly amounts of money for their reptiles, but they are usually unhealthy and underweight. Your best bet is to buy from a breeder and have it shipped to you (which is very common and safe)

Here are some good breeders:

Justin Kobylka (he is in Georgia around Atlanta so he is probably the closest to you)

http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/

Constrictors Unlimited: http://pythonregius.com/

Ralph Davis Reptiles: http://www.ralphdavisreptiles.com/

There are also many people on this site who breed and are great people.

With any breeders, they cannot post all of their avaliable snakes in their site, so if you don't see anything you like, just give them a call or email. they will be more than willing to help you out.

As for cheap morphs, i would go with Spider, Pastel, Mojave/Lesser/Butter

What he said.:gj:

X3, Aaron covered it all. :)

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

x4! Usually ball pythons have the same type of personality across the board - 90% of the time they're placid, calm creatures. If you're worried about one being aggressive, just email the breeder and ask. Hatchlings can be nippy because you're very, very big and they're very, very small and you're a predator in their tiny minds. The first week or so they're going to be stressed no matter where you get the snake so I wouldn't worry about them being too stressed if you have them shipped.

I would go with a PVC enclosure instead of a tank. Tanks are very hard to keep steady and if you don't have the perfect ambient temps, it's hard to keep a tub warm enough. PVC cages are the perfect balance even though they are the most expensive choice.

Also he said California and not Georgia, guys :P

[QUOTE=Inarikins;1811633Also he said California and not Georgia, guys :P[/QUOTE]

LOL, my bad... I read Carolina instead of California... That will teach me to read things quickly

Welcome to BP.net!

Run away from tanks in general...run even faster from 40 gallon tanks. Aaron gave you the straight skinny on PVC cages and tubs.

As far as cool morphs that won't break the bank, some of my favorites are Spiders, Mojaves, Lessers, Pinstripes, and Pastels. If you are willing to spend $500 to $700, then you can get into some very cool two gene animals like Pastel Lessers, LemonBlasts, a variety of Spider combos.

No matter what you decide to spend, buy the best example you can find of the morph you want. You'll never be sorry you purchased a quality animal.

Wow! Thank you very much for the detailed and helpful responses. I read through all of the articles during my last class lol and think that I will be going with the PVC cage. You mentioned that it's the most expensive however. How much does a typical cage run if I build it to last the snake through adulthood? Also any recommendations for West Coast breeders or anyone from this site? Thanks everyone!

You'll get the best results with a PVC enclosure probably if you buy one. I don't know much about them though because I'm running my only snake in a tub and I'm going to upgrade to a rack so I can get more snakes soon so I won't ever deal with those. I think Animal Plastics has some good ones? Somebody will no doubt chime in and tell me I'm wrong about that, but you should be able to google 'PVC snake enclosures' and find a good selection. Fauna Classifieds might have a few in the housing section for less than a new one. Sometimes people sell off their old enclosures and you might be able to get a secondhand one shipped to you.

All of my cages are made by Animal Plastics. I use their T8 cage for Ball pythons. They cost $150 plus shipping and any add ons that you choose. They are very sturdy and worth the money. You can even stack them.

2 cages stacked

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/c22733cf.jpg

This is a T8

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0459.jpg

Here is their website: http://www.animalplastics.com/

And once again the thread I wrote on animal plastic cages (and PVC cages in general): http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...With-Pictures!