New baby ball python

Hello,

My name is Tiffany and I was referred here by ginevive for questions about my ball python. I just bought one yesterday and he is 7 days old. He is very active at night and snoops around his tank, he went in the hide once, but has not stayed in it. He is actually laying on top of it as we speak. My questions are:
1. For in future when soaking, should the water be lukewarm or warm?
2. Should the water bowl be big enough for him to soak in?
3. My leopard gecko has a moist hide with moss for shedding, would this be ok for the snake?
4. What kind of substrate do you recommend?


One comment on the site on ball pythons :D Gold fish can live for more than 20 years and are not short lived. Unfortunately, people put them in tanks too small and it stunts their growth and life cycle. Just thought I'd add that, since you mentioned something about them being short lived.

Hello, and welcome to the site! My ball did the same thing as yours when I first got him. Went in his hide once then came right back out and spent most of his time exploring his new home. I also laughed when I saw him curled up on top of his hide, not in it! After a while, he calmed down and uses his hides everyday now. My guy's not as young as yours though.

The rule I've heard on soaking is that if it feels too warm to you, it's definitely too warm for your snake. So maybe I'd say lukewarm, but someone else may be able to offer more advice on this, I've never done it.

Your water bowl should be big enough for him to soak in. Not too deep though, he should be able to keep his head out of the water.

You could use a humid hide when your bp is ready to go into shed. He'll need more humidity then.

Everyone has different opinions about substrate, there really is no right answer. I used bark a while back, but I didn't really like it. It looks nice, but I was worried about him swallowing some when eating, and I don't think it was easy to keep clean. I've used newspaper which I like because it's very easy to see when it needs cleaning, and easy to change. Simply throw away and get a clean one. Now I'm using "Lizard Liner" reptile carpet. I just switched and I really like it so far, and it looks nicer than the newspaper.

We're happy to have you, I bet your baby is so cute! You should post pictures!!

High Tiffany, glad to have ya with us. The more time you spen here the more you learn about your BP, anf how they are so different from each other.

When I first started with my BP, i used newspaper. But now I use Cypres Mulch for his substrate. It looks good, and it holds humidity in better than some of the other substrates.

Humid hides are a good idea if you can't keep their humidity in check. I do not use a humid hde, and have no problems with his shed. I try to keep his humidity at around 60 - 70% during the shed cycle.

Glad to have ya with us.

I was told that he will not eat until his first shed, so I am waiting for that. I am hoping that his shed will go ok. I have no problem with maintaining humidity. I won't add a humid hide, unless it seems that his shed is not going well. I just added a water bowl deep enough for him to soak in. I have other animals so this is not my first herp.
In case you'd like to know I have 1 female white's, 1 female green tree frog, a male and female firebelly toad, a lovebird, a rose hair tarantula (male), a leopard gecko (sex unknown as of now), a cat and 3 freshwater fish tanks, and of course the male ball python

Welcome to best ball python forum. I am not real good with all the detatils on balls but we have resident expert on the subject. When me and my husband soked bob (his ball python) it is just lukewarm, like gen said if it feels warm to you most likely too warm for your snake.

I also have a leopard gecko, who I actually love to death. Your ball python's humidy should be 50-60%. We got a indoor outdoor themometer that has a probe on it, the probe is on the hot side and the readout is on the cool side and it measures both temps as well as the humidity. It only costs about $15 we have one in each of our tanks.

My husband also uses some kind of green lizard liner he has 2 of them so when one is dirty can put a clean one down.

Again welcome to the forum and look forward to hearing more about your snake and seeing pics. Do you have a name yet for your new baby?

Tuffy,

The water should be the same temp as your tropical fish aquarium water. That is normally in the high 70's to low 80's. It feels slightly cold to me, but people are different, so just keep it the same temp as your fish water.

He will not eat until after his shed.
A humid hide will work fine for him.
Substrate is your preference. I use newspaper or Bed-a-Beast. If you use cypress mulch, aspen, or something similar, make sure you don't feed him in that cage. You don't want him swallowing the substrate.

Welcome to the site!

No names as of yet, still thinking. Hubby likes Monty, but I am sure there are tons of python out there with that name.
I am thinking about using bed a beast, is it ok to feed him with this on the ground? I won't be putting anything down for a while, was told it is best to keep it bare for now.
I love my gecko too, he or she just started walking over to me last night. S/he used to run and hide as soon as I opened the door, and last night as I was feeding Eeyore (gecko's name), s/he came right over to the food bowl, then as I was cleaning the cage, s/he followed my hands all over the tank. Was really neat.

I have a Monty, heheh.

Try eco-earth for a substrate. It is cheap, easy, and safe. Plus it's more natural.

Bed a beast is fine to use. I use it with my babies, and it has never caused problems when they eat it.

I used to have a Monty too. Yeah, there are lots of those. :)