first time posting, wanted to thank this wonderful community!

hello all,

i held my first ball python on April 25, 2014. on November 7, 2014 i got my first reptile, my first ball python. this was how quickly i fell in love!

over the past month or so before i brought Yellow home (his full name is Yellow Lemon Lemongrab [goofy, i know]), i was scouring the internet trying to find every piece of information and every answer to my questions i could think of for setting up his home, but i always found myself coming to this site, and 9 times out of 10 i found what i was looking for. after all of the money i spent, and all the products i've bought and returned, after all the trial and error, i just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you for being so open and ready to answer newbie questions, as they have helped me so much in making sure i was providing a perfect home! you guys were also the reason i decided to join this community, so that i know if i ever have questions i know you guys can help.

Yellow hasn't come out of his warm hide since i put him in (which i think is a good thing), and this Friday i plan on trying to feed him for the first time. it has been PAINFUL not to see his adorable face, but i know that means he's happy.

here's my specs:
Yellow (Male Albino) was hatched September 20th 2014 (i have a picture posted on my profile)
He is housed in a 20 gallon, 30x12x12 glass tank with a mesh top which i have systematically taped Ceran wrap over with slits cut into it
His substrate is Coconut fiber with some Aspen on top, as well as repti-carpet underneath.
His heat comes from a UTH that covers half of his tank, which is hooked up to a rheostat with a probe
Warm side: 89-92*F
Cool side: 79-81*F
Humidity: 55-63*F
Two identical hides (which i think might be too big, but he will grow)

again, A HUGE THANK-YOU TO THIS COMMUNITY! i'm so happy to have Yellow in my life. (:

A trick I like to use on hides that are to big is adding moss to them to make the seem smaller and more secure. You can also dampen the moss during shed cycles and this creates a humid hide that will help give you a perfect shed.

once i get him out of his tank to feed him i will add the sphagnum moss i bought. i'm too nervous to mess with him now as i've read to leave them alone their first week.

Use the search feature on feeding in another cage. You will find cage aggression is a myth and hardly anybody does it unless feeding live. In many cases and can actually create stress and keep the snake from eating. Also moving a snake in feed mode is putting you at greater risk of getting tagged.

Leaving the snake alone at first is good but don't be nervous around the snake. Make steady, deliberate movements and you should be good. Just know that a bite from a ball is nothing and is often described as brushing against Velcro. Plus once you get tagged by a snake you get to join the bite club. I can tell you to much about it yet since you cant join yet.;) When it happens we will need pictures.

thank you so much, that's great to know. so i shouldn't worry about the aspen/coconut getting in his mouth? that was the only reason why i considered feeding outside his cage.

also i'm not worried about being bit, i looked up YouTube videos of bites and that little thing doesn't scare me at all, haha. although i will definitely post pics of my first bite (if that ever happens)!

Most of my collection is on a mixture of cypress, eco earth, and repti bark and eat without any issues. Its just as if they were eating in the wild.

I thaw and heat with water and the only thing you don't want to do is throw in a wet feeder. I give them a little squeeze with a towel so they are still a tad damp but not wet. This keeps most of the substrate from sticking to the prey.

thank you thank you thank you for your replies. i feel much more relaxed now and i'm excited for his first meal! i'll definitely post how it goes. (: