Just got my first snake, a baby ball python...few questions I have

Hey Gang,

Nice to join this forum. Just purchased my first snake...a baby ball python from PetSmart. They were 25% off and I have been debating my next critter ever since my caiman died....I wanted something that was a lot less maintenance in terms of tank cleaning but still something I could watch and hang out with when I was working in my home office. I also have 5 kids and they have been begging me to get something as cool as the caiman. lol.

Anyways I ended up getting a 2 month old ball python with the following enclosure

*40 gallon enclosure
*bedding on the bottom of the enclosure
*heat lamp on top over screen
*Hollow rock for the snake to hide in
*large branch
*water bowl

All the items were purchased from petsmart. Is this a good setup? Am I missing anything?

My big question is feeding. I have had the snake for 4 days and was told to purchase frozen baby artic mice. I tried feeding the snake on the 3rd day (as I was told to give them 3 days to adjust to the new environment) but the snake is not interested in the artic mice at all. I put the frozen artic mice in warm water for a few minutes as rec'd.

I tried again today with a new mouse. Still nothing.

What am I doing wrong?

Another question I have...is it normal for the baby ball to hide under the bedding of the enclosure? I turn the heat lamp off at night...I don't have a temp gauge in the enclosure but I'd say it was 66-70 degrees in there at night as my office is heated and part of my home. Does this mean the snake is cold?

The people at PetSmart told me to feed the snake in a separate area after the first week as that would not make the snake aggressive everytime I reached into the enclosure...is that a good way of doing things?

Any help or advice would be great and thanks in advance.

A few pics...

https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...6b&oe=56E27C02

https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...94&oe=56D89CBE

Not an expert by any means but those are not ideal conditions for the snake. Way to cool at 67. Hot side should be 90 and I like my cool side in the low 80s. I also hate putting them in tanks as they don't hold humidity.

Feeding-the mouse should be 100% defrosted and then warmed. I usually let mine sit out for hours and then hear them a bit with a hair dryer. My snakes don't seem to want to eat them if they are not heated up. Also I have one that will only take live

Hello and welcome!

So a few things

1. 40 gallon is too large for this little guy and he will feel a little insecure. to off set this you will need to fill the enclosure up with lots of stuff, really crown the space. (don’t worry about this too much, the snake will grow into the tank but many people will tell you its too large. if you clutter it things will be fine.
2. You need to try and set up a temperature granulation (hot and cool side with the middle be in-between). The 'hotspot' should be 87-91 degrees (that temp is off the floor of the cage, the snake will burrow down and you want to know what the temperature of the hottest place your snake could be in contact with. I recommend switching from the heat lamp to an under tank heater (UTH- heat pad). having belly heat helps with digestion and with this method it will be easier to control the hotspot in your set up. You will also need to purchase a thermostat that controls the heat pad and prevents it from getting too hot. You set the thermostat to lets say 93, measure the temp of the cage floor, and play around with it until you get a consistent 87-90.
3. Feeding: feed the little guy in his new set. Feeding them outside their cage does more harm than good. Make sure the prey is fully thaw (just a few min does not seem like enough time). After the pray is thawed hit the head and butt with a blow-dryer for a min (this dries the mouse off, and heats it up so the sent is stronger). use tongs or something similar when you offer, make the mouse do a little zombie dance if you need to. be patient. if he seems really interested, but does not strike, you can try leaving the mouse in with him for 20 min or so before checking. If he refuses again, wait 5 days before trying again.

Important things:
1. look up a care guide (there are lots on this site) to really nail down what your temps and humidity should be
2. get a simply heating pad and thermostat to regulate it

if you can post pictures of the set up that will also help to give some advice on the substrate, size of your hides, etc.
Congrats again, BP are the best!!

I have my own opinion of this place when talking about animals. You need to think do they have the best knowledgable people working there when they just pay above minimum wage? The hs kid there is trying to help, but usually doesn't know much of what he is talking about.

Dont feed in a seperare container, it just stresses the snake out. Yeah, I do agree if you feed in their normal habitat they can seem a little more agressive when you open up the habitat, but that's cause they are expecting food. Once they realize it's you and not good they are fine.

Thanks guys...heres a pic of the heat lamp side of the enclosure. As you can see I heated up the mouse and left it next to him as rec'd. I will get the a temp gauge for the setup.

https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...85&oe=570F103D

that hide is sweet looking! I would keep it in there (remember to clutter the tank up). that being said i would also provide a hide on both the warm and cool side (they love tight spaces and for that size snake if you put a toilet paper roll in there I’m pretty sure you will find him in it shortly after its introduced.)

for feeding: the blow-dryer will help a lot. if you still having trouble there are lots of other little tricks you can do, you will just have to try a few until he goes for it.

Please start here: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Congrats on your new BP. I would make a few changes to your setup. For starters I would replace the heat bulb with an under tank heater. Heat lamps tend to suck humidity out of the enclosure. You also want to make sure your heat source and temps are controlled by a thermostat. I think your temps are a bit cool which could cause the snake not to eat. You want a hot spot of about 90F with ambient temps around 75-80F. It's easy to create the hot spot with a UTH and you can supplement the ambient temps with an IR heat bulb or CHE on a dimmer or you could use a radiant heat panel as your sole heat source. You'll also want snug hides on the warm and cool sides of the enclosure. I would make sure your temps and humidity are dialed in before any more attempted feedings. Give the snake another week to acclimate to it's new environment once your husbandry is up to par. Make sure your prey items are completely thawed and warmed up to about 100F before offering them to the snake. Feeding snakes inside their enclosures does not make them more defensive. That is a myth. I believe feeding them in separate bins causes the snake more stress and could lead to regurgitation when moving the snake back to it's enclosure. All of my snakes are fed inside their enclosures. I'd also suggest getting your BP on rats ASAP. Eventually one mouse won't be enough and it's easier and less expensive to feed one rat as opposed to multiple mice. Lastly, since they prefer tight dark spaces, I would cover 3 sides of the enclosure to give the snake more of a sense of security.

Hides are too big , enclosure is too big, basically you need to get started again from scratch.

BP are are not very forgiven with husbandry issues.

Here is what I recommend to get back on track ASAP

Get a 6 quarts tub

Aspen bedding

1 Plastic flower pot saucer for hide (6 inch in diameter)

UTH

Thermostat

Provide a temp of 86/88 on the warm side.

Leave the animal ALONE for a week so it adjust to his new setup (no handling until the animal eat successfully for you)

Once the week is over offer a live mouse (right now the animal feeding is the priority, switching to F/T is only secondary). Place the mouse in the tub (do not feed outside the enclosure)

When the animal reaches 200/250 grams you can switch to either a 15 quarts tub or 10 gallons tank, the 40 gallons tank will be fine when your snake is an adult but until than the enclosure must fit and meet your BP's need.

I also want to add... if you're using two hides, one on the cool side and one on the hot side, get two that are the same. Two identical, tight hides. They likes spaces where they are touched on all sides.