Getting a BP in 2 weeksish, trying to learn as much as I can.

So this'll be my second snake, I used to own a few reps but I was really young and couldn't buy/drive for food and stuff so my parents kind of got tired of it. So, now I can drive myself to get supplies and just am generally more autonomous.
Anyway, my first snake, a corn snake, died because he ate a rat that had a bunch of aspen stuck to it and the snake just started freaking out and eventually died. Little 13/14 year old me was totally traumatized. (RIP Good Snake, 20+ years old and puppy dog tame).

Long story short, I want to do everything I can to prevent another terrible thing like that from happening again.

Strap in I have quite a bit of questions :D please fix me on anything I get wrong and I'm sorry that I have so many questions, I really appreciate the help

1. Enclosure: So what I know is that they require a bit of humidity (50-60%) so I hear the best thing to do is use a plastic tub/PVC cage. As far as I'm concerned the best thing to do for humidity is just spray the tank as much as necessary to keep it in the optimal ranges. If there's a better way I'd love to know :D. As for temperatures, I plan on getting an under tank heater that covers maybe 1/3 of the tank. If this isn't enough please tell me if I need any bulbs. Also if you guys can give me a good temperature range/basking spot temp I'd love to hear. My last questions on the enclosure: About how many hides should I get? What's the best substrate? Anything else I need to know?

2. Feeding: From what I've read, DO feed in cage DO NOT feed in a separate tank. Is this true? Also I do plan on buying a full grown BP (Please let me know if this is a bad idea or not) so what size rats should I be feeding it? Also how often and how many? I hear they go on hunger strikes and are picky eaters, so I'd love more education on that topic as well. Also I do plan on feeding F/T rats/mice. So there's my questions on feeding, like with the enclosure I would really appreciate any extra information I need to know.

3. Handling: I'm not scared of holding snakes, but I don't want to get bitten. How long should I wait after getting him/her to start handling? What steps should I go through as for taming and just getting the animal use to me? I really enjoy hanging out with my snek, me and my corn were total bros. How often is it ok to hold the BP and for how long? So that's it for handling, once again extra information is appreciated.

So that's about it. Sorry for all the questions, I just really want to do this right.

Thanks in advance

Hiya! So I'll give you the basics on what I did when preparing for my snake. I actually took about one month and two weeks preparing and dialing in temps before my little Alduin arrived.

1.) I'll start with enclosures. I am more familiar with tubs since that is what I use so my advise will be for that. For tubs, when figuring out how many holes you need to keep humidity, the less you start with the better. If your humidity is too high, add more holes until you reach the right percentage with the water bowl and substrate you will use.

2. Heating. When using a UTH ALWAYS ALWAYS use a thermostat along with it. Unregulated heat is not good for your new BP and those pads can reach very very high levels. Use a digital thermometer along with this. Not saying you didn't do this research, it just helps to cover all grounds. My temps stay around 89F-92F on the hot side. I keep the ambient air around the low 80s using a small space heater.

3: Hides. Two identical hides. One on each side. I find the hides that have a single entrance ideal for bps. For substrate, I use newspaper. I suppose that comes down to preference. I chose newspaper because it is easy to access and clean up. Just me though.

Feeding. [emoji193]

1. Yes feed in the enclosure. Feeding in a separate place may just cause your new BP more stress.

2. Getting a full grown BP. I have nothing really one this. I suppose it just comes down to preference again. I chose a hatchling because I wanted to see him progress in life. I can't say anything on feeding an adult BP either since my little guy is still...a little guy. Lol

Moving onto Handling. [emoji113]

1. Okay I was like you. I wasn't scared of holding a snake but I was a little timid of getting bitten. Just remember that this is an animal with a mouth and teeth. He/she may bite you. After getting your BP, leave them alone to adjust to their new home for awhile. Some people do not handle them for a week while others wait to handle them after they've taken food a few times. When I talked to Alduin's breeder, he had informed me that the little guy was rather docile even with his daughter. This gave me a bit if confidence that he was not as shy and perhaps a little calmer from previous handling. I still waited a week, only going in to change water, to feed him and then try handling three more days after he took his first meal with me. I handle my BP once a day for 10 to 20 minutes at most. Aka Dave made a great video on how to handle snippy BPs earlier.

There are a lot of stickies on this site! Continue to read up and research. I hope more people will come and chime in on anything that I missed or correct me for errors.

Welcome to the forums.

Sent from my SGH-T399N using Tapatalk

You are full of questions thats a good thing and I think you would like the Thread that explains a lot of stuff and you will still have questions Im using my phone with tapatalk and I don't know how to link you to that thread.[emoji4] Welcome to BP

Sent from my SGH-T999

Great replies so far ... I'd add that I found using vivs far more enjoyable and wouldn't consider rubs ever again .
You can see and therefore enjoy your snakes more using vivs IMHO and create a wonderful looking habitat with branches , pieces of bark and even leaves . I also use orchid bark as a substrate which is very dark colour and shows off my bright coloured / white / or albinos.

I have a few viv setups ready and waiting for any new snakes :)

I feed all mine ( 21 various types including 6 Royals ) inside their vivs but I put a decent sized piece of card or thick paper on top of the substrate just before feeding ( d/f frozen ) . This prevents impaction caused by swallowed substrate .

I've also handled about a hundred Royals / Ball pythons and I've never even found a feisty one although I've read reports of them .

1. Search
2. Read
3. Repeat

I feed all of my snakes in their cage. Its pretty easy to take a BP out of a tank or tub and feed it in another place but think about doing this with the big guys out there. I don't have anything huge but I do have a BRB and Blood that are about 6ft with the Blood weighing in at 30lbs. Can you imagine even trying to move them while they are ready to eat? That would be nuts and I guarantee you will end up bit. Even my GTP which is small in comparison would be an absolute terror to move while wanting to feed.

Even though I feed my guys in their cage I have never been tagged by my Blood or BRB, the GTP is another story. Im not saying that it will never happen but my collection is not a hunger crazed bunch ready to strike every time the door opens.

As for being bit or tagged. I would say its not if you will but more accurately, when. It may not be from your BP as mine has never even tried to tag me. If you get into snakes you will find you cant just have one. So one day you will have that certain snake that will give you a very special bite. Once you get it you become a member of a very important club. You do have to report it with pictures to secure your membership. I have been tagged by my Hoggy, 2 GTPs, and all three of my younger Bloods. All of those are worse than a BP but none were bad. Even the slowest snakes are lightning fast when they want to be and many times the bite is over before you even know it happened. They are not bad as the teeth are so sharp. A BP bite is nothing to fear and those that have survived to tell about it have likened it to brushing up against the rough portion of Velcro.

Now while I said none of the bites I have received were bad I am not saying that all snake bites are that way. My big Blood can hit like a freight train when she wants to and Im sure that if she ever decided to latch onto me I will be reporting a pretty nasty incident.

As for the substrate I have never worried about it. I don't place the rats on paper, plate, or alter. I just pull the rat out of the warm water and offer it to the snake. It is taken and though it does hit the substrate sometimes the amount of stuck on and ingested substrate is minimal and has never been an issue. My preferred substrate is a mixture of Eco Earth, Cypress Mulch, and Repti Bark except my BRB and Big Blood who are on newspaper.

Hmmm, you've had a snake before so why are you asking questions about how YOU should take care of YOUR snake....;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ECechoHO

Hmmm, you've had a snake before so why are you asking questions about how YOU should take care of YOUR snake....;)

---

You never stop learning , I reckon it's good to gather info or advice from others tbh .

Well his last snake wasnt a ball python it was a corn snake. Completly different species of snake. different husbendry requirmemts, different personalities. He did the correct thing asking questions

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?30763-BP-Husbandry-FAQs

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?127203-Ball-Python-(Python-regius)-Caresheet

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ECechoHO

Hmmm, you've had a snake before so why are you asking questions about how YOU should take care of YOUR snake....;)

---

Because he, unlike others, is welcoming of any advice that is given to him. He wants to make sure his animals are properly taken care of and if he has any mistakes in his husbandry that they are fixed.

He's asking so he can take care of his animals the right way, not the way that he sees fit. Unlike you.

Why are you trying to berate someone who came to a public forum to ask for advice?