thinking of getting a ball python. Help!

Hi. I'm new and I was hoping somebody could help me by answering a few questions about Ball Pythons. Please bare with me, I need your help. I have never had a snake before and I am considering owning one. Is a ball python a good beginner snake? Unfortunately my research resources are limited. I do not live anywhere near a big pet store that sells books on snakes, nor is there a book store here. I checked the library for books on snakes, but couldnt find any ball python ones. I live in a very small town, its suprising we even have a pet store. Basically the research I will be doing or have done is through my vet, friends with snakes, the pet store, web sites, and experienced people on the internet. This is where i hope the message board comes in. If I get one it will be from the pet store in town which is a small private owned one and I trust it very much. I personally know the people who run it. Although I dont have many research resources, I intend on gathering as much information as I can, and knowing as much as I can so that I can make a responsible decision, one way or the other. Several of my questions have been answered but there are a few left, hopefully somebody on here can help. My first question was ball is a good first snake? My second question is about water, is it ok to use bottled water? distilled water? Next, How often do ball pythons shed? Is it best not to handle them during that time? If I do decide to buy one, how long should I give it to settle in before trying to handle it? My next few questions are in regards to handling. First of all, I realize that in owning a snake, you can expect to get bit some time or the other. Being bitten of course doesnt sound fun, but its not something that bothers me, and it wouldnt keep me from handling my snake. How does it feel to be bitten by a baby ball? What are their teeth like? Now, if I get the snake, once it has settled in, how often can I handle it? I have heard that it is possible to over handle them, is that true? If I could do what I would like... I would hold it alot, but I would want to do what is best for it. As the snake begins to trust you more, is it ok to keep it out for longer periods of time? If somebody could answer these questions I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Welsome to the site and good gracious....that's alot of questions! Let's see if I can answer some, and if I miss any let me know.

Ball pythons can be good first snakes. It was mine. But you have to be prepared that fasting is a possiblity. It will be nerve wracking! I've been told if the water is good enough for you to drink then it's ok for snakes. Ball pythons shed more as they are growing so depending on the age you acquire your snake, it will shed approximately every 6 weeks when young and a couple times a year as an adult. When they begin to shed their eyes turn a cloudy blue and you should not handle them during this period. A couple days after their eyes clear they well shed their skin.

If you decide to get a bp you should have the cage setup first and running for awhile to make sure your temps are correct. After getting the snake, leave them in relative quiet for a week. Then attempt to feed. Do not handle a snake for 48 hours after eating, so as not to cause them to reguritate. Then you can start to handle starting with small increments. I've never been bitten so I cannot tell you how that feels.

If you want a book go to www.amazon.com. You should be able to pick up The Ball Python Manual for under $10.

Hope this helps, and good luck. Glad to hear you are doing research before buying. If you have any other questions just let us know.

Sorry for the long post but I forgot to warn you. The caging and heating elements will be more expensive than your snake. You must be prepared for a big investment to startup. It's highly recommended that you get a thermostat, so you don't burn your snake. Here's a good site for thermostats and a lot of other stuff. Matt even has stuff bundled together for intial setup.....

http://www.mgreptiles.com/index.html

Wow! I didnt expect to get a reply so soon, thank you. I have decided to definetly go with a BP. You reminded me of my next question when you mentioned something about fasting. If I do encounter eating problems with it, how long of a time should pass without it eating, before I start to worry? Thanks again for your replies!

I believe that they can fast for several months, but as long as they are not losing weight (a postal scale works for me - ebay) then you don't need to be overly concerned. I haven't had any experience with long periods of fasting, so maybe someone else can chime in. I'm new to ball pythons (only had mine for 6 months) but I found this place to be a wonderful source of help and information.

Here's a link to the bp caresheet

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

Thanks again! I will check out the link.

Hi Dawn and welcome to this site. We too are brand new owners of our first ball python and found this forum invaluable! We also live in a small town with almost no resources for snake owners and got our ball python from a small local pet store.

May I ask what type of housing you are putting the new snake in? We had thought of using an aquarium but after joining this forum and reading so many threads here and asking a ton of questions we went with a 40 qt/38L #1986 Clear Sterlite blanket box from Wal-mart. It has been perfect! Easier than an aquarium to heat and more importantly to keep humidity to the right levels and very cost effective. Our entire set up (except the cost of the snake) has been about $65.00 and everything was purchased either at Wal-Mart or Home Depot. As Tigerlily advised it's best to get the housing sorted out first and all the levels stablized before the snake is introduced.

One piece of advice we got....for the first while, put papertowels only in the bottom so you can easily see the snake's poop and urate (the white hard stuff that is a snake's urine). There are many choices of substrate. We will eventually go with double-milled cypress.

We've had our snake only 28 days but with the help of the wonderful people in this forum it's been a great experience. Please feel free to ask any questions, I know from our experience here as new owners you will get lots of great information back.

We did not handle our snake (who was 2.5 months old at purchase) at all for the first week. Now we handle "her" each day about 10 minutes or so (sometimes more) but not at all for 2 days after she eats. She eats every Monday and has a great feeding response. What are you planning to feed your new snake?

Some of the advice we were given when purchasing our baby snake was too look for any evidence of mites or ticks on the snake, very lightly pinch the skin of the side of the snake to see if it "tents" as this means dehydration, to check for any retained shed on the snake (especially retained eyecaps), find out if the snake is really captive bred and if it's been eating and shedding as it should, ask to see the snake feed if possible, check for any evidence of bubbling or wheezing as this can be a very serious respitory issue, make sure it's backbone is not pronounced (sort of a triangular shape) which can mean the snake is underweight. Just generally feels fit and athletic in your hands, not wispy light and at all "limp". Hopefully some of the more experienced owners can chime in here with advice on picking a healthy young snake.

Oh and find a vet locally that will see your snake and can sex it if you want that and do a general health check or deal with any emergencies that might come up.

Good luck with your new snake!


~~Joanna~~

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

One piece of advice we got....for the first while, put papertowels only in the bottom so you can easily see the snake's poop and urate (the white hard stuff that is a snake's urine).
[...]
Some of the advice we were given when purchasing our baby snake was too look for any evidence of mites or ticks on the snake, very lightly pinch the skin of the side of the snake to see if it "tents" as this means dehydration, to check for any retained shed on the snake (especially retained eyecaps), find out if the snake is really captive bred and if it's been eating and shedding as it should, ask to see the snake feed if possible, check for any evidence of bubbling or wheezing as this can be a very serious respitory issue, make sure it's backbone is not pronounced (sort of a triangular shape) which can mean the snake is underweight. Just generally feels fit and athletic in your hands, not wispy light and at all "limp". Hopefully some of the more experienced owners can chime in here with advice on picking a healthy young snake.

Oh and find a vet locally that will see your snake and can sex it if you want that and do a general health check or deal with any emergencies that might come up.

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Very good advice, all of that. :) Getting a healthy animal to start with and having the enclosure ready with the right conditions before the animal is in it can make a huge difference in whether a ball python makes a good beginner snake. If you're having to experiment on the snake to get husbandry issues worked out or if it's an overstressed wild caught ball, you may have a lot of problems with feeding, shedding, and temperament, but a well-established feeding captive bred ball of any age with a prepared and alert keeper can be a wonderful experience. I guess like a lot of things it boils down to you get out of it what you put into it.

Welcome to the site, by the way! :)

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Originally Posted by Dawn84

You reminded me of my next question when you mentioned something about fasting.

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Fasting isn't an automatic with ball pythons. Most of the time it's the result of a husbandry issue that can be prevented or corrected. Winters tend to make peoples homes much cooler and drier than the rest of the year. Even with the proper heating in your snakes enclosure, they can sense the difference in the air that is circulating into their enclosure. Instinctively, they respond to this cooler dryer air by naturally slowing their metabolisms in preparation for the "dry" season they think is ahead where normally food is scarce. A fast will follow until the cool/dry conditions in your home start to return to the more favorable conditions of spring, summer, and fall. (You don't hear much about healthy ball pythons fasting in the summer.)

By working to keep your snakes cage a little warmer than the rest of the year and making sure the humidity stays high 24 hours a day, there is almost no reason why your animal has to fast if it is captive bred.

In my shop, I keep all of the rooms climatically controlled and all of my non-breeding ball pythons eat all year long.

-adam