Finally got my BP!

I've wanted a snake since I was about 6, but my mum's always had a very strict 'no dead rats in the freezer' rule! :rolleyes: Fell in love with ball pythons in particular when I was 11 (my dad took me to a visit a friend who ran a reptile rescue and I met a couple). 15 years later my finances and housing are stable enough and I've been lurking the forums for a few months, gathering advice. After putting my viv together, getting the conditions spot on and (very importantly) getting my partner's fear of snakes down to a 'you can have one in the bedroom as long as the viv has a lock' level, I finally got my baby this week! It's been a very long journey.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...t_06.45.41.png

So, first post! He's a pastel and his name is Smaug (I grew up on copious re-reads of Tolkien- it's the name I had in mind since I was little)

Any tips to make sure his first feeding goes smoothly once he's settled in? I'm feeding f/t, breeder had him on rat pups so I'll carry on with those. He seems very relaxed (had explored his whole viv and chosen a good hiding spot in the first half hour) and I'm probably worrying about nothing but it's the bit I've been dreading going wrong, so advice is much appreciated!

Nice pastel congrats to you and your patience to finally own one. It seems like you got things down so some of the only advise i got is feeding at night is better and if its a boy when he gets older he'll probably take feeding breaks more so don't freak out if he stops eating for a while. Right now my mystic potion is taking a bit of a feeding break but i'm not letting it get to me ..yet anyway.

So refreshing to see that you did your research ahead of time, and have been so patient before getting your first ball python! Just a warning though, with snakes it's hard to have just 1. Next moment before you realize it you may end up with 11, although you seem very disciplined so maybe you won't have that problem :P Congrats on your little pastel beauty!

My boy is on F/T and started fasting two months ago, its been nerve wrecking cause he's my first but after reaching out on here its normal for them to fast for up to three months and wreak havoc on your nerves lol. Some say to feed outside of the main tank, but me personally I've never had any issues feeding in his main. I suppose it just depends on the temperament of the BP.

Beauty! Congrats!!!

beautiful! congrats on fulfilling a life long wish and getting prepared ahead of time!

Beautiful first snake. Congrats and welcome to the forum!

Thanks all ^^ hopefully everything will go as planned and I'll be able to keep this thread updated with a bit of a progression as he grows. He's such a tiny thing right now.
As for more snakes, I don't have the space right now for another viv (had to do a decent amount of diy to squeeze my 2x4 ft in as it is) so the other half should be spared from that XD I don't think I did a good enough job as snake advocate to make him comfortable with a room full!

Got him to eat last night! He didn't take it when I first offered (he was behind his log) but he had moved into his hot hide when I woke in the middle of the night I so tried again. Immediate strike and it was gone when I woke up and checked this morning. :D Victory!