Hey All!!!

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Originally Posted by UrbanSlayer

Thanks for all the replies again, they are quite helpful.

I plan on getting a good aquarium before I buy one as a friend owns an exotic fish store so I should be able to get a good one.

As for the price differences I wasn't sure if that depended on whether or not they were born in captivity or from the wild, from what I have seen so far all the cheaper pythons are quite beautiful and will do just fine for me.

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I would look for captive bred ball pythons for sure and avoid buying one from places like Petco. You will find lots of good breeders on here and other sites. You will generally get a healthier animal from a good breeder than from a big box pet store.

Oh I will never go to Petco for anything other than chew toys. Something I forgot to mention is that my parents have been breeding and showing boxers and dobermans for the past 30 years, I was along for the ride for all of my life, and I know the difference in quality between a breeder and big box.

There is a pet store though that has been in my area for several decades, and it has always had some of the best pets, and is known for only selling bred animals, would it be a bad idea to at least have a look and see what is out there?

I'm surprised no one has posted this yet, but check out the site's caresheet for an outline of what you need to know: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Although there is a LOT of information on this forum, I still recommend getting Kevin McCurley's book as a baseline reference tool. It's a little pricey, but has been worth it's weight in gold to me. I haven't read the one you posted, so can't comment there. The downside of the internet is you sometimes have to wade through a lot of opinions to get to the facts. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ball-.../dp/9780971319

If you are concerned about keeping your temps stable, you may want to try setting up a tub instead of a terrarium (many threads on this site), or at least stick with shorter, small tanks, so you don't have as much space to heat. Just make sure you are able to maintain the proper temperature gradient.

There's nothing wrong with checking out your local shop, but look into any reptile shows in your area for a wider range of options, too.

Welcome and good luck!

Welcome :)

Welcome! If you want a book, that's fine. However, there is way more information on here, and probably more current too. Besides, if you have have a question, post a thread. This forum is full of good, knowledgeable people, and responses are usually pretty fast as this is a very active forum as well. The care sheets are very helpful. We started out with tanks, but now everyone is in tubs, and love it so much better. Temps and humidity don't fluctuate, and it takes up less space. Ball pythons are addicting. Many people have more than one. You definately could get a normal at a reasonable price. For $600 you would be getting a decent morph. You could check out kingsnake classifieds, also many people here breed. I would go that route, not from a pet store. Some people have gotten them from ok pet stores, and they have been fine. But seems the majority of them have one issue or another. RI, mites, won't eat. Thank you for doing your research, and feel free to ask any and all questions!

Welcome buddy, yup 600 can go a long way especially if you go to a expo, and it's about that time where expos pop up everywhere.

welcome to bp.net!!
If you just want a normal ive seen males as low as $15 and females for $25 at shows. If you wanna spend $600 you can get a wayyy nicer one. I would reccommend against getting a glass aqaurium if youre concerned maintaining correct temps will be a problem. A nice PVC enclosure from somewhere like Animal Plastics may be a better investment and save you some aggravation. Thats just my opinion. If you have any more q's feel free to ask. Everyone here is more than willing to help :)

Welcome. I agree that you should forego the tank and use a tub. Checkout this thread by Vypyrz that is very detailed-- Basic Tub Setup --. I think this will keep you and you BP very happy. It also shows how to do a stand alone rack but if you don't want to go that far just read and setup your tub like the first part of the tutorial.

I own 14 books on ball pythons written in English, 2 written in Spanish, and 1 written in Arabic. They all share one thing in common...the information is static. I mostly collect them for the pictures.

You'll find far more and updated information about BP husbandry, morphs, and breeding on this forum than you will in any book. And as an added bonus, this forum is easily searchable :gj:

The best recommendation I can give you is to not waste money on a glass aquarium set up that will give you fits with humidity and temp control. Instead, invest in a PVC cage and go from there. You won't regret it!

Hey hey :) Welcome :D

They certainly are fun to own! 600 is a lot...you can get a lot for that I think. Wonder how long it'll be after you've got your first until you want another one :P There is SO much info on these forums, and so many helpful members you'll probably hardly need the book if you do get one :) Also, tub over aquarium :) Oh and well done for checking out all the facts and everything first, sensible :sweeet: Can't wait to see pictures, and have fun!