thinking of getting a ball python. Help!

Hey,


If your looking for some great info on ball pythons i would suggest checking out www.Thepythonbreeders.com I am very good friends with Kolleen who is the owner. She has great information on the web site on first timers, feeding, caging, and anything you could possibly want to know. She is one of the biggest breeders in utah where we live and she knows her @@@@. So feel free to check it out and take a look at the site. Also i can answer any questions you may have I have been dealing with ball pyhtons for 4 years now, and have built a very large collection, which i'm planning on getting pictures up soon. So I hope That will help a little.

Thanks,

Mark

Thanks everybody, you've all given great advice. Although I have definetly decided to get a ball python its not something im going to rush into. And I am going to have everything setup, as suggested before going any farther. I havent even started yet. Frankykeno: you asked how I intended on housing the snake. I still havent made my mind up yet, to be honest. I want to do whats best, the way it looks to me isnt something im taking into consideration. I want the snake to be happy and kept correctly, and if that means something other than an aquarium...thats fine. You also asked me what im planning on feeding the snake. The snake I am looking at right now is currently on fuzzies. But that may not be the snake I go with, because as I said, I am taking my time about this. I want to do a little more research first. Out of all I have read, the things I worry about most is proper shedding and feeding. But I realize that if you have the proper setup you shouldnt have to worry about those things. but I guess there could be exceptions. Are there some snakes that are just problem shedders that have problems no matter what?

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Originally Posted by Dawn84

Are there some snakes that are just problem shedders that have problems no matter what?

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Absolutely. In my collection I have a few snakes that just seem to have problems every shed and all of the others do fine. That said, a stuck shed is NO BIG DEAL as long as it's followed with a nice soak to get everything off. Too many new keepers seem to be hung up on the importance of a "good shed" when in reality, there's nothing wrong with a shed that isn't "complete" as long as it's taken care of.

-adam

Welcome to the site, Dawn!

We've got a whole slew of great folks on here with about an aeon of collective experience always willing to answer questions and help - hope you enjoy it. Liek quite a few folks I went from keeping a small number of snakes in glass (and with a little more work than the plastic route they can be well maintained in tanks) to a larger number in tubs. You could make either work as long as you are willing to make the necessary adjustments. My wife still keeps her docile Brown Water Python in a 30g tank (he'll outgrow that eventually - ok SOON at his rate) and he positively thrives there.

Thanks for that reminder about "perfect" sheds Adam. Dawn, when our snake went through it's first shed shortly after we got it I was worried about it coming off in bits and pieces but with advice from this forum I did the soaking and the snake is fine. As Adam says some snakes just never shed perfectly no matter what so I guess in the end as long as it all comes off one way or the other, then it's "perfect"! LOL

Sounds like you're on the right track with research, etc. before getting your first b.p. At first it seemed a lot of work making sure our snake's sterlite tub was just right but now that we're a month into this we are relaxing a lot more and enjoying this wonderful experience.

Personally, I think the hardest part of new snake ownership is leaving them alone that first week. Gawd, but it's tempting to want to handle your snake right away LOL but we went with the experienced advice and it's worked out even better than we expected.

Our snake is about 18.5 inches long (tho seems to be suddenly growing a LOT in girth and length since her shed) and is eating one large pre-killed mouse every Monday. Will you be feeding pre-killed, frozen/thawed or live prey?

~~Jo~~

Thanks again everybody! The snake I told you about, (the one i'm currently looking at) is being fed live fuzzies. Soon that will change to hoppers, so the pet shop says. If I do get this in particular snake, I would like to be able to feed frozen-thawed. They said it shouldnt be too hard to switch him over, but i've read so much on snakes not being interested in f/t after eating live food. If I do get this snake, or any other snake with the same eating patterns, should I expect problems with switching to f/t??? Are there certain tricks that work well or anything I can do ??? The snake I've been talking about is currently shedding. We were in twice this week and I've kinda kept up with it. It started shedding and some of the shed came off really nicely: the whole head and the tail. But there was still skin left on his back. We went back a couple days later and most of the skin on his back had shed too, and now theres just a little left on the back of its neck. They had been soaking him. The other snake in the cage with it shed completely without having to be soaked. My next few questions are in regards to soaking. Can it be dangerous and cause respiratory infections or other problems? How long is safe to do the soaks at a time? How many times a day? Questions just keep popping up in my head that need answering and thats why im taking my time. I dont want to bring the snake home, and then something major pop up, or have a question unanswered. But anyways, if I do go with one of those plastic tubs, what size would you reccommend for a baby ball? Thanks again!

I was going to give ya some info but i don't think there is any left to give lol. So welcome to the site Dawn :) :cool: :party:

Soaking is pretty easy. I just used a small rubbermaid and filled with 1" lukewarm water. Put in snake. Then put rubbermaid back into her enclosure. Let her soak for an hour. I used a washcloth to gently wipe away remaining shed. I haven't any problems with RIs, so if only done a couple times every shed it shouldn't be a big issue.

For tub size I would suggest not getting a huge one, because the large amount of space will stress them out. Something similiar to a 10-20 tank, maybe depending on how big the baby is.

Re: perfect sheds...

I have a female bp who is a complete retard when it comes to shedding. She lives in a posh AP cage where the conditions inside are textbook perfect. Her male counterpart lives in same cage beneath her and sheds fine each time. Like adam said, as long as you take care of the retained shed each time, your fine. Check for eyecaps, thats pretty much the most important thing.

The Sterlite we use (model #1986 with locking style clip top) is about 16 x 24 x 6 (40QT/38L). This gives us enough floor space for two hides made from terracotta planter pans (the bottoms for water overflow sold seperately at WalMart for like $2.00), one large shallow water dish, a rock arch and a decorative rock. This seems to be about right for our snake who is around 18-19 inches long and is big enough for a nice heat gradient from warm to cool hide.


I had to soak our snake for it's first shed and it was easy. You will find advice here about upping your humidity during shed but if the snake still needs help the tupperware container with tepid water worked perfectly for us...we just popped the snake in....put the tub on the warm side of the Sterlite and left the snake for a good hour. All but a tiny area came right off immediately.

Our snake takes pre-killed mice wonderfully well. We just grasp the mouse well back from the head, present it head first and level with the snake, and do the "wiggle" dance in front of the snake and WHAMMO dinner time! We haven't used frozen/thawed yet but a search of this forum should get you tons of advice on properly thawing and warming the mouse or how to get a snake that is used to live prey to take f/t or p/k.

If no one has recommended it yet....WalMart sells the AccuRite indoor/outdoor thermometer which many people use. It's only $14.99 and is great for monitoring both warm and cool side temps plus overall humidity.


~~Joanna~~