New guy here!!

Pretty awesome I still live with my parents because I'm 13 so I have to keep my ball pythons out side in the shed but in florida temperature here are perfect for breeding, feeding, everything.
Anyway I say if it is your first ball python get one over 100 grams and from a reptile expo or a local breeder never buy from petco or petsmart those BP's are wild caught don't eat and die.
Start with a 10 gallon wait till they are 400 grams and then throw them in a 20 or 30 gallon either is fine for a adult females can be put in 40's because they get bigger.
I like prekilled rodents over frozen thawed and live heat lamp at 60 watts heat pad a2 hides one cold one hot eco earth mix or aspen. Of course you need a water bowl and throw in some decorations you can probably stay below $100 dollars easily.

Ohh and last thing get a clip in lid that secures tightly because they will escape if you don't use any clips:banana:

Congrats

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Originally Posted by samthemanz3n

Pretty awesome I still live with my parents because I'm 13 so I have to keep my ball pythons out side in the shed but in florida temperature here are perfect for breeding, feeding, everything.
Anyway I say if it is your first ball python get one over 100 grams and from a reptile expo or a local breeder never buy from petco or petsmart those BP's are wild caught don't eat and die.
Start with a 10 gallon wait till they are 400 grams and then throw them in a 20 or 30 gallon either is fine for a adult females can be put in 40's because they get bigger.
I like prekilled rodents over frozen thawed and live heat lamp at 60 watts heat pad a2 hides one cold one hot eco earth mix or aspen. Of course you need a water bowl and throw in some decorations you can probably stay below $100 dollars easily.

Ohh and last thing get a clip in lid that secures tightly because they will escape if you don't use any clips:banana:

Congrats

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not all ball pythons bought from petco or pet smart do not eat and die. ( hugely over priced yes, BUT not always neglected! ) when I first got into snakes I got my first two ball pythons from petco AND am happy to say that 5 years later they are alive and well! I obviously dont buy from them anymore because there are MUCH better deals to be had else where but it really depends on any particular store and how those employees are taking care of those particular animals if you are going to get a good one or not!

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Originally Posted by samthemanz3n

Pretty awesome I still live with my parents because I'm 13 so I have to keep my ball pythons out side in the shed but in florida temperature here are perfect for breeding, feeding, everything.
Anyway I say if it is your first ball python get one over 100 grams and from a reptile expo or a local breeder never buy from petco or petsmart those BP's are wild caught don't eat and die.
Start with a 10 gallon wait till they are 400 grams and then throw them in a 20 or 30 gallon either is fine for a adult females can be put in 40's because they get bigger.
I like prekilled rodents over frozen thawed and live heat lamp at 60 watts heat pad a2 hides one cold one hot eco earth mix or aspen. Of course you need a water bowl and throw in some decorations you can probably stay below $100 dollars easily.

Ohh and last thing get a clip in lid that secures tightly because they will escape if you don't use any clips:banana:

Congrats

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Pretty damn sure I can prove that Petsmart/Petco comment wrong. My baby under 100gr when I got her from PETSMART, she's a beautiful healthy girl who eats like a pig.

Exercise caution with blanket statements like that. Oh and please, no throwing of the poor snake into a 20/30/40 gallon tank... Poor devils.

p.s. what kind of thermostat are you running for set up up outside?

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Originally Posted by Juan89

Ok, nother question haha so when selecting my new friend, what are the things i should look for/ask to make sure its healthy depending on what age/state of life its in?

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Pretty much the same things you would look for in any other pet. You want a healthy-looking animal. Ball pythons are heavy-bodied and should be more round than triangular. If you listen to them breathe, you shouldn't be hearing any wheezing or be seeing bubbles outside of the mouth. If possible, have the owner open the mouth. If you see lots and lots of bubbles (a few are fine) or a lot of mucus, run away. A ball python shouldn't have a lot of loose skin and should be rather firm and muscular (the lower third or so of females who have just laid eggs will feel kind of mushy, but that's normal). One of the best ways to check for mites is to look at the bottom of the snake's head, where there's a crease. Mites and ticks will tuck up under there but if you see them crawling anywhere (little black specks, about the size of a period on this page) then run away.

I would ask questions about what it's eating, when it last ate, how often the owner is feeding it, as well as when it last shed. These are all things you'll want to know if/when you own the snake. If you're purchasing a supposed het, ask who the breeder of the animal was and if it has any paperwork. The paperwork on its own means nothing, but you can track down the breeder at that point and ask them if the animal is actually a het or not.

Look for active tongue flickering. If the Ball python seems sluggish or unresponsive, I would be a bit wary, especially if the snake feels warm. A snake that's been on its cold side for a while will be slower to get moving, but after you've held them for a while, they should get more active.

Defensive striking in babies is fine. I've gotten tagged more than once by a baby because they're scared out of their tiny little minds of me. I would be more wary about "aggressive" behavior in adults. I have yet to have an adult snake try to grab me (but then I also don't have any female I need to pull off eggs) but I have had them hiss and bluster at me.

Just use your common sense. If you get the feeling that anything is off, if any red flags pop up at all, I would pass. Your gut instinct is usually (almost always) correct. If you've been lurking on here for a while reading threads and stuff, you'll do just fine.

Hey man thanks a lot for the info! Yea, im definitely going to be adding a BP to my life. I will probably be a month or so before because i just want to learn as much as humanly possible. I wont give petco/petsmart a bad rep just because i havent had any experience in buying animals from there and from what iv read its 50/50. Their veterinarian services i have used before and generally on that iv had a good experience. Also I will be purchasing from a breeder. I mentioned to a friend about getting a BP and turns out he knows an experienced reputable breeder so il be in contact with him as soon as i do feel im ready. Again, thanks for the info guys, youre a big help!

Another question, where do you guys keep the snake when cleaning out their enclosure, do you have a separate tub or what would be recommended?

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Originally Posted by Juan89

Another question, where do you guys keep the snake when cleaning out their enclosure, do you have a separate tub or what would be recommended?

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Pillowcase lol. Or just have someone else hold him for a bit. I do have a separate tub I could use, but they seem pretty content to chill in a dark bag. If you have an extra container, great. But I wouldn't go out of my way to buy an additional tank or tub.

I have a locking sterilite tub will holes drilled and a softish towel on the bottom for each of my no legged pets. Can be used for during full cleanings, they work great as a soaking tub if need be, and they will useful if I ever need to get them out of the house fast.

When I'm cleaning the cage, since my snakes are currently babies, I wear a heavy duty necklace - a friends dog tags, I just loop them around the necklace and they're content as can be. They'll do their own thing, and I get to be hands free. Never had an issue with it - just if you've got long hair, brush out your hair first or they WILL find every single knot in your hair... Learned that the long way. Eventually had to give up trying to free him, and had to lay down and wait for him to decide to come out.

Welcome to the hobby, I swear it's addictive. I'm up to three snakes - 2 corn, 1 ball - and am already planning my next addition - champagne male I'm gonna call Dallas... Have fun, and don't stress over the little mistakes. My snakes are extremely forgiving thank god... My male escaped and got stuck on tape and left me panicking, then he escaped, I couldn't get the temps right on my female corn, my female ball has picked up mites. They're mighty forgiving though, so don't stress the little things, just learn from them!

I just... put them on a counter or the floor or something. My snakes don't book it out of there and even if they do, I can pick them up pretty easy. If I'm scrubbing tubs down completely, they are either handed off to somebody else or forced to share a big tub for 10 or 15 minutes. But if I'm just changing newspaper or something I set them to the side and make sure to keep an eye on them.