Cage Setup for newbie

Hi all,

First post yeeeeee. Ok guys i need some feedback here regarding setting up my bp new home. Ive read some threads but could not find some info so i hope u guys can help me out here.

I live in KL, Malaysia. The weather is hot and humid, it rains quite often here. Now my questions are :-

1) Do i need a heater pad for the belly ? Or can i get away with just a busking lamp ? The pet store never uses under belly heating.

2) Is it ok to use beerchwood bedding ?

3) When choosing a snake, do i pick the most active ones ? Or the one thats just 'chilin' ? Give that they all healthy and mite free.

Thx heaps guys!

ps: This must be the most comprehensive forum for bp ever!

Kuala Lampur eh? How goes it over there? You born over there?

1) If you have to chose go with belly heat instead of lamp. But check your surface temps with a digital thermometer before you house.

2) Not sure what beerchwood is - so I'm going to err on the safe side and reccomend newsprint to ya - does beerchwood have any phenol content?

3) As long as they are all healthy it's up to you - hold a couple if they have flinchy heads I'd pass for one that is less easily spooked.

OK if you mean Beechwood it DOES contain phenols, so like pine and cedar AVOID getting this stuff near your snakes as it can and likely will lead to illness/death.

1) Heat pad for belly heat aids in digestion, so it's highly recommended. If you have high humidity *inside your home* it may be easier for you to either go with an aquarium setup or use a low-wattage bulb to lose some humidity.

2) I'm also not familiar with beerchwood, but you do need to be careful to avoid high phenol levels. On the off-chance that you made a typo in beechwood since I got no Google results for beerchwood, I would recommend you avoid it and choose newspaper, paper towels, or commercial reptile bedding if the availability is good.

3) Look for a snake with good muscle tone that grips your hand/arm well, tries to escape if it's baby or juvenile (natural instinct dulled by illness), rights itself easily when turned upside down, and if health condition is known to be good one that is less head-shy.

Things you look for in captive bred aren't necessarily the same as you'd look for in imports, and likewise in juveniles and adults. In an import, a tight ball or striking or rapid escape behavior is likely a sign of a healthy animal trying to defend itself, whereas in an adult or captive bred ball, they may be signs that it hasn't been handled much and may not have had the best attention from its breeder or keeper. On the other hand, some ball pythons just stay skittish regardless of how much attention they get.

And thanks. We do try to be a very good resource for ball python keepers and fans. :)

Thx for the replies guys!

Smulkin: Im a Malaysian. Keeping Reptiles seems to be quite a new and growing trend here.

Yep ive made a typo error, its beechwood. The pet store seems to stock the beechwood, and 'cypren' (spelling?). But htey also stock coconut bedding. Is this any good, else im gonna hafta use newspaper :(

All the snakes are imported from Europe or so they claimed. Most seems to settle well when handled, but they kinda alwyas flinched when they see my hand coming towards them. But the pet store guy told me thats normal and i should not try to handle them by coming over their head. IS this true ?

As for under side heating, i cant seem to find Flexiwatt or thermal pad. Like i said keeping reptile as pets is quite a new trend here in Malaysia.

You don't have any heating pads in Malaysia? Like just normal human heat pads for muscle therapy? Those are perfect for heating a cage. :)

As for the substrate, you can use newspaper, paper towel, or indoor/outdoor carpeting. Newspaper works great. Easy to come by, easy to change. Only problem is the look of it. But sometimes you have to sacrifice looks for what works. :)

Oh, and most ball pythons are headshy, where they flinch if you touch their heads.

Edit: missed the coconut bedding thing. Coconut bedding seems to work great for the folks around here. Holds humidity nicely, and looks aesthetically pleasing. :)

Thx Cody! Hey ur kinda early to be up ? Is it not like 6:00 am there ?

Since most bp are head shy it seems i have a tough time in choosing my new pet :o

As for the bedding, Ill give the coconut bedding a go then.

Anyways, ill try looking for a heat pad. Is it ok to just put it underneath the substrate ? I really cannot put it any other ways, hence the heating dillema. My aquarium is custom made and with floor tiles. Why tiles ? Well i put a drainage hole in there coz it be easier to rinse it every now and then.

No make sure the heat pad is under the enclosure and not inside - if inside it could cause surface burns to the snake.

Been aeons but I had made it as far as Jakarta and Phuket.

Good to have you join us!

thx for welcome note smulkin! ok ill give it a try with the heater pad. Thx all for the advices ,, ill be getting the bp sometime next week and will be sure to post the updates!

I'm suprised that keeping them is "new" in asia. I always thought there was a huge market for high-end ball python morphs in asia...