what do you wish you had known before your first ball python? and good UK breeders?

Hi guys. I'm new on here. I have never owned any snakes or any pets apart from rabbits and cats. But I have always been interested in snakes. I am keen on getting a ball python (I like the idea of having a collection of about 6 different morphs but I will start with one first and see how it goes). I have done quite a bit of research on how to care for them so I know about the importance of temperature gradient, what to feed them etc. My question to more experiences keepers is this...what do you wish you had known before you bought your first ball python? What isn't on the care sheets that you wish you had known before your first ball python.

Also I am currently living overseas but will be returning to my native country (UK) soon. Does anyone have any recommendations for good UK breeders?

Substrate/humidity differences and covering the screen top to keep humidity in. Maintaining humidity was murder before I found out.

If you are in the North of England, I can't recommend The Reptile Room near Blackpool enough. Great staff and a massive variety of snakes of all kind. It's specifically a privately owned reptile shop so they know a lot about the care of snakes (as opposed to a more generalised brand name shop like Pets at Home). I also recommend Urban Jungle in Manchester and The Reptile Wonderland.

All good shops with nice animals, great reviews and friendly staff, from my experience.

I live in Cumbria so Manchester and Blackpool aren't too hard to get to couple of hours by train which is doable thank you I'll look into these.

I wish I new that they can quite easily stop feeding for months on end with no bad effects then just start again with no explanation. !

Also that when snakes have been in shed mode and their eyes clear up and their colour returns to normal there is no point tearing their viv apart looking for the sheds skin :)

( it comes off a few days later )

Also to keep an eye our RFUK classifieds when you're looking for a snake / breeder or a cheap used vivarium set up .

They are addictive. Get a large rack for the main collection and a smaller one for quarantine.

1. That is it far better to set them up correctly to begin with, in the case of Ball Pythons, a Rack system. Especially for more then just one or two..

2. That they are so addictive. You will quickly want more. Which also comes back to getting the right enclosure (that houses up to 5 or 6, lol..)

Knowing that this site existed would have been a great thing. Even though I have been involved with the internet since it was commercially viable, acquiring knowledge through books and experimentation has always been my primary method of learning. This board was a pleasant surprise. Once you have figured out who actually knows things and who doesn't, this place is probably the best source of ball python experience I have found yet throughout all media types.

I wish I'd known about the value of having a temp gun, they are relatively cheap and make life so much more straight forward with respect to getting the temp gradient right, really, one should come with everyone's first BP.