No bonding

So the worker at Petco tells me that the bp will not form an attachment or bond with our family. Is this true? You mean its little face is not going to light up when I come home from work? And dont tell my son, cause he thinks hes the favorite.

Nope. Some people will think that their ball python has emotion, but the general consensus is that there is no emotional connection like many mammals can form, unless of course your snake thinks it is getting fed. Your snake might look at you differently if you smell like a giant mouse. He may also kiss you. Open mouth. With teeth.

They may form a familiarity to the person who is most involved in handling and daily husbandry. By familiarity I mean a sense of security around that person; whether it be scent or body chemistry I'm not sure. The bond is nothing close to what you may get from a cat, dog, or horse but they will act differently around things which are familiar to them.

I know my ball pythons will be calm being held by me and become restless when being held by strangers. Whether its a bond or the fact that I'm calm and the stranger is usually nervous I'm not 100% sure.

This is just my experience with ball pythons; some of the larger species keepers might have differing opinions.

Spaniard is exactly right.

Reptiles, snakes especially, are not like mammal pets -- cats, dogs, rabbits, rats, etc. They really could care less if we interact with them or hold them. Holding and handling a snake is for the owners benefit, not the snakes.

Almost all of my snakes seem to know when I am holding them, versus someone less experienced than me, there is a noticeable difference in their behavior (they are less calm and will squirm around because they don't feel secure).

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

They really could care less if we interact with them or hold them. Holding and handling a snake is for the owners benefit, not the snakes.

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I am good with this..I think half the fun is just observing their behavior. Although ours stays in its hide all day...at night it roams. Around 10:00pm you can usually find me in front of the cage, snake gazing.

a Question.....Is the night light a must? we turn it on at a certain time each night. Does the BP need a night and day?

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Originally Posted by PYMOM

I am good with this..I think half the fun is just observing their behavior. Although ours stays in its hide all day...at night it roams. Around 10:00pm you can usually find me in front of the cage, snake gazing.

a Question.....Is the night light a must? we turn it on at a certain time each night. Does the BP need a night and day?

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Its good to give them a light cycle, so light during the day if there is no natural light in the room, and then off at night. They are nocturnal, so a little cruising at night is perfectly normal.

Are your temperatures staying ok at night when you turn off the light? Thats really the only reason to keep one on. If your temps are good with it off, keep it off :)

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

Are your temperatures staying ok at night when you turn off the light? Thats really the only reason to keep one on. If your temps are good with it off, keep it off :)

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I am having a hard time maintaining proper temp. Number 1, I think the cage is 2 big (20 gal long) I thought by getting the kit at Petco I would have everything I need, yeah right. Number 2, The "all in one" thermometer + humidity gauge, Im willing to bet is not to accurate. I did put a towel over the screen when his night light was on and that did help. In my area it is cooler at night and warmer temps in day, I have his hide under the light and he seems to like it, I was told to put water dish on cold side in case he should want to cool off with a dip. I do want to give the best care so any advice is much appreciated.

What are you using as a heat source just the light? I would recommend a UTH (Under tank heater) with a thermostat. As far as temperature humidity gauge the accurite, not sure if I spelled that right, at walmart is a indoor/outdoor thermometer with a humidity gauge they have them with the other weather stuff. If you put it on the cool side and the probe on the warm side you can measure the temps on each side and the humidity it works great.

My bp seems to like me a little more than others it's probably just a familiarity thing but she'll let me touch her head and not anyone else also when someone else is holding her she'll get tired of them and "reach out" to me.

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Originally Posted by seclark

What are you using as a heat source just the light? I would recommend a UTH (Under tank heater) with a thermostat. As far as temperature humidity gauge the accurite, not sure if I spelled that right, at walmart is a indoor/outdoor thermometer with a humidity gauge they have them with the other weather stuff. If you put it on the cool side and the probe on the warm side you can measure the temps on each side and the humidity it works great.

My bp seems to like me a little more than others it's probably just a familiarity thing but she'll let me touch her head and not anyone else also when someone else is holding her she'll get tired of them and "reach out" to me.

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Thanks for the advice...we are going tonight to get a UTH and a better gauge.

i have the UTH for mine AND a light, i put the light on during the day because my house is extremely cold [[68-72˚]] so i need it to keep the air temp. up, but at night i put the UTH a little higher and put paper over the glass to make sure it doesn't get too high and that seems to do the trick, she does seem to know me, cause she'll let me hold her and play arpund with her, but if anyone else tries to hold her she'll curl up into a ball until she's either back on the cage or into my arms, it ujst might be my wishful thinking though =P

I know my BP is definitely more comfortable with me than with my boyfriend. I'm not sure if it's something to be proud of, but when around my neck, she wraps and squeezes quite firmly, staying put. I put her on my boyfriend, and she'll just sag there and give me a funny look. :rolleyes:

I don't think a snake can "bond" with a person so to speak, but they do get comfortable with people. I believe your scent has the most to do with it, as everyone has a different scent and snakes are really good at scent perception. Once they get use to you and know you mean them no harm they can become very complacent with you.
When someone new tries to handle them, suddenly it's a new scent that they don't know. They can become reluctant to be held again.
In my house I handle our BP 99% of the time. With me he'll find a comfortable spot and just hang out. But if my fiancee tries to hold him (rarely!) he'll usually try to find a place to hide or he'll just curl up.

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Originally Posted by maria1232

i have the UTH for mine AND a light, i put the light on during the day because my house is extremely cold [[68-72˚]] so i need it to keep the air temp. up, but at night i put the UTH a little higher and put paper over the glass to make sure it doesn't get too high and that seems to do the trick, she does seem to know me, cause she'll let me hold her and play arpund with her, but if anyone else tries to hold her she'll curl up into a ball until she's either back on the cage or into my arms, it ujst might be my wishful thinking though =P

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We did end up getting a UTH last night..temp up to 91 when I went home for lunch today. Unfortunately it did not come with a thermostat, it was sold separately and they Petco was out of them. When his night light is on the temp stays at around 89 to 90.We put the UTH on the side of the tank, as the tank is on a wooden entertainment stand. Now Im having probs with humidity. its dropped to 20%. We are using 100% fir chips, thats what came with the kit. We mist the tank often, but its just not holding. But once I did get the temp up, my BP finally did his first feed. Keep the advice coming.:banana:

Try this: take a drinking class and put like a 1/4 cup of water in it. Cut a paper towel into strips and hang loosely out of the glass, and make sure they are touching the water. The water should seep up the strips and give you more humidity. I used this when I had my bp in a 50 gal aquarium.

You can look in the forums too for DIY humidifiers. Usually you can just cover the top half way with alluminum foil, but I don't know how that works with a side opened enclosure. You can also take some moist moss and fit in around his tank, and in his hides.

I've a damp washcloth on my hides before if i was having a bad shed. Be careful with wet stuff though, and keep an eye out for mold. Change them oftem.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by PYMOM

We did end up getting a UTH last night..temp up to 91 when I went home for lunch today. Unfortunately it did not come with a thermostat, it was sold separately and they Petco was out of them. When his night light is on the temp stays at around 89 to 90.We put the UTH on the side of the tank, as the tank is on a wooden entertainment stand. Now Im having probs with humidity. its dropped to 20%. We are using 100% fir chips, thats what came with the kit. We mist the tank often, but its just not holding. But once I did get the temp up, my BP finally did his first feed. Keep the advice coming.:banana:

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I don't think putting a UTH on the side of the glass is going to do you much good. Heat generally rises so you are pretty much only heating the glass where the UTH is. If you need to elevate your tank to put the UTH under it you can check at Wal-Mart, Lowes, Target, or Home Depot and see if they have any of the plastic or rubber stick-on furniture feet. Or you can check at arts and craft's stores like Michaels in the wood craft section. They have all kinds of little wooden knobs, cubes, and doohickies that you can glue to the tank to lift it up. Or you can simply hot glue 4 plastic bottle caps to the bottom. Or, you can buy an Exo-Terra Desert UTH. It will come with the risers. I would also advise against using a UTH until you get a t-stat, or at least a dimmer or rheostat. They will get alot hotter than you think, especially mounted on the bottom of the tank...

Out of curiousity, what kind of t-stats does Petco sell and how much do they charge? A Petsmart near me actually has a couple of Helix's for sale... $169.99...The other pet stores in my area have some of the Reptitemp 500r's and some of those Alife stats for $50-$60...:O

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

I don't think putting a UTH on the side of the glass is going to do you much good. Heat generally rises so you are pretty much only heating the glass where the UTH is. If you need to elevate your tank to put the UTH under it you can check at Wal-Mart, Lowes, Target, or Home Depot and see if they have any of the plastic or rubber stick-on furniture feet. Or you can check at arts and craft's stores like Michaels in the wood craft section. They have all kinds of little wooden knobs, cubes, and doohickies that you can glue to the tank to lift it up. Or you can simply hot glue 4 plastic bottle caps to the bottom. Or, you can buy an Exo-Terra Desert UTH. It will come with the risers. I would also advise against using a UTH until you get a t-stat, or at least a dimmer or rheostat. They will get alot hotter than you think, especially mounted on the bottom of the tank...

Out of curiousity, what kind of t-stats does Petco sell and how much do they charge? A Petsmart near me actually has a couple of Helix's for sale... $169.99...The other pet stores in my area have some of the Reptitemp 500r's and some of those Alife stats for $50-$60...:O

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I saw the price of the T-stat at $44 and some change.... brand name: Repti...Im thinking these are pieces of crap, cause the snake kit I got of the same brand was subpar. And as for the UTH...I have a 20gal long tank and I bought the UTH for a 30gal-40gal. It only covers a small area on the tank not even half. I put a thermometer by it and the temp is holding between 90-91 during day..at night it drops a few. he stays in is hide by it all day. I feel it and its not so hot that i cant touch.