Proud New Owner

Hello everyone! My boyfriend and I are proud new owners of a ball python. We purchased her yesterday. I have many questions as I have never liked snakes but saw this one and fell in love. I think from what I have read on the internet that its a female. We already found out this morning that she is an excape artist. lol Thank goodness my boyfriend knew the right place to look for her, under 2 feather quilts. My question for the moment is this....I have just gotten use to petting her. I want to hold her so bad but am worried about her sensing how nervous I am too. I dont want to make her nervous too. Should I just do it and get it over with or like start with just holding her tail??? Sorry this maybe a stupid question but I want to do this the right way. I would love to one day be able to hold her around my neck and not freak. :P

How old/large is she?

Take it slow.
Let her settle in and get used to the new home.
Welcome to this forum! Everyone will be happy to help with any questions.
There are care sheets for various reptiles in the care sheet section.

Your right J sorry. And Welcome to BP.net

Welcome to the forum nsadcock, and the wonderful world of ball pythons.

Welcome to the forums. Read the BP care sheet on here to be sure you guys have the proper set-up for it. Give it a week or so to settle in. Never handle for 2 to 3 days after feeding. They do not like their tail being messed with and this might make your BP jumpy. Just reach in towards an area of its body behind and away from its head. Dont reach in going directly to its face. Touch its body and then quickly scoop it up. Once in your hands the bp will begin to relax and move around. You shouldnt get bitten if you do it this way. They are not like some other snakes and will not react to your nervousness unless you are jerky with it. They are usually head shy as well and will jerk if you touch the head.

Just scoop it up and dont be afraid. You will be amazed at how fast you learn to do this and you will not have to worry about a thing :)

Grats on the new addition:) check the help sheets and care sheets, should have all you need to know:)

Thanks so much!! I have so much to learn and am so ready to be relaxed with her. The lady at the pet shop told us we needed a heat rock in with her. I just read not to put one in. She also said she needs the rock for when she eats. I do not want anything in with her if this is gonna bring harm to her:)

I have no clue how old she is. My boyfriend said she is about 2 ft long. Is there a way to tell about how old she maybe???

No way! No heat rock at all. Very bad.
They need belly heat and they get this by using an under tank heater. Or UTH as we call it. You will need to get a thermostat to control the UTH. They can get too hot so a thermostat is required. A digital thermometer/hygrometer to read the temperature and humidity levels is required to monitor everything.

Yeah, definitely don't want a heat rock in there. Use an Under Tank Heater set up with a thermostat or a dimmer. They need heat to help digest their meals. Takes them 2 days to digest, during those two days you won't want to hold the BP.

Also, there's no way of looking at your BP and being able to tell what the sex is. You have to have it popped or probed.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the addiction of Ball Pythons. Your first priority should be to get the enclosure up and running properly. I don't advise using a heat rock, as they are difficult to regulate, but if you want to use it, a dimmer or thermostat MUST be used, or you risk a nasty burn to your snake. The best way that I can recommend is an Under Tank Heater and a thermostat. Depending on how much money you have, or want to invest at this point, you can get an effective thermostat for $30-$300. You will also want to get a good digital thermometer to measure temperatures and a digital hygrometer to measure humidity. Alot of members use the Acu-Rite wired thermometer. It is available at Lowes/ Home Depot in the outdoor section, and sometimes at Wal-Mart in the hardware section. They cost about $12 a piece and will be able to tell yuou both cool and warm side temp and humidity. Once you tell us what type of enclosure you are setting up, we will be able to help, so that hopefully you won't run into any feed or shed issues...

will she be ok without a under tank pad? i dont have one yet.:O

we have a 30 gal tank, with heat lamp on top of cage, hiding space and with aspen down. we just went with what the lady at the pet shop told us. she said she has 6 snakes of her own.

30 gallon is a bit big, but you can make it work. You'll need to clutter it up with fake plants from Wal-Mart or the like. You need two hides. Aspen is fine. If you have a screen top, you'll probly want to cover up 70% of the lid with aluminum foil to keep humidity in the tank. You might even need to mist the tank daily to keep humidity up.

They can survive with no heat pad. Just get one whenever you can and make sure it's hooked up to a controlling device. When you get the UTH, dump the heat lamp... They suck humidity out of the enclosure.

also: Most of the time (though, not all the time) people at pet stores don't know what they're talking about. Take whatever they say with a grain of salt.

Yeah definately NO heat rocks....Use a UTH with a thermostat so the temperatures don't get high enough to burn the new snakie :D

It should be ok without the UTH for a very short time. As a last resort for extra heat you can leave the heat rock in there until you get a UTH but wrap the heat rock in a hand towel to diffuse the heat so it does not burn the snake. Never leave a heat rock in there with nothing wrapped around it. The bare surface always gets too hot. Not a thin kitchen towel. A nice thick bathroom hand towel.

If you have a human heating pad which is not old you can place this on low under one side of the tank but make sure you use something to raise the tank up at least an inch. You do not want the tank sitting on this directly. You can use those plastic discs for raising furniture legs off the floor or pieces of wood under the 4 corners of the tanks. This is only very temporary and if you do this you must constantly check to be sure nothing is getting too hot.

Thank you all for all the advice. Lord knows i need it. My boyfriend isnt scared of her one bit but im still getting use to her. In time i know.

Welcome to BP.net and as you can see these guys (and ladies) know their stuff. I always give my snakes a slight touch before I pick them up to give them a "warning." As long as you take it easy with them and stay away from their heads Balls are pretty easy going snakes.

Ball pythons are great animals. Please dont use a heat rock, zoo med under tank heatpad works great. If u have a screen lid, u should put a wet towel over 70% of the lid to keep the humidity in

Welcome to BP.net you source of friendly herps, after shes is accumulated to her new environment limit handling untill she eats at least 3-4 time when offered food regularly and then handle her at 15min at a time. hope this helps