Your Ball Python Fascination

I am curious to see what made all of you delve into the BP craze. I personally never intended on making an obsession out of them at all. I was in my local mall, and they had sales people walking around with one. I couldn't resist handling the little guy. He seemed so gentle and so nonchalant. I wanted to take him home so bad, but was a broke joke at the time. I slowly researched them and decided to take the plunge at the White Plains expo with just a normal girl. After about of month of her I realized what I just got myself into, and at the next White Plains show I bought a pastel male. Now I got 11 BP's and counting with no plan on stopping the collection anytime soon(Had more but traded babies I hatched out). I think the fact that theres what seems to be an endless amount of color variation in them is whats amazing. And the fact that there docile to boot!! Some of them are truly works of art, and one of a kind animals too. Ahhh so addicting lol

My kids have been bringing home all kinds of critters from the backyard. My husband finds snakes in the yard and puts them in a jar to show the kids. All the time.

So then this Reptile Store opened a few miles from our house. There's this one kid there - must not have been more than 6 years old - that was holding a ball python. The snake was definitely "chill". Completely different from the racer snakes my husband brings home from the yard. And the snake was this pretty yellow - looked like candy. All the others next to her were muddy brown. So, I forked out lots of money that very moment to get the snake plus everything that comes with it.

So now my husband has a snake, and my kids are begging to have their own - I found a ball python on craigslist but it was a different color - a pretty brown. I went to look at the snake and he was "chill" too! So, I got him for my kids.

Found out about "morphs" a few months later when I got introduced to this site. As it so happens - our first snake was a pastel and our second snake was a spider and they just happen to be male and female. I just thought they looked cute. 2 years later we have bumblebees.

Now, I'm thinking, hey, breeding was kinda cool. Maybe I should try it again. LOL.

Well A friend of mine had a normal ball python and he lived on the next block from me. I was a teenager at the time. I asked my mom can he bring the snake to the crib. She told me HELL NO. NO snake is coming in her house. So i played with it outside. Shortly after that I saw a Albino Ball Python in the Pet Shop and I was so amazed at that snake. I said I got to have a Ball Python. MY moms said when you pay the cost to be the boss, then you can bring home what you want. I started off with a RedTail Boa that i bought from Petco around 2006. It was stolen in a home invasion! I moved with a room mate/Friend. He had plenty of snakes and gave me my first BP. Normal Male Named Otis. Hes cool as a fan in the window on a hot summer day. Once my moms found out even though I'm 30yrs old and have my own apartment 2 1/2 hrs away. She got mad but she got over it until she came to visit and threaten to throw Otis outside in the rain. To make a long story short. I have 3 BP's now and I look forward to getting more. I also want to become a breeder so i'm taking my time and thinking about what projects I want to work on. Thanks for listening to my story. BALL-PYTHONS.NET THANKS FOR GIVING ME A PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT BP'S FROM A BUNCH OF GREAT OWNERS! :D:D:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anatess

My kids have been bringing home all kinds of critters from the backyard. My husband finds snakes in the yard and puts them in a jar to show the kids. All the time.

So then this Reptile Store opened a few miles from our house. There's this one kid there - must not have been more than 6 years old - that was holding a ball python. The snake was definitely "chill". Completely different from the racer snakes my husband brings home from the yard. And the snake was this pretty yellow - looked like candy. All the others next to her were muddy brown. So, I forked out lots of money that very moment to get the snake plus everything that comes with it.

So now my husband has a snake, and my kids are begging to have their own - I found a ball python on craigslist but it was a different color - a pretty brown. I went to look at the snake and he was "chill" too! So, I got him for my kids.

Found out about "morphs" a few months later when I got introduced to this site. As it so happens - our first snake was a pastel and our second snake was a spider and they just happen to be male and female. I just thought they looked cute. 2 years later we have bumblebees.

Now, I'm thinking, hey, breeding was kinda cool. Maybe I should try it again. LOL.

---

You know I remember you telling me you were done with breeding, and being like how can she resist to not doING it again? I wish I could, but I just can't. lol

Looks like the itch just got itchier ehhh???

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BEasy119

Well A friend of mine had a normal ball python and he lived on the next block from me. I was a teenager at the time. I asked my mom can he bring the snake to the crib. She told me HELL NO. NO snake is coming in her house. So i played with it outside. Shortly after that I saw a Albino Ball Python in the Pet Shop and I was so amazed at that snake. I said I got to have a Ball Python. MY moms said when you pay the cost to be the boss, then you can bring home what you want. I started off with a RedTail Boa that i bought from Petco around 2006. It was stolen in a home invasion! I moved with a room mate/Friend. He had plenty of snakes and gave me my first BP. Normal Male Named Otis. Hes cool as a fan in the window on a hot summer day. Once my moms found out even though I'm 30yrs old and have my own apartment 2 1/2 hrs away. She got mad but she got over it until she came to visit and threaten to throw Otis outside in the rain. To make a long story short. I have 3 BP's now and I look forward to getting more. I also want to become a breeder so i'm taking my time and thinking about what projects I want to work on. Thanks for listening to my story. BALL-PYTHONS.NET THANKS FOR GIVING ME A PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT BP'S FROM A BUNCH OF GREAT OWNERS! :D:D:D

---

Thanks for posting! Great story, and trust me if you want to learn from the pro's (I'm newb status) this is the place!!

IF YOUR READING THIS AND GOT A MINUTE PLEASE POST YOUR STORY AS WELL!! THESE ARE A FUN TO READ!! IS THAT SLIGHTLY DORKY? IF IT IS I DONT CARE KEEP EM' COMING!

My story really started in 3rd grade when we had a "snake guy" come to school and I held my first snake. Then when I was about 15 I came home from school and the neighbor kids had a Prairie Kingsnake that they had caught in a jar! I knew I had to save him from them so I bought a cage, named the little one fluffy and took him with me everywhere! He managed to escape though and for my 16th birthday my dad bought me a small ball python, but it died within a week. We took him back to the pet store and traded him for an adult rescue that I named Spike. I had him til I was 24 when he passed away. I'm not sure how old he was at the time.

Then, for Valentines day this year my boyfriend surprised me with a baby normal ball!!! He wasn't much of a snake guy but knew how much I loved them and now, well he's obsessed like I am!! We have Chumley, our normal unsexed, Stewie, a gorgeous Mojo male and a pastel female that will be arriving Wednesday!! We also have a RTB, Oswald Cobblepot, who is a cranky little sucker!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jbean7916

My story really started in 3rd grade when we had a "snake guy" come to school and I held my first snake. Then when I was about 15 I came home from school and the neighbor kids had a Prairie Kingsnake that they had caught in a jar! I knew I had to save him from them so I bought a cage, named the little one fluffy and took him with me everywhere! He managed to escape though and for my 16th birthday my dad bought me a small ball python, but it died within a week. We took him back to the pet store and traded him for an adult rescue that I named Spike. I had him til I was 24 when he passed away. I'm not sure how old he was at the time.

Then, for Valentines day this year my boyfriend surprised me with a baby normal ball!!! He wasn't much of a snake guy but knew how much I loved them and now, well he's obsessed like I am!! We have Chumley, our normal unsexed, Stewie, a gorgeous Mojo male and a pastel female that will be arriving Wednesday!! We also have a RTB, Oswald Cobblepot, who is a cranky little sucker!!

---

Thanks for posting, and I love the names!!

Well, actually it started with a red tailed boa. I used to have TONS of animals when I was younger (at one point I had 24 guinea pigs, 30 lovebirds, 80 betta fish, 3 dogs a horse, a giant rabbit, and 2 pet rats) and when I moved to Arizona I had to give up all of my pets except for 6 birds. The birds eventually all found new homes after a couple years of living here as I had to move to an apartment that allowed no pets. Then I moved to another apartment that did allow pets (err..well...dogs) and I adopted a dog. Then I was in Petco one day and our local herp association was having an adoption day and I fell in love with a little 3' red tail. I built him a HUGE custom cage and had him for about a year and a half until one day the apartments got a new maintenence man who told on me :(

Anyway, while I had him though I started researching other snakes and fell in LOVE with pied ball pythons. (back when they were about 4 grand lol)... I was bound and determined to own and/or breed them one day. So time went by and I finally bought a house and a year later I decided it was about time for me to get a new hobby...what hobby did I get into? Ball pythons of course! :)

I still don't have my pied yet, but maybe next year :)

Mine started when I held a boa when on a family vacation in Montana.
She was so sweet, and calm--I didn't know snakes were like that!
So when we got home, my fiance and I immediately purchased a corn snake after finding a local breeder online.
We LOVED her.
But my fiance had heard about ball pythons and wanted one, and that month Petco was having them on sale from $80 to $15...of course we had to get one. :)
That's where Nergal came in!
We were hooked on how calm he was compared to Cheesecake, the corn snake--he'd sit still and let you touch him, he was BIG, and cute, and friendly. It was everything about him.
(Still love corn snakes, though!) :gj:

My fascination started around 2 years ago when one of my neighbors got 2 BP's; I was enthralled by how amazing they were . Up until that point, I had no idea that ANY snake could be that calm and cool. I wanted one immediately but my wife at the time wasn't having it so I left her and got one! Well...that wasn't the reason we split, but it sounded good!:gj:

So last year I got my first normal BP and I loved him so much I went the very next weekend and bought one of his brothers. I wish I would have researched the proper care a little more prior to getting one because my first experience was kind of a trial and error type of deal but I think I have a really good grasp on snake care now and most of that has to do with constantly being on this site. I LOVE BP.NET!!!

Earlier this year I added a corn snake and a Cal King to my collection and at the upcoming NARBC show in Chiacgo I will be adding my first BP morph, so needless to say, I am hooked and also convinced that snakes, BP's in particular, are the best pets you can have!

Why did I buy Fang?

I've always loved snakes, but never actually thought about owning one. I'm a sucker for low-maintenance pets, though, and a few weeks ago when I was in the pet shop, it dawned on me that maybe it was time to get a snake. I was looking at a King, but the sales guy talked me into buying Fang, a normal BP. Really glad I did. He's just so mellow, and seems to really enjoy being taken out of his tank and handled.

I'm going to resist the urge to buy a bunch of snakes. But I know that the first time I attend a reptile expo, I'll probably come home with a morph of some kind.

(Darn it!)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Animals As Leaders

You know I remember you telling me you were done with breeding, and being like how can she resist to not doING it again? I wish I could, but I just can't. lol

Looks like the itch just got itchier ehhh???

---

DEFINITELY! The problem is, bp's are so easy to take care of - I mean, they don't chew the furniture, pee on your grass, bark incessantly, if you forget to pet them, they could care less, and if you go on a week's vacation you don't need to take them to the kennel. They can live in a small corner of the home office, no problem. So... having 7 of them is not much different than having 4!

I've always been fascinated by snakes & reptiles, but until 2 years ago I'd only owned a few lizards (iguanas & leos). Then I was managing a library, and we hired somebody from the East Bay Vivarium for a children's program... that re-ignited my interest in snakes, and I went to the viv a few weeks later "just to look around." I had actually been researching in those weeks, and it was suggested that I get a Rosy Boa - not sure why, but the people I'd asked thought they were a good fit. :confuzd:

So I walked into East Bay Viv, and asked to see the Rosy Boas for sale. The manager brought out a few, and could tell I wasn't all that impressed... he thought I might like something a bit stockier, and showed me a Ball Python instead. Needless to say, it was love at first sight! I knew this was the snake for me, and picked out my beautiful girl Delilah. :) Funny thing is, as I was leaving the manager said "I've been in this business for 20+ years, and pride myself on picking the right snake for each customer; and I knew immediately you'd go home with a Ball." If only he knew what that first snake led to, LOL!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anatess

DEFINITELY! The problem is, bp's are so easy to take care of - I mean, they don't chew the furniture, pee on your grass, bark incessantly, if you forget to pet them, they could care less, and if you go on a week's vacation you don't need to take them to the kennel. They can live in a small corner of the home office, no problem. So... having 7 of them is not much different than having 4!

---

That is very true, and probably why people end up with so many... I never in a million years thought I'd have 29 snakes, but now it really doesn't seem like a big deal. :oops: I have one dog and three cats, who are MUCH harder to care for than my snake collection!

Exactly!

And that mentality is what fuels my obsession lol. But then 4 turns into 8, 8 turns into 16, and then before you know its your in the triple digits and buried!

My sister in law met a guy with a bunch of balls and she invited me over. He showed me his collection and also showed me some babies that he was selling. I have always loved snakes and my mom would not let me have a snake in her house when I was a kid. My daughter and I begged and begged my wife for weeks and she finally gave in so i bought a normal male.. After about 6 months, I asked to get a female and she said I can only get more if I keep them in the basement as she never goes down there so I built a snake room and after 13 months since my first one, I now have 7!

Well at first, I wanted a dog when I moved to Texas, so I was looking around for one. My parents said since we travel a lot, we can't get a dog because we will be leaving it alone. So, I look for alternatives and found a ball python. I wanted it sooo bad, and I asked my mom and dad and they gave me the "OK" sign. BUT, unfortunately, my mom told her co-workers her predicament with me, and her co-workers told her horror stories of snakes smelling and when killing the rodents the rodents scream their heads off... then it was an immediate NO. It took me 1 year of trying to get my mom to let me get a snake, and then one day, me and my family were out grocery shopping and I ask to stop by the pet store. I then see the ball python that eventually becomes mine, and I begged my mom to let me get it. The worker at the time really convinced my mom in less than 10 minutes with the same info I have been telling her for 1 full year. Messed up right? But it doesn't matter, I got Al and I love him:D

I've always been fascinated with snakes in general.

I used to see a beautiful python of some kind in a pet shop near my then boyfriend's home. To my shame I cannot remember what it was. I do know it was at least 5 feet long and very pretty browns and I think blacks. Eventually I got the chance to hold it, I was so thrilled.

My specific thing for ball pythons came about in the lid to late '90's when I worked for Fancy Publications, the people who publish Reptiles magazine. On the front cover of one of the many magazines I sold, was a Piebald ball, the first in this country. I was hopelessly in love. Of course, way back then I couldn't even begin to afford the outrageous pricetag, but I told myself, somehow, someway, someday I'd have one of those magnificent snakes.

Today there are a dozen snakes in my collection so far, and one is my long hoped for pied. A lovely little low-white boy. And with him, I hope one day soon to produce my dream pied, a perfect 50/50.

Gale

My obsesssion with snakes started with a common garter snake as a pet. I then noticed BP's at the pet store and I just had to have one. After many months of research I acquired my first ball python in October of 2008. I have been addicted ever since and I plan on getting more! I think they are just beautiful creatures and I love them!

My mother swears it was when I was about 10 years old, and she sent my brother and I to the local Nature Science Center who had a summer day camp. She has a photo of us helping to weigh a large bumese, a bunch of kids each standing on a scale with part of the snake in our arms (and adults at the head, tail and middle of the snake).

I remember Helen the Hognose, a jet black hognose that I loved, who sadly got out of her enclosure and the kingsnake had a suspicious lump and a satisfied smile on his face.

Fast forward to my 30's, and my boyfriend had a 20 gallon tall tank that he decided he wanted to turn into a terrarium and add a green lizard to it. The lovely local pet store had JUST the green lizard he was looking for, for ONLY $25! What a deal!

:mad::mad::mad:

It was a baby iguana. I started researching them, and I'm getting more and more distressed about it, because we live in a one bedroom apartment, and this kiddo is going to need much more than we can give him. Well, sadly, he was not a healthy iguana, and he didn't live very long.

So, before my boyfriend could put any more pretty green lizards in that tank, I asked him if I could get a snake instead, and he agreed. I loved the shape of the ball python's head, and their face. I started researching and ended up buying my first ball python online.

Started reseraching more and more, and found this forum as well as all the different color mutations out there and the rest is history! I now have ~50 combined snakes (between all the species).

My mother still curses the day she decided to enroll us in that summer camp! LOL "I should have never taken you to the Nature Science Center summer camp!"

hello! well my fascination with herps started with a lone baby ball python "lily" and exploded (i dont own many snakes only 2 right now, i had four at one point but have to suffer with few snakes til i get my own place)

but ive realized my fascination isnt with ball pythons, its with the entire FIELD of herpetology, thats what i want to do as perhaps a secondary career, is get a degree in herpetology, and maybe work in a zoo, or a venom extraction program.

Wow, theres really some awesome stories!!

I just love it how everyone has their own unique way into BP's.

Its funny how most peoples parents(or any concerned loved one) are an initial obstacle, but due to our determination and love for this animal we always prevail! Long live all your BP obsession!!

Mine's a bit different from the one's so far.

I had been considering etting a pet, but my girlfriend is allergic to dogs and cats, plus I currently live by myself, so leaving it alone would be an issue.

Well turns out my girlfriend's company decided to have a party to celebrate the launch of their new website. It was going to be a dinner cruise on the hudson. Well their VP is a bit... unusual... and for some reason decided they should have a turtle race. So the company buys 4 turtles. They're supposed to arrive a week before the big event.

Well that leaves the question of what to do with the turtles over the weekend, and what to eventually do with them afterwards. I figure it could be fun to have one for a weekend, and maybe keep it afterwards.

Well, the turtles didn't arrive until that monday, so there was no need for the weekend turtle sitting. But my girlfriend got to take care of them at her office...

Their water stinks! It's such a pain to have to keep changing it, especially after feeding. Not to mention the really high salmonella risk from dumping dirty water into your kitchen sink.

So yeah, I quickly realized that I wanted no turtles... but in reading about turtles had gotten kind of interested in the idea of a pet reptile. And that reptile wound up being a snake.

So a week later, I went over to a PetSmart and bought a snake and tank on the spot.

Things are going good so far other than I need to come up with a new name since he is actually a she....

Our love for them started in 2004 when we moved in together. My fiance (husband on Friday!!) has always loved snakes but his mom wouldn't let him have one, so the day we got our own apartment he got a little BP. We ended up having to rehome that one, but we now have 3 others. One of them fell in love with me and he is strictly my snake. Charlie, my snake, doesn't like to be on Matt, my fiance, at all. He squirms towards me and contently lays in my lap. Our other two, Lucy, who is our rescue, and Superman, our huge pastel, loves Matt. We're going to the Tinley Park show in a few weeks and will be adding another snake to our collection!

I got my first ball python about 9 months ago....truly fascinated by them ever since i was young but my mom would never let me get one....now i have Het genetic stripe and im on my way to getting a spider and a Mojave.....May we keep this trend going on for many years!!!!!!