Not sure if I should get a ball python

Hi, I have been doing alot of research and first was debating if i should get a pet snake, i love snakes by the way and after comparing a cornsnake and a ball python I found a ball python would probably be the best for me but there are a few things i am worried about. First do ball pythons really bite alot and if so how bad does it hurt like on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being a pinch and 10 your arm being cut off, And is a 20 gallon long ok for the first year or so? Thanks for the info!

Hello and welcome. Each snake can be different but I've found that babies are more likely to strike out. They mellow as they get older. My little guy nailed me when I wasn't paying attention and I didn't even feel it. I had two pin pricks of blood. It rated a -2.

I like corns too but to me I like that balls are mellower. A 20 gal long is great. Just make sure that you get the husbandry right and you'll do fine. Good luck with whatever you do and ask any questions you have:)

First of all, my experience with BPs has been bite-free. It's pretty easy to look at a dozen individuals and find the one that is the least scared (biggest cause of biting), doesn't ball up, seems relaxed and a little inquisitive, and likely end up with an animal that will never bite you out of fear. Just don't rub rat smell all over your warm hands and surprise your snake by sticking a warm, fleshy mammal object that smells like food in front of its face.

Also, cage setup directly relates to security and happiness, which reduces the chance a snake will feel scared (and then bite in defense if human godzilla tries to grab it).

In general, I'd say most snake bites rate a 0.1 on your 0-10 pain scale. You may jump at how fast it happens (really, the surprise is the worst part), you may look down and see some blood because they DO have very sharp teeth), but really as far as pain goes, I'd rather be bitten by a 10lb snake than a hamster.

I kept my first ball python in a 20G long, it's a great size. Most people who use glass cages (myself included) have humidity issues, but there are plenty of workarounds to ensure that your snake is healthy, sheds well, and all the other things that are dependent on having a bit of humidity.

Corn snakes are another great choice, and I love them, but I heartily encourage you to go after the species you are most enthralled with rather than the one that might seem the "easiest". More snakes suffer from boredom-induced neglect than from a dedicated, excited keeper who might need a little advice to be pushed in the right direction of care.

That said, ball pythons are great choices. They're easy to care for as long as you pay attention and read up, the great majority won't bite during handling, the few that do bite will very likely calm down with time, and they are affordable and available everywhere with plenty of resources on care.

Baby ball pythons are known to strike more often, most likely out of instinct seeing you as a predatory threat. If a BP tags you it usually just feels like pricks from hypodermic needles. Cat and dog bites hurt worse, unless for some reason the snake latches on and doesn't want to let go, which I haven't seen happen very often. Also, if the BP hasn't been handled much at all it is more likely to strike out of fear. My male "rescue" came to me already four years old but hadn't been handled in at least two years, not exaggerating. He tagged me the first night I brought him home and would strike any time I opened his tub. Since getting him, he's completely calmed down and never strikes at me. So it also depends on the temperament of the individual snake and how comfortable it is being handled.

20 gallon long might be a bit big for a hatchling size Ball Python, but I'm not exactly sure because I use tubs and all of my Ball Pythons came to me either fully grown or almost fully grown.

First I just wanted to say thanks for all the help it means alot, and okay thats nice to here after hearing about an incident my friend had with his when it bit his finger and started constricting his hand and started trying to eat his finger... It had me a little bit concerned but now I am reassured, I will be going to petco tommorrow not to get the snake of course but I want to look and maybe get the tank and suppies and get it set up. Oh one other thing, does anyone know if Petco gets their ball pythons from breeders or from the wild? Thanks again

I strongly recommend buying your first snake from a breeder. Petco/PetSmart, to my knowledge, gets their BPs from breeders but they don't take good care of them at the store, for the most part. You're more likely to get a sick snake from Petco or PetSmart than from a breeder, though it's still possible from a breeder. Also, if you're not dead-set on buying a tank, I would strongly recommend looking into a tub setup rather than tank. Much cheaper, much easier to clean, and much, much easier to maintain proper heat and humidity. I had a tank for my first one, suffered many humidity and heat dilemmas, switched to Sterilite tubs and never looked back. I don't know how I could possibly stand using a tank again, lol. So take that into consideration before you break your wallet buying a tank and supplies from Petco/PetSmart. I would recommend ordering your supplies from Reptile Basics online. The man who runs that business will answer ANY question you could possibly have on your new snake, and they have a great selection of supplies that are higher quality and cheaper priced than most pet stores.

Just a thought, I wish I had started with tubs and supplies ordered online!

its nothing, my wife and i got bit today, was kinda funny! here is a pic of my arm.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-J...8/DSC01226.JPG

Regarding your friends incident, yes it is possible but it is shouldnt hurt much and I doubt itll be strong enough to squeeze hard enough for long enough to cause any harm at all. And this can definitely be avoided by being careful and not making any 'Stupid Feeding Errors', as we call them around here. I've made a few of my own, but honestly, it's no biggy. If its not from feeding errors, it's because its scared and/or really annoyed. My first ball was half a year when I got him, he struck during cage maintenance quite a fair bit. When it happens, whatever the cause, I usually end up worrying about the snake more than I do about myself because I always jump and pull back my arm from the sudden movement and speed. Which could injure him if he did manage to get a hold of whatever he was trying to bite, especially if I flung him off in the process. However with consistant proper handling and more confidence (very important when handling your ball, especially when first picking it up), and probably the snake's maturing, they mellow really quickly and get used to having you around. Now that angsty ball would much rather run away or ball up when stressed rather than bite. He'll warn me before he strikes too, hissing, puffing, being pissed.

With your first ball python however, I most recommend trying as much as you can to get a calmer one, I took rather long to get back confidence after each strike the first few times. And fear definitely induces more bites. I even wore thick gloves for a while just in case.

Welcome to the forum!
Ive only been bite or struck at by baby BPs.
And they were defensive bites, felt like someone stabbing you quickly with a few toothpicks, it broke the skin but barely. Id rate it at a 1-2
You gotta remember when you open a tank your huge hand is coming at them from above. To a snake that lives on the ground they automatically think predator. To make less risk of getting struck at its a good idea to move slowly and to scoop the animal from under the belly, rather then grasping it from the back side. It really depends on the snake and how you approach it most of the time.
Ive never been bite or struck at by an adult BP however and I dont want to.

I had cornsnakes before I ever got a BP and I gotta say both are great pets.
BPs can be very picky eaters and I would suggest getting him converting to frozen thawed prey as quickly as you can. Its not COOL to feed a snake live, a rodent can seriously injure a snake by biting.
As far as big box pet stores go, I wouldnt NOT reccomend them. I used to work for a few months at a petsmart and its not good.
If you DO decide to buy your snake there however, make sure you tell them to show you the last time in the log book that the snake ate. Its very important to know that the snake has eaten recently because the snakes that come in from the breeders (mind you these are HUGE facitilies that supply large pet stores) they feed live. When they get to petsmart they are automatically switched to frozen thawed, whether they eat or not. If the snake choses not to eat the f/t, they just dont eat. Because petsmart doesnt "believe" in using rodents as prey items. They would rather see the snake die then feed it a live pinky. (Yet they choose to have "feeder" goldfish)
Anyways going with a breeder is a much safer option of knowing what your getting in a snake. And they can ship the animal right to your door! And most breeders are willing to answer any questions you may have. I suggest looking on kingsnake.com or faunaclassifieds.com or this site even has a classifieds section.
You picked a good forum to join :)
I wish you luck with your snake research. Hope we've helped you.

Thanks again for the help I have looked around to see If there are any breeders in my area but the closest one I found was 140 miles so I think I'm going to have to go with petco sadly. I'm suPer excited about going tonight oh and what do you guys use for substrate? Thanks again

I am newer to snake keeping (2 years in). I have two balls, separate tanks of course. Both my balls are pet store snakes. It really, REALLY depends on the individual location. Seriously. Some of them take horrible care of them, others take great care, even within the same store chain (Petsmart or Petco). Our particular Petsmart kept detailed logs on their snake feeding and shedding schedules, which you take with you when you bring home the snake. My papers had the acquisition date, sale date, and a full chart of all his behavior until I bought him.

My other snake did NOT come with all of that (different location), and I was concerned about that particular pet store, but I absolutely fell in love with this one snake and decided to take the risk as I had grown attached to her.

I would ask for logs on their snakes, and over time keep going back and looking at the setups to see if the snakes are being kept at proper temps and humidity. Look at the condition of the snakes there to make sure they aren't dehydrated or retaining sheds. That will tell you a lot.

We have tanks for ours too. We knew the drawbacks going into the purchase, but wanted something that we could see through and view our snake whenever. We modified the screen tops so they hold in humidity and have an under tank heater on a thermostat and a basking lamp to keep the appropriate environment. It CAN be done, just do your research before choosing your cage setup.

Ah, as for biting... I got bitten once when our snake was too hungry and my hands were not washed well. He bit and immediately released when he realized I am not a mouse. It didn't really hurt IMO, just startling more than anything. He has never bitten again, and my other snake has never bitten us.

Pet stores here have baby normals for $80 plus tax which is robbery. Plus they shrug at any questions about them. No age, no sex, no feeding or shedding records. I think less populated areas have more passionate employees.

Spiffy, that's a shame. I think I paid $60-80 for mine too, which actually was MUCH cheaper than a lot of the breeders I have seen around here (they were a few months old when I got them). I am in a big city, so I have a LOT of access to a LOT of pet stores, and it is really hit or miss here. The good store I purchased from didn't know the sex, but they did know hatch date, acquisition date, and had detailed records. I know that's not the norm, and I wonder if my store had a reptile enthusiast working in that dept. that made some changes.

I didn't read all of the replies, but I've never been bit by a ball python. It's pretty easy to tell when picking them out which ones will be trouble and which ones are calm. I have 4 at the moment and none have them have ever made even a hint that they had any intent to bite me. I HAVE however, been bit by my boa, which is much scarier than a ball python, and on a scale of 1-10 it was less than 1. I didn't even notice he tagged me until I saw my blood. Absolutely nothing to fear, unless it's a "food bite". I've seen some bad food bites (where they think your food), but from what I've heard that doesn't happen often.

I don't advised getting it from Petco...Even if there isn't a breeder in your exact area, there are a ton of reputable breeders on here that have websites with pictures and everything, you can easily have one shipped to you. I use aspen for substrate in my one tank.

OP - where do you live? Do you have a reptile show that comes around? That's a great place to find one. Research the breeders that will be there ahead of time and then go and pick one out between those booths. We are lucky that we have one twice a month about 1 hour from my place. I get all my feeder animals and a lot of other equipment there.

Don't worry about being bitten. Once it happens, you won't be bothered by it so much. Most BPs are so docile, they can't even be provoked to bite and most bites are the result of feeding error.

I use cypress mulch as substrate - it seems to hold humidity better than aspen and I use a vivarium so it looks better than paper towels. I would use paper towels in a tub though. If you go with a tank, you should think about covering the top with foil or wax paper - there's a how-to thread about that in the stickies - it helps hold in the humidity.

One more place to look for a BP is from a rescue group. There are some very good groups out there and you should be able to connect with one no matter where you live. Many rescue folks are willing to meet you 1/2 way too. I adopted Ella from a rescue for a $25 adoption fee which went toward their costs and helped them rescue other animals in need. She was about 1 1/2 years old and they kept meticulous records. When I picked her up, I knew when she'd last eaten and exactly what she'd eaten and how she'd been fed, when she'd last shed, and where she had come from. They also sexed her for me and told me lots about her personality. Getting a slightly older snake was a really good desicion for my first snake too - she was a well-established feeder before I got her. Just my thoughts! :gj:

I've had two snakes in my days, one corn and one BP. They are both awesome pets to have, and to this day, I have yet to get bitten by a snake. Each of them have their own personalities and are equally fun to handle. My current snake is a ball and he's chillin in his 20L tank. I will probably get another one when he gets bigger, but this will suit him for a while to come. BP's tend to not roam as much (my corn was always on the move), but my ball has been known to make his rounds exploring. The only glaring differences in the husbandry are getting a UTH and keeping better track of the humidity.

Moral of the story, go with whichever one you are feeling better about. After having one of each within the last 12 months, I would personally stick with the BP. Happy choosings!

I've been bitten many times, but only once by an animal older than 1 year, and that was a stupid feeding mistake. Hatchling bites are negligible. I confess to a desire to avoid being bitten by an adult, but that's what snake hooks or tap-sticks are for, and while I know it will happen one day, I hope that it will be far-off. lol.
Also, the worst bite I've ever received from an animal was a hamster.

whenever i go to a petco or a petsmart the first thing i do is look at the bp's, i agree that every place is different with how they take care of them, the petsmart by me has there humity gauge showing it at 20 and the temp around 80 during the day. I went to the petco by me while my mom was getting cat food, and 1 of the bp's were dead.. it look like it died from starvation but the sad thing is, i had to tell someone about it.. When i was looking for a snake, i was looking up like reptile shows in illinois or reptile shops in illinois or anything, theres 2 reptile places about 30-50 minutes away and an expo that is every other week and is about 30 min away. I bought my female normal hatchling from the expo for $20, compared to petsmart/petco's 60-80 dollars. soo try everything first and if you have to, then go with petco/petsmart but make sure it looks healthy and ask several questions about it, and treat it better then they do. :p

I'd have to agree with some of the pet store debate comments. I got my BP at petsmart, and this particular location had feeding logs and shedding schedules for all of their snakes. I even got to talking to the employees who were reptile certified and were in charge of feeding/ handling. They were able to give me a better idea of their personalities and feeding habits. I've had nothing bad to say about my choice so far. (Of course, you also have to check out their scales, responsiveness, etc to see if they are healthy). The only bad thing I had to say was that they were feeding him mice fuzzies, but he was still nice and plump.

Yet again I have heard horror stories about chain stores. Use your judgment and I'm sure you'll be able to make a good call.