new and have some questions!

Don't really know how to start off but I'm 27 years old and have been keeping reptiles since I was 12 but never owned a snake. I'm Interested in getting a ball python because I used to do a lot of research about them when I was younger. I just started to brush up on my knowledge of them and have a few questions. My first question is, I see a lot of people keep them in plastic containers is it ok to start a baby in a 10 gallon glass tank or should I go out and buy one of those snake proof plastic vision cages? If not what would you recommend? Also, I read that they need 2 hides, one on hot side, one on the cold side. My question is, do I put an under the tank heating pad on the same side as the hide that's underneath the 90-92 hot spot or the cold side? My last question is about feeding. How do you know when to offer bigger sized prey? When they shed? Thanks in advance.

If you are going to go the tank route, I would suggest a 20 gallon long tank. You should have a UTH under one side (outside the tank, not inside) attached to a thermostat or rheostat to control the temp. I keep my hot side at 88-92, and a hide should go over the substrate on the hot side, and one on the opposite end on the cool side so the snake can thermoregulate as needed. I suggest if you go with a tank, you get some black Con-Tact paper from Home Depot to black out the sides and back on the tank, it will help them feel more secure.

As you said, a lot of people keep snakes in tubs, which is by far the cheapest and easiest way to keep them, however they aren't very nice to look at. I have tubs too and it seems to be much easier to keep the husbandry correct in them, but my tank also doesn't have any issues once you get the hang of it.

I suggest covering the screen top 1/2-2/3 of the way with anything from aluminum foil to plexi glass, it will help keep in humidity. I strongly suggest not getting a heat lamp, the light can stress them out, they can get too hot, and they kill any humidity you do have.

You should get a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer such as this:
http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Instrum...7056298&sr=8-6
You place it on the cool side, put the probe on the hot side, and it reads both side temps and humidity all in one unit.

As far as feeding, they can eat pray as large as the largest part of their body. Most can start out on hoppers or adult mice, and after a few feedings can generally start taking rat pups. All of mine except my smallest are on weaned rats, they are all between 350-400 grams. I wouldn't suggest feeding a different prey size every time they shed, go by their weight. I think they can eat a meal 10% of their body weight (or is it 20%? someone correct me). You can get a food scale that measures grams for under $25 on amazon also, or walmart or target.

Take a look at the care sheet, it is very helpful :)
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

And welcome to bp.net :D

Thank you so much for your help!


btw, by heat lamp I was talking about one of those ceramic bulbs that just give off heat,no light but it sounds like you don't need one of those.

Depending on where you live you may not need it, unless you blast your home with AC or live somewhere cold. They can be difficult to get correct ambient temps with those, but my house stays between 75-80 and my snakes are fine. Belly heat is more beneficial, but just be aware of the ambient temps too. Too cold temps can cause respiratory infections. I'd get a lamp dimmer of some sort if you did get a CHE or the sorts.

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Originally Posted by Gpoop

My question is, do I put an under the tank heating pad on the same side as the hide that's underneath the 90-92 hot spot or the cold side?

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LGray gave you excellent advice! I suggest that you read and re-read her post - she was spot-on. Make sure you read the care-sheet too - it'll help a LOT.

I just wanted to further clarify this one point for you. The UTH goes on the hot side. It can't go anywhere else. This is what will make the hot side this temperature - it's going to be what creates your 'hot-spot'. You shouldn't have to use any heat source for your cold side unless you keep your house especially cool. Ideally, your hot-spot should be 88-92, your cold spot (the coolest area in your snake's enclosure) at about 78, and your ambient temp about 80-82.

If you do keep your house cool, you MAY need to suppliment your snake's ambient temps with a low-wattage heat lamp. 2 things about this though and they are VERY IMPORTANT! Never never and I do mean NEVER allow the bulb to be inside your snake's enclosure or in any way allow him to come in contact with it. BPs can not feel if they are burning til its too late. And do make sure it's a low-wattage bulb. Too high and it'll cause your temps to go too high. And you'll be surprised how much heat a 30-40 watt bulb can put out. 40 watts would be MAX for a 20gal long tank. And I also suggest that if you do have to go this route, that you put the lamp on a dimmer so you can control the output better. If the wattage is too high for the size of your enclosure, it can also cause the hot-spot to get too hot. Sometimes it's better to just adjust your room temps and not bother with the lamp at all.

That may have been TMI, lol! So if you keep your home at a normal 70-72 and/or your snake will be in room that's more temperature-controlled, you can ignore that last paragraph. ;)

Dang... I type slow.... :D

omg omg omg i get to answer first!!!!!!!
the enclosure is entirely up to you.some use tubs,some use glass tanks.
a tub you drill a certain amount of holes into for ventilation,a glass tank youd have to modify the screen top to keep heat and humidity from escaping.we can specify the diferent steps to either of those routes of modifications when you decide.im sure alot of others after me will get more in depth on each of those.ive never used a tub(yet)so i couldnt be much help right there but i battled with my glass tank and could assist in that area.another factor is your expenses or what your willing to spend on it.

your going to have to buy one to three enclosures during your bps life.a comfortably sized less stressful smaller enclosure to last thru babyhood to juvie.you caaaan start off with the biggest enclosure but your bp may get stressed unless its really cluttered with foliage and hides.
i started off with a 20gl long tank and will be changing that up as soon as she outgrows it.
your bp should at least be able to fully stretch out long ways and the width should be at least have the lenght of your bp.you know your bp outgrew its enclosure when it cant fully reach out.some others will have different opinions on that as your bp wont always or hardly ever be fully stretching out.(mine does all the time though)

yes you do need to offer two snug hiding spots on the cool side and warm side. i also offer a hide in the middle. id put the warm side hide on top of the uth.your uth must be regulated by a thermostat because some can reach up to 120 degrees.if your rooms ambient air temps are below 75 you might need to also add a ceramic heat emmiter or a colored heat lamp like an infra red,again regulated by a thermostat or rheostat for this one.but im sure you know about thermostats and rheostats as you have been keeping reptiles since you were twelve:gj:

feeding,people go by different things like 1.5x bigger than the head,as thick as the thickest part of your bps body,or based on the weight of your snake. the best way to determine what size food they eat is based on weight.my babys thickest part of her body is pretty much 1.5x bigger than her body so i havnt crossed that bridge yet.but i will tell you once she starts growing ill have a digital weight scale to go by the weight theory.
someone will sure enough help us with the snake weight/prey weight ratio in the next few posts.

im glad you came here to ask before you get your snake,i was one of those who made the mistake and got everything at once and had to keep going back to the store while my snakes parameters were fluctuating.luckily where i stay my ambient room air temps are warm.also congratulations on making your mind up and considering your first bp.great creatures they are.:D

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IM NEVER FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!:frustrate

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Originally Posted by mark and marley

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IM NEVER FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!:frustrate

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You type SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO slow ;) :rofl: :D :banana:

i kept walking away also

Would any of you mind posting up some of your setups? I tried the search option but no pics came up. Thanks

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Originally Posted by LGray23

You type SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO slow ;) :rofl: :D :banana:

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HOT DAWG! You typed slower than I did!! :rofl::rofl::rofl: breathe... :rofl::rofl::rofl:

I'd be happy to post a pic of Ella's set-up. I'll take a few pics and put them here very shortly. umm....Gotta find the camara....

Ok, here's a few pics of Ella's set-up.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...lascage003.jpg
This is a 40gal breeder sized Critter Cage - a glass terrarium with a locking screen top. Ella is a 2 year old female BP and she weighs about 1100 grams. She is big enough to need this size. I moved her up from a 20gal long in January and she's much happier. Cypress mulch substrate and hides on both sides. Ella is in the one on the right. She's in deep shed at the moment so I didn't disturb her. Hot side is on the right. The UTH is an Ultratherm from Reptile Basics. I HIGHLY recommend this UTH! It does not get over 95* even without a thermostat! Wonderful product. Even so, I do use a thermostat but it's behind the cage so it can't be seen in the pic as well as an Accurite thermometer but it's not in the pic because Ella chose it as a perfect spot to take a dump so I had to remove it to clean this morning. It's drying off now... :D

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...lascage009.jpg
This is a close-up of the lid. I covered the screen with wax paper. I found that wax paper works better for us than foil. This helps hold in humidity. You can see there is a strip I left open along the back - about 1" of screen is exposed along the back of the lid for ventilation. Again, the Accurite is being cleaned, but humidity is pretty consistent at about 55%. When she goes in shed, I mist every other day and that easily raises humidity to about 70%. Ella has beautiful whole sheds. Incidentally, the tape holding the wax paper in place is covered on the underside/inside of the lid so no tape is exposed to Ella.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/...5-21-11005.jpg
And this is Ella! She is a happy snake. ;)

Very nice. I noticed the cage is propped up on both sides. Is that so the UTH doesn't get too hot?

Also, I have a glass tank and plastic tubs as well so I'm going to try both to see what works for me and more learning before I actually get a BP. There's a reptile show in my area in September!

yeah its propped for uth ventilation.most good uths come with little rubber feet to prop your tank with.
i dont have a pic just a video of mine.
http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r...arleycribs.mp4

hey hey i admit im not the fastest keyboard athlete but im definately not the slowest,besides i kept walking away.hmmph i will hear no more of this keyboard speed talk.because one day i will be the first and this loss will be avenged Lgray and Evenstar.:ninja:

i set that plexi on top in different ways depending on how hot the day is going to be to adjust the cool side temps and ambient temps. with it half open like in the vid i maintain a 50% humidity and the more its closed the more humidity. also if its closed more on the warm side the warmer the ambient temps will be on that side.etc etc blah blah hope it helps some

The cage is raised to allow the UTH to "breathe". You don't want it resting right on the table/counter top surface. First, yes, it may overheat - even to the point of causing a fire. Second, the tank would rest right on the power cord and that could cause a short. Most UTHs will come with little rubber "feet" to stick to the corners of your cage, but I find these rubber furniture pads work great - they're a bit larger and therefore more stable. ;)

Damn. Now I'm the slow one. uhh... wait... I kept walking away! Yeah that's it! I kept walking away...

:P

see i learned the walking away lesson the hard way and so did you.take that:fork:

oh yeah gpoop there is a thread dedicated to people showing you their set ups.its under general bps and the thread is called show off your set ups.

Thanks! I failed massively on see that LOL

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Originally Posted by mark and marley

see i learned the walking away lesson the hard way and so did you.take that:fork:

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I learned from the Master.... :bow:

:sabduel:

hahaha welcome to the darkside Evenstar.

i failed at seeing things in this site as well gpoop,theres just so many threads and info everywhere its just easier to ask then spending an hour looking around.