Hello from Halifax, NS

G`day & Hello everyone,

My name is John and I love Ball pythons. With that said I guess a little background is in order ….

In my early 20`s I lived in the heart of downtown Halifax. Spent a lot of time in Scotia Square Mall. Don`t know if any of you remember the petstore they had back then “ PetsVille “ ?
Long story short, I spent a lot of time in there and got to know the staff well. They started getting Ball Pythons in and they fascinated me. One evening I was hanging around when the order of Balls came in, so I asked the reptile guy if he needed any help? He greatfully accepted as he was alone in the store and had about 20 snakes to deal with. From what i`ve been reading over the past I now realize those snakes were straight out of Africa.
So we began taking them outta the bags. The snakes ranged from 1.5 – 2 Ft in length. They were literately covered in ticks which we used tweezers to carefully remove. Besides the ticks which were gross, the snakes looked healthy, no bones showing, skin wasn’t stretched. Anyway we got them all dealt with and he told me to come back in a week and help him feed them. Week later after we got them all feed … they all took fast and great strikes, he looked at me and said “ pick one “. I picked out one of the shorter ones due to him being more active then the rest. Luckily I already had a large aquarium from a previous failed Curly Tail project. He gave him to me for all my help :O Now I finally had a Ball python :D:D:D

Jumping ahead a couple years … Me and Jake ( was a big wrestling fan back then, loved Jake “The Snake” Roberts … so my snake got his name ) have created a very special bond ( like he thought of me a his savior or something ) He loved attention and goin for walks wrapped around my neck. Never had any issues at all with him snapping or hissing at anyone and was a very good eater. Always took the prey within 1 -2 minute and always got nice 1st time strikes right behind the ears of the rodent.

Now the downside :( … Started working on the road being away Mon – Fri, home only weekends. Things weren`t all the best with me and the G/F at the time. Again long story short … came home one Friday afternoon to find our apartment almost completely empty. She took everything except my clothes and a few odds and ends, and yes my snake, Tank and all were gone !!!
Yes she sold it she told me, but never would tell me to who :rage: My Jake was gone :tears:

Always said when I had the proper time to invest in another one I would get another one or 2 or 3 lol u get the picture. Well here I am 20yrs down the road and looking for a hobby as I now have way to much time on my hands ( off work due to health issues ) then I know what to do with. A couple months ago did a google search for Ball Python and needless to say I was blown away by where it has gone in 20 yrs !!!!! Lots of choices out there now. Some very beautiful snakes. Well now it`s all I think about and talk about with my son … He`s 15 and to my surprise … was excited and is actually encouraging me get one. So seems the decision has been made … I`m gonna be a Ball Python Daddy again :D

And from what i`ve seen and read lately, i`m gonna have lots of questions which i`ll be looking forward to the great advice i`ve seen others get here in the past couple months.

I would like to get my 1st snake or 2 within the next month or so. And will be attending the 2 Reptile Expos here in Halifax in Sept & Oct, hoping to buy in Sept.

Well as you all can see I like to talk ( or type ) so i`ll be looking forward to chatting with you all in the future …. Glad I found this site … Great job to the organizers :gj:

Cheers,

John

Future owner

0:0 BP ( Details To Follow )

Holy intro batman! ;)

:welcome:

Welcome to ball-pythons.net John :headbang:

Sounds great! Keeping pythons has advanced a long ways in the last 20 years, plus all the new morphs. Sounds like you will be having a great time!

Thanx for the warm welcomes El, Boa & Wolfy. I`m sure i`ll enjoy my time here. :banana:

Welcome to BP.Net! That was a very interesting intro! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

Welcome! Bad ole girlfriend.

Welcome to BP.net :colbert2:

Thanx Ballpythonluvr ... glad u enjoyed.

Thanx for the warm welcomes Della & ILoveLace.

Cheers,

John

you're welcome, btw it's LLovelace :)

oooppsie .... i`m sowy :(

Welcome to BP.net! :)

Good job on getting a BP. The expos that you are talking about are great for choosing a snake. I still have my shirt from the ACRE show a couple of years ago. :P I hope you have a great time at the shows and pick out a beautiful companion.

Thanx for the warm welcome Carlisle. Haven`t got my new babies yet ... hoping to get them at the Expo in Sept. here in Halifax.

Cheers,

John

:welcome: to BP.net. :colbert2:

Thanx for the welcome Popeye ... been fun so far ... can`t wait till next month :D

Cheers,

John

Hello John, and :welcome: to BP.net. Good Luck in finding the perfect new Jake Junior... :gj:

Welcome to the site, I am sure the show will be a great inspiration.

I would suggest doing lots of research and getting your habitat set up before you bring your snake home, that way you can have your temps, humidity, etc. all on track beforehand, makes that transition for the snake much easier. :)

Lots of advancements in BP husbandry in the last 20 years, so you have your work cut out for you.

And we love pictures on this site, so make sure you have the camera ready when you bring him or her home.

Bruce

PS: I love Halifax, my last trip there was shortly after the hurricane.

Thanx for the welcome Vypyrz ... anticipation is killing me ... don`t like wishing my life away ... but can`t wait for Sept. 25 to get here :D


Thanx for the welcome Bruce. I`ve been doing nuttin but research past month or so (got 6 website open at the moment LOL). I think i`m on top of things. But tis why i joined this forum and a couple others for asking questions if needed. Planning on building my own enclosures till my collection grows ( got alot of time on my hands ). I will photograph build when i start it. Will have it ready atleast 2 weeks prior to the Expo so things should be regulated by then. And of course pics of my new arrivals will be up the day i get them :D

Cheers,

John

Welcome! I as well live in Halifax, NS.

Welcome to the site John :banana:

Looking forward to seeing your collection :)

Thanx for the welcomes Piper & Sean.

Piper - nice to meet some1 else from Halifax! You have a nice little collection going there ... would love to see them.

Cheers,

John

Hi John! Welcome! :welcome:

Yup I do remember petsville scotia sq. I think that it was managed by Brian I think. They had a boa constrictor or was it a retic escape and the result are the laws regarding locked enclosures and such. :weirdface

Welcome! PM me if I can give you a hand with local issues!

Welcome to the forum, there are a few of us from Halifax on here. I am looking forward to the expos too. Both the one in Sept and the one in Oct.

I think I am shooting photos at the HRE maybe? I have a meeting tomorrow to find out what exactly I'll be tasked with, come and say hi!

Thanx for the welcomes Pied, Jaxx & Kite :D

Kite - I remember that happening ... missed all the action though :(

I`ll have my camera with me at the shows as well ... besides what i buy ... i`ll haveta take pics of others for the wish list LOL.

Can`t wait for the shows, so i can meet people that share my interests.

Cheers,

John