Hello

Hi I'm new here

I live in England and have recently been interested in buying a ball python

Iv not researched much but quite like the look of the albino ball pythons

Im looking for information on tank set ups and peticulaly how to control humidity within a tank,

Any information will be appreciated


Thanks

I would start with the Caresheet. If your using an aquarium I would also black out or cover 3 sides of the tank this helps your snake feel more secure:) Make sure you get some sort of thermostat to control your undertank heat source. And ask if you have more questions

BTW welsome to the forum :rolleyes:

What are the other options apart from an aquarium?

As I know it needs to be secure

Also I'd be looking to get a young snake should I be looking at total room in the tank or floor space?

Aquariums work but can be dificult to keep the temps and humidity correctly. I use them in Washington state and keep them ok but I am in the process of building custom enclosures. If you use a tank a 20g Long would work for a while then you would need to upgrade to a 40 breeder tank. I also like the Animal Plastics enclosures but shipping to the UK could be expensive. Another option would be a rack setup and I would look at Reptile Basics. Rich at RBI is a great guy and will gladly answer any questions you might have. I have 2 of his Vivarium T-stats and love them. RBI also has some great items such as hides and temp guns but I am not sure what shipping to the UK for such items would be

Over here getting a tank wouldn't be a problem as there's a pet shop near me,
I used to keep turtles and fish and I had a fire eel which I loved

I'm gonna pop down the pet shop and see what they advise and go from there

I'm only looking to get the 1 snake tbh as Iv never kept anything like this before

Also I don't like creepy crawlys lol so feeding rats and mice Dosnt bother me which is why I chose a snake to look into

The other options besides a tank are Tubs and PVC cages. here is some information on both

Tubs:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basics...*DUW*

PVC Cages:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...With-Pictures!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cragterharris

Over here getting a tank wouldn't be a problem as there's a pet shop near me,
I used to keep turtles and fish and I had a fire eel which I loved

I'm gonna pop down the pet shop and see what they advise and go from there

I'm only looking to get the 1 snake tbh as Iv never kept anything like this before

Also I don't like creepy crawlys lol so feeding rats and mice Dosnt bother me which is why I chose a snake to look into

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Be very careful, I'm not sure how the pet stores are where you live, but here in the US they are not a good place to gather information on reptiles. Many people come to this site because of bad information given to them by pet store employees.

This site is your best source of information, there are hundreds of members who have years of real world experience and will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cragterharris

should I be looking at total room in the tank or floor space?

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Ball Pythons are terrestrial snakes. this means that the only thing that matters is floor space. Ball pythons need 1 square foot of floor space per foot of snake

I wasn't meaning that I would listen to other places I meant on what tanks they have to offer, what snakes they have and what not

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

The other options besides a tank are Tubs and PVC cages. here is some information on both

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WOW I posted before Aaron for once :P

Welcome to the family mate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cragterharris

I wasn't meaning that I would listen to other places I meant on what tanks they have to offer, what snakes they have and what not

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ok, just making sure that you knew that the information you get from those places can be very questionable lol

Cheers everyone

Welcome to BP.net! Good to have you here!

I second the tub option. So much easier to maintain than a glass tank.

Hello, and :welcome: to BP.net...

I think I'm gonna look into a box with a sliding front glass door(I know it's not a box but can't think of the correct word)

Welcome :)

Hey hey :) :) I'm in England too! I know if you have a PetsAtHome near you they're good for vivariums, but if you can get to a specialised reptile store then that would be even better. PaH aren't exactly experienced with reptiles :) Ordering online can be a LOT cheaper than PetsAtHome so that's an option too :)

I have one of my BPs in a tub, and the temperatures have been difficult to get stable until recently when I invested in a digital thermometer, which I'd recommend over dial thermometers any day :) It probably has a lot to do with the temperature of the snake room too, my room is (as a rule) always warm, so keeping Pretzels temperatures stable hasn't been too difficult. But my other half has our male in a tub in his room and the heating is usually always off...until I get there and switch it on!!

Best place to get your information and ask questions is most definitely here. There are a lot of really experienced and helpful friendly people here, so don't be afraid to ask questions!

Welcome to BP.net! :sweeet:

One thing I wanted to know us how to control the humidity with a vivarium?

I think my vivariums humidity level is due mainly to her water bowl... When it comes to her shedding and bumping the humidity up slightly, she refuses to use sphagnum moss, so I have to spray her vivarium (not her) when she is shedding. She is on aspen substrate so her humidity holds rather well :)

Iv still been researching on items as I'd like to learn as much as I can before even buying a cage,

What items for a ball python should I be looking to but, I know I need substrate, a water bowl, hiding places heating mat, thermometers and hydrometers but what other stuff should I be looking at I.e. specific lights or specific types of the equipment mentioned above?

This will be going in a 2ft cage ish for a baby to start with until it gets to adult size


Btw I thought I'd rather post it all in here rather than creating different threads

:welcome: to BP.net. :colbert2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cragterharris

Iv still been researching on items as I'd like to learn as much as I can before even buying a cage,

What items for a ball python should I be looking to but, I know I need substrate, a water bowl, hiding places heating mat, thermometers and hydrometers but what other stuff should I be looking at I.e. specific lights or specific types of the equipment mentioned above?

This will be going in a 2ft cage ish for a baby to start with until it gets to adult size



Btw I thought I'd rather post it all in here rather than creating different threads

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:) What substrate you looking at using? Don't, whatever you do, forget the thermostat to regulate the temperature of your heat mat :) Otherwise you get cooked snake!! Not good :no:

Some people use a red light for night time, you don't have to have it, just an option though :)

For the thermometer/hygrometer, use a digital one if you can not a dial one. They're rather inaccurate. :) What Ball you thinking of starting off with anyway? A good set of scales is always an idea as well :)

I dot know about substrate yet as I'm still looking into it all,

As for snake I would really like a blue eyed luci but a really clean one tho

Iv got a price from one place but they said I'd be looking at at least £600 plus and that's if they can get hold of one

They are really expensive. I have a friend who's been looking for one for a reeeally long time. I use Aspen substrate, had no problems with it so far though I think feeding on aspen can sometimes be a bit of a problem because of it getting stuck to the rat/mouse.

Good luck though!!!!