New Ball Python owner Many questions :)

So I just brought home my new BP he (I think its a he) is very docile I have handled him three times once at petsmart, once to put him in his new tank and I did hold him yesterday (I know I need to let him get used to his new surrondings first but I was very excited) However I do have some concerns I think he may have mites I did see a little black bug on his face which I read they stay around the face because the snakes will go into the water to drowned mites leaving their faces above water. I have seen hime go into the water once since bringing hime home (he was in the water when I purchased him from the store.) other that that he has stayed in the side of the tank without the lamp under his hide. his temperature is 85 and his humidity is at the lower end 30%. he did come out for awhile this morning and lie on top of his hide. I don't know what I should do for mites I know I need to call the store. I do not want to replace this snake and cause him more stress besides that I am allready attached he is just so cute and sweet. Is there a simple way of ridding him from mites? What should I do (I would rather more experienced advice rather than the store associates at petsmart who may not be as knowledgeable as owners.

Also some general body behaviors that I am curious about. when I held him yesterday he was rather calm and just looking about the place but he kept trying to raise up towards my face from my hands (I was sitting in my chair and had him cradled in my left hand towards my lap.) he didnt seem frighten but rather curious. but for me his approaching my face made me nervous i kept gently moving him back down. is this a normal behavior for them wanting to be up higher? he never made an S like he was going to strike and he moved rather slowly so i dont feel i should have been thretend. was this him being curious and exploring or is the face a place for an attack? I know with dogs they attack at the face or throat and i have been attacked by a stray dog there before so i think thats waht made me nervous. so I am just curious if it holds any significants to him or if I am just being silly.

After he gets used to his surroundings how often do BP come out from their hides? Does it depend on their personality how often they come out or do they just like to stay hidden all the time? What are things that BP like to do while being held? I am certian that that is something that depends on personality but I would like to know what you do with your snakes that may be enjoyable to them so i can give him the best experience and home life.

Thank you for reading I look forward to your replies!

Definitely get some prevent a mite asap! Search for it on this forum and you will find tons of information.

My boy climbs up on my shoulders and is curious and will taste my face etc. I've never had a problem with it. You will learn to read his body language, they say every snake has its own personality. So you will learn his. You will figure out when he doesn't want to be handled, when hes hungry, and when hes been out of his cage to long,

It seems the older my boy gets the less he comes out. The only time he will even come out of his hide other than to go to another hide is if he is hungry. I feed him every 6-7 days and on feeding day he comes out at dark to wait on his meal. Then he goes back into his hide and I wont see him until his next feeding day.
If I want to get him out I have to get him out of his hide, but he doesn't seem to mind since he stretches out as soon as hes in my hands.

Stay confident and calm when handling him and he should do fine. I recommend not handling him until after he eats for you. And do your best to get rid of the mites.

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Also pics of the setup could also assist others with any other husbandry needs.

Welcome to the Forum and the ADDITCTION of Ball Pythons. Be sure to read the care sheet a ton of great info in there. I would imagine you are using an Aquarium to house your snake. Aquariums are terrible for keeping humidity I would try this trick or at least covering 2/3 of the top with foil or Plexiglass on the outside. I would also recomend covering 3 sides of the tanks with either black paper or an aquarium background this will hep make your little guy feel a lot more secure. As stated before keep handeling to a minimum until your snake has eaten at least twice for you :) There are a lot of great people here with a ton of really good advice so I am glad you found the forum and feel free to ask any questions you may have :)

Welcome and Congrats on the new snake. This is the right place to come for help with your questions. Good luck with the mites.

PAM. As soon as u can, keep searching and reading and get those taken care of as soon as possible

Thank you everyone for the information I will call petsmart and get PAM asap! and I have attempted for the last hour to figure out why my photos won't upload. I will keep trying to figure it out and get the habitat photos up. Thank you for the warm welcome too! Any further imput/advice is greatly appreciated thank you again! :D

Hey Pam congrats on your first ball python .... There is a lot of research on here and care sheets how to take care of mites ... But take care of the problem ASAP hope you get rid of them with no problem

With mite infested snakes, it's best to keep your set up to a bare minimum. Mites reproduce fast and will get on everything, so it's good to keep things simple. Take out everything in your tank and sanitize it with hot water and diluted bleach. Use paper towels as a substrate and only keep a hide and a water dish.
Once your little guy is settled down, you can give bathe him for 15-30 minutes with a drop or two of dish soap. This will help relieve him of some mites.

In the mean time, order Provent-a-mite online. This is the best product to get rid of mites. Other petstore products aren't effective. But be careful with the directions. If used improperly, you can kill your snake. (PAM isn't found in any big box petstores)

Ball Pythons are nocturnal animals, so they're most active at night. It's rare to see them out of their hide during the day. If your ball is too active, it could mean that he is stressed. All snakes are different so not everything will conform to the norm.
Some of mine are adventurous out of their enclosures and will try and slither around, while others just sit coiled around my arm.

And as for your temps, it is ideal to get your hot spot up to ~88-92 degrees with the cool end of 78-82*. And as previous members have stated, there are tricks to get your humidity up. Ideally it should be around 60% and around 70%+ during a shed.
Here are a few things you can try:
1) You can place a damp towel over your mesh screen to increase humidity
2) Cover 90% of your screen with plexiglass or foil.
3) Get a larger water dish and move it to the hot side of your cage. (larger surface area = more evaporation)
OR
4) You can make a humid hide. It's difficult to maintain humidity in a tank, so a humid hide is perfect for situations like that. Just get a plastic tupperware and cut a hole into the lid. Place some damp moss or paper towel into the hide. The snake will choose whether or not it wants to go in or not.

For uploading photos, you need to upload them to a photohosting website such as Photobucket.com
Once uploaded, you need to copy and paste the [img]code into the forum post.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...f/Untitled.png

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/DSCF1781.jpg

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/DSCF1780.jpg

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/DSCF1783.jpg

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/DSCF1791.jpg
Here Is his habitat. This last photo is from my phone when I had him out yesterday. My cat was quite jealous I wouldn't let her in my lap so she sat and watched :)

I just bought PAM and a reptile spray from illreptile and a kritter cage to put him in during the cleaning process. I plan to get another hide to put in the hot side of the tank. will any paper on the outside of the tank be fine? I'm worried about the heat lamps and possible fire. Thank You for the help with photo upload^ I'm not the greatest with computers lol. And since he is still new what should I do about soaking him warm water should I just wait it out or should I Soak him and handle him regardless of his recent relocation? I don't know which would be more uncomfortable :confusd:. also will the mites affect my cat? should I start her on advantage 2 to protect her as well?

And what other suggestions for the future should I do to make him more comfortable?

Thanks for the help!

1st. Those lamps need to be on Thermostats- for now a hydrofarm like this will work just fine- http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

2nd. That humidity guage they sell at petsmart is horrible get an accurite with probe like http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Instrum...ter+with+probe

3rd. Another Hide (i see you already know you need this)

4th. If you are going to keep him in a tank you will most likely need to have 2 water bowls to keep the humidity up.

5th. infrared temp gun you will need to check surface temps with a lamp to make sure it doesn't get to hot in certain spots that will burn him. (while testing my tank I found that one of his hides roof was reaching 98 degrees before I put him in it)

Also make note that when that bright spotlight is turned off at night if the temps drop. Which it most likely will you will need to replace that with a red bulb.

Honestly I started with a Tank and after having it setup for a week decided I didn't like the idea's of the lamps. I never knew if my cat would get up there and knock them off, starting a fire etc. I ended up going with a Full plastic cage from Animal Plastics, using flexwatt and a RHP(radiant heat panel).

But now that I am moving into a much smaller place I am considering going with a 3tub fully enclosed rack. Which will take up much less room and allow me to keep 2 more snakes.

Any paper will work, its just to black out the walls. Make the entire cage feel safer.

And no the snake mites will not effect your cat. Only other reptiles.

NOTE* also if your worried about the lamps you can read up on here about how to make a tub cage using flexwatt. Its probably the cheapest method but can be a disaster if you let the room get cold during the winter. And if your really handy you can build a single tub enclosed box/rack thing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Michi

I just bought PAM and a reptile spray from illreptile and a kritter cage to put him in during the cleaning process. I plan to get another hide to put in the hot side of the tank. will any paper on the outside of the tank be fine? I'm worried about the heat lamps and possible fire. Thank You for the help with photo upload^ I'm not the greatest with computers lol. And since he is still new what should I do about soaking him warm water should I just wait it out or should I Soak him and handle him regardless of his recent relocation? I don't know which would be more uncomfortable :confusd:. also will the mites affect my cat? should I start her on advantage 2 to protect her as well?

And what other suggestions for the future should I do to make him more comfortable?

Thanks for the help!

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I would wait at least 2-3 feedings before you soak and handle him. This allows him to settle down without the added stress. You don't want him to go off feed since he does look a little thin in my opinion.
The mites will not affect your cat. They're species specific and will only infest other snakes.

And I agree with the above post.
Maybe put in some fake plants and/or black out the sides and back of the tank with paper or a background to give your snake a little more cover. Open spaces aren't the best for a ball.
(the paper shouldn't burn if they're outside your tank and not too close to the lamps)

Other than that, you're on the right track! :)

I got the same tank a month ago and i hate it... it is causeing me so many problems i am waiting for my tank from http://www.apcages.com/ to come in. I have the same tank right now and it has caused me so many problems. If you have the money i would invest in one of these tanks for your snake :)

Well, you are making positive steps in the right direction and that's wonderful.

Like myself and many other ball pythons owners before you, you are discovering that pet shops are just about the worst possible place to ask advice on/purchase things for a ball python, but you live and you learn.

This is a LOT to absorb all at once, so try not to freak out.

Hit the big stuff first:

The PAM is on it's way, so the mites thing will be history in no time. Just READ the label completely, and you'll do fine. The biggest thing is not to drench the tank. A LIGHT spray is all it needs.

If you don't already have a thermostat to control your heat source, that is next on your list. Unregulated heat sources, whether a lamp or under tank mat, can and will severely burn your snake.

You also need a good thermometer to know what his temps are. Those dial types are not worth the plastic used to make them. Get yourself a digital. And the best cheap one is the Accurite someone else linked for you. Those do temps and humidity all in one.

Those are the big three. After that, then you can start tweaking his enclosure to get it how you both want it.

Feeding time will no doubt be a trial, ball pythons from pet shops are notorious for being poor feeders. Be patient and persistent, and you'll get him eating. And it wouldn't hurt to have him on a 5 day feeding schedule for a little while, he could stand to gain a few grams.

I wish you and your new friend all the best.

Gale

Thank you! I have gotten the humidity up to 60 with an extra bowl of water and a blanket over half the mesh temp is still 85ish. From his feeding chart he hasn't eaten in the last three weeks from the pet store and now a week from me :( but he is getting more comfortable because he is out and about more often I will try feedding him again tomorrow and I will buy an accurite temp gauge on my next paycheck