First post, ball for my son!

Hey all,
What a great site, I've learned so much in just a short time. My son turns six in march and is begging for a snake. Since I can remember he has collected anything snake. I can't tell you how many nights I read about snakes from one of his dozen snake books. We live outside of detroit on 10 acres and spend much of our summer searching for garters. I must admit I'm a bit afraid of snakes but I really want to encourage his passion and help expand his knowledge and hopefully curb my fears a bit. After looking at snakes "recommended" for beginners my son is set on a ball. BHB reptiles is only an hour away so I plan to purchase a snake from them. We've watched all the snakebytes episodes.
Just looking for any tips from those who started with a ball. I've looked around the site a bunch but get overwhelmed a bit.
thanks to all who are posting their great ill be sure to keep you guys posted
stm

Welcome to the site!

The best place to start is with these 2 threads. After that feel free to ask any questions you have either here in this thread, in a new thread, or via a PM.

Care: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Cage Heating: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

Thanks for the reply. I started with those two threads, great info. Do you happen to have any thoughts on bhb reptiles? Brian really seems to love his animals and that is important to me. I'd rather spend a little more to get a great healthy animal. I'm sure as I move forward ill have lots of questions.
thanks again
stm

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seanjackmc

Thanks for the reply. I started with those two threads, great info. Do you happen to have any thoughts on bhb reptiles? Brian really seems to love his animals and that is important to me. I'd rather spend a little more to get a great healthy animal. I'm sure as I move forward ill have lots of questions.
thanks again
stm

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I have gone with bhb a few times and have always been happy with everything. Great service and awesome snakes!

I agree that Brian is a great guy, and that getting an animal from him would be a good idea especially if he is local to you.

BHB is great, lots of people have good experiences with animals from him.

Cool guys, thanks a ton. I'm getting more excited than boy and he is the true snake lover!
stm

I think BPs are a great first snake. Try to make it easy on yourself- worry more about finding one that is a good eater and maybe a little older than a baby (babies can be nervous and defensive). A fancy morph can be just dandy and really eye catching but you really want one that will fit into your lives. It would suck to get the one that looks cool but can't get him to eat or be held by the kiddo. That would be a major bummer for a first snake.

The people at BHB are awesome with taking the time to answer questions. Just tell them that you want a great PET snake that you and your kiddo can grow comfortable with. Heck- give them a call and tell them that you are planning on driving over I bet they could even have one of the staff there looking out for you :)

Best of luck and be sure to post lots of pictures!!

I got a baby BP for my daughter, she was almost 5, and she has been a great first snake. She likes to take her out to read at night time. Good luck!

A BP is a great starter snake. I made the mistake of buying a tricky feeding BP as one of my first snakes, but if you look around there are lots of good eaters. As for BHB, they are awesome. I have bought 10 snakes from them and one of my fastest growing and best eating BPs is from there.

Thanks for all the replies. Ill make sure when it comes time for the actual snake to really explain to bhb that I'm looking for a great snake what will be well suited to be around a child. Obviously at six years old I won't allow my son unsupervised time with the snake but do want to be sure my son has the ability to handle the snake with relative ease.
thanks again to all, I've had a great time reading old posts
stm

I got 4/5 of my ball pythons from BHB and all my corn and king snakes. They are great but my last ball python that i recieved from them which was 2 weeks old had a servere case of mites. Took almost 2 months to get rid of but things happen when buying from a breeder with so many snakes. Since your going in person, look over the scales for black specks crawling on them or inbetween scales on their sides and stomach. Also check the heat pits and eyes because thats where most of them were on mine and i did not really notice. Goodluck, once you get one you cant stop!

I'm going to disagree with some and say that BPs MAY not be a great first snake.:O Don't get me wrong, the animals are generally mellow, easily handled and make great pets for kids and adults. The issues arise with being able to provide proper heat and humidity. In my very limited BP experience, this means more than a heat lamp over a glass cage. It means a lot more, including a thermostat, other heat sources, etc. It can be done in glass, but it takes work to do it properly. A BP may be perfect for you, but they require more than many of their non-tropical cousins. They also exhibit what some kids refer to as boring behavior. They hide most of the time. It sounds like your son knows his stuff. Kudos for coming here, you are way ahead of the game already.

I love Brian from BHB and his gang. Met them at the NARBC in Arlington, TX last fall. I've got 2 snakes from him, both balls. I have been VERY pleased with them and would highly recommend BHB for those looking for an animal.

Danojeno, thanks for your honesty. I've taken all those into consideration. My plan is to take my son to bhb and let him look around. He may find a corn snake is more his style. Although he won't stop talking about balls. Honestly he thinks all pythons and boas are ball pythons when he sees them but he's five! As for proper care I've found some complete kits that have the underside hot spot and thermostat along with a cool side that come with what appears (to a novice) everything you need to get started with a ball. I think the brand is ex terra???? Looks like a 36x18x18 is around 400-500. Don't quote me on that. One of the fun things for a dad is the set up and research. My boy knows a lot about snakes in the wild for a five year old and I look forward to learning more with him about snakes as pets. I worry if we bought a corn or garter snake he would get bored and want a ball at sometime anyway. Not sure my wife will be very excited about two snakes nor would I be excited about two enclosures and costs, maintenance ect.... Until my son is of proper age I realize I'll be doing much of the work.
Ayway I really appreciate all your thoughts and suggestions. I'm on a few other forums of differing topics and find a lot of confrontational forum bullies who know everything and always refer newbies to " do a thread search already been asked" response! Doesn't seem to be that way here.
thanks and as my adventure continues ill be sure to give updates, my kids bday isn't until march 21 but I like to have a full understanding of what we are getting into we'll before the point of no return.
stm

Congrats on choosing a BP for your first snake! I did my homework too about 9 months ago and came to the conclusion that they are the snake for me. They might like to hide all the time but when you take them out of their tanks they aren't boring. And the fact that they are more likely to curl up and hide rather than bite you is nice (especially for a young kid!). Danojeno is right though about the heat and humidity. I got a glass tank because it was pretty and was what was suggested to me. Big mistake! It lets heat and humidity out like swiss cheese! Also remember that any decorations you put in the tank are going to need to be taken out an cleaned on a regular basis to save your snake from a infection. Ask to see and hold the snakes before you take them home to look for any signs of infection (popping/gurgling/wheezing sounds when breathing, black spots on the snake can be mites ect.) because it is much easier to be picky in the store than to have to shell out a lot of money on a sick animal. Also find out where a reptile vet is before you get the snake because searching around when you have a sick animal is never fun!

My girly is about a year old now and she is about the sweetest thing I have ever met. She likes her fat cheeks to be rubbed! I wish you the best of luck with your new snake and I hope your son loves them! This site is great because the users are all really friendly and helpful. Almost any question you could have about these darling babies can be answered here with ease! Welcome to the hobby!

Thanks again to you all. I've been in contact with bhb and they have been great. His bday isn't until march 21 so I plan to take him out to their location for a little education and introduction (for both of us) then we can establish a habitat for a week or so before bringing a ball home. My biggest concern is making sure the snake is happy and healthy in his new home. Sounds like temps are the biggest concern so far. I think having a week or two to get it right will help a lot.
ill keep you all posted
stm

Heat and humidity isnt a problem if you use a tub. It takes up little room and its easier to clean than a tank. My ball pythons are all lazy bums in their tub but when i take them out they start flicking their tongues and moving around trying to explore. I think its great what you are doing for your son. Its something you two will share and remember forever.

The tub sounds like a great idea however my son will want to be able to observe his new buddy. So I'm leaning towards an animalplastics set up.
thanks again for the support
stm

If you decide to go with a tank you should consider covering the back and the sides so only the front is exposed. Remember in the wild they spend most of their lives hiding so they like privacy.