Noob.

I just got my first Ball Python a few days ago. Its name is Monty. Hardly original, I know, but I am too big of a fan of British humor to let the opportunity pass me by! He(I say he, I have not had it sexed yet)is a normal, about 8 months or so in age. As awesome as all the morphs out there are, I have wanted a Ball Python all my life and something about their basic coloring really appeals to me. I am not looking to get into collecting or breeding, but now I can finally check python ownership off my bucket list!
While I am new to Ball Python ownership, I am not new to herps, as I have two Leopard Geckos. I have had Ganon, my female leo since June of 2013, and my oldest son has a male Leo named Joker, which we have had since September.
Monty is still small, so I have him in a 20 gallon terrarium with the back and sides covered, with newspaper as a substrate. He has a hide on each side with a soaking sized water bowl in the middle. He only has one plant, and I think he needs more to feel secure, so I plan on picking more up tomorrow.
I would love to hear opinions on substrate, heating, eating, etc. and I would appreciate any tips you have for newbies.
I haven't figured out how to add pics yet, as I am on my phone, but hopefully I will be able to post some soon. You can see Monty in my profile pic.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...7ac6d3a851.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...b23f837512.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...7b4a4023ce.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...abfc8915a5.jpg

Hello there and welcome to the forum :D you've got a beautiful little guy/gal on your hands thanks for sharing him with us. When it comes to keeping a bp in a glass tank this thread is the perfect checklist to make sure you have everything you need to keep your snake happy and comfy :)
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-With-Pictures!

When it comes to feeding a lot can be said about that but some main concerns people have with feeding is if you should feed inside or outside of the snakes enclosure. Most will say feed inside since it is where your snake is most comfortable and you won't have to handle the snake in while it's still in feeding mode to get him back in his home. It also causes stress the snake when it's being handled right before being fed which could lead to it refusing food. With all that being said there are still many people that choose to feed in a separate feeding bin and still have success with it. It just depends on what works best for you and your snake.

There's also a lot of discussion about live vs. f/t and many will advice you to feed whatever the snake will eat. It's totally fine feeding your snake live. If that's what the snake will accept readily. Just make sure feedings are supervised and never ever leave the live rat alone with the snake for a long period of time. When rats get hungry/bored they will start to use your snake as a chew toy. If you do decide to feed live make sure you keep a pencil or something small and long to put into the rats mouth if your snake doesn't get a good hold on the rat. This will keep your snake from possibly getting bitten. Hmmm I know this is a big chunk of info and I hope I'm not leaving anything out but I hope this is all helpful [emoji4] I'll add more if I think of something else lol

Oh also if you have any specific questions i will be happy to try my best and answer them along with all the other members here. And I think I left a little snippet out of my previous big post lol. Most people ask about feeding inside or outside of the enclosure because they were told that feeding inside would cause their snake to become "Cage Aggressive" which is a total myth. Your snake will not become cage aggressive if you feed them inside their home. Many of us have been doing it forever and have some of the sweetest snakes ever :) well I know I do!

Thanks :) The whether or not to move for feedings question is one I've been interested in. It was raised on f/t and is still eating medium frozen mice. I have the feeding schedule, and this particular snake does not like to feed when shedding is eminent. However, it just shed recently so I am hoping that when I attempt to feed it in a few days or so, I won't have a problem. Thank you so much, AlexisFitzy !

Aww your so very welcome [emoji4] and mine don't like to eat while they are in shed either many snakes don't. But yeah the moving for feeding question is really popular along with converting from live to f/t. So it's good you won't have to worry about that. I had to convert 2 of mine and one was stubborn as a mule and the other converted first day. How are you going to warm up your f/t mice? I swear by the hair dryer lol :P

Welcome to the forums. I remember when I had my first snake....a Colombian Boa. The most docile leaving creature I've ever had. How are your temperature and humidity holding up?

Alexis, I was thinking warm water? But I am open to suggestions like the hair dryer :)
Orion, I have the temperature about right I think, but I have been using a white bulb during the day, and as lower wattage red bulb at night, but I am seriously considering returning them and just using a higher wattage red bulb around the clock, or a blue nighttime bulb 24/7. I read that they don't really need a nightime temp drop? My neighbor has a BP and her vet told her to never use the red light, but most people seem to think it's fine?. Humidity is an issue I'm concerned about. I got a large soaking sizes water dish because A) the enclosure is a little big and needed filling, and B) for humidity purposes. My house is so dry in winter and I have a glass terrarium. I have been spritzing the enclosure multiple times a day but the humidity is around 40% most of the time, despite my efforts. I was thinking of perhaps putting some other substrate in like cypress/coconut/aspen that would hold in the moisture better, and give the snake a more secure feeling, but that same vet told my neighbor "no mulch under any circumstances." No one on here seems to have had a bad mulch experience though.

I know how it feels to get the humidity right on glass tanks. I would keep misting and put foil on the top. Its tough. Which is why I'm moving to racks and eventually PVC cages.

some of my snakes refuse to even look at a rat if they are not inside their own enclosure

the rest will eat anywhere

depends on the individual snake i guess

Orion, I already have foil in top and I have been misting several times a day. I am planning on perhaps building a PVC cage when I upsize his enclosure.

Seven, I think I will try feeding him in the cage first, on Friday or Saturday night.

Are you measuring the temperatures with the analog thermometer on the side of the cage? Even if that thermometer were accurate, it would be measuring the temperature half way up the glass, while your snake will be spending its time on the ground. Depending on your heat source this will lead to your actual temperatures being much higher or much lower than you think they are. Neither of which are good.

I would look into a digital style thermometer with a probe. As well as a infrared temp gun to double check surface temperatures. temperature isn't something you want to guess on when it comes to reptiles.

I have an analog on one side and a digital with hygrometer on the other. I plan on getting another digital soon. I had the digital on the hot side, but because it was under the light, I wasn't getting a proper overall hygrometer reading.

Hello, and :welcome: to BP.net.

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Originally Posted by Susannah

Its name is Monty. Hardly original, I know, but I am too big of a fan of British humor...

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I used to be a big fan of the old British comedy show called "The Young Ones". :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

Hello, and :welcome: to BP.net.



I used to be a big fan of the old British comedy show called "The Young Ones". :rofl:

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I will have to look into that!

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Originally Posted by Susannah

Alexis, I was thinking warm water? But I am open to suggestions like the hair dryer :)

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Well this is more of a personal preference thing but I used to do the warm water thing but I hated how the rats would always somehow end up wet even when you place them in a plastic baggy. So now I just let the rat thaw out at room temp which takes about an hour even for small rats (which all my adult snakes eat) but since your snake is still small it's probably eating pups or maybe weaned right now so they will thaw out even faster since they are small. Once the rat is thawed out I use the hair dryer to warm them up making sure there are no cold spots in the rat and focusing on the head. Using the hair dryer also scents the room and really gets your snakes going. All of mine come out of their hides waiting in strike position because they know food is coming [emoji4] either method works great it's just whatever works for you so you can give it a try if ya want.

I'll try that...the thought of a soggy dead mouse was grossing me out, but that doesn't sound too bad. He is eating medium mice.

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Originally Posted by Susannah

I'll try that...the thought of a soggy dead mouse was grossing me out, but that doesn't sound too bad. He is eating medium mice.

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Yeah hot wet rat/mouse is a very unpleasant smell lol [emoji21] but I hope it goes well for you :) keep us updated.

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Originally Posted by AlexisFitzy

Yeah hot wet rat/mouse is a very unpleasant smell lol [emoji21] but I hope it goes well for you :) keep us updated.

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Will do! Thanks for all the help everyone![emoji4]