Temperament? Can't decide if I should get a BP!

I did a site search and didn't really find what I was looking for...

I know every animal is different and each will have a different personality but speaking in generalities, what is a BP's temperament like? I've only ever had a corn snake so that's all I have to compare to. She was sweet as pie, never once nipped or bit me from day one even though she was a tiny, 7g baby.

I've read about BP requirements and I think I can handle it. I have multiple hermit crab tanks and you have to be pretty spot on with their heat/humidity so I'm used to dealing with that.

I'm just so torn!! I've been lurking this site all day for info and it's just making the decision harder. I can't decide if I should get a BP or another Corn to replace the one I lost.

I would describe my ball python as quite docile. He sits in his hide most of the day, and if I let him cruise around my living room, he'll slowly try to slither to a hiding place. He is very easy to handle. I recently got my cousin to touch him and then hold him! She was surprised by how soft he was, and since he's so mellow and slow, she could hold him without getting panicky :)

See? That's what I'm looking for! A snake that I can handle without it getting too stressed out. I wouldn't overly handle it, but I'm really new to snakes. I only had my corn about a month and a half before she passed (regurge and food refusals) and when I first got her I was admittedly a little scared. So I'm really looking for an easy-going snake.

Your snake sounds perfect :P

He is pretty easy, but the husbandry can take a little practice.

As with any animal you as an owner need to learn to respect and read them. I have owned a few ball pythons and some tolerate being handled more then others. Just like me and you, they too also have bad days and sometimes want to be left alone. It is up to you as the keeper to understand that and to give them the respect and space they need.

Overall to be a bit more specific to your question, I would say that ball pythons have a very docile disposition. They all, for the most part, seem to tolerate handling quite well. But compared to a corn snake the husbandry is a fair bit more complicated. As I tell every new reptile owner, is to just be patient. Don't let the acquisition fever take complete hold over you. If you decided to go forward with a ball python, ensure you get a proper cage, heating elements, humidity and all other essential items in place and set before you actually purchase one. Trial n error while they snake is in your care is not ideal.

Either way you go, both the corn or ball pythons are great choices. Feel free to ask questions and post your comments/questions/concerns. One thing I have learned about this community is that we all truly support each other, and non of us want to see someone else with a passion for these animals to fail.

Best of luck! You will do great.

Greg

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Originally Posted by EasiGregory

As with any animal you as an owner need to learn to respect and read them. I have owned a few ball pythons and some tolerate being handled more then others. Just like me and you, they too also have bad days and sometimes want to be left alone. It is up to you as the keeper to understand that and to give them the respect and space they need.

Overall to be a bit more specific to your question, I would say that ball pythons have a very docile disposition. They all, for the most part, seem to tolerate handling quite well. But compared to a corn snake the husbandry is a fair bit more complicated. As I tell every new reptile owner, is to just be patient. Don't let the acquisition fever take complete hold over you. If you decided to go forward with a ball python, ensure you get a proper cage, heating elements, humidity and all other essential items in place and set before you actually purchase one. Trial n error while they snake is in your care is not ideal.

Either way you go, both the corn or ball pythons are great choices. Feel free to ask questions and post your comments/questions/concerns. One thing I have learned about this community is that we all truly support each other, and non of us want to see someone else with a passion for these animals to fail.

Best of luck! You will do great.

Greg

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Thank you so much for your kind reply. I'm already enjoying it here on this forum. :)

I think I've decided I might get one of each. I already have the setup for the corn and since I have to wait until better weather for shipping from a breeder, it'll give me time to get a set up for a BP.

As far as a setup for a BP, is there a guide on here? I know they have specific heat/humidity requirements from the little research I've done. I have a lot of extra supplies hanging around here (heat mats, heat lamps etc.). The only thing I'm really unsure about with a BP is an enclosure.

This should get you started :)

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

Generally it is easier to obtain a glass tank to house them in. These can be a bit of a pain to keep humidity up as well as provide a secure environment. Needless to say that a 20g wide with a secure top would suffice nicely. I do believe that racks are the more preferred method of keeping BPs. But this usually pertains to people keep more then just one and are also used widely by breeders. Since you are looking to keep multiple snakes a rack may suite you better in the long run.

Greg

I do already have a 20g with a locking lid that I kept my corn in. I found a good breeder an hour away from me. I think I'm going to try and set up the tank and see if I can get the parameters right before I go visit him.

The one thing I'm confused about is the temp probes. From what I've seen here they tape the probe from the thermostat to the bottom of the tank and put the uth on top of it... and then put a thermometer with probe in the tank, under the sub and right over the uth...

Why both? I don't really get that.

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

Why both? I don't really get that.

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Because equipment can malfunction. The thermometer is to make sure your thermostat is doing its job. You could also just get a temperature gun instead of having a thermometer in the tank.

Hiii and :welcome:

The probe under the UTH between it and the tank is for a thermostat, which is pretty necessary and will regulate your UTH. While the one under the substrate is sort of a double check for what the temps are on that side of the glass.

I love my baby BP (6 months old ish) but the other guys are right it does take quite a bit to keep the husbandry OK sometimes. I enjoy her quite a bit and she is much more chill than any corns I have held (but I have never owned one so maybe they were just uncomfortable with me IDK). Mine is currently in a 20 gallon long, but will need to be upgraded either to a suitable rack or a min of a 40 gal tank eventually. But some babies are too uncomfortable in big tanks to just start out that way. Sorry if too much info for meow and my :blahblah:. Welcome to the BP bug!

Ball pythons are great but I call them "pet rocks". I mean I love my little high white pied girl but for the most part, if she isn't hungry, you wont see her until night time when she sometimes wanders around and that's mostly when its close to her feeding time. If I take her out during the day, she is fine but more of a lounge snake, really just liking to sit on me and look around. Now I also got a large BCI girl who is much more active. She is out most of the time and only uses her hide when shes shedding. She loves to come out and wander around or go outside. I personally loves boas but I had to have me a high white pied ball python. I actually just bought me a EBV Redgroup/Tom Burke pure lispstickline sunglow boa and cant wait for her to be shipped. As for temperament, my ball python has never tried to bite me and my old ball python never tried either in over 10 years of owning her. My BCI girl did headbutt my hand when she was a baby because I scared her but since then almost 2 years and she hasn't shown any aggression at all, not even cage aggression. Only down side to boas is you need a large cage compared to what you can keep a ball python in. You cant go wrong with a ball python as a pet.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

Ball pythons are great but I call them "pet rocks". I mean I love my little high white pied girl but for the most part, if she isn't hungry, you wont see her until night time when she sometimes wanders around and that's mostly when its close to her feeding time. If I take her out during the day, she is fine but more of a lounge snake, really just liking to sit on me and look around. Now I also got a large BCI girl who is much more active. She is out most of the time and only uses her hide when shes shedding. She loves to come out and wander around or go outside. I personally loves boas but I had to have me a high white pied ball python. I actually just bought me a EBV Redgroup/Tom Burke pure lispstickline sunglow boa and cant wait for her to be shipped. As for temperament, my ball python has never tried to bite me and my old ball python never tried either in over 10 years of owning her. My BCI girl did headbutt my hand when she was a baby because I scared her but since then almost 2 years and she hasn't shown any aggression at all, not even cage aggression. Only down side to boas is you need a large cage compared to what you can keep a ball python in. You cant go wrong with a ball python as a pet.

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My corn was pretty much a 'pet rock', too XD She hid in her plants constantly but when I did take her out she was very active. As in, she wouldn't sit still EVER. I've heard about BP's being more chill when held, most not moving around too much. That is totally fine with me.

I've decided to start setting up my tank now to see if I can get it right. I want it set up first and established, so I can then go to the breeder and see if there's one that I mesh with. I'm more about the snakes personality than their morph.

All the responses I'm getting here just makes me want one more! haha

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Originally Posted by anicatgirl

Hiii and :welcome:

The probe under the UTH between it and the tank is for a thermostat, which is pretty necessary and will regulate your UTH. While the one under the substrate is sort of a double check for what the temps are on that side of the glass.

I love my baby BP (6 months old ish) but the other guys are right it does take quite a bit to keep the husbandry OK sometimes. I enjoy her quite a bit and she is much more chill than any corns I have held (but I have never owned one so maybe they were just uncomfortable with me IDK). Mine is currently in a 20 gallon long, but will need to be upgraded either to a suitable rack or a min of a 40 gal tank eventually. But some babies are too uncomfortable in big tanks to just start out that way. Sorry if too much info for meow and my :blahblah:. Welcome to the BP bug!

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No, that was great! Thank you.

Upgrading is something I'm not very worried about. I have a spare 30g and spare 50g that just need locking lids and can easily become a snake home as it grows!

You could say I have an animal bug, haha. Lots of extra supplies around!

Sorry for all the questions, guys! I have another one, though.

Is a heat lamp necessary or is a uth good enough?? The reason I ask, I was looking through the setup guide here for a 20g tank and in the tutorial the poster has a uth AND a heat lamp.

Do I need both?

In my experience with my hermies, the heat lamp sucks humidity up like nobody's business and makes it really hard to regulate it...

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

Sorry for all the questions, guys! I have another one, though.

Is a heat lamp necessary or is a uth good enough?? The reason I ask, I was looking through the setup guide here for a 20g tank and in the tutorial the poster has a uth AND a heat lamp.

Do I need both?

In my experience with my hermies, the heat lamp sucks humidity up like nobody's business and makes it really hard to regulate it...

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That depends on the temperature of your house. If the room your snake is in is around 80 degrees year round then you wont need supplemental heat, if not you'll need an additional heat source to keep your enclosures ambient temperature right. You are correct about the humidity thing. To help with that most people who use tanks cover almost all of the screen top. Also there are some good substrates (cypress mulch, eco earth, etc) for holding humidity if you still have problems with it.

So instead of aspen I can just use eco earth?

What kind of bulb do I need? I'm on my way to work now and it's right next to the pet store so I can pick it up.

Right now I have a Moonglow in the lamp that was used with my crabs. I think I may need one then. My room is pretty chilly.

I went to Petsmart just to hold one for the first time and make sure I like them... it was amazing!!! I fell in love

Another new owner of a BP. My tips to you are use eco earth and a mix of cypress mulch. Gives the tank a nice natural look and keep the humidity up. Cover part of the top with tin foil wrapped cardboard. That also helps with humidity.

I use a red heat lamp (so visible to me, not visible to the snake) for 24 hr heat for ambient. Cause my husband doesn't want our apartment at 82 all the time... It is on the top of the mesh lid, then the rest except for some air gaps is covered with foil. And I have a Reptifogger which reeeeally helps regulate my humidity

I use CHEs for both my BP and my baby sunglow boa. I have a UTH on my BP but it doesn't really do much as I use about 1" deep aspen since my BP likes to burrow in it. Remember, UTH don't heat air, only the bottom of the glass so when taking temps, the most important one is the bottom of the glass since if your BP digs down, you don't want it burning itself on the glass. I personally hate Eco Earth because its messy, needs to be kept wet or it dries out and gets dusty. It looks nice but I think a lot of people use it as a stop gap for humidity issues when really all you need is a good top to the cage and humidity will be fine. I use aspen and I get from 50-60% humidity and that's in a 30 gallon and 40 gallon breeder tanks. I'm sure you will love BPs, they are great. I love boas though as they seem to be more of an outgoing and inquisitive and not as shy as a BP but I love Dot my little baby high white pied girl so like I said, you cant go wrong with a BP.

Oh also forgot to mention, you don't NEED a UTH if you keep the ambient temps warm enough. A lot of people use both CHEs(or RHP in the case of PVC cages) and a UTH but me and a few others have been using just RHPs in PVC cages and they work fine.

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

...I think I've decided I might get one of each

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now your talking!!:gj::snake::snake:

What wattage do you use? I saw the infrared bulbs at Petsmart but I didn't know what wattage would be safe for them...

I'm pretty new to ball pythons, but my guy has a pretty sweet personality and I figured it's worth sharing. He's basically everything a ball python shouldn't be. He never balls up on me, he's fairly active for a ball python lol. He's not head shy one bit unless he's in a sour mood:p I'm not sure why he does this, but if I rub his cheeks he leans into it! He really enjoys exploring and climbing, and is quite happy just sitting around being lazy or discovering something new. I consider him to be a "brave" bp. Anyways, that's what my little bp is like, and it's the reason I bought him.


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So I'm trying to make a list of what I need to get my BP....

Bulb for my ceramic lamp
Thermometer/hygrometer
I have a uth
Bought bedding today
Hides
Climbing branches
Have a water dish
Have a tank
Have a thermostat
Dimmer for lamp

Am I missing anything? Lol

Your missing the most important part... the snake. Just playing around seems like you got everything. What are you using for bedding?

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Originally Posted by That_One_New_Guy

Your missing the most important part... the snake. Just playing around seems like you got everything. What are you using for bedding?

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I live in southwestern Canada and it's very cold here. Add to that that I'm in the basement of an old house... I'm going to have to use a uth and a heat lamp for the tank. I know from using one with my hermit crabs that heat lamps suck humidity up like crazy so it was suggested in this thread to use eco earth to help with humidity. I bought some today and I'm going to set up my tank tomorrow with the eco earth and uth/heat lamp to see what temps/humidity I get. I want to work it all out before I get the snake on the 18th.

Dude I'm in Texas and I'm using both heating methods. I also use eco earth but I mix it with repti-bark and aspen shavings for some texture

Wanted to add... This is the snake I'm looking at from the breeder. He's got a lot available but I love this guy's colours!! He's asking $40 which I think is pretty awesome :3

http://i59.tinypic.com/2lwvzet.jpg

- - - Updated - - -

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Originally Posted by That_One_New_Guy

Dude I'm in Texas and I'm using both heating methods. I also use eco earth but I mix it with repti-bark and aspen shavings for some texture

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I was going to mix it with repti-bark. I think that stuff looks cool, haha.

Really hoping I can work out the humidity. I may make a humid hide either way :)

If you use the compressed eco earth bricks your gonna be fine with humidity. Just mist once a day and you should be fine till you change out your bedding once a month

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Originally Posted by That_One_New_Guy

If you use the compressed eco earth bricks your gonna be fine with humidity. Just mist once a day and you should be fine till you change out your bedding once a month

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Ah, I actually didn't get the compressed stuff. I got the loose stuff, but I was going to mist it all and mix it in.... Should I exchange it for the compressed one? They were the same price.

Nah just take the stuff you have put it in a bucket and mix it with water and it will be the same. You get more with the bricls

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Originally Posted by That_One_New_Guy

Nah just take the stuff you have put it in a bucket and mix it with water and it will be the same. You get more with the bricls

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Thanks for all your help!

So, I was thinking while I was laying in bed this morning, lol. I have a tank with a sturdy locking lid... but the lid is metal. Can I still put a heat lamp on that?? Or hang one above it??

I ordered an 11x11 ultratherm. I have one for my hermies so I know how well they work, but I'll still need a lamp since my basement is so cold.

I really, really don't know if I can swing buying another lid for my tank =\

This the tank I have. The 30"L x 12"W x 12"H

http://www.petsmart.ca/reptile/terra...pfm%3Dcategory

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

So, I was thinking while I was laying in bed this morning, lol. I have a tank with a sturdy locking lid... but the lid is metal. Can I still put a heat lamp on that?? Or hang one above it??

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Yes if that is the tank you have it has a metal screen lid right? You can put a lamp on it or buy a lamp stand to suspend the lamp above it.

Just cover the tank with aluminum foil wrapped cardboard and a blanket. Glass tanks are a pain.

Doing a test run of my setup. I've got the heat mat on the bottom of the tank with the probe in the centre. I've got another thermometer with the probe beneath the substrate and on the glass in the centre of the heat mat. I set up my heat lamp on a dimmer and have another spare thermometer/hygrometer sitting beneath it to see what I register.

The sub is a mix of eco earth/repti bark. Loving the look of it.

The tank is just a mess of cords right now. I've got a temp gun and a digital thermometer/hygrometer coming to me specifically for this tank.

What temps am I reaching for?

Right now, the one on the bottom outside of the glass (beneath heat mat) is reading 91. The one on the inside above the heat mat and below the sub is at 76... it seems to be really slow catching up.

Heat beneath the lamp right now is 93 and I'm reading 75% humidity.

I expect these numbers to change as I just turned everything on not long ago.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15...ebce90c2ee.jpg

No hides or anything until I know what size snake I'm going to get.

Your not gonna see a lot of change with the humidity unless you wait for it to dry out. I'm sure the low 90s is fine what's the ambient temperature of the tank? It's important for the snake to be able to thermo-regulate it's self is important

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Originally Posted by That_One_New_Guy

Your not gonna see a lot of change with the humidity unless you wait for it to dry out. I'm sure the low 90s is fine what's the ambient temperature of the tank? It's important for the snake to be able to thermo-regulate it's self is important

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I'm sorry if this is really stupid... How do I find out what the ambient temp is? Does that just mean the rest of the space without direct contact with the heat lamp?

Yeah more or less the opposite side of the tank

67 with a crappy zoomed heating pad. I have an ultratherm on its way but man, I really need to bump that up a lot. After I finish my homework I'm going to cover the lid with tinfoil and see where that leaves me.

Tin foil is your best friend. If you look on one of my past threads you will see how I have mine set up

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hazzaram

67 with a crappy zoomed heating pad. I have an ultratherm on its way but man, I really need to bump that up a lot. After I finish my homework I'm going to cover the lid with tinfoil and see where that leaves me.

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Your substrate is looking pretty thick, that's an issue when using a UTH. I had the same problem until I switched to newspaper. You're never going to get the surface temps you want unless you either thin out the substrate, or raise the temp of the UTH, which isn't recommended.

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Originally Posted by Deluge

Your substrate is looking pretty thick, that's an issue when using a UTH. I had the same problem until I switched to newspaper. You're never going to get the surface temps you want unless you either thin out the substrate, or raise the temp of the UTH, which isn't recommended.

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I've got 3-4" of substrate, I just push the hide down closer to the glass.


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I can't just use newspaper or paper towel. The humidity in my house is horrible and with a heat lamp that just makes it even worse. I need the eco earth/repti bark to have any hope of keeping humidity in the tank. I'll thin it out a bit, but I still need some.

The problem is, I'm in the basement of a house and it's cold down here. Really cold. Enough that whenever I'm sitting around I have a heated blanket on. Would it help if I put a blanket over the part of the tank (side without lamp)? I've come across a few threads here where people mentioned space heaters but I just don't feel comfortable with those things.

One more question before I go to sleep. (Hope you guys aren't getting annoyed. I really wanna do right by my snake).

I've been seeing a lot about PVC cages. I love the look of them and they seem like they'd be more cat proof than my setup now. I live in the stupidest place ever, and there are no doors in my basement. Seriously, lol.

Anyways. I was wondering... Are they really that much better?? Would it be worth it to buy one? I found a local site and it's $250 for one that measures 48"L x 24"W x 12"H. Would something like that last a BP through their whole life? If it's much easier to keep conditions in a PVC cage and that size will last a BP for a long time... Maybe it's worth the investment.

Leeeets see. Your bedding might be a little thick. A reptifogger might be your new best friend for humidity. That's what I use. And cypress. Mine comes in a bag , so to aid in the humidity not being too high I stab the bag several times with a knife and let it dry out for a few days.

As of right now the sides of my tank are covered with one continuous piece of foil, minus a window in the front so I can see into both hides. And then the top is covered with foil except for a couple inch wide strips for air circulation.

Ideal temps would be ambient 78-80 (the cool side) and about 93 ish in your hot spot. If the lamp isn't where your hot spot is, you might need a lower wattage bulb or somethin.

Hope this helps :gj:

Totally helps. I'm going to thin the bedding out after school today. I started covering the sides with tinfoil last night but ran out of tape and only got half done. It's already helping a lot. My temps this morning are:

90 beneath the sub, directly on glass. (Too high?)

55% humidity

73 for ambient. So it's getting up there!! I need to finish with the tinfoil and see where that leaves me. Much better than 65 lol

I've read about CHE's.... Would one help me out with raising the ambient temp? In my heat lamp right now is a moonlight bulb, I think it's 60watts.