Petco (Ball Python) Help

I just bought a baby ball python from Petco. The ball python is about to shed so I couldn't really handle and see the snake carefully. Is this snake imported or captive-hatched? Also is Petco reliable?

Chances are that your snake was captive-hatched. As far as Petco is concerned, I consider them as reliable as any pet retailer - no business is reliable enough to skip doing your own due diligence with a new arrival. :gj:

Thank you!

Thank you!

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Originally Posted by tkdlover123

Thank you!

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Also my ball python isn't active at all. Is it sick or is it because it's about to shed?

If it's about to shed, that's one reason. If you just got it, that's another. You need to give it at least a week to adjust and settle in to its new home. Ball pythons are very timid snakes. They will stress fairly easy being young and in a new home. Give it about a week alone to adjust to the new scents and sounds of its environment and it will slowly come around. Another thing could be temps and humidity. Make sure your temps are correct, give it a hide on the warm side and the cool side. Offer lots of clutter in its home to hide in. Ball pythons are nocturnal and will come out at night and hide most all day, especially young ones.
Search for care sheets on this forum and read, read, and re-read!

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

What is an ideal temperature and humidity for a ball python? And when it's about to shed?

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Originally Posted by tkdlover123

What is an ideal temperature and humidity for a ball python? And when it's about to shed?

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See the links on Eric Alan's post. You'll find them most helpful.

Thanks

Do you have a thermostat? (Not thermometer; this is a device that regulates UTH heat output) I don't think I've ever seen a chain petstore that tells people they need those. They're absolutely necessary to keep your snake from getting burned.

You probably won't get sick animals from Petco, but they're known for poor husbandry and a general lack of knowledge about the exotic pets they sell, so you probably got a very stressed out animal.

I was actually going to buy one but when I touched the bottom of my terrarium, it wasn't burning or hot at all. Also the substrate is barely warm so I'm using a night heat lamp to raise my temperature in the hotter side of the tank

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Originally Posted by tkdlover123

I was actually going to buy one but when I touched the bottom of my terrarium, it wasn't burning or hot at all. Also the substrate is barely warm so I'm using a night heat lamp to raise my temperature in the hotter side of the tank

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Hands are a POOR indicator of the temps required for ball pythons. Also, your ball python WILL dig in the substrate, so it's useless to gauge temperature based on the top of it. Please spend a few dollars on a probed/infrared thermometer so you can be a better informed keeper about your new animal's habitat in all locations.

First of all, you NEED a thermostat if you have a UTH. UTH's can easily get up to 120 degrees, and when they fail, they fail on, meaning that they continue to get hotter and hotter rather than turning off. If you'd like I can look up twenty threads with pictures of severe burns caused by a UTH without a thermostat to prove this, but trust me you need one.

Also, what kind of thermometer are you using to measure temp? If you have an infrared or laser thermometer you can actually point it at a surface and it'll tell you what the temp is.

Thank you for the information. I will go to Petco right now and buy one.

I use the zoo med one that comes with the humidity gauge

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Originally Posted by tkdlover123

I use the zoo med one that comes with the humidity gauge

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Hate to break it to you but you wasted your money. Those are absolutely worthless and nowhere near accurate enough to montior temps for a BP. The humidity for BPs can kind of be ball-parked, but the temps need to be pretty spot on. You should be able to find a laser/infrared thermometer somewhere in the $20-30 range.

EDIT: You are talking about those little circular-looking ones that stick to the side of the tank, right?

I see. I saw Petco using them for their ball python terrarium so I decided use to the same one. So if I buy a thermostat, should I put the temperature to 90 or 95? I know that ball pythons need about 90.

Yes, it's the one that sticks on the side of the terrarium. I will buy the laser thermometer too but man I wasted some money

Always better to do the research before buying the animal. Could've saved a few bucks.

Yeah, those are no good. Before I knew better I almost killed one of my frogs using one. The humidity gauges are no better, but BPs are more forgiving of humidity mistakes than temp ones.

I have mine set at 90. Never seen it get above 92 even on really hot days. My ambient temp stays around 80.

Makes me also think; you've got a tank probably? I personally recommend drilling holes in plastic tubs (cheaper and keeps humidity in better) but you'll probably end up needing to cover about half the lid with either tinfoil or clingwrap to keep the parameters in the right range. Also, even if you have those cage-clips they sell, put a heavy book or something on top. BPs are deceptively strong. I wouldn't trust mine in anything with a lid that didn't latch closed.

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

Hate to break it to you but you wasted your money. Those are absolutely worthless and nowhere near accurate enough to montior temps for a BP. The humidity for BPs can kind of be ball-parked, but the temps need to be pretty spot on. You should be able to find a laser/infrared thermometer somewhere in the $20-30 range.

EDIT: You are talking about those little circular-looking ones that stick to the side of the tank, right?

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I'm pretty sure the one he's talking about is a digital one. I have a zoo med thermometer and it's on point for ambient and humidity, but they still need a no contact for surface temperature.

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Originally Posted by DVirginiana

Always better to do the research before buying the animal. Could've saved a few bucks.

Yeah, those are no good. Before I knew better I almost killed one of my frogs using one. The humidity gauges are no better, but BPs are more forgiving of humidity mistakes than temp ones.

I have mine set at 90. Never seen it get above 92 even on really hot days. My ambient temp stays around 80.

Makes me also think; you've got a tank probably? I personally recommend drilling holes in plastic tubs (cheaper and keeps humidity in better) but you'll probably end up needing to cover about half the lid with either tinfoil or clingwrap to keep the parameters in the right range. Also, even if you have those cage-clips they sell, put a heavy book or something on top. BPs are deceptively strong. I wouldn't trust mine in anything with a lid that didn't latch closed.

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I use two bungees to hold my lid down. I had to get a replacement lid when my cat went through the last one. It's one of the ones that sits on top instead of slides in.

Yea. I have a terrarium. I have a quick question. I'm using eco-earth substrate but do you prefer aspen?

I use cypress mulch. Eco-earth gets REALLY dry when it's dry and kind of makes a mess. I use it for my tropical tanks for frogs where it's always supposed to be wet.

If you have the digital ones you should be fine, I was thinking about the ones that have the numbers around the outside and have a needle pointing at the supposed temp/humidity as those are what I see most commonly used at my local Petco.

I like the the eco-earth but the climate here is very dry so I have to keep it constantly moist to keep the humidity right. This is a good thing for feeding in the tank as the puffball dryness will easily attach to their food if it isn't moist. I'm not saying mud-like but moist.

It doesn't get moldy when kept moist, helps keep humidity up and looks nice IMO. I used to use aspen but I like the eco-earth better. My preference.

Thank you for all of this great information!

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Originally Posted by tkdlover123

Thank you for all of this great information!

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I use coconut shred. It holds humidity. It's not terribly dry here in California, but it works very well for me.

What do these thermostats look like? I thought that was the point of a uth rather than a heat rock?.

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Originally Posted by MalachiJ

What do these thermostats look like? I thought that was the point of a uth rather than a heat rock?.

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Most UTHs, even when functioning normally, will get way too hot for BPs. Not all reptiles are created equally in regards to heat tolerance, so we need to account for that as keepers. Here's a thread going on right now about just how hot they can get without a thermostat: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=226513.

As far as what a thermostat looks like, check out the glass tank set-up thread in my signature. It shows several options with various price points. I have no idea if Petco carries them at all. You'll likely need to look online for this one.