First time having a ball python

Hello, I joined this forum because this is the first time we have had a ball python in our family. We got him at Uncle Bills, a store in Indiana. The price was 3+ what they go for in other places, but we wanted to avoid the chain pet stores.

Sobek (as we named "him") seems to be doing great. Explores his exo terra, doesn't mind being picked up (no defensiveness or hissing...etc) We left him alone and let him settle in.

He is on live food and the pet store said we must feed him live because that is what they fed him and it will be almost impossible to switch him. We knew going in we might have to try and transition off live. They said 1 full grown mouse once a week. We tried feeding him on the schedule the pet store had him on and he ate with no problem whatsoever. It has been 48 since he ate and today is also the first day we've actually handled him since moving him into his exo terra. He was supper chill about it, coiled up at first, but then uncoiling and trying to explore all over me. He's back in the exo terra and went straight to the warm side.

I also weighed him today. He is 257 grams. The pet store said he was estimated to be 1 year old, also actual gender is unknown, so we're just calling him male for now.

We've done our research and believe he needs to be switched to rats and that he is possibly underweight. We are keeping some live mice at the moment for him, but really would like to have him on frozen if he will go for it. We've kept rats and mice as pets before, so it is hard to care for them with the sole purpose of being food. We understand the circle of life and won't starve him if he really does refuse frozen. The mice are being kept humanly as we would keep them if they were pets.

Also Uncle Bill said to keep his humidity between 40-60%. My research said 50-60%. What do experienced keepers say about this? Every thing I read have different recommendations for heat as well.

Oh and his exo terra is 40 gallons. It seems pretty big compared to his size. He has two hides and a water bowl. We're going to switch out for a bigger bowl, but do you suggest putting in more hides or something else to take up some of the space? He explores and doesn't seem to bothered by it, but then again, I probably project my human feelings on him.

Our family now consists of Sobek (Ball python!), 1 Syrian hamster (Mogget), 3 cats (Apollo, Phoebe & Hera), plus we have 4 feeder mice who are treated as if they were pets with the best care they need.

Here are some photos. I'm sorry that the light quality isn't the same in all photos. I'm guessing he's just a "normal" ball python.


https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/FhQ1rYE.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/97tsSGK.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/8qrku2C.jpghttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/4sH0IG3.jpg

A beautiful normal. He needs bigger meals now. Weaned rats I believe for his weight.

I would fill in that tank if you could for his own security. Always seems best to pack it in and slowly remove as they get bigger. Good idea getting him a nice big one though I’m regretting that from my first enclosure.

Also word rkt he wise bevause it happened to me. Be careful of the 3D background. If they can get behind it they will and it’s annoying.

I’d shoot for 50-60 humidity for sure.

Why do you feel it will be impossible to switch him to frozen? If he has a good feed response and you prep the prey the right way many people make the switch.

I would suggest having two hides that are the same (you can use the other ones for decor) one on the hot side and one the cold so Sobek dosen't choose security over thermoregulating. Speaking of, I see you have a stick on thermometer.. they are pretty much no good, and you'll want to avoid any other sticky things (especially tape!) in your viv, as snakes can get stuck and hurt. You'll want to get a probed thermometer for the hot side and also a temp gun to check temps quickly. And then speaking of that, I'm guessing you have a heat mat, is it regulated by a thermostat?
As for foliage, many people get fake plants/leaves from the dollar store. As long as there are no sharp bits, should be fine!
Congrats on getting a beep, they are great fun and I doubt you'll only have one for very long!

Also that stick on gauge needs to come out. Nothing sticky ever inside the cage. Also the gauge is way to high. All gauges are at snake level since that is where they dwell. Get an accurite digital and a jumpstart thermostat if you don't have them.

I also agree with identical hides and plants to make baby feel more secure. Also cover the outside sides of the tank.

I don't think it would be impossible to switch to frozen/thawed. The pet store said it would be almost impossible. I feel they just want us to keep coming to them for live food. We can't buy live food near where we live, so we'd have to make a trip once a month to get more live feed. (We can buy frozen food near where we live with no problem.)

We are keeping the humidity between 50 and 60, despite what the pet store said.

We are going to fill the tank in for sure. The 3D background came attached to the exo terra. I will double check it is secure. Thanks for confirming my thought about his meals. He will be getting bigger meals from now on.

As for the thermometer issue, we also have a probe thermometer that does humidity as well, but you can't see it in the picture. Getting a second one for the other side asap. We will get two hides the same size. We do use a heat mat, but it wasn't on a thermostat. I'll get a heat gun, too.

Thanks a lot everyone for all your welcomes and suggestions. I am willing to listen to all suggestions as I want his life to be the best it can be.

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Originally Posted by Dragonfly Alice

As for the thermometer issue, we also have a probe thermometer that does humidity as well, but you can't see it in the picture. Getting a second one for the other side asap. We will get two hides the same size. We do use a heat mat, but it wasn't on a thermostat. I'll get a heat gun, too.

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You need to unplug a heat mat not on a thermostat asap, they can get very hot! If it feels hot to the touch for you, it is much too hot for your baby as human temps are about 37 Celsius/98 Fahrenheit and the best hot temp for your baby is 33 C/90 F.

Also I said heat gun, but I mean a temp gun, just to clear that up :D I did a google to recommend you one, and realized my mistake whoops :rolleyes: I bought an exoterra one that was quite pricey, honestly you can get away with buying an off brand 'yellow' one, have a look on Amazon and you'll see what I mean.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8298b9ae03.jpg

Ta da ..


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I have all my beeps minus two in a exotera and well the two newer editions haven’t figured out the background yet, but yes just be cautious lol also NO HALLOW DECOR TREES 🤣 I learned the hard way twice along with another one of our members recently, I’m just doing you a favor and telling you. Head my warning lol other the. That everyone has covered everything else


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We unplugged the heat mat. I know what you meant about the gun, even though I called it a heat gun, too.

Right now, we have two heat lamps on both cool and warm side because our ambient air is very cold because of the winter. Cool side stays above 75 with the low watt heat bulb on that side and gets up to 80-85 when it is not as cold in the room. I feel bad that I thought the warm side was good, but I had the wrong mat and wrong thermometer. We're getting a temp gun and thermometer probe for that side asap. We are going to the store right now to exchange and get the stuff we need.(Plus getting matching hides and fake plants to fill out the exoterra) I really am thankful for the advice.

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Originally Posted by Booper

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I have been lurking a little and saw the warning about the hallow logs, so no worries there. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aerries

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We're here to help :) Just to let you know (I made this mistake myself!) the thermostat probe goes on the outside of the viv, between the heat mat and the glass, not inside the viv. This is because spilt water/snake pee can cause the probe to give an incorrect reading, which will upset the temperature.

I like this picture, lol:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/HeK7SeV.jpg

I want to thank everyone who has gave me advice and helped make life for little Sobek better. I put him on a thermostat, the heat and humidity levels are good, but I have to constantly mist the enclosure, so we are going to be getting an auto mister or fogger, so does anyone have a good recommendations? The ones at our petstores have horrible ratings, plus are said to be loud.

We need one that is mostly quiet as we live with other people. As of now, the humidity is good, because I'm always home and can be on top of it. He's in a exo terra with a mesh top. I've put cling wrap over the mesh that doesn't have a heat source attached (I don't want to melt anything.) I believe the mesh is what is making it hard to keep humidity in.

We've filled out his exo terra as much as we could and put a cover up. He's less stressed now (He's been hiding more, and I heard a hiding ball python is a happy ball python.)

I'm handling him every other day to get him used to me. (except around feeding times)

We will be boosting his meal as well since he was underfed at the pet store. For now we only have mice... can we feed him two mice in the same day? He loves mice and doesn't waste any time in eating one. We're getting rats and trying frozen/thawed next time we get more food for him.

He likes hanging out in my chest area. I censored this pic for any sensitive eyes. :Dhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...e195739b20.jpg

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Definitely put more stuff in their, it'll help him feel more secure.
My personal opinion about live/frozen feeding is that live is a bit more dangerous for your snake. I had a friend who fed live (rats), and had to pay huge medical bills after her boa got scratched by a live rat, which got infected. The chance is relatively low, especially when feeding mice, but it's not so hard to transition to frozen if that's what you prefer- I just immediately began feeding frozen after I got mine, but an easier option might be to wean the snake off of live and alternate between live and frozen, then switch to frozen :)
Hope this helped!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dragonfly Alice

Hello, I joined this forum because this is the first time we have had a ball python in our family. We got him at Uncle Bills, a store in Indiana. The price was 3+ what they go for in other places, but we wanted to avoid the chain pet stores.

Sobek (as we named "him") seems to be doing great. Explores his exo terra, doesn't mind being picked up (no defensiveness or hissing...etc) We left him alone and let him settle in.

He is on live food and the pet store said we must feed him live because that is what they fed him and it will be almost impossible to switch him. We knew going in we might have to try and transition off live. They said 1 full grown mouse once a week. We tried feeding him on the schedule the pet store had him on and he ate with no problem whatsoever. It has been 48 since he ate and today is also the first day we've actually handled him since moving him into his exo terra. He was supper chill about it, coiled up at first, but then uncoiling and trying to explore all over me. He's back in the exo terra and went straight to the warm side.

I also weighed him today. He is 257 grams. The pet store said he was estimated to be 1 year old, also actual gender is unknown, so we're just calling him male for now.

We've done our research and believe he needs to be switched to rats and that he is possibly underweight. We are keeping some live mice at the moment for him, but really would like to have him on frozen if he will go for it. We've kept rats and mice as pets before, so it is hard to care for them with the sole purpose of being food. We understand the circle of life and won't starve him if he really does refuse frozen. The mice are being kept humanly as we would keep them if they were pets.

Also Uncle Bill said to keep his humidity between 40-60%. My research said 50-60%. What do experienced keepers say about this? Every thing I read have different recommendations for heat as well.

Oh and his exo terra is 40 gallons. It seems pretty big compared to his size. He has two hides and a water bowl. We're going to switch out for a bigger bowl, but do you suggest putting in more hides or something else to take up some of the space? He explores and doesn't seem to bothered by it, but then again, I probably project my human feelings on him.

Our family now consists of Sobek (Ball python!), 1 Syrian hamster (Mogget), 3 cats (Apollo, Phoebe & Hera), plus we have 4 feeder mice who are treated as if they were pets with the best care they need.

Here are some photos. I'm sorry that the light quality isn't the same in all photos. I'm guessing he's just a "normal" ball python.

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He can switch to frozen, it might take some missed meals thats all. If you gave him 2 weeks off then tried on the 3rd week it would raise your chances of success.
A key is to make sure the mouse is 100-105 degrees.
As far as the kind of feeders, its up to you. I know snakes that eat Mice all their life and are perfectly healthy. Most people on here switch over to Rats. The thing about Rats and the fact you hang onto them for a while is that a Rat can outgrow a Ball Python his size within 2 weeks. Rats grow extremely fast. If I were you id try to change over to Frozen Mice first before trying Rats.. Its easier to switch FT mice. If your snake never took Rats it wouldn't matter. Frozen is cheaper (mice $1 after shipping) and if he wanted to eat every week all his life no big deal as most that eat Rats end up going every 2 weeks or 3 weeks with the larger meal once they're adults anyway.
Your correct on humidity, 50% is Min and up to 70% during shed. I do not keep any enclosure above 60% unless in Shed.
He doesn't look underweight, he looks well proportioned. If 1 year old then he wasn't fed every week, more like maintenance fed to keep him small like most pet shops do.
Might also be a Male as they are a good bit smaller 95% of the time.
My enclosures are not cluttered at all. Several people who seem to need alot of things in a enclosure have snakes that are jumpy or stress easy but mine don't. I have 2 hides and a large water bowl. I use Kraft Paper for substrate. I dont bother my snakes unless they are up to it and even then about twice a week plus cleaning etc... Simple things like short handling and reading your snake can help condition them. Kind of like a Dog thats in a home where people yell all the time or a home that is calm.
I also keep other pets & breed as you mentioned some Rodents too. Make sure to clean your hands and do not handle the snake if you had a Gerbil/Hamster etc crawling on your clothes. Thats a good way to get the snake confused and you bit.
Seeing him Exploring at night is great. You would worry he was stressed if he "Skates" the glass during the day. This would be a sign he wasn't feeling secure in there.
I didn't hear about his Heat Sources etc..
Make sure to look at the BP Husbandry Stickys. If you got your info from a pet store i can guarantee they gave you a lot of bad info. How is his enclosure heat regulated? Whatever you are using make sure its hooked to a Thermostat and not directly into the wall plug. Hot side 88-90 and cool side 78-81.
I could go on and on but your better off reading the Glass Tank set up Sticky. Its awesome with pictures.
Congrats on your BP.



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