Getting my first (2) snakes

I've decided on a baby ball python. There is a reptile show in a month in New York and I will most likely pick it up there. I've also been considering possibly getting 2 (1 male 1 female, for breeding...I still need to do a bit of research on that though). I have a few basic questions:

What's the best size tank for them? I was thinking of getting 2 15 gallon tanks and putting one in each. Is that too small? I don't want to put both of them together until I want them to breed, correct?

How long should I allow the snake to settle into his home before attempting to handle him?

What is the best method for feeding? I've read that some people take the python out of his normal tank and put him in another to feed. This supposedly keeps them from biting/attacking so much as it shows them the difference between my hand going into the tank to feed them. Is this true? Should I get an extra tank strictly for feeding purposes?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm very excited about getting python(s) as I've always wanted a snake.

Also, any information on breeding would be helpful. I'm aware that I will have to wait until they are both old enough and up to weight. My biggest question is should I keep them both seperate until they're going to breed?

Thanks for all the help.

Welcome to BP.net!

Check out our caresheet if you haven't already: http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

For a baby ball python, smaller caging is actually better. A 10 gallon is ok, but even that can seem kinda scary since it's quite open. Be sure to include lots of good hiding spots. Lots of people here use plastic tubs (like a rubbermaid or sterilite shoebox or sweaterbox) and actually they have many advantages over a tank as snake caging. The main downside is they don't look very pretty.

You want to wait one week before attempting handling. Actually, after the week you want to offer food. If they eat, you ALWAYS wait 48 hours after the feed before handling (handling too soon after feeding can cause regurgitation) If they don't eat, I would refrain from handling until they do.. to make sure you don't stress them out further.

I have 26 snakes and I feed all of them 100% of the time in their cage. Feeding out of the cage does not reduce aggression. As long as you open the cage sometimes for something other than feeding time, your snake won't come out trying to eat you when you open it. :)

Definitely keep them separate until breeding time. Ball pythons kept together are not happy. We have an entire breeding forum for you to read through.

Hope that helps. :)

Thanks for the warm welcome, Shelby.

So 2 10 gallon tanks would be better for them then 2 15 gallons? Is that what you would recommend? I'm not arguing, that saves me some money! Thanks again...and I've been reading and will continue to read. This is a really great website.

Yes, two 10 gallons should be just fine. Just be aware that glass tanks (especially because of the screen lid) do not hold temperatures and humidity well. You have to work extra hard to make it an ideal environment for your snakes. If you can stand the thought of not having display cages, plastic tubs are the way to go.

How do you plan on heating the cages?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shelby

Yes, two 10 gallons should be just fine. Just be aware that glass tanks (especially because of the screen lid) do not hold temperatures and humidity well. You have to work extra hard to make it an ideal environment for your snakes. If you can stand the thought of not having display cages, plastic tubs are the way to go.

How do you plan on heating the cages?

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Plastic tubs are certainly an option I will consider. What do you use to heat the plastic tubs? I'm just concerned because I use clamp lamps to heat my geckos, but of course the lamp sits on top of the cage. With tubs, there's really nowhere to place a lamp is there? I also use a undertank heating pad for my geckos. Can an undertank heating pad be applied to the plastic tubs as well?

My original plan (with glass tanks) was to use a clamp lamp and undertank pad for heating. What is the best way to keep plastic tubs heated appropriately?

Plastic tubs actually sound like a better idea now that I think of it. Any brand of type in particular? Or just the basic kind I can pick up at Walmart? And I assume the tub should be about the width and length of a 10 gallon tank?

Visit www.mgreptiles.com and go into the heating. The best way to go is flexwatt with a thermostat. A thermostat is REQUIRED, or your snake could get burned. These can go on plastic tubs just fine.

EDIT: You can hook up both strips of flexwatt to one thermostat just so you know.

I don't use lamps for any of my snakes.. they remove too much humidity. All of my guys are heated just as Cody said. Flexwatt (it's an under tank heater sold by the foot) - it needs to be wired. It's very simple to do yourself, or you can buy it wired already.

Thermostats are expensive, but necessary. I use mostly Johnson Controls.. they're around $80 wired. If you have more money, Helix or Herpstat are better.. more accurate. They run around $130. If you keep the tubs right next to each other, you can use one thermostat for the both of them. Remember you want the warm side of the cage to be 92-94 degrees, and the cool side 82-84. Nothing below 80 degrees anywhere.

To know your temperatures, I'd recommend a digital thermometer. You can get one at Walmart or Target.. brand of choice is Accurite, but there are others that are fine too. Make sure it has a hygrometer (humidity gauge) too.

Any brand of plastic tub is fine.. but ones that have fewer grooves in the bottom to collect feces and urates are nicer.. as are ones that have clasps to hold the lid down. Clasps or not you will need something like binder clips (found at the office store) to keep the lid secure.

Welcome to the site, glad you've joined us! :)


Plastic tubs can be found at WalMart or any sort of store like that for well under $10.00 each for your new babies. You want to go fairly small and not deeper than 7 or 8 inches (6.5 is best) as bp's aren't climbers and feel most secure in a low environment. Think floor space more than top space. Pick a tub with a very secure, lock style lid and then pull on it looking for areas of give. Snakes are escape artists. A lot of us that use rubbermaid, sterlite or iris (Iris is the best) add extra security to our tub lids.

You'll also need either a drill or a soldering wand to drill/melt lots of vent holes in the lid and sides. For heating go with UTH not a light, much better for the snake, much safer for you and those lights just suck up humidity anyways.

You'll also want to look for an Acu-Rite at Walmart (other brand names at Lowe's and Home Depot), runs around $11.00 plus 1 AAA battery. It will read two temps plus humidity. You'll find it in the outdoor thermometer area.

You need two hides per tub (one cool side, one warm side). Plastic pans that go under flower pots are great! Cheap, easy to clean and you can just cut or drill in an entrance hole. Think small, dark, and barely bigger than your snake is coiled up. They love the security of a tight hide. Happy, secure snakes feed better.

Heavy small dish for water. Think easy to clean and not easy to tip. Does not have to be big enough to soak in....most BP's that are healthy never soak.

Substrate can be aspen, plain newspaper, paper towels, kraft indented paper, etc. Never use cedar. Best to start babies out on plain white papertowels so you can watch for any bugs on them plus gather fecal samples easily if you need to take one in to the vet.

If you shop smart and stay away from most over-priced "reptile" things you can easily set up two lovely tub enclosures for a very reasonable price and they will run so easy for you.

Set up both tubs with everything including a full water dish, then let it sit for a day. You may have to add more holes to achieve the right temps and humidity but best to do that fiddling and tweaking before the 2 baby snakes arrive.

Hope this helped.

you can also just use once piece of flexwatt and run it along the back of both tubs, having them side by side, and welcome to bp.net!

Wow, you guys are great. I'm looking at this tub right now, seems like it meets the requirements:

http://www.sterilite.com/Products/Catalog/1986_LG.jpg

It's the Sterilite 1986. 40 quart box, 26 1/8"L x 18 1/4"W x 6 3/8"H

So I think I will get two of those. And I will go shopping for a good thermostat and a UTH.

Should the UTH go under only one side of the tub? I know for my geckos I heat one side, is it the same with pythons? As long as the heated side is 92-94 and the other side 82-84.

Also, can someone send me a link or a proper name for these "clips" from an office store I can buy to hold down the lid of the sterelite tub. That would be great.


This is all a huge help and I'm even more excited to get them now then I was before! I'm going to get the tubs and equipment all setup so when I get the pythons in a month from now everything will be ready.

That is a good tub.. I used those for my baby blood pythons.

Yes, UTH on one side. If your house is cool, you may need a second UTH and a second T-stat to keep temps correct. Just as long as those temps are right, all is good.

Binder clips.. they're at any old office store.. here's what they look like. They'll be by staples and paper clips I think. http://images.google.com/images?clie...-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Ok, I'm going to try and get these 2 tubs setup for my new pythons within the next week. I'll post pictures when I'm done to make sure they look ok.

Last question for now, what's the best substrate? Do I need anything more than newspaper? As you can tell, I'm not going for looks here. :)

I use newspaper for all of my snakes.. except for my burrowing species, but for a ball python, newsprint is fine!

Ok, so maybe that wasn't my last question:

What exactly does the Thermostat do? I ask this because you mention that I also need a digital thermometer (Acu-Rite). I realize the thermometer will give me the temps of both sides of the tubs, but what does the Thermostat do? Does it allow me to regulate the power of the Flexwatt so I can get to my target temperature? And won't the thermostat act as a temperature gauge as well? Is the digital thermometer only useful for humidity levels?

Also, how many feet of Flexwatt do you think is required for these 2 tubs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LARM

Does it allow me to regulate the power of the Flexwatt so I can get to my target temperature?

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Bingo.

You set the t-stat at a desired temperature and place the probe onto the flexwatt. The t-stat regulates the flexwatt so that the temperature you set is what it's at at the probe. You have to set the t-stat to a higher temp (mine are around 99 degrees usually) to achieve the desired temp inside the cage. That's why you need the thermometer to make sure the temps in the cage are correct.

I like the 11" flexwatt.. I'd get two feet of it.

You're my hero today, Shelby.

I think I'm going to go with the Herpstat. It looks like a very decent product.

Thanks so much again. I will let you know how everything works out.

Here is my grocery list for the next week:

2 Sterilite "1986" plastic tubs ($20)
Herpstat Thermostat ($110)
Acu-Rite thermometer at Walmart - ($11)
11" Flexwatt heat tape x 2 feet ($8)
4 hides (2 per tub) - (free...will make them)
2 heavy small dishes for water ($10)
Binder clips ($2)
Newspaper substrate (free)
_________________________________________
$161

Glad to be of help. The herpstat is a good choice. I have one that I use on my incubator.

How does 1 thermostat/2 tubs work? If I buy the Herpstat should I get the extra "replacement probe"? I will need one probe for each tub, correct? Can I run two probes from one thermostat? I really would like to not spend the money buying two thermostats if I don't have to.

You just have to get a multiple outlet thingy and plug that into the thermostat, and the thermostat into the wall. Then you plug both strips of flexwatt into the line outlet and ste the temp on your thermostat. Then stick the thermostat probe on one of the flexwatt strips, and as long as you have an accu-rite in both cages, you can make sure the temps are fine in both cages. Hope that wasnt too confusing.

You can plug a power strip into the power cord of the herpstat and then plug your pieces of flexwatt into there. You will place one probe on either piece of flexwatt, either directly or indirectly (you have to play around with your probe placement to see what works for you) and control both tubs. This SHOULD work if your two tubs are stacked in the same place. If one tub is going crazy, then you'll need another thermostat and control them independently.

By the time you spend money on all of that, you might as well just get a rack system.

Lets see, to house 2 snakes:
2 herpstats @ 115/each = $230
2 Sterilite Tubs = $20
2-3' of flexwatt = ~$20 or so after shipping
Total = $270-300 or ~$150 each animal
or
to house up to 7 snakes:
AP 1756 Rack = $280 + s/h
7 1756 tubs @ 8/ea = $56 @ Target
1 herpstat = $115 shipped
Total = $451 or $64 each animal

I started out doing the individual caging thing and spent way more money than I should have, I should have just bought a rack flat out. Rack systems are much easier to maintain proper temps, snakes feel secure, saves space, etc etc. So many advantages.

Just my $34.52....