My new BP

So i just got back from the store and i bought his tank and setup, and paid for him but im going to pick him up next tuesday or wednesday next week after i finish my last exam. The one i bought (for $50) was different than the others and he said he sold one just like it a couple weeks ago for $150 i believe as a morph. It had a more yellowish green color to it than the regular darker green spots. The closest morph ive found to compare it to is the holloween one from my quick search. Im pretty excited though, it doesnt really matter to me what kind of morph he is im just happy to have him. When i was holding him he was very active and seemed to be in good health. He hadnt been sexed yet and i believe he said he is only a few weeks old. I made sure to get him sexed before paying for him to make sure its a male and sure enough it was. I cant wait to pick him up next week, his tank is ready to go.

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Originally Posted by hardball

It had a more yellowish green color to it than the regular darker green spots. The closest morph ive found to compare it to is the holloween one from my quick search. Im pretty excited though, it doesnt really matter to me what kind of morph he is im just happy to have him.

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Are you sure you are talking about a Ball Python? I have never seen a green spotted Ball...or heard of a Halloween morph?

Also, for $50 I can just about guarantee you didn't get a Ball Python morph. Do you have a picture?

Yea, it doesn't sound like you got a BP morph. Pics?

I dont have any pics because hes still in the place. Its definately a ball python though. This is where i found the holloween ball python:here

and here is a picture of one with the coloration that looks about like the one i picked out: here

WOW! $15,000 for a snake?! :O :O

ya this is my first snake too btw. Im not looking to collect rare species, I am just happy to have my first snake and one i feel comfortable with. If it is a morph cool, if its not i really dont care. He sold it to me for $50 which is the same price as the normal baby BPs so its not like he tried to raise the price on me. I also ran into one of my old teachers in the store today who i found out is a collector so it made me feel extra comfort with the place i bought from (he sold the guy i was talking to there a 13 ft burmese python).

It's probably not a morph. But if it has a cool pattern that speaks to you, it's the next best thing! Can't wait to see pics of the little guy. Out of curiousity why were you wanting a male?

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Originally Posted by hardball

I dont have any pics because hes still in the place. Its definately a ball python though. This is where i found the holloween ball python:here

and here is a picture of one with the coloration that looks about like the one i picked out: here

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Thanks for the link...now I know what a Halloween ball is :)

As for what you are getting morph or not if it looks similar to the picture he should still be a stunner. :sweeet:

I want a male because I have read that they generally stay smaller than the females and I just dont know how i would feel if the snake was as long as I am tall. I am only about 5'7 so keeping it around 4 feet would be nice.

And ya like i said im not a collector or anything so whether it really is a morph isnt a big deal to me. I am happy that I found a nice healthy BP. That didnt seem to object to handling.

On a setup note I only got 1 hide. Placed on the cool side of the tank which is what he recommended for it. Seems like everywhere else i have read that 2 hides is best one for each side. I am wondering if it is absolutely necessary to get another. There isnt much more room in my 10 gallon tank, but there isnt really anything on the warm side at the moment.

pic:http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/157/fileua1.th.jpg
(sorry had to take it with my phone cuz i dont have a digital camera)

Yes please get two identical hides he can fit tightly inside. This is necessary for him to choose whether he needs to be on the hot or cool side instead of whether he wants to feel safe or regulate his temperature.

And he will probably actually prefer the tank to be tight and secure as opposed to open space in the 10 gallon :)

Ok im going to pick up another hide when i go pick him up, probably a little smaller one because i dont think another one like that one will fit.

Also what would be the max recommended humidity level? Currently it says 72%, and I am debating on whether or not to add tape to the lid to trap it in better. My temperature is still slowly rising since i finished setting it up with it currently being at 88.5

I think your humidity is kind of high -- that would be good if he were shedding, but you probably only need around 50% right now.

well how should i go about lowering it? I havent sprayed or anything, all ive done is attach the heater and and maybe an inch of jungle earth substrate.

From my experience your substrate should dry out slightly over time and the humidity should drop. A few weeks ago I opened up a bag of cypress and layed it down in the enclosure and it was super wet out of the bag. At first my humidity was like 88% and after a few days it lowered to between 50-55%. I also opened the door from time to time to let some of the moisture out. Now that the substrate is dry (3 weeks in the cage) I find I have to mist the substrate every other day to keep my humidity around 50%.

You should try and get two identical hides for your snake. The only decition you want your snake to have to make is "do I want to cool off or heat up" not do I want the big hide, the little hide. They are cheap enough.

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Originally Posted by hardball

Ok im going to pick up another hide when i go pick him up, probably a little smaller one because i dont think another one like that one will fit.

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It's best to have two that are identical. The snake will sometimes pick one hide over the other if they are different and will not thermoregulate properly.

Ok im wondering if the humidity here in florida in general is kind of making it higher too because i left the hydrometer out of the cage just in the room alone when i went out to dinner and the humidity stayed between 63-66% in the room alone while i was gone.

If it's super humid in your house maybe you should think of a dehumidifier for the room the snake is in.

Ya i have one and i was using it today. I got it as far down as 48% (mostly b/t 50 and 60) but it kind of fluctuated at time getting over 60%. I turned everything off for now though besides the lamp (only light in my room at night). Im going to turn everything back on sunday in final preparation now that i know what its going to take.

Quick question. Since I was stupid and bought the jungle earth substrate, would it be ok to try and place papertowels over the substrate prior to feeding to try and ensure that he doesnt accidentally swallow some? Otherwise im going to have to hope he will eat in another container I guess.

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Originally Posted by hardball

Quick question. Since I was stupid and bought the jungle earth substrate, would it be ok to try and place papertowels over the substrate prior to feeding to try and ensure that he doesnt accidentally swallow some? Otherwise im going to have to hope he will eat in another container I guess.

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Your not stupid and there is nothing wrong with Jungle Earth as a substrate. Even if your snake was to injust a small amount it won't hurt them (big sticks yes..a little dirt no problem). I wouldn't change it out (unless you really don't like the look)...just dry it out (use a light, set it in the sun or bake it) to help lower your humidity.

i like the look a lot, but im afraid it could be dangerous come feeding time. How long will a particular substrate last before it should be changed anyways? Next time or when i need to move it to a bigger tank i think i will just go with newspaper.

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Originally Posted by hardball

i like the look a lot, but im afraid it could be dangerous come feeding time. How long will a particular substrate last before it should be changed anyways? Next time or when i need to move it to a bigger tank i think i will just go with newspaper.

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It is not dangerous (or else word would have gotten out and everyone would keep their snakes on paper :D )

Anyway..the substrate could last about a month if you were diligent about keeping it clean (picking up poop and urates ASAP) and mixing up the substate weekly. Or if you are worried just dump it and go to paper....but I would do whatever before you get the snake...you don't want to change right after you get your snake as it will stress it.

Newspaper is SO easy :) Just get a Sunday newspaper and it will take you quite a while to use it all.

Thanks guys. BTW i just checked my receipt and he wrote it down as a high yellow BP.

on the left is what is supposed to be a high yellow:
http://www.cuttingedgeherp.com/nss-f...es/albball.jpg

I think im going to go pick him up later today and hopefully have pics up later tonight.

Well I picked him up a few hours ago, ive yet to take any pics but he doesnt look as yellow as i thought so i dont think hes a morph. Hes spent most of the time ive seen him trying to climb his way to the roof and flicking his tongue through the vents in the top. Its pretty funny but im ready to see him go relax in one of his hides now.

Congrat on the snake i love mine. If im not mistaking and i could be wrong but i think balls grow to the enviroment they are in. Mine when i got him was 18in and in a 10gallon tank when i took him 3months ago i put him in a 30 gallon tank and he has grown 9in and im now fixing to move him to A 55 gallon tank

You are mistaken :)

Growth depends on many factors, none of which include enclosure size. Your snake will live it's entire life out in that 30 gallon, especially if it is a baby right now(probably stressed out beyond belief but we don't know that for certain). There's no need to go to a 55gallon tank.. Very hard to heat and your snake will most likely stop eating.

All of my babies under about 700g stay in a 15-28qt tub, they all eat everytime(unless a really shy baby is in shed). A 15qt tub has the floor space of about 3/4 of a 10gallon tank. 28qts have the floor space of maybe a 20gallon, just slightly wider and not as long.

Thanks man, ya i love mine too. He finally went into his hide before i started a movie and after the movie was over i came back and he was back on top of his hide with his body against the glass and his head at the roof again. I guess it is about activity time tho, its late and there arent any lights on in his room.

http://i14.tinypic.com/29cqjhy.jpg

Hardball,

Cant wait to see pictures of the new addition! And glad to see someone on asking lots of questions and taking some good advice! I'm sure everything will work out...also nice to see another Floridian on here :D

Take care and I am sure with all the help you can get from here everything will work out great!
We live in SW florida... and our problem with there humidity was it was to low..go figure right?? lol.. We got that all worked out now after some trial an error...you will to!
Talk to you soon

~Audrey

For my babies that were in the 10g tank, I used the itty bitty igloos, and the next bigger size, and still had PLENTY of room for the water bowl. I placed the hutch side of the igloo in opposite corners (one hot, one cold) w/the entrances angled towards the center.

Now, with my rack, I have the little igloos in the 12qt shoebox tubs (Rubbermaid, so not quite the same dimensions....) one on the hot end, and one on the cold....and the buggers STILL manage to squiggle them so they're BOTH in the middle. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Congrats on your new pet!!! They're VERY interesting creatures, and like Lay's potato chips.....you'll be hard pressed to stop with just ONE!:rolleye2: :rolleye2:


RuLyn

haha ya getting humidity hasnt been too much of a problem for me, its been trying to keep it down, but at the moment its pretty stable. He finally went back into his hide last night around 12:30 and hasnt come out since. I think im going to take him out around the time the NFL draft is starting so he can join me on the couch for a little bit.

Actually it's best if you just leave the snake be for the next week. Just do basic cage maintenance, no handling, no attempts to feed. Ball pythons are naturally shy, nocturnal snakes that can stress out fairly easily. A stressed snake will tend to refuse to eat. If you give your snake a week or so to settle in without bothering him, you'll up the chances of a good first feeding attempt which sets a nice pattern of weekly feeds. It's probably the hardest part of getting a new snake for any of us, but it's been proven over and over again that the first week or two of quiet time leads to a better overall experience.

Oh ok well then nevermind. Ill leave him be.

Heres a pic from the first day when he was obsessed with the roof of the tank:
http://i18.tinypic.com/6ag55sg.jpg

Also does anyone have any suggestions for raising the temperature of the tank anymore? The stick on heat pad isnt keeping it quite hot enough and when i turn the lamp on it sucks the humidity right out of the tank. Ive already sprayed it 3 times today and it keeps dropping back into the 40s so ive gone ahead and turned it off. My temperature is currently at 85 on the warm end now because I had to turn the lamp off.

to get temps up while using a heat lamp but also keeping humidity up, i used tin foil and duct tape to seal off the lid, except for the corner section where the heat lamp is. There, I used clear packaging tape so its still sealed, but it lets the light and heat from the lamp through and into the tank, but since its taped off humidity cant get out. I tried glass and some caulk to get it, but apprently glass explodes when a light sits on it for awhile.....lol.

Ya i just put an old binder over one half of the roof. But as u can see in that picture he was climbing up there and with that lamp beaming down on that metal roof for a while its a risk that he might burn himself if i leave the lamp on for too long. He really hasnt done that since the first day, tho so i guess ill just go with it.

ok now, so a few minutes ago i went to check on him and he wasnt cruisin his cage, so i peaked in both of his hides and didnt see him. I was a little confused and then all of a sudden i caught him....

http://i14.tinypic.com/6biv9lg.jpg

wtf. does anyone have an explanation for this? I stood there until he took the inevitable fall back down to earth. I understand he wants to leave his cage but geez. He was clinging on to a little area between the roof and the top of the tank where it jutted out alittle bit. I have no idea how he pulled himself all the way up there, but that was just too weird. All i could do is laugh at him.

:8: :8: :8:

i would avoid the heat lamp on the lid if I were you...