Greetings from Africa!

Hi All:gj: Greeting from Johannesburg, South Africa:D

Just joined you here at Ball-Pythons cause yesterday I bought my first BALL PYTHON!!:banana:

My partner, Sarah, and I decided to get a snake recently. Sarah is from Ireland and had never seen a snake until she came to South Africa with me 3 years ago, and it was just one month ago that she handled her first Corn snake. Since she found out that snakes are not yuk and slimy she been wanting one for her own.

So we went out yesterday to a local pet store with the intent of acquiring a corn snake. Now I'd already researched corn snakes as well as Ball pythons, and i really would have preferred a BP, but we have 3 cats and Sarah was worried that either the cats would get eaten if a python got out or that the cats would eat the python:O So the consensus was that we'd get a corn snake.

As fate would have it the store we went to had BP's as well as corn snakes. The attendant first showed us the corn snakes, very nice, but very quick and squirmy. He then showed us the BP's and took one out the enclosure and gave it to Sarah to hold. The little thing casually wrapped itself round her hand and just parked off. For the next 20 minutes Sarah was carrying this BP around the store and then said that this was what she wanted, that the corn snakes were not comparable, she was hooked...

So a wedge of cash later:taz: and we are now the proud owner of a 3 month male Ball Python, from what I can tell it is a run of the mill model with no flashy extras, but boy is he a beaut. We've called him Samson.

Right now he is in his enclosure getting used to his surroundings. I'll need to get him out later to add a few extras to his tabk so I'll see if I can get some pics then for y'all.

L8r

Bundu:rolleye2:

:welcome:

Welcome to the fourm! We need some pics of Samson!

Hey thanks for the quick responses, and thanks for the welcome,

I'll get some pics of Samson later on this evening and post them up here.

FYI - Samson is currently about 15", tank size is 15g. Ambient temp in the tank is 80F, I've got a UTH on the left side keeping ground temp at 85F. No temp yet on the right hand side , I'll measure that later. Ambient humidity is 60%. I've got a digital and dial thermometer and a dial hydrometer to keep tabs on the environment.

Medium is a sphagnum moss and mulch mix. I've got 2 hides (one on the left over the UTH and other on the right) and a granite rock water pool which is deep enough for Samson to submerge. I've added 2 silk plants for background and a nice piece of driftwood. I've even added a tropical looking background.

Anything missing. Only thing I can think of is a heat source for basking... how important is this?

:welcome: I believe you are our second South African member!

You want your warm side to be about 90 and your cool side to be about 80. Since ball pythons are nocturnal, they don't bask. Sounds like you are off to a good start, you've got a nice small enclosure for Samson and your ambient temps aren't too cool.

Congrats!

Welcome to BPNet! Congrats on getting your first BP. They really are a lovely snake (I should think so since I have so darn many of them LOL).

We have a nice caresheet here if you care to have a read through that will help you. As far as a basking area, they really just need a proper temperature gradient and underbelly (undertank) heat works best for these ground dwelling snakes. Normally about a 10 degree difference allows for good thermoregulation for the snake...so a cool end around 80-82 degrees and a warm side about 90-92 degrees works pretty well for our collection. Of course hides which you've mentioned as these are very nocturnal, fairly shy snakes that just love to be smooshed inside a nice dark hide.

As lovely as he is, do let him have a good solid week of no fussing about while he settles in, then offer him a meal of whatever he's used to eating and things should tick along quite nicely. :)

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dial thermometer and a dial hydrometer

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The dial up thermometer and hydrometer are crap, they're alway around 2-20 degrees off. I don't usually hand out advice but I got my butt handed to me because I had the dial up peices of crap myself.

Oh btw, Robin (rabernet) and I share a common brain so don't mind if you see us posting basically the same information at about the same time. We've given up being surprised when this happens LOL.

Hey Raber:gj:

Thanks for the advice.

I'll raise the UTH to increase the temp on the warm side. The cool side may be an issue though. I've just measured it at 75F and this will definately get lower as the room temp goes down in the evenings.

How important is it to have the cool side at 80F:confused: if Samson feels it is too cold would he not park off somewhere between the 2 sides to get the cooling he needs?

if need be I can get a smaller UTH for the cool side which would hopefully keep the temp up at around 80F.

Also what side of the tank should the water bowl be on? I'm thinking of putting it in the middle of the tank where it would get some heating from the UTH.;)

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Originally Posted by Nick144

The dial up thermometer and hydrometer are crap, they're alway around 2-20 degrees off. I don't usually hand out advice but I got my butt handed to me because I had the dial up peices of crap myself.

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Nick, I've just gone through every post you've ever made at BPNet. No where is there one where you got your butt handed to you (as you put it) over something to do with a dial thermometer. If I have missed something, please provide me with a link to that thread.

Since you are a relatively new member I will remind you once again, as you've had to be reminded twice now by Moderators, that we do NOT encourage bringing issues from other forums here to BPNet! Neither do we encourage or allow our members to be rude to each other when they give advice on husbandry issues. If this occurred here, please bring it to staff's attention - if it occurred elsewhere, it belongs there.

Thanks for the comments all.

Hey Nick - The digital thermometer is pretty accurate so I'll be using that to be precise. I'll look at getting a digital hydrometer further down the line.

Franky - Great minds think alike.... I''ll be topping my knowledge for sure:8:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Nick, I've just gone through every post you've ever made at BPNet. No where is there one where you got your butt handed to you (as you put it) over something to do with a dial thermometer. If I have missed something, please provide me with a link to that thread.

Since you are a relatively new member I will remind you once again, as you've had to be reminded twice now by Moderators, that we do NOT encourage bringing issues from other forums here to BPNet! Neither do we encourage or allow our members to be rude to each other when they give advice on husbandry issues. If this occurred here, please bring it to staff's attention - if it occurred elsewhere, it belongs there.

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Looks like Franky is....on the BALL:snake: (Heh, I'm sure you've never heard that one before:rolleye2:)

For sure Nicky, if there's a reason why you fell foul of these dial meters, then pray tell...

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Originally Posted by Bundu Boy

Hey Raber:gj:

Thanks for the advice.

I'll raise the UTH to increase the temp on the warm side. The cool side may be an issue though. I've just measured it at 75F and this will definately get lower as the room temp goes down in the evenings.

How important is it to have the cool side at 80F:confused: if Samson feels it is too cold would he not park off somewhere between the 2 sides to get the cooling he needs?

if need be I can get a smaller UTH for the cool side which would hopefully keep the temp up at around 80F.

Also what side of the tank should the water bowl be on? I'm thinking of putting it in the middle of the tank where it would get some heating from the UTH.;)

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You really don't want your cool side to drop much less than 77 degrees, as you want to keep your ambient temps in the low 80's if at all possible.

Not sure if you mentioned it or not, but a UTH should be controlled by a thermostat or dimmer, because they could get too warm.

Samson "might" park himself in the warm side if he's too cool, but if your hides are not identical on each side, he may choose a favorite hide (security) over thermo-regulating.

I do keep my water dish in the middle of the warm and cool sides.

Another alternative is to use a plastic tub, rather than a glass enclosure - they tend to hold heat and humidity easier than glass does.

Oh poop!:(

Right now Samson has 1 hide, a half coconut, and he takes up about half of it. I actually bought a really nice rock hide today which is a bit bigger on the inside than the coconut.

After just reading faq and seeing your comments I've noted that 2 hides of the same is preferred, or at least 2 hides that fit snug. I've got really nice pebbles outside, how's about if I boil them and then put a few into the hides to decrease the hide space?

Here's the new hide, it'll look super in the tank
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...3305_thumb.jpg
:taz:

I'd just watch him and see if he prefers one over the other. Another inexpensive alternative is to buy some plastic plant saucers and solder out some entrances - sort of like the one in this picture:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...ub/BabyTub.jpg

Here's the baby:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...b/BabyTub2.jpg

After these pictures were taken, the green hide was replaced with an identical saucer.

Hello and welcome to the forum! There's a world a great people and knowledge here! :D

Hey Laooda :gj:

Welcome to b-p.net!

I'm one of the few and loud "glass" people here, so the aesthetic of a nice looking vivarium for my pet snakes is important to me, as it sounds like it is for you. =)

I'll echo what everyone else has said and get two identical hides. My favorite manufacturers for pleasing looking hides that are easy to clean and work well for BP husbandry requirements are Hagen and Zilla, especially Zilla's "rock den" series. I have my corn snake, ball python and boa constrictor all with Zilla rock den hides and all 3 pretty much live in them. =) I would assume you should be able to get these in your local good reptile shop.

The half log hide is crap. Pitch it. =P

Our BP is now in a 4' x 2' x 2', up from her original 20L, but the arrangement is pretty much the same:
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...leopalace3.jpg

You'll notice that the mouths on these 2 hides are different. I got another hide, identical to the one the right with the smaller door, and replaced the gaping one because even tho the first two were similar, Cleo never went into the one with the big door.

Have a look at the link in my sig for more info on my suggested glass viv setup and lemme know if you have more questions. =)

Nice tank there:bow:

My tank is a reptile tank with 4 glass sides. Sliding doors on the front and has a mesh entrance point in it's roof. It's a nice unit and very secure
I see that yours has just the front visible. Must be less stressful for your little one....

Welcome to BPnet.

Snakes are addicting. I predict you may soon have another;)

He He:cool:

Most likely - i really like the look of some of the morphs that are out there.

But I'll only really consider it if Samson is successful.... maybe a lady friend down the line:wuv:

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Originally Posted by Bundu Boy

Nice tank there:bow:

My tank is a reptile tank with 4 glass sides. Sliding doors on the front and has a mesh entrance point in it's roof. It's a nice unit and very secure
I see that yours has just the front visible. Must be less stressful for your little one....

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Good observation:) Covering three out of the four sides on your tank is a good idea, it really helps your bp settle in and feel less in the center of a big open space. You can cover the sides by taping black/green/any color construction paper around the outside of the tank or you can use those pretty backgrounds that are used on aquariums.

*tip - Never use tape INSIDE an enclosure, thats a good way to end up with a very angry bp with some missing scales.

Welcome to the forum!!! Congrats on the new snake (can't wait for pictures) and congrats on your brilliant girlfriend who made an absolutely brilliant choice of snakes!! Girls rule!!! :D
Oh, anyway, yes, congrats and welcome!

Welcome! Having a pet snake is a pure joy! Have fun with it.

Not sure if anyone else said it, but tell your girlfriend that if perchance the snake and cats meet, she needs to worry more about the snake!

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Originally Posted by Bundu Boy

if need be I can get a smaller UTH for the cool side which would hopefully keep the temp up at around 80F.

Also what side of the tank should the water bowl be on? I'm thinking of putting it in the middle of the tank where it would get some heating from the UTH.;)

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I ended up with 2 UTHs on my glass tank, exactly as you are suggesting. A large one that covers about 1/3 of the entire bottom of the tank and keeps the warm side warm and also did a reasonable job of keeping the ambient temps up. However, the warm air was not getting under the cool side hide very well. Plus I was having a bit of a trade-off of either the warm side being a bit higher than I wanted or the ambient temps being a bit lower than I wanted. Adding a small UTH under the cool side and keeping it dialed down way low with a rheostat seems to work well.

You will probably end up placing your water bowl where it needs to be based on keeping the humidity where you want it. Move it more towards the warm side to raise humidity, or towards the cool side to lower it.

Welcome! From another Noobie :)

Hey all :gj:

Thanks for the great welcome:banana:

Starmon - Yah, I like girls, except when they get all like :colbert::rolleye2: heh heh.... you all know the old saying "Can't live with them, can't live without them"

Melissa - Right now baby Samson would not have a chance, we've got 3 cats so he'd be outnumbered.... my intention is to not let them get alone together EVER... when Samson gets older he may think kitty cat is a new prey item:snake: though.

Equis - thanks for howdy noobie:D

Another thing I'd like to run past the pro's here, this'll be my last query in this part of the forum. After this I'll be heading over to the relevant forum section.

Some of you may know that here is South Africa we are going through a power supply problem. Our infrastructure was all but ignored by the powers that be for the past 10 years and all of a sudden we've not got enough electricity for the country :rolleye2: :rolleye2: :rolleye2::mad:

Anyhoo, this means that every few days we get a 4 (or longer) hour power outage.

Case in point was this morning I woke up at 5am and noticed the power was off. Now I do not know how long it was off for, could have been 5 minutes or 5 hours. I immediately went to check on Samson and saw his hot area was at 65F. I immediately got some hot water from our gas stove and filled a hot water bottle, the bottle i then put on the outside of the tank pressed up against the glass where his hide is. The temps then gradually got up to 78F. The power is now back on and he should be toasty.

What is tolerable for these little guys, I know that if i was in a constantly fluctuating environment then I'd probably not feel to great about it:tears:

Hey all

Here is a pic of Samson, he's been hiding out in his coconut the last 2 days but seems to be relaxing a bit now.
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/dsc03311.jpg
Here's his home
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/dsc03312.jpg

He's only been at home now for 2 nights and I'll try his first feed this coming Sunday. Fingers crossed he chows down.

BTW - I got a battery backup pack with a 600W inverter and a deep cycle battery. It'll be used to keep my home office ticking over and to power Samson's heating when the electricity goes:teamwork: POOF!

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Originally Posted by Bundu Boy

BTW - I got a battery backup pack with a 600W inverter and a deep cycle battery. It'll be used to keep my home office ticking over and to power Samson's heating when the electricity goes:teamwork: POOF!

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Does the power go down often where you are?

Nice looking naturalistic vivarium!

Awesome set-up! And bravo for solving your power-problem! That is going to be one happy snake:)

Hiya :banana:

Yup, we get about 2-3 scheduled power cuts a week. The countries energy provider and government made a balls up by choosing not to improve infrastructure for the last 10 years, even though they were warned by experts that by doing nothing we'd run out of power by 2008:taz: Now we all have to pay!

Add to that the problem of thieves stealing power cables all over the place, this can cause power cuts for 24hours plus! and there is no schedule for that .What a shambles.:rolleye2:

Glad you like the viv, Samson was out exploring it last night which is good to see...

A quick update for y'all

I got Samson a temp regulator (ThermoControl II) to keep his warm side at 90F with a 2F either side. works well.:banana:

Also we attempted his first feed today. The place where I got him from said that he has been feeding on live mice but I want him to go the f/t route.

Anyhoo. I bought a 10 pack of frozen mice today and defrosted and warmed one up. I then and went did the so called 'Zombie Dance' at the entrance to his hide and he came out like a bullet and got that sucker. He was so quick he made me drop my forceps out of surprise:D

I'm pleased he's willing to take f/t, my missus was not too keen on putting a live rodent in his tank.

Here he is....
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/dsc03314.jpg

Only thing I'm worried out is if he swallows some of that mulch or moss. I read it can cause problems if it gets stuck between his teeth.

What are thought from you guys on a good medium/substrate. I like to have a tank that is appealing to look at so I'm think of maybe gravel or astroturf.

Thanks

Hay all:D

Thought I'd just let you know that Samson is doing well and he says hi.

I got little surprise for Samson yesterday, and here she is...

DELILAH!
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/dsc03704.jpg
https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/dsc03706.jpg

I am not sure exactly how old she is but we guestimate about 8 months or so. I have not weighed her yet but she is quite a bit bigger than Samson who is at 5 months young.

You can see that she still has some shed on her, the guy who I bought it from maybe had his humidity a little low. Already she has managed to get almost all of the shed off now. She has those ghost shapes in her pattern which I think is great, Samson has none at all.....

I've got her housed in a big plastic container with all the usual essentials... She is used to taking live food though, and I feed f/t. It will be interesting to experience my first transition from live to f/t. Although Samson was feeding live (so I was told) but I never actually did see him eat live. So I'm not counting that one:D . Plus Delilah is older and I would guess more conditioned to live, but we will see:gj:

that's awesome! You can put her in some warm water for a half hour and let her slither through a towel to remove shed (if you didnt already know). Seems like you have the bug already! LOL