New BP Owner

OK so here it goes. I am a new BP owner. She (I say she because I am guessing lol) has been in our family for less than a week. I have never owned a snake and all my knowledge comes from research online and reading a book lol!!!

I haven't held her yet. Being completely honest, I am a little nervous. My BP was intended to be a pet for my daughter. I don't want my daughter to be the one to pick the BP up out of the cage so I need to learn more about how to handle her and how to do it safely. I can't expect her to handle the BP until I can do it with confidence and safely. I am trying to be responsible lol!!!

I believe that I have set up her environment properly. She is thriving and comes out in the evening to move around and soak in her water. However, I am having a hard time keeping the temps up in the tank. I am looking for a couple of suggestions on that topic as well.

I am open to any suggestions and comments. I love my pets and hope to have my BP in my family for a long time. I want to enjoy her and have her be a part of the family.....

well basically they are nothing to be scard of the bite itself truthfully does not hurt.
so what you can do is make sure the snake knows you are there by touching it before you pick it up then then just let her crawl through your hands and do not restrain her while holding

I let my shy girl know I'm 'coming' by tapping the top of her hide (vibrations) and then lifting it slowly and stroking her back a bit before lifting her. This is more for her feelings than mine, since it's true that a bite doesn't hurt (unless it's a feeding bite, and then it's usually your fault for smelling like dinner).

Maybe we could see some pictures or a list of how you have things set up? That way we could help you make absolutely sure everything is top notch! :)

And WELCOME!

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uly2008012.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uly2008013.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uly2008014.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uly2008015.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...uly2008016.jpg

Ok so I have tried to post pics of the setup....I hope that I did it right.

So I have two hide rocks...one of which is a kleenex box...is that ok??? I placed the thermometer/humidity thing in the middle (i know i lack in the technical term lol). I also placed a larger bowl of water in the middle because the one that came with the tank was VERY shallow. She has two lamps...one which was for day and the other night.

The temp is getting low at night with the night lamp on and i can't get the temp to go above 80 during the day with the day light. I also have a hard time keeping the humidity about 70%.

I don't want ppl to think I am an idiot. I am just a serious pet owner that needs a little help and wanted to get advice from ppl that have cared for BPs....

Thank you for any advice you can give :)

Noone is going to think your an idiot, i have seen setups look way worse than what you have.

I do see some things I would change, the dial type thermometers and hygrometers are not accurate, Get a digital with a probe, they have them at Wal Mart for $10, what you need to moniter is the substrate temp on the warm side a good place to put the probe is on the floor under the hide.

If your having problems with heating, I would add a UTH, and either a thermostat or a rheostat.

ok i will pick up the probe thermometer today...any specific place that i should put the probe (lmao..sorry had to laugh about that one haha)?

and a UTH?? break that one down for me please??

what do you think about the kleenex box...she never goes in it. Should i get another rock like the other one?

I suggest purchasing / using a snake hook to remove her from her enclosure. Once she is out, switch her over to your hands. The reason that I recommend this is that snakes sometimes feel threatened if they feel cornered. Some are also protective of their enclosure. Once out they calm right down.

You also said she is soaking. You may want to check for mites. Many snakes from pet stores have mites. If you see little black dots in her water after she soaks, or see little black dots on you hand after handling then she was mites. If she does then you will need to treat her.

Temps and humidity are difficult to control, especially in an aquarium, which is what a lot of keepers keep them in. One way to do this is to put something on most of the top of the cage, like a piece of Plexiglas. This will help to hold in heat and humidity.

Hope this helps.

I'm changing her water everyday. I haven't notice anything yet....but I will definitely keep an eye out :)

Thank you for your help.

I heard that the loop is sometimes the safest way to remove the BP from the tank. We will have to try that too since this is my first snake I don't want to be so preoccupied with her biting me that I am afraid to take her out and handle her.

One more thing I forgot to ask before is...do a lot of BP owners feed in a seperate area?

UTH is an Under Tank Heater, it heats the floor of the tank, this will keep temps up even at night....

Also Ball Pythons are naturally a docile snake, I wouldnt be too concearned about biting, if it does bite you it doesnt hurt, just kinda shocks you...

Also it is ideal to have 2 identical hides, that way the snake doesnt play favorites with one or the other and goes to the side that the temps are right...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rrupp1179

ok i will pick up the probe thermometer today...any specific place that i should put the probe (lmao..sorry had to laugh about that one haha)?

and a UTH?? break that one down for me please??

what do you think about the kleenex box...she never goes in it. Should i get another rock like the other one?

---

A UTH is an under tank heater you can get them at the pet store or online I use www.reptilebasics.com. And you will need a thermostat to control the heat so your snake doesn't get burned.
The heat lamp can make keeping the humidity at the right level a problem.

I would also ditch the kleenex box and get a hide similar to the one you already have.

Mochelem beat me to it!

Ok so i have a list going of things she will need....

any suggestions for controlling humidity?

I keep in an aquarium also, aluminum foil seems to hold humidity and helps keep the temp up, sort of like a radiant heat top. You can poke holes in the foil to control humidity/temp as you see fit.

I feed mine in the same enclosure, just make sure that they do not eat the wood chips/bark whatever you are keeping it on

i have her on douglas fir that came with the kit...i m sort of uneducated as far as snakes go so i went with the kit at the store. Is that the right choice?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rakk101

I keep in an aquarium also, aluminum foil seems to hold humidity and helps keep the temp up, sort of like a radiant heat top. You can poke holes in the foil to control humidity/temp as you see fit.

I feed mine in the same enclosure, just make sure that they do not eat the wood chips/bark whatever you are keeping it on

---

Aluminum Foil :gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rrupp1179

i have her on douglas fir that came with the kit...i m sort of uneducated as far as snakes go so i went with the kit at the store. Is that the right choice?

---

I don't know about the Douglas fir but Cypress mulch is good for keeping the humidity up.

I keep damp towels over most of the tank. and little Furio is on Aspen with green moss that I mist down once a day.

If you humidty is to low you can put a humid hide in the cage, I have never heard of using fir for bedding.

FIRST i would like to say thank you sooooo much for the great feedback so far:gj:

Another ???....how often do you change the bedding. If I am not using the optimal bedding and need to change it in the future how long should I wait?

I spotclean whenever i see a mess, and I change and clean tank every shed...

Spot clean as you see fit, I usually do a complete clean of the tub (wash with a bleach/water mixture) every two weeks, this includes all hides, fake plants, other furniture.

This might be alot I am not sure, my iguana is such a pig I just got in the habit of cleaning cages alot.

just wanted to update...i have been working really hard today lol

the damp dish towel on the top and helping boost the humidity until i can get some thermal tape for the top :)

i have also started insulating the three sides of the glass tank to hold in some heat in the tank.

now i m off to the store to get a UTH and a digital thermostat...wish me luck lol:gj:

You're off to a great start! :) But I should warn you that you most likely will not find a thermostat in any store. Which is silly since it's the most important piece of EQ for reptile keeping!

Most t-stats will be found online, and it depends on your budget what you get. Of course, you should ALWAYS get the best one you can afford!

At the bottom end is the ZooMed ReptiTemp 500R, which can be found at ReptileSupply.com for around $25. It's a cheap dial type, but it works until you can get something better.

Next are the Johnson and Ranco on/off style digital stats. These are great and reliable stats priced around $70-80. Best place to find these is ReptileBasics.com.

Finally, you have the Herpstat and Helix proportional stats. These are the best of the best. They keep the temp steady and don't click on and off. :) Cost is $110+

Welcome to the board! Let me start off by saying that if people are going to think that you are an idiot than you are not alone. I felt like the biggest idiot but in no time this site got me squared away. Trust me, you are not an idiot! As you can tell, when you have questions, you post them and you get answers. You will love it here.

If you don't mind me putting my pennies in...I would switch out that water dish. I can just see her tipping it over and making a huge mess. You wouldn't have to worry about humidity being too low when/if that happens but that's not the ideal way to raise humidity. I have a very shallow water dish and she soaked in it just fine. But, now that I have the mites under control she only uses her waterdish to drink from so no need for anything large, unless you need it for humidity. I just changed mine from one large enough for her to soak in to something small enough for her to drink from. I'll have to see how it goes.

For the hides, get some cheap $1 cereal bowls from the dollar store, cut a hole into them and your done. I've seen some put the hole on the top and some put it on the side. I guess it's up to you. Just make sure you dont' have any burrs left. Keep in mind that you want to keep them small and snug. They like to be touching on all sides. I used chinese takeout dishes for a while and they worked great! Not even 10 minutes worth of work with the dremel and they were perfect!

You could also consider getting one red bulb, or even a night bulb just to keep your temps up and leave it on 24/7. I can't afford one of those fancy thermostats so I use the dimmer switches from Lowes, one for the UTH and one for the bulb. One of these days I'll upgrade but for now it works. If you go that route, keep an eye on your temps because they are not 100% reliable.

Six months ago, when my son got the snake I was scared to death of her. But, I got over it and don't have a problem getting her out of the tank at all. When I lift the hide, I'll rub her sides until she is calm and then scoop her up from the back. She has never reacted negatively except at my nephew who didn't rub her back..so she hissed at him. that was the one and only time she did that. I'm sure you will think she is just the sweetest thing in no time...I know I did! No offense but I don't think I would use a hook.

Good luck and enjoy!

The most important thing with a UTH is that you have SOME method of controlling it. The ones you will probably find in the stores are those zoo-med ones. I have one, and when plugged directly into the wall it gets VERY hot. I can't really afford a good t-stat right now (lolcollege), so I bought a cheap rheostat (glorified dimmer switch) and dialed the UTH down until it keeps my temps correct.

Thank you everyone for the help!!! I am glad someone said something about my water bowl...I wasn't sure what I was doing with it BUT the one that came with the kit appeared to be TOO shallow. I am going to look around when shopping for hides to see if I can get her a better one. I have learned that the kit I purchased turned out to be a waste of money. The only good thing I got out of it was the tank :mad:

So here I go with a couple more questions....

Should the hides be opaque ONLY or can the be transluscent or clear??

Has anyone heard of using a paper towel roll in the tank as a place for the BP to hide...is it safe?

Most people try to avoid using paper products of any kind for anything except substrate...since it gets ruined when wet. :) Dollar store cereal bowls and plastic plant pots are the greatest hides and they're dirt cheap! :)

And yes, hides should be opaque since they are for the BP to hide in and feel secure. It's basically trying to emulate their 'wild habitat' of rodent burrows and termite mounds...which are dark. :) That's why the plant pots are great.

Clear hides are not really considered hides because hides are for making the Ball Python feel safe and secure. Good luck with your Ball! :gj::gj::banana:

I have pics of my sweetie BP Rainbow :):gj:

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...Rainbow001.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...Rainbow003.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...Rainbow004.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...Rainbow005.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...Rainbow002.jpg

I have totally made over her tank as well and can post some more pics after she has her first feed tonight...i m kinda excited lol!!!!!

One more ???...kind of a silly one...what does the BPs poo look like??

Thanks for everyone's help so far..you all have been great :banana::gj::banana::gj::banana::gj:

Like a toostie roll. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Spaniard

Like a toostie roll. :)

---

;) :gj:

I FEEL so accomplished :gj::gj: My new BP and I made it through the first feed....SHE DID GREAT!!!

Just wanted to share that lol:D

Thats so exciting! We will try next week. He just ate earlier the day that we got him.

I was very successful with the method that I tried....

If I can offer any suggestions...although I admit that I am a novice and ALL of my info came from experienced ppl in this forum, PLEASE LET ME KNOW :)