Looking forward to getting a BP but had questions!

Hello! I'm a new member and I am really looking forward to getting myself an Albino Ball Python. I plan to purchase at the NARBC Show in Anaheim in September so I'm taking this time to do the research and get her enclosure ready....

I've already done a lot of research, but there were some questions that weren't answered. I know that a lot of my questions will be based on preferences, so feel free to give any input!

Thanks!

How much should I be looking to spend on an albino?
Are there different morphs that I should be aware of?
I currently know of the Normal Albino, Caramel Albino, and Lavendar Albino.

Does the type of wood I use for the enclosure matter?
I was thinking of just using "normal" wood and plywood that I would find from Home Depot or Lowes.

Will the type of stain (for the wood enclosure) I use affect my snake?
Should I stain the inside?

What kind of substrate do you recommend between aspen, Eco-Earth, and CareFresh?
I want the enclosure to have a natural look and I like its dark color so I am leaning towards Eco-Earth.
And when I am cleaning, should I just remove the spots that have been deficated and urated on? or replace all of the substrate in the enclosure?
How often should I clean the entire enclosure?

Are halogen or LED lights ok if the UTHs provide enough heat?
What do you think about LEDs?
For nighttime viewing, would you suggest a certain color? does it matter?
Are there any colors that an Albino looks especially awesome in?

Have any of you achieved proper temperatures using just UTHs?

Should the hiding spot be located in the hot or cool spot?
Do BPs climb often? How much driftwood will I need?

Will I need a fan? or will ventilation holes suffice?

Has anyone had a good experience purchasing online?
If you did, what was the site?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated... Please reply, even if you can only answer a few of my questions... Any tips would also be greatly appreciated...

Thanks!
-word

How much should I be looking to spend on an albino? Females are something like $800 and males are in the $600 range
Are there different morphs that I should be aware of?
I currently know of the Normal Albino, Caramel Albino, and Lavendar Albino. There are plenty more morphs then that :) But if you are just looking for albinos there are spider albinos, high contrast albinos..the list goes on.

Does the type of wood I use for the enclosure matter?
I was thinking of just using "normal" wood and plywood that I would find from Home Depot or Lowes. Yes, do not use Pine or Cedar, they are toxic. Anything else should be fine. Birch is the cheapest I think and its fine to use.

Will the type of stain (for the wood enclosure) I use affect my snake?
Should I stain the inside? If you use a stain, make sure to seal it with something snake safe (not sure about what kind)

What kind of substrate do you recommend between aspen, Eco-Earth, and CareFresh? Aspen, I hate the idea of cleaning dirt.

And when I am cleaning, should I just remove the spots that have been deficated and urated on? or replace all of the substrate in the enclosure? I usually spot clean urates and pee (once every few days)
How often should I clean the entire enclosure? I do a full clean out when they crap all over the place.

Are halogen or LED lights ok if the UTHs provide enough heat? Ball pythons don't need additional lighting. If you just want like decorative lighting, LED(I think?) or flourecent lighting is fine. Halogens give off a crap ton of heat.
What do you think about LEDs? they are pretty in my dorm room. :P
For nighttime viewing, would you suggest a certain color? does it matter? moonlight bulbs or red bulbs, anything else will bother your snake at night.
Are there any colors that an Albino looks especially awesome in? Dunno :P red or moonlight I would suspect, lol.

Have any of you achieved proper temperatures using just UTHs? Yes.

Should the hiding spot be located in the hot or cool spot? Both, identical for each side.
Do BPs climb often? Not really. Juveniles might, but not adults really.
How much driftwood will I need? All you need is something rough for them to rub on when they shed. You don't need oodles of drift wood or anything

Will I need a fan? or will ventilation holes suffice? Vent holes are fine :)

Has anyone had a good experience purchasing online?
If you did, what was the site? Many people will agree that 8ballpythons, BHB and heathers herps are great places to buy snakes online. There are always a bunch of ads on this site for great breeders as well

:) Hope this helped a bit.

Thanks for the prompt reply Kaorte... here are a few follow ups...

What kind of substrate do you recommend between aspen, Eco-Earth, and CareFresh? Aspen, I hate the idea of cleaning dirt.
I dont like that idea either, but I like Eco-Earth's color, would it be safe to mix the 2?

How much should I be looking to spend on an albino? Females are something like $800 and males are in the $600 range
Holy Crap! Even if they're babies? I'm thinking of getting it as young as possible. Should I expect this price only at a pet store? or are these prices typical with breeders and expos as well?

I saw late December 08 Het Albinos for $250 on this site: http://www.rcreptiles.com/available....thons-for-sale


Are there different morphs that I should be aware of?
I currently know of the Normal Albino, Caramel Albino, and Lavendar Albino. There are plenty more morphs then that But if you are just looking for albinos there are spider albinos, high contrast albinos..the list goes on.
Will I be able to know this when I purchase the little thing?

Are halogen or LED lights ok if the UTHs provide enough heat? Ball pythons don't need additional lighting. If you just want like decorative lighting, LED(I think?) or flourecent lighting is fine. Halogens give off a crap ton of heat.
If I was able to maintain temps with UTHs, then I was gonna use LEDs because of their relatively low heat emission. What I didnt realize was how expensive that would be, so I've decided to go with halogens. I'm gonna use the little ones:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50119351
Since they give off so much heat, I'm obviously gonna have to compensate on the UTHs right?

For nighttime viewing, would you suggest a certain color? Does it matter? moonlight bulbs or red bulbs, anything else will bother your snake at night.
Are there any colors that an Albino looks especially awesome in? Dunno red or moonlight I would suspect, lol.
I've read that in addition to red and moonlight bulbs, then you can use blue and green... is this not true?

I've also created some plans for an enclosure... I'll post them later on... I've still got to put all the different pics that I have together and put a little more thought into the wiring...

Please please, more responses! a second opinion always helps :]

You can mix asepn and eco earth but I personally wouldn't. I think the only reason to use eco earth would be if you have humidity problems which you probably won't have in a custom enclosure.

Yep, Albinos are still pretty pricey. If you really want a color morph, you could go for a Pastel, they run from 100-200.

A het albino is not a visual albino. It looks like a normal but carries the gene for the color morph albino. That is why it is less expensive.

You will know what kind of animal you are getting. Most of the albino combos are *really* expensive though. You will be looking at well over $800 for most of them.

Even those tiny halogens are enough to start a fire if they touch anything. You would not be able to put these in the enclosure. I am not sure if these are able to run on a rheostat or proportional thermostat (which it must be on).

All I have heard is Red and Moonlight. I wouldn't venture into green or blue we really don't know much about ball pythons vision so I wouldn't try it.

I am looking forward to seeing plans for your enclosure. I am working on the designs for a rack currently :)

So here are the plans... I realized that I shouldnt consolidate them, otherwise, they'd get too small. I haven't done any of the wiring because I'm not 100% on the lighting yet.
There are some notes that need to be made about my plans though. First, I didn't specify how I will secure the glass panes... I was just too lazy to put it up. Ask me if you want to know. There will be additional pieces that will be implemented in order to prevent escape. The back will be made of plywood with enough space at the bottom for access to the cubby created by the glass and plywood for the UTHs. To anyone passing through this thread: Please don't grill me and say that my plans won't work, come to me with a solution, not a problem...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...BasicFrame.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...me/Dowels1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...me/Dowels2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Framewdoor.jpg

I also just saw coconut husk chips... what do you think of those?

Keep in mind that wood is going to be very hard to disinfect, and even with sealing can be pourous.

As mentioned, het albino's carry the gene for albinism, but are not visual. Pastels and spiders are the two currently more affordable morphs on the market and mojaves are starting to get into their price range as well. The current price on visual albinos is a steal compared to just four years ago when they were over a few grand each.

One other thing to consider - ball pythons are nocturnal, and having light shining on them, even in the day time "could" be stressful to the animal, it all depends on the individual animal, and if you get an albino - it is already going to have light sensitivities to its eyes. Ball pythons are a poor choice if you're hoping for a display snake.

When content, you shouldn't see them much at all during the day, as they should be curled up tight in a hide, and only come out in the evening hours for a drink of water and a casual cruise around the enclosure. Anything more than that, or restless activity is a cause for concern (indication of a stressed animal) if it continues past the first week of ownership. Stress leads to feeding refusals, leads to lowered immunity, leads to higher chances of RI's, etc.

It's awesome that you're doing all this research now!

Thanks for the input Robin. I wasn't hoping for a display snake, I want a BP in general because they are docile and easy to handle, traits that are ideal as this is my first herp. I really just wanted an albino because my girlfriend ;]
Anyway...
How would I actually go about disinfecting wood for my enclosure? I didn't run into anything about it as I was browsing through how-to's on making custom enclosures.

And for the lighting issue, I do understand that the BP requires something like a 12hr on and 12hr off lighting phase... but don't all enclosures include a light source?

not all enclosures have lights, no. ambient daytime lighting is just fine. as for nite lights, i've used red, blue/moon, green, and black with good results. for disinfecting and cleanliness, i'd suggest plywood sprayed with bleach and aired/dryed well, inside of the enclosure lined with linoleum or similar, seams caulked with silicone.

i do not have a picture atm, sorry :(

You should easily be able to find an albino in the $500 price range at the show. As for substrate, newspaper, aspen, and cypress mulch is what most breeders use.

That's still pretty expensive. I'm just a poor college student, haha. I was looking to spend $250 on the actual snake in addition to the enclosure and other supplies...

I suggest a pastel, spider, or mojave. You should be able to get one of those in your price range. You could also buy a plastic enclosure fairly cheap. I actually just bought a plastic 2x1x1 cage for $80 shipped. Private message me for more details.

There are TONS of BP morphs other there! :) Check out this site: http://www.newenglandreptile.com/ner...ollection.html. It's a direct link to NERD's ball python morph gallery. Depending on the morph some are as low as a few hundred $$ to high thousands

I think its great that you are going to build your own enclosure but you might be over thinking it a bit.

You won't need a screen with your ball python. Air vents will do just fine. A screen will actually help to LOWER your humidity (bad).

You seen to be constructing a wooden frame with glass panels. Have you ever cut glass? It isn't all that fun :/. If anything I would go with plexiglass, easier to find, easier to cut. Or you could just ditch the frame idea and go with solid wood ply. I know a lot of people line the inside of their custom cages with linoleum tiles and it looks really awesome. Maybe you could try something like that?

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Originally Posted by word

That's still pretty expensive. I'm just a poor college student, haha. I was looking to spend $250 on the actual snake in addition to the enclosure and other supplies...

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you can pick up a nice morph on kingsnake.com in your price range, but dont count on an albino they will run you at least $500 and go up from there.

but if you are on a budget, here is another route you can go...
~kingsnake.com, pick up a pastel,spider,mojo. $150-$300(dont forget shipping)
~petco, pick up a 20L tank with locking sliding lid $50, UTH $20, aspen for $5.
~Dollar store,pick up tank decorations including water dish and hides.
...So if you budget yourself you can get all setup for about $250-$350ish.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hawaiianice99

you can pick up a nice morph on kingsnake.com in your price range, but dont count on an albino they will run you at least $500 and go up from there.

but if you are on a budget, here is another route you can go...
~kingsnake.com, pick up a pastel,spider,mojo. $150-$300(dont forget shipping)
~petco, pick up a 20L tank with locking sliding lid $50, UTH $20, aspen for $5.
~Dollar store,pick up tank decorations including water dish and hides.
...So if you budget yourself you can get all setup for about $250-$350ish.

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Don't forget the thermostat :)

I would not want to house any of my snakes in a wooden enclosure. Wood is a prime breeding ground for all sorts of insects and wood can also begin to mold and decay with the humidity. I have found that the glass herp vivs work best for me. Ease in cleaning and great visibility all add up to huge plusses in my book. Just my opinion though.... ;)

First off, thank you to everyone helping me out here.

Kaorte, the screen is actually just a layer between the lights and the snake, but the lights will be mounted on a sheet of plywood, so the humidity will still be kept in...
I've never actually cut glass before, but I know that you can have glass cut at HomeDepot or Lowes or whatever...
I want to make my enclosure with glass an wood just for the look of it. I personally don't really dig on the linoleum look.

And Grim Reaper and HawaiianIce, thanks for the suggestion... I was actually so sick of planning things out and researching that I was gonna scrap all my plans and just get a ready to go kit or something... After some rest (I went to bed at 6am because I was researching snakes when I should have been studying) I realized that I'm a DIYer and I'm really looking forward to actually building this myself. I'm hoping that it'll turn out a uniform and clean enclosure. I understand the benefits of an all glass viv, but there's a lot of BP owners that use wooden enclosures, so I'm not too worried :]

And I still can't tell the difference between Mojaves, Pastels, and Normals... It's not the pattern right? Its just the coloration?

Have you built the enclosure yet?

Have you considered buying a cage from Animal Plastics or RBI?

I have found that bt the time you're done buying all the wood and other accessories to build your cage, you are further ahead spending the money on a pre-built unit that is sealed and more conducive to raising a happy python. To me it's all about the snake's comfort and health and not my ability to build a cool looking viv, but that's just me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by word

And I still can't tell the difference between Mojaves, Pastels, and Normals... It's not the pattern right? Its just the coloration?

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Well, a mojave has a very distinct pattern. However, a pastel and normal have similar patterns, but a pastel should have a clear belly, and brighter colors. Maybe slightly brighter, or a really lemon.

Mojave - notice the "alien heads" usually only have one eye and they are a light brown
http://rustys-balls.com/assets/graphics/Mohave.jpg

Pastel - brighter colored with blushing on the top of their head.
http://rustys-balls.com/assets/graphics/LemonPastel.jpg

Normals
http://images.jupiterimages.com/comm...7/22203758.jpg

Go to www.kingsnake.com and spend some time checking out all the breeders and all the types of ball pythons. 8 Ball has a really great website too, but I couldn't find a pic of a mojove so....... that's why I tell you too look on kingsnake. I'm sure you can find just about every morph there.

This is awesome guys! Thanks so much for your help!!!

Grim, now that I think about it, you're right! Not to be arrogant, but I think my design is awesome! But the ones that are prefabricated are proven to ensure the snake's comfort... I will really look into it... are there any other brands that you guys would suggest?

And Stratus, thank you too! I'm starting to like mojave more and more now that I can see the difference :]

p.s. In the pictures above, what kind of substrate are the mojave and pastel on? it looks pretty awesome...

And another thing, is it absolutely necessary to have a thermostat? I know that it is for at least a rheostat, but I'm jsut making sure...

I just keep coming up with little questions! Would it be a bad thing to purchase a large enclosure to raise my BP in? or should I purchase a smaller one and increase in size as the BP grows? The first option just seems more economical... It probably wouldn't matter, as long as it has a hide right?

You could probably get away with getting a 20gal long (or making something with similair dimentions) and use that for your snakes whole life. Most people would tell you to put a baby in a 10gal though.

Have you built the enclosure yet?

Have you considered buying a cage from Animal Plastics or RBI?

Yes a thermostat is absolutely necessary for any heating element.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by word

p.s. In the pictures above, what kind of substrate are the mojave and pastel on? it looks pretty awesome...

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Its like reptibark or something. I don't like it because when it gets wet it stains the snakes belly scales and makes them look all funky.