New to site and ball pythons

[Vauno]

Hi all

My names Jason I am now looking to get a bp I can get one from my local breeder @ 8 weeks old, I've done some research but after some advice

Now I've seen lots of pics and vids out there of people keeping them in tubs and tanks, what's the best way to keep them? At this age and as they get older,

Also I was wondering what's the growth rate of them are they fast growers of quite slow?

What sort of heating do I need as some say Heat mats and some say bask lamps?

I've also got 2 daughters one 4 and the other 2, now they have a bearded dragon between them as there little pet, ( I or my partner over watch when the little holding him, eldest knows better) are bp a good snake for children also, as they love to get interacted with them and other animals (try to spot them from having any fears of different things) and they will want to hold and help with them

And if anyone has pics of setup etc to help that be great

Cheers Jason






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[martin82531]

In terms of tubs or a terrarium, I think this is personal preference. It seems, from the times I have been hanging around these forums, tubs are used for breeding and terrariums are used for pets. Personally I have two balls; I have a terrarium for each.

I would recommend checking out the care sheet below that gives a lot of good information. In terms of heating most will mention that balls prefer belly heat, so a UTH (under the tank heater) is preferential. Just make sure if you get a thermostat for your UTH as a UTH by them self’s are not regulated can cause burns to your snake. Below is a link to a popular one, not the best one, but very popular for the money. Personally I'm saving up for a herpstat.

I have a 4 year old son that holds my ball on occasion, supervised of course. Anyways welcome to the forums, there is a lot of good information here! Don't hesitate to ask, people are very friendly! Also below is a link for Flexwat if you choose to go that route for heating.


http://www.reptilebasics.com/heating
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S
http://spyderrobotics.com

[The Serpent Merchant]

What type of cage and heat source varies based on the conditions in which the cage will be in (room temperature/room humidity mostly)

Here are the pros and cons or the 3 major types of cages:

Glass Tanks:

Pros:

• good visibility
• Easy to heat under most conditions

Cons:

• Can stress a snake due to 4 sides being transparent (this can be fixed by covering 3 sides with black paper)
• Terrible at holding in humidity

Tubs:

Pros:

• Makes snakes feel secure
• holds humidity in extremely well

Cons:

• While maintaining the hot side temperature is easy, regulating the cool side almost always requires that the room that they are in to be heated to at least 75 degrees year round.
• Lack of visibility

PVC Cages:

Pros:

• Holds in heat extremely well
• Holds in humidity in extremely well
• Has 3 sides blacked out to make snake feel secure
• Has large glass front for viewing

Cons:

• Cost (over time purchasing larger glass tanks/tubs will add up to the cost of a PVC cage so a PVC cage is an upfront investment but will last the snake its entire life)

Here are 2 threads on setting up cages. one is for setting up a tub, and the other is for setting up a PVC cage:

Tubs: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e-Basics-*DUW*

PVC Cages: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...With-Pictures!

Here is a thread that goes over cage heating, it goes over all of the major types of heating, and their pros/cons: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

This caresheet goes over the basics of care: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Ball pythons are excellent pets. They are calm slow moving, and are naturally wired to ball up when they are threatened (hence the name) They stay small enough that even when full grown pose no threat to even small children.

Here is how I keep my ball pythons:

I use PVC cages made my a company called Animal Plastics. They are 48" x 24" x 12" (L x W x H) I use a heat mat to make the hot side of the cage 90 degrees, and the cool side stays between 80-82 degrees (I live in a hot climate so I don't need another heat source to achieve the cool side temperatures) Something to keep in mind is that heat mats do NOT increase the temperature of the air in a cage. This means that if the room that the cage is in gets below 75 degrees another heat source (like a heat bulb) will be required to keep the cool side warm enough.

I use paper towels for substrate because they are cost effective, easy to clean, and don't interfere with my heating system. (thick layers of wood shavings will make a heat mat ineffective)

I have 2 identical hides that are secure and are properly sized (shown below)

I have a moderately sized water dish that I refill every few days









When using a heat mat you MUST regulate them with a thermostat. Unregulated heat mats can achieve temperatures in excess of 130 degrees (more than hot enough to kill a BP)

This is the thermostat I use:



The thermostat plugs into the wall, then the heat mat plugs into the thermostat. The thermostat has a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the heat mat and varies the amount of power going to the heat mat to maintain the desired temperature.

Avoid thermostats (and most products sold in pet stores... they are overpriced and usually poor quality. There are links to good thermostats in the thread on cage heating I linked to above.

You will also need a good thermometer/hygrometer. The dial type sold in pet stores are junk and cannot be trusted. what you want is a good digital thermometer with a probe. I use this one which can be purchased at Walmart for $12



It has 2 temperature sensors (one for the hot side and one for the cool side) and a humidity sensor.

[martin82531]

I would also recommended getting a IR temperature gun to help measure the temperature in your husbandry, I have this one, www.tempgun.com.

Also here is anthore care sheet: http://www.royalconstrictordesigns.c...hon-care-sheet

[Vauno]

Hi thanks for all the info, what's about wooden vivs? Are they any good?

Also can u put a baby in a viv that's going to last all it's life or do u have to slowly upgrade and it grows, so it does not get scared and that

All is ask is that I have a 48"x18"x18" wooden viv spare,



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[The Serpent Merchant]

Hi thanks for all the info, what's about wooden vivs? Are they any good?

Also can u put a baby in a viv that's going to last all it's life or do u have to slowly upgrade and it grows, so it does not get scared and that

All is ask is that I have a 48"x18"x18" wooden viv spare,



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It depends on what wood it is made from, how well it has been sealed, and how it is heated. Personally I like to avoid wood if at all possible since is doesn't handle humidity well, and is hard to heat. (but if you already have it, then I would see give it a shot)

Some BP's can go straight into an adult size cage with no issues, and some can't. I use dividers in my cages for small BP's. So I start mine in 24" x 24" x 12" cages, then move them up to the full cage when they are older. This way I only have to purchase 1 cage

[ExotixTowing]

Aaron

As much of a help you are and an important asset to the Python community

I have to argue this point with you

Terrible at holding in humidity

While they can be a PITA I haven't done squat to my tanks and my humidity is holding well within the comfort zone !~

And yes I won't lie, It wasn't long ago I had a heck of a time with it but with a tweak here and a tweak there I have managed to get it right, (Using Lamps and Glass Tanks)



again not trying to start a fight just sayin lol

Now to the OP

If your going to put a baby in a large tank make sure you fill it with as much cover as you can, and give him/her lots of sub strait that it can burrow into !!