My first Ball-Python.....akkk!

[lil_southern]

Hiya all........My name is Trudy and im a first time Python owner. I am lost as to what all she(Not sure about that one) needs and all.i would love to hear some tips and tricks if anyone has any for me .....She has a really sweet temperment(untill it comes time to get her out of her tank)She is a WC. I got her from the pet store in the town next to where i live and was told that the owner of the store dont take care of the sankes to good beacuse he is scared of them!(what a dumb man).She is still tryin to shed a small place(about 1 1/2 inches) starting from right below the flat of her head down. but the rest of her is so pretty and with a blue tint. I have been putting Vita spray on her and this seems to be helping with it. Not real sure about the temp and humidity the tank is supposed to be on. Right now its 98 on one side and humidty is tropical. Is this right for her? I have the under tank heat and also a heat lamp(pad and lamp in day and only pad at night) the temp has been close to 75-80 at night(is this close to right?)She has never tryed to bite me! I can rub her head and she just lays there she acts like she likes it .....she will press her head against my hand when i rub her head. She is really sweet tempered(with the exception of comming out of her tank) She will tighten up her body and when i go to pick her up she slaps my hand with her body(but still dont try to bite) i would love to hear advice about her and what all i need to do with and for her............PLEASE HELP ME !!!! I want to do every thing right for her and i never knew owning a snake was like this ....i am already so attached to her and i just got her last wensday(6-1-05) i will put some pics up soon as i get them

[Smulkin]

Welcome to the site - there is a TON of info and helful member-resources here for you.

A good first step is checking the caresheet http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52 - specific questions left after that just post em in here and you're sure to get a ton of advice!

[Adam_Wysocki]

Welcome to the site - there is a TON of info and helful member-resources here for you.

A good first step is checking the caresheet http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52 - specific questions left after that just post em in here and you're sure to get a ton of advice!

Thank you Smulkin! I was tempted, but I'm glad you stepped in. I don't know if I could have been as "eloquent" as you!

-adam

[tigerlily]

The best advise I can give you is to do some research on ball pythons, starting with the caresheet. There is a book called The Ball Python Manual that would be highly beneficial too. It's $9 at amazon.com. The environment you keep your snake in, is one of the most important things to maintain it's health.

[Kase]

98 deg. seems really hot!

[lil_southern]

Aww Kase that your baby is really pretty! ok i just came home from work and left the heat lamp off and just the under tank pad on ..........shes goin crazy in there shes all on the top of the screen lol shes so cute...today is a good day for her shes lettin me hold her and makein me have typos because she wont stay off the keyboard.....the temp in the tank is down to 80 im goin to try to hold it there since shes in a good mood tonight

[tigerlily]

You really need to have a heat gradient in your tank, and a decent thermometer to measure it (not those dial things). The hot side needs to be constantly maintained at 92 degrees and the coolside of the tank needs to be 82. You need to have places to hide on both end of the tank. If you have trouble maintain these temps you should really think about getting a thermostat which will control the temps just like the one in the average house.

[lil_southern]

Could she be used to being kept in a cool place?? She will not get on the warm side unless it is right at 80 she is always on the cold side. She is not really active in the tank...but she rumages thru everything when i get her out. Last night I had her on my bed and she was goin under the covers while i was folding clothes and every few min she would poke her head out and look for me and then go back under. It was so funny. I have a few pics made but have to get them developed(I really hate not having a digital cam) I hope to have a few of them up by next week

[tigerlily]

Snakes need that temperature gradient. They need to be able to move back and forth. Remember you aren't watching them 24/7 and you won't see every move they make. She could easily be moving and you just aren't aware of it. I can't stress enough the need for the proper temperatures and humidity. Without the proper temps your snake will be prone to upper respiratory infections and may have trouble digesting food, which could lead to fasting.

[Smulkin]

I agree - get the gradient. We may not realize it but we need/use it too - every time you see someone with their leg poking out from under the covers while they sleep they are doing something very similar. It's been so hot and muggly lately that parallel occured to me recently. In addition a lot of your BP's activity occurs nocturnally - when most of us aren't around to see everything that goes on.