buying my first BP

[philip444]

in the next month i am going to be buying my first ball python. im really excited and i and now ordering things for him. but online its hard to get a good grasp on sizes for hides and the like. so i was hopng some people could give me some good recommendations for a young ball python(less then 8 months old). i am looking for approprate sizes for water dishes and hides. any help or links would be great. thanks a bunch.

~Phil

[zina10]

Well, its hard to say...

Less then 8 month can mean anything from 70 grams to about 700 grams! Depending on how old and how much it has been eating.

Since you want a hide to be somewhat snug, its difficult to determine the size when you aren't sure if the snake will be a tiny hatchling or a strapping juvenile. The water dish doesn't have to be all that big. You don't have to have one big enough for the snake to soak its whole body in it, so anything from about 4 inches diameter to about 5/6 will do fine. A little plastic crock dish works well, or a ceramic one. If you want the naturalistic look, they have the ones that look like rocks with an indentation.

Many people like and buy the dark rectangular plastic hides and they DO work well. But the size really depends on the snakes size. I don't think you should get anything above a "medium" at this point, though. But if you end up with a tiny hatchling, you would need something smaller. You can always buy the medium and if you find out your snake will be tiny, buy some smaller ones, too. You will eventually need the larger ones, anyway !!

Most important is to get the setup right with heat/humidity/privacy. Lots of good info here

Congrats on getting a Ball Python, exciting times

[philip444]

Well, its hard to say...

Less then 8 month can mean anything from 70 grams to about 700 grams! Depending on how old and how much it has been eating.

Since you want a hide to be somewhat snug, its difficult to determine the size when you aren't sure if the snake will be a tiny hatchling or a strapping juvenile. The water dish doesn't have to be all that big. You don't have to have one big enough for the snake to soak its whole body in it, so anything from about 4 inches diameter to about 5/6 will do fine. A little plastic crock dish works well, or a ceramic one. If you want the naturalistic look, they have the ones that look like rocks with an indentation.

Many people like and buy the dark rectangular plastic hides and they DO work well. But the size really depends on the snakes size. I don't think you should get anything above a "medium" at this point, though. But if you end up with a tiny hatchling, you would need something smaller. You can always buy the medium and if you find out your snake will be tiny, buy some smaller ones, too. You will eventually need the larger ones, anyway !!

Most important is to get the setup right with heat/humidity/privacy. Lots of good info here

Congrats on getting a Ball Python, exciting times

Thank you so much for the great advice. i wanted to set the tank up well in advance so i could monitor temp ect, im very excited. thanks again

~Phil

[zina10]

Check out this link...

Great info when it comes to "hides" and sizes thereof..

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-VS-snake-size