Im Getting My First Ball Python

[philip444]

Hi guys, im about to get my first baby ball python. i was looking through lots of different sites to get all my info down. but i was wondering, are there any tips that a first time keeper should know (from people who own them). and any other "ticks of the trade". thanks alot



~Phil

[bcr229]

A quality thermostat is the most important piece of equipment you will purchase.

A thermometer is not a thermostat - and vice versa.

PVC Enclosure > Tub > Tank

Ball pythons are like potato chips, you don't stop at one.

[philip444]

A quality thermostat is the most important piece of equipment you will purchase.

A thermometer is not a thermostat - and vice versa.

PVC Enclosure > Tub > Tank

Ball pythons are like potato chips, you don't stop at one.

hahaha thanks for the advice. any recommendations for a good thermostat

[Joci]

hahaha thanks for the advice. any recommendations for a good thermostat

I use a Jump Start thermostat, it’s meant for plants, but it does a great job with my under tank heater

[AmericanTacos]

Congratulations on your first ball python - super exciting!!! I'm not sure how much you've researched, so here's a bit of general information from this site: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care...s/Ball-Python/

1.) Caging

• Ball pythons, starting from a baby, should have at least two stages in the enclosure time in it's life.
• A ball python under 2 feet (a baby ball python) should be kept in an approximately 20 gallon tank.
• When the snake surpasses 2 feet, it should be moved to its larger, permanent tank. An adult ball python should have approximately a 36x18x12 inch enclosure (30-40 gallon tank).
• If you don't want to/can't afford to get an additional 20 gallon tank for when it starts as a baby, a 30 gallon tank can be fine if there are a lot of plants/decorations and such.
• The cleaning/accessory sections of the provided website are good, so you should definitely reference those.

2.) Temperature

• In the cage, you should have a full temperature range with a cool side and a warm side. The entire cage should have a temperature gradient ranging from 80-92 degrees.
• The hot side is the "basking" side, and should remain at a constant 90-92 degrees.
• The middle should range from 82-85 degrees in the day, and drop a bit at nighttime.
• The cool side should remain around 78 or 80 degrees.
• *NOTE: There is no "perfect" temperature range. The range used will vary from owner to owner, but as long as the temperatures are approximately right, you should be good.

3.) Heating Methods

• I personally recommend a heat pad. You stick the pad under the cage, in the section you want your basking side (approx. 1/3 of the cage), and plug it in so it heats the bottom of the cage. The snakes need the belly heat in order to digest food.
• You NEED a thermometer to measure the temperatures. I recommend: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/...tat-with-probe
• It also might benefit you to purchase a temperature gun.

4.) Lighting

• Extra lighting is pretty much not necessary for snakes, and can actually be somewhat detrimental.
• Constant lights agitate snakes, and they thrive best on a 12 hour light/12 hour dark schedule.

5.) Bedding

• For a list of good bedding options, visit: https://www.thespruce.com/bedding-op...-snake-2662258
• This is personal preference as to what you think would look best, or how much you're willing to clean/wash. Personally, I suggest Cypress Mulch on top of one layer of newspaper. This makes for aesthetic, and it's a bit easier in the cleaning process. Since newspaper is very cheap, it's not much of an investment to just put down the layer underneath. I would suggest this for any other bedding as well, but Cypress mulch is just personally my favorite.

6.) Food

• Here, you've got two options, live or thawed rats.
• I prefer live, as some snakes are picky eaters and won't eat thawed, but I also feel that it's a bit more natural for them. Like anything though, there are pros and cons to each choice. Research food options a bit to see which you would prefer. If you are squeamish, you might prefer thawed as well.
• You can also feed them mice, though the snake won't grow as fast.
• You can feed your ball python once anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks.
• After a snake reaches a year old, they will sometimes stop feeding, but this is normal.

7.) Water

• The water bowl should be emptied and refilled with clean water at the end of each day
• The bowl should be sterilized at least once a week
• The bowl should be deep enough for the snake to be able to occasionally bask in it, but not too deep. About an inch is recommended.

8.) Handling

• When buying a snake (shipping, pet store, etc.), it is best to not handle it until it has eaten about 3 times. The snake needs time to gain a bit of trust so it doesn't see you as a threat.
• Every snake varies in how often it likes to be handled. I had a snake who would curl around my neck or in my lap every day, and I had another who would rather hide than be held. If your snake is in striking position, it's best to leave it alone for a bit. You really have to determine your snake's personality type before you begin excessively handling it.
• It's also best to not handle snakes if you plan to feed them that day, they often won't eat within a few hours of being held.

This is more a summary of general tips, along with some of my own opinions, but I do hope it helps. If you were looking for other types of advice, let me know and I'll be happy to help!

[SDA]

Jumpstart is the best economy thermostat and herpstat is the best full featured thermostat. The difference price wise is ~$25 for the jumpstart and ~$115+ for the herpstat.

Jumpstart
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZZG3S

Herpstat line
http://www.spyderrobotics.com/

I highly recommend a PVC enclosure. It saves time, headache, and money over the life of a snake. Thankfully there are tons of options now and they are for the most part all wonderful enclosures.


Cooking ware ceramic dishes make wonderful water bowls once your baby grows a little and the best thing is they are dishwasher safe and heavy enough to not get tipped over!

Something like this style not necessarily exactly like this



Oh and for bedding... Reptile Prime

[Sunnieskys]

Jumpstart, and reptile prime here. I love my jumpstarts!

[cchardwick]

Everyone has their own opinions, I disagree with the mainstream list below that everyone repeats over and over.

Caging:
Personally I'd get one level of an ARS-7010 rack. You can get a single level for about a hundred bucks, comes with the heat panel. All you need is the thermostat. If you decide to get another snake you can stack levels and keep everything in small space instead of having aquariums all over the place. I prefer to use coconut husk bedding, I actually start my hatchlings in the back of a tub like this, basically just pile up the substrate around a bare spot in the back around the heat source. They can live their whole life in this tub, no need to upgrade. Glass tanks stress out ball pythons, they are hard to clean, the real size of the enclosure is actually just the hide box, everything else is open space that scares the snake. I'm actually considering buying a whole ARS-7010 rack and selling individual levels at reptile shows, it's the best way to go.

Temp:
I prefer an 82 ambient with a 90F hotspot. No heat lamps needed for a tub. And I don't drop the temps at all during the breeding season.

Water:
Changing out water every day is excessive. I'd change out the water twice a week, at least check daily to make sure no substrate is in the water, if so change it out. If you get the tub above you can request a cup holder, it holds Dixie cups that can be swapped out in a second. I save all my dirty cups and clean them all out every few months by hand with dish soap and bleach. I dump the water twice a week and replace the Dixie cup once a week. Keeps it sparkling clean.

Feeding:
Personally I feed at least once a week, sometimes I feed 3-4 rodents per week. My snakes grow like rockets! But of course I feed to breed, so I like to really feed heavy, especially my females. No so much for my males. A snake will grow as fast as the amount of food you feed. Just looks at old birth dates in Morphmarket. Some snakes five years old are as big as my yearlings because they don't feed their snakes very much. Personally I would feed fresh kill or frozen thawed and keep the live feeding for when they decide to go off of food. Several of my snakes were fasting for a long time, when I finally switched to live food they all started eating again.

Congratulations on your first ball python - super exciting!!! I'm not sure how much you've researched, so here's a bit of general information from this site: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care...s/Ball-Python/

1.) Caging

• Ball pythons, starting from a baby, should have at least two stages in the enclosure time in it's life.
• A ball python under 2 feet (a baby ball python) should be kept in an approximately 20 gallon tank.
• When the snake surpasses 2 feet, it should be moved to its larger, permanent tank. An adult ball python should have approximately a 36x18x12 inch enclosure (30-40 gallon tank).
• If you don't want to/can't afford to get an additional 20 gallon tank for when it starts as a baby, a 30 gallon tank can be fine if there are a lot of plants/decorations and such.
• The cleaning/accessory sections of the provided website are good, so you should definitely reference those.

2.) Temperature

• In the cage, you should have a full temperature range with a cool side and a warm side. The entire cage should have a temperature gradient ranging from 80-92 degrees.
• The hot side is the "basking" side, and should remain at a constant 90-92 degrees.
• The middle should range from 82-85 degrees in the day, and drop a bit at nighttime.
• The cool side should remain around 78 or 80 degrees.
• *NOTE: There is no "perfect" temperature range. The range used will vary from owner to owner, but as long as the temperatures are approximately right, you should be good.

3.) Heating Methods

• I personally recommend a heat pad. You stick the pad under the cage, in the section you want your basking side (approx. 1/3 of the cage), and plug it in so it heats the bottom of the cage. The snakes need the belly heat in order to digest food.
• You NEED a thermometer to measure the temperatures. I recommend: https://www.lllreptile.com/products/...tat-with-probe
• It also might benefit you to purchase a temperature gun.

4.) Lighting

• Extra lighting is pretty much not necessary for snakes, and can actually be somewhat detrimental.
• Constant lights agitate snakes, and they thrive best on a 12 hour light/12 hour dark schedule.

5.) Bedding

• For a list of good bedding options, visit: https://www.thespruce.com/bedding-op...-snake-2662258
• This is personal preference as to what you think would look best, or how much you're willing to clean/wash. Personally, I suggest Cypress Mulch on top of one layer of newspaper. This makes for aesthetic, and it's a bit easier in the cleaning process. Since newspaper is very cheap, it's not much of an investment to just put down the layer underneath. I would suggest this for any other bedding as well, but Cypress mulch is just personally my favorite.

6.) Food

• Here, you've got two options, live or thawed rats.
• I prefer live, as some snakes are picky eaters and won't eat thawed, but I also feel that it's a bit more natural for them. Like anything though, there are pros and cons to each choice. Research food options a bit to see which you would prefer. If you are squeamish, you might prefer thawed as well.
• You can also feed them mice, though the snake won't grow as fast.
• You can feed your ball python once anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks.
• After a snake reaches a year old, they will sometimes stop feeding, but this is normal.

7.) Water

• The water bowl should be emptied and refilled with clean water at the end of each day
• The bowl should be sterilized at least once a week
• The bowl should be deep enough for the snake to be able to occasionally bask in it, but not too deep. About an inch is recommended.

8.) Handling

• When buying a snake (shipping, pet store, etc.), it is best to not handle it until it has eaten about 3 times. The snake needs time to gain a bit of trust so it doesn't see you as a threat.
• Every snake varies in how often it likes to be handled. I had a snake who would curl around my neck or in my lap every day, and I had another who would rather hide than be held. If your snake is in striking position, it's best to leave it alone for a bit. You really have to determine your snake's personality type before you begin excessively handling it.
• It's also best to not handle snakes if you plan to feed them that day, they often won't eat within a few hours of being held.

This is more a summary of general tips, along with some of my own opinions, but I do hope it helps. If you were looking for other types of advice, let me know and I'll be happy to help!

[AmericanTacos]

It sounds like they aren't getting their BP to breed; to me it sounds like it's going to be a pet. For a pet or display snake I use a completely different method than I would for breeding snakes... there's no reason to spend money on food for 3 or 4 times a week to make the snake grow fast when you can just feed it once and have it grow at a perfectly steady rate lol. A $900 rack is also a bit pricey to get for just one snake... xD

I chose the information to give based on the assumption they're looking for pet information and not really breeding information.

[Zincubus]

Get yourself a digital temp gun - when you can !!

About 10 dollars off eBay !!



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Also these are cheap and effective digital thermometers ( 3 dollars off eBay ) ...


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Avoid these stick on thermometers and/or hygrometers - worse than useless imho .




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