Things I Wish I Had Known Before Buying A Ball Python

[Caali]

As the title suggests: This is a list of things I wish I had known before buying a ball python. When I was caring for my little worm the other day I came up with a lot of little things that I had no idea prior to buying him. I originally didn't plan to post this list but then I thought that it might help someone who is thinking about buying a snake. Please keep in mind that I have had my little ball python for just about half a year and I am by no means the most experienced person. Well, anyway, let's get to the list:



1. Taking a look at the animal before purchasing.
Before buying my ball python I did a lot of research and decided to purchase this cute little Bumblebee het 100% Clown ball python from
semi-famous breeder that lived in my country but still quite far away. I asked the breeder a lot of questions about the food size, the feeding
schedule, shedding schedule, the parents and so on. The breeder suggested I took a look at the animal but since I lived quite far away I
declined the invitation. About month later the baby snake arrived and he was quite skinny. I was a bit shocked and worried but since he was
perfect in every other way I decided to keep him anyway. Now he has very healthy weight and he eats every time I offer food to him.
Anyway I strongly suggest to take a look at the animal and ask the breeder lots of questions to make you're getting a healthy snake. Any
good breeder will answer you're questions and will let you take a look at the animal.

2. The famous Spider Gene
The spider gene has a great defect. It'll cause ANY ball python with the gene to have a slight wobble. And what does the wobble mean? Well,
it depends on the snake but the spider gene can cause the snake to shake it's head lightly or, if you're snake has it badly, it can cause the
snake to do corkscrews. That's why it's called the wobble. Now it isn't possible to know how bad the wobble is going to affect the animal when
breeding hatchlings with the spider gene and it is highly debated whether it is okay to even breed ball pythons with this gene due to the
defect. As I already stated, I have a Bumblebee (Spider + Pastel) ball python and I actually wasn't sure whether to get him due to this defect.
In the end I decided to do so anyway since I wasn't going to breed him but I do notice him wobbling when I am about to feed him. I am really
happy that his wobble isn't too bad but sadly there are ball pythons that had a slight wobble when they were younger and then start to
corkscrew when they got older.

3. Snakes have characters
Now some of you might think that it is obvious but to me it really wasn't. Humans tend to make their pets humanlike and interpret their
behaviour in a human way. Just look at what some dog owners tell you about their dog's behaviour. Some behaviours are clearly not what
people think but since we don't know about the animal's language we don't get that. I thought that's the case when people talk about their
snakes "characters" but I actually take that back. I am still not sure how to interpret some of my ball pythons little quirks but I have noticed
that all ball pythons behave differently. Some of them like to climb, others don't. Some are a bit more open to being handled, others hate it. A
funny thing I noticed with my little guy is that I think that he is a curious one. I don't handle him but he is used to me doing some stuff in his
terrarium from time to time. He has never hissed at me, bitten me or showed the S-line they do before biting instead he will literally lay about
1cm from my hand and just watch what I am doing. A few days ago I changed his water in the evening so he came out to watch me do that
and once I was done, he took a look at it and then went back to his cave. That is kind of weird if you ask me.

4. Tank vs. Tub
This is a heated discussion. I would suggest to simply look at the arguments that both sides have to offer and then decide for yourself what
you think is better. The one thing I noticed is that most ball python owners will start with tanks and then switch to tubs. Their view of the
matter often changes with that as well. Experienced owners with more than one snake will often suggest to buy a tub and short time owners
will usually prefer a tank. I've had my ball python in both a tank and a tub (during quaratine). I personally prefer the tank since he seems
more at ease in it and his feeding response is better but that might be because I was inexperienced when I had him in quarantine or maybe it
is one of his little quirks. Whatever it is he is doing better in the tank then he was in the tub but do have to admit that I personally think that
the tub has some great advantages.

5. Ball pythons are plant wreckers
This is the most frustrating thing ever. I really like the idea of the bioactive terrarium but I really doubt that my little ball python will agree
with me on that. Right now he has a few fake plants in his terrarium. I purposely left enough space for him to go around them but he couldn't
care less. Not too long ago I found him slithering right through one of the plants that is now a bit broken. Why does he have to go right
through the plants? It's not like there's no other way around!

6. Bioactive terrariums
I originally planned to have him live a normal terrarium as long as he is still small and then change to a bioactive terrarium when he is big
enough to move to his final terrarium but I found that having a bioactive terrarium is more work than you think. Before your ball python can
move in, the bioactive tank should be working for about 2 months already. The colonies need time to get established and the plants need time to
really plant their roots. These terrarium are great for someone who already has a lot of knowledge on that kind of thing cause that it what
they require: LOTS OF KNOWLEDGE. I'm not gonna rule that I might go for a bioactive terrarium someday but for now he's going to stay in his
normal one. I'm also worried that he might wreck all of the plants .

7. Getting an older ball python might be easier than a hatchling
I got my ball python when he was 4 month old. He wasn't exactly a hatchling but he was still quite young. I only wanted to take in a snake
that had already eaten at least five times and shed at least twice but in the end I think an adult snake might be easier. My ball python was
used to eating live mice and I didn't want to feed live mice (I only would have done that if I had to). It wasn't difficult to switch him from live
to frozen mice (I was lucky) but switching him from mice to rats was a pain. If you get an adult ball python, you won't have to deal
with a lot of problems when it comes to upbringing. You know how big and long the snake is. You can have a look at it's temper. You will have
an established eater. You can still own that pet for a long time if you really care for it (ball python have a life expectancy of 30 to 40
years). I know that most people will probably want to watch their snake grow up but I honestly think that purchasing an adult ball python is
easier for a beginner.



An that concludes the list. These are all the things I came up with but feel free to share your tips down below if you have some. I hope this list helps a least somebody .

[SDA]

I would much rather people stop describing the spider gene as a defect. Look through this forum and you will find a wide range of posts about how well spider ball pythons are as eaters and how well they thrive. The "defect" should not be labelled that because it causes zero health concerns with the snake. One could go so far as to categorize albinism in ball pythons as a defect and health wise could be assumed to be detrimental to the longevity of the snake simply going off of documentation of consequences of albinism. My point is just because there is a "condition" in a snake, that is no right to call it a defect or consider it unfit for ownership or breeding. Albino snakes for example live long and healthy lives in captivity, just like spider ball pythons.

[Zincubus]

I wish I'd known at he state that you don't have to feed your snakes EVERY 7 days ..and that some just prefer to eat after 10 or 14 or whatever ...l


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[Caali]

I would much rather people stop describing the spider gene as a defect. Look through this forum and you will find a wide range of posts about how well spider ball pythons are as eaters and how well they thrive. The "defect" should not be labelled that because it causes zero health concerns with the snake. One could go so far as to categorize albinism in ball pythons as a defect and health wise could be assumed to be detrimental to the longevity of the snake simply going off of documentation of consequences of albinism. My point is just because there is a "condition" in a snake, that is no right to call it a defect or consider it unfit for ownership or breeding. Albino snakes for example live long and healthy lives in captivity, just like spider ball pythons.

I get what you're trying to say but I don't totally agree with you. On a simple biological level the gene causes a neurological problem. The gene itself is not defect but it causes a defect (meaning something isn't working the way it's supposed to). That's literally all there is to it. I already refrained from calling it a genetic disorder cause I think the term is too harsh. I know that these animals can live and breed without problems but there are cases in which I wouldn't take it upon myself to judge the animal's quality of life (for example when they start corkscrewing). In fact I don't know how much the gene affects the animal's quality of life but I can only say what I see and so can you. From what I see with my pet, I doubt it affects him that much. I never said they're unfit for ownership. As I stated, I have a ball python with the spider gene as well.
And yes an albino is also a different gene which technically causes a defect as well. If I would have thought that people didn't know about that I would've said that as well. And again when it comes to breeding I think it's too easy to either say I'm against it or I agree with.
Keep in mind that just because something can be bred it doesn't have to be bred. Pugs (the dog breed) for the example are poor little things. They are bred in a way that they can't breath properly and most of them faint from time to time. But some breeders just recently have started to tryi to breed in a way that they can breath better.
So do I think ball pythons with the spider gene should be bred? I don't know because I don't know how much that condition affects them and that's also the reason why I wouldn't do it but others can do it if they think otherwise. I just don't think that it's a certain yes or no.

[greco]

I agree with OP and the above comment when it comes to spiders. I bought my first morph in 2011, a pinstripe male. I didn't know a lot about morphs at the time because I was just getting back into BPs after taking a break for about 5 years. I nearly bought a spider instead of the pinstripe. At the time, spider wobble was being really downplayed by a lot of breeders, many of whom had probably invested a lot in their spider projects before the defect became well-known.

When I did finally find out about spider wobble, I was so glad I went with the pinstripe instead. If you want to keep a spider as a pet, that's your choice, but I don't include them in my projects. Personally I strive to be a responsible breeder, so I will not breed any animal that has a defect. Wobble IS a defect. Because the wobble can be dormant and not show up until later in a spider's life, and it can exist in offspring of spiders that have never demonstrated signs themselves, wobble must be linked to the morph itself. It's almost certainly the reason you don't see any super spiders--the super form is non-viable/lethal.

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[bcr229]

I wish I'd known they're like potato chips and you don't stop at one. I'd have saved a ton of money getting racks instead of 40-breeder enclosures.

[Godzilla78]

I wish I'd known they're like potato chips and you don't stop at one. I'd have saved a ton of money getting racks instead of 40-breeder enclosures.

Ditto.
also, I wished I had known I would end up building a rack, with expensive boards and materials, heat tape, expensive thermostat, ambient space heater and ambient space humidifier.
ball pythons are cheap pets, IF you don’t count the technology needs!!!!! I’m amazed how much I have spent just to keep my snakes comfortable!

[the_rotten1]

1. Better husbandry practices. I originally got into snakes due to a friend of mine who had a few reptiles and I trusted her knowledge, but she didnt know much more than your average pet owner. When I asked her for a list of supplies for my BP a thermostat wasn't on the list, so I started out with a screen top tank filled with aspen and nothing to regulate my heat source. Ouch.


2. Quarantine. I added snake after snake to the same rack for so long that I'm lucky I never had an outbreak of any sort. I have a separate room for new arrivals now, but sometimes I forget about it and add a new snake right in with my established collection. Oops. Eventually I want to move most of my collection to a different part of the house. That should help my brain switch gears.


3. Racks are great. Not only are they easier to keep up, but the BPs love them. While it's possible to make them comfortable in tanks with enough work, racks are so much better at holding heat and humidity and giving them a sense of security. Some snakes are well-suited for tanks, but for BPs it's racks all the way.


4. Feeder sizes vary. Though most people can agree on what a pinky is, there are different names for different sizes and sometimes different gram weights for different size names. My local mom and pop pet shop doesn't do fuzzy rats, it goes from pinkies to pups. I've also noticed that some rodent suppliers start smalls at 40 grams while others start at 50. I wish we could standardize feeder sizes.


5. Fasting is not inherently bad. With most ball pythons it's inevitable. Sometimes it means you fed them a bit much and they're full. Or the temp is off. Or the humidity is off. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be any reason at all. Snakes can go without food for a long time without losing weight or suffering any ill effects. Waiting until they're ready to eat is so much better than trying to force the issue.

[cchardwick]

I wish I would have known that feeding live will in most cases snap a ball python right out of a long fasting period. A few of my females would have been up to weight faster for this year's breeding season.

I wish I would have known that one male can breed up to five females so I would have bought more female breeders at the start. In fact I've seen people breed a male to up to 10 females! (even up to 16 females in extreme cases, not sure how successful they were though...)

I wish I would have known about Prococo or Reptichip coconut husk substrate back when I started.

I wish I would have known that pine wood chips (mostly non-kiln dried and dusty products) are toxic to rodents, I thought I had a bad disease at one point and was throwing out dead rats almost every day. I almost culled my whole colony at one point. Now I use shredded paper, pine pellets (wood stove fuel) and aspen wood chips. I also recently found out that I can make shredded newspaper for free but its very toxic to rats and mice causing birth defects and makes them sick and turns the white mice black. In fact I'm afraid to even read the newspaper now without using gloves LOL.

[zina10]

I wish I'd known they're like potato chips and you don't stop at one. I'd have saved a ton of money getting racks instead of 40-breeder enclosures.

I was going to say the same thing at the end of this thread. LOL