Some beginner questions.

[RandellX]

When is the best time to hold a a baby ball snake?
How long should I leave the light on? ((Red light hot to the touch in like three minutes of turning it on)
How often should I change his bedding?
How often should I feed?
How big should I feed?
When do they shed?
What should I do when they shed?

And anything else relating to stuff like that ya'll would tell a begginer.

also, Thanks you guys for helping with the habitat, I made it fine for now untill i get more stuff next month.

[bamf64]

Best time to hold would be at night since they are nocturnal, but it doesnt really matter.

BPs need a 12 on/12 off cycle. (NO UVB LIGHT!!!) balls tend to stress if they have to much light because they cant close thier eyes. i just leave my window open a little bit for 10-12 hours. (make sure they hav a shady hide to retreat to.)

change the bedding and do a complete clean once a month.but spot clean whenever needed.

if its a baby, every 5-7days(whatever size prey is the widest part of the snake). when it gets bigger(over 800 grams) once every 7-10 days

my bp tends to shed once a month

when they shed, increase the humidity to 70-80%, by misting, or putting a towel over the enclosure.

Hope this helps!

[abuja]

When is the best time to hold a a baby ball snake?
How long should I leave the light on? ((Red light hot to the touch in like three minutes of turning it on)
How often should I change his bedding?
How often should I feed?
How big should I feed?
When do they shed?
What should I do when they shed?

And anything else relating to stuff like that ya'll would tell a begginer.

also, Thanks you guys for helping with the habitat, I made it fine for now untill i get more stuff next month.

You can hold them whenever, just preferably no longer than an hour or two.

Light?

Change the bedding completely every 6-8 weeks and spot clean daily.

For hatchlings, 5-7 days. Adults, 7-10 days.

Look at the largest part around your snake. Get a mouse/rat that big around.

Their eyes turn blue and their skin dull when they go into shed. One week after this happens, their eyes clear up. A day or two later, they shed. They shed when they're young anywhere from 3-6 weeks while adults shed every 4-6 weeks.

Turn the humidity up to 60%-70% and DON'T handle him.

And after feeding, don't handle for at least 36 hours, preferably 48 hours.

Sam

[spitfireashlea]

1) Week, Week 1/2 after you get the snake. Let it settle into its new environment first.
2) Red light is usually used at night to promote basking. But can be left on to keep temperature up. Make sure you have a temp/Humidity gauge. Temp should be 70-80 on cool side, 90 on warm side. Humidity should be 50-60's normally, when its about to shed up it to 70's.
3) Change bedding once every 1-2 weeks. Scoop out feces immediately after being seen.
4) I feed my snakes once a week when they are babies, but thats up for suggestion. People feed their own snakes differently.
5) Baby BP's should be on pinkies, and the pinkie should be about the size of its stomach. It won't eat anything it can't fit, so if it seems uninterested, try a smaller pinkie.
6) They shed a bit after they eat. They will start turning blueish, their eyes will get a blue tint. Raise the humidity!
7) When they go to shed, raise the humidity, make sure you have some sort of rough surface for them to rub against, also start to soak your snake. It will help with the first sheds to come off clean. Fill up your sink with luke warm water, NOT HOT! And dip your snake in a couple of times running your hands over the scales. This should be at the beginning stages of shedding, BEFORE THEIR EYES ARE COMPLETELY BLUE! Do not hold your snake when the eyes are fully covered. This can stress them out!

Tips:
Specially when they are first shedding, make sure that the eye caps (the shed covering the eyes) comes off! This is a particularly hard spot for baby BP's to get off. I suggest wetting your hands and holding your thumb on the back of your snakes head and your index under its chin. Lightly squeeze, and your snake will back out of your fingers. This usually pulls the eye caps off gently without harming the snake. If your snake is shedding in pieces and not a full piece, make sure you check your humidity and try soaking once a day until the eyes are almost fully blue.

Feel free to message me with any questions.

GL with your new addition.

[mrshawt]

Check these out for more info:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=60
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=57

[Kaorte]

When is the best time to hold a a baby ball snake?
How long should I leave the light on? ((Red light hot to the touch in like three minutes of turning it on)
How often should I change his bedding?
How often should I feed?
How big should I feed?
When do they shed?
What should I do when they shed?

And anything else relating to stuff like that ya'll would tell a begginer.

also, Thanks you guys for helping with the habitat, I made it fine for now untill i get more stuff next month.

Wait a week from the day you got the snake before holding it. Never hold the snake for the first 24 hours after you feed it. Other then that, doesn't matter when you handle!

If your only heat source is the light then it needs to be on 24/7. If it is too hot (you should be measuring temps) then you need to get a lower wattage.

I do a complete substrate change when the snake poos. When they do it usually means that they have peed as well and that can spread everywhere.

Feed every 5-7 days, 10-15% of the snakes body weight.

They shed as needed. Usually ever 4-7 weeks.

I think I posted in another one of your threads with some important info

[abuja]

Just a little note, I'm a little OCD, could a mod change the title to "Some beginner questions"? The OP made a spelling oopsy.

[CoolioTiffany]

When is the best time to hold a a baby ball snake?
How long should I leave the light on? ((Red light hot to the touch in like three minutes of turning it on)
How often should I change his bedding?
How often should I feed?
How big should I feed?
When do they shed?
What should I do when they shed?

And anything else relating to stuff like that ya'll would tell a begginer.

also, Thanks you guys for helping with the habitat, I made it fine for now untill i get more stuff next month.

1- Once you get the snake, it needs to get used to it's surroundings, so don't handle it for about a week.
2- You should leave it on for 12 hours during the day/12 hours off during the night.
3- If you spot clean (clean up feces and urine spots) then you will not need to change the substrate as often. Monthly changes of substrate would be just fine too.
4- Feeding weekly is ideal.
5- Feed the snake a mouse/rat about the same size as the middle part of the snake's body.
6- All snakes grow at different rates depending how much they are fed, how fast in general they grow (babies normally grow fast but as they mature they start to slow down), and how large the enclosure is. You do not want a large enclosure then stress the baby out, so a 10 gallon would be perfect for a baby.
7- When it sheds, raise humidity in the enclosure by misting with warm water and try to acheive 70% humidity. If it goes higher than 70%, that's just fine, but don't let it go past 80%. 70%-75% is just fine.

[RandellX]

Just a little note, I'm a little OCD, could a mod change the title to "Some beginner questions"? The OP made a spelling oopsy.

I'm sorry, I typed so fast I misspelled it. I don't usually do that.