Begginer BP care

[Badger]

Hey guys, new to this forum, but some of you may know me from frogforum.net

Anyways, I'm in the process of convincing my parents to let me get a ball python. I will be attending the New england reptile expo in january, and intend to purchase one there. I've been reading a lot of care articles lately, and was looking to get peoples personal setups/ opinions. F/T vs. Live? Heating methods? Thanks!

-Dalton

[Kinra]

Welcome to the site.

I personally prefer tubs over tanks because I find it's easier to keep my humidity up. I do keep a few in tanks though. My first boa is in a tank in my bedroom and as a result she gets the most attention.

There is a lot of debate over live vs f/t. I currently feed f/t but only because I am not in a position where I can breed my own feeders which means I would have to go to the store at least once a week which to me is a pain. I can also buy my frozen feeders in bulk which saves me some money. As soon as I am able to start breeding feeders I will probably switch to live.

For heating method are you referring to heat f/t or heating a cage? For the first, I let mine sit out until they completely thaw and reach room temp, then I stick them in some hot water right before I feed. As for heating the cage a under tank hearer (UTH) with a thermostat is the best way to go in my opinion.

[Badger]

Heating the tank, sorry bout the confusion. My house gets down to the low sixties in the winter, so would a UTH be enough? I have a ten gallon that I figured I'd use until he/she outgrows it..Hopefully gonna get a male juv. The main argument my parents have is that if/when it escapes my dad will have to go through the house with a gun, because he'd shoot it before trying to capture it. Not to make him out to be a jerk, but he doesn't like snakes and doesn't realize how docile Balls are. Any argument ideas lol? Thanks for the reply

[pigfat]

NO, the UTH will not be enough to heat the tank. My house is 66 right now and I have a uth "on a thermostat" set at 92 AND a Ceramic Heat Emmiter and my hot side is barely at 80 degrees. And no argument ideas for me, mines at my sisters house

[RichsBallPythons]

Will have to use a Heat lamp to keep the temps up.

Since this will be your first snake, Heat lamp will be okay for now, but as you get more and grow, Heating a bedroom is a lot more cost effective.

[Badger]

Alright, thanks for the replies. Basking or Ambient bulb for the hot side?

I'm thinking something like this:



Excuse my poor paint skills. What wattage for the bulb? 100 sound good?

[Kinra]

I don't use lamps so I can't answer on that sorry, but I can help with the escape situation. A 10 gallon might be too small for a juvenile ball python, even a male. I think your best bet would be to invest in a 20 or 30 gallon Zilla cage. They have sliding locking lids which makes it much harder to mess up and allow an escape to happen. I have my boa in a 40 gallon and it's really easy to tell when I've put the lid on wrong.

[Badger]

I will definitely look into that. Could I just get the 20L version and that would fit him until he is fully grown? Or would a 20L be too big for a Juv? sorry for all the noob questions, just new to the snake world

[Kinra]

You'll get mixed reviews on that. Honestly, I've found that as long as you provide enough hiding places to make them feel secure you can easily keep them in a cage that is much bigger than they really need. Just make sure the hides are the right size and you shouldn't have a problem keeping him in a larger tank.

[Badger]

Alright. For a juv about 2.5 ft long, what size mice should I feed? or maybe small rats?