Greetings from the 702!

[Erotiq]

Hey everyone! You can refer to me as Erotiq, or Ero for short.

Lets see... I've been lurking the forums for quite sometime (mainly on care sheets and checking out all the awesome looking habitats for BP/snake owners on here), and figured this would be a better time than any to jump on board with the community. Everyone seems so friendly and knowledgeable, and would love to join the ranks of like-minded people who know what they're talking about when dealing with snake care and handling!

My history with BP handling and experiences goes back to 2008. I received my first Normal Ball Python from my friend Zack who was the Reptile Specialist at our local PetCo store. Zack was not just an ordinary employee of the reptile department, but had over five years of experience and a house full of reptiles that ranged from snakes, lizards, geckos, iguanas, whatever you could think of! Although he no longer works at PetCo, Zack was one of the first people who turned myself and my boyfriend on to snakes and reptiles when he gave us our very first Normal Ball Python, who we named "Nake". She was female and quite large, as the day we received her she just got done feeding a small rat. Zack kept her in the back office since she was too much of a beauty to give to any ordinary customers. Having faith in us, Zack gave Nake to us for no charge; only the request that we would give her a proper home. We kept Nake happy and healthy for three full years up until the day I moved out of my boyfriend's house, and left ownership into his hands. Nake unfortunately passed away a couple months back from a respiratory infection my boyfriend couldn't afford to get treatment for, and it got the best of her (which was most likely from poor care). To this day I regret not taking her with me when I moved out, and Nake will always have a special place in my heart since she was the first BP I handled and got me caught on to handling snakes as pets.

Currently, I have a male Normal Ball Python by the name of Leviathan (I know, so unoriginal right?) I obtained him from Craigslist from somebody who handled BPs before, and was looking to give him away since they had about five more in the household. Levi is by far one of the tamest BPs I have handled; I can even pick him up during a shed, and his last shed he allowed me to soak him and peel off some patches of shed that he couldn't get off right away. Levi is extremely calm around children, and doesn't have any temperament when it comes to holding him at random times of the day. Never once has he attempted to tag me, and always likes to slither and find a resting place around my neck.

Below is a picture of the handsome beast (with a little shed leftover on his head!)



Levi's home is in a 10 gallon tank, the substrate being bamboo place-mats I got at the 99cent store (which have worked exceptionally well, better than the newspaper and paper towels I was using, and looks a lot nicer too!) I haven't been a big fan of bark substrate just because Nake used to ingest some whenever she fed, so the bamboo place-mats are easier for Levi to slither around and are easy to clean as well. Two hides are in his tank, one on the cool side, other on the hot side by his climbing branch (which is his absolute favorite; he really doesn't venture to the cool side too much), and a water dish in the middle. His heat lamp is right above his climbing branch. I currently don't have any pics of his setup yet, but it really isn't nothing too elaborate or decorative. The humidity can be a challenge to maintain in a glass tank, but if in the event his sheds don't go too well, soaking him and helping with his shed thereafter keeps him happy.

He is currently the only snake I have, though in the next week my friend is giving me a Rosy Boa to care for (not sure what the morph on it is yet) to house and possibly a small Banana Kingsnake (once I do, I'll definitely post pictures for those!)

My BP/snake knowledge is mediocre at best. I'm always open to learn new things and techniques, and if you couldn't tell from my introduction... I can be a little long winded, but I love people and love to meet new people and get into lengthy conversations real easy! Besides that, I'm 25, currently going to college for Environmental Law, I love the great outdoors, running, fitness, meditation and yoga, and I've recently started to research raw organic lifestyles. My other pets are three pit-bulls, two of which that live with my boyfriend.

Hopefully this wasn't too long of an intro for a newbie, but wanted you guys to get to know a little about me more than just a short paragraph!

Glad to be a part of the community now!

[BFT12890]

to BP.Net, as im sure youve noticed, there is tons of information here to be had! if you have a question, even if you feel it may be stupid, dont be afraid to ask, the people here are friendly

[Vypyrz]

Hello, and to BP.net...

[Wh00h0069]

Ero!

[Popeye]

to BP.net.

[rexrem]

Welcome!