Im new at this...I have a few questions..

[chrisredfield003]

*What kind of Ball python is Jafar?
*What would I need to take a picture of for this to be figured out through the forum?
**Is it a he or she?
Without probing is it possible to determine the sex also?

[jtomb1510]

From your picture, he/she looks like a normal. It isn't really possible to tell the sex of your snake just from a picture. If you could get a picture of you popping him/her, that might work but with you being so new to bp's, I wouldn't recommend you trying to pop it. Take him/her to an experienced vet or the likes and have them pop it if you want to know the sex. As far as prey size, your snake could easily take a rat pup. Also, I would personally ditch the glass tank and go with either a PVC cage or a rack/tub enclosure. Rack's use tubs which hold heat and humidity much better than glass tanks. They are also convenient if you are planning to add any bp's to your collection in the future. As far as heating goes, I personally like UTH's better than lamps due to the fact that heat lamps, or even just normal household bulbs used for heating purposes, will zap the humidity out of the enclosure which makes it extremely difficult to keep your humidity levels up. You can try putting a damp towel over about 2/3's of the screen top, but I live in Texas as well and I can tell you first hand, it's a PITA even with the damp towel. I would just a UTH if I were you and a good thermostat to regulate it. Don't buy one of the thermostats from a pet store as they are WAY overpriced and they are crap. Another member on here has a link for a good, inexpensive t-stat and I believe the brand is hydrofarm so you can google that. I also recommend thermometer which again, do not buy from the pet stores as you will pay WAY too much. Go to Walmart and get an Accurite digital thermometer. It measures 2 temperatures as well as humidity. And last but not least, get an infrared thermometer. It will allow you to measure the floor temps of your cage so that you can make sure you have a proper hot and cool spot and also that you are not burning your snake from overheating. Hope all this helps and good luck

[The Serpent Merchant]

ok, your biggest problem from what I can see is your tank set up.

This is the ideal Ball Python set up:



2 hides (one on the hot side, one on the cool side. water dish in the middle. A digital thermometer with probe ($12 at Walmart also measures humidity) The thermometers/hydrometers sold at pet stores are crap don't waste your time or money on them. Also most pet store employees have no clue how to properly take care of reptiles. give this a read it should clear things up.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

Here is the thermometer that you should get



This is the scale I use ($15 at a grocery store you can also get them at Walmart)



This is how I would set up a glass tank (only thing missing is the thermometer I put a picture of above)



Notics how the Heat bulb is red. I recommend these bulbs as they can be left on 24/7 And should be Do not drop the temperatures at night)

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=11147193

You can secure the cage with bricks like this



This is a great site to buy supplies from (also where I get my black plastic hides cheap durable and my snakes love them)

http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

[chrisredfield003]

So do you advise against getting natural looking setting like a hang or bark or dirt or grass?or a few fake plants?Also u have paper towels down?

[The Serpent Merchant]

You can go other way natural or minimalistic. generally I would advise to start out with a minimalistic set up then once you have everything stable and you have more experience you can attempt an naturalistic set up. (which are harder to keep clean and regulated)

Yes I have used paper towels in the past (and is what is shown in the picture) They are absorbent and makes it easy to keep track of your snake (things like mites/ are much easier to see on paper towels and it is easier to keep the cue clean because you just change out the paper towels when they get messed up. (along with a good/safe disinfectant like chlorhexidine or F10) Even diluted bleach will work but you have to let the cage air out before you put your snake beach in when using bleach.

other good cheap substrates are newspaper, butchers paper, and corrugated wrap. (nothing wrong with aspen/cypress mulch/other barks just never use cedar as it is toxic to snakes)

dirt and grass are incredibly hard to deal with I would advise not going that route. (tried it never again)

The most important thing is providing a secure environment with the proper temperatures/humidity. everything else will fall in line after that.

[MeinDraco]

I figured he has stage fright so I covered his glass around him and hes in a enclosed area now with just view into the tank from the top.Hes in the tank with the mouse..Do I return the mouse to the pet shop?Is this possible to do?

Do rats come in different sizes also?What size would suit Jafar?

Rats do come in different sizes. it's important to know the right size. find a rat that is as big around as the snakes body at the widest part or a rat that weighs 10-15% of the snakes weight. never feed a meal that is too large. Jafar looks like he could take an adult mouse or a rat hopper.

get a scale and check this website out

http://www.ballpythonz.net/feeding.html

[paperaith]

I just got a new snake. She is about 7 months old and I think she is a little smaller than yours. I use EcoEarth as a substrate, with a UTH on one side with a hide, a plastic plant behind that, and a heat lamp in the middle of the tank with a wide shallow water dish (looks like a rock) under that to help raise the humidity. With the water being warm though it's important to wash the water every day or every other day. On the cooler side she has another hide.

We have a rheostat to regulate the temperature of the UTH and the heat lamp, and a thermometer to keep track of what the temps are. It stays around 90 on the warm side and 80 on the cool side. Our thermometer is kinda crappy though, I think I'm going to get another one soon.

Anyway, about eating: When we got her from the breeder, she was eating live rat pups, but I don't have access to any right now so I started feeding her pre-killed adult mice. She wouldn't eat them in front of me so I tried leaving one in her tank overnight and she would eat it then.

It took her a little while to get used to people (and my dog) walking by her tank but she is more used to it now. We have 2 sides of the tank covered along with towels over the top. It has been keeping the humidity in better that way.

Hope that was helpful!

[Rob]

*What kind of Ball python is Jafar?
*What would I need to take a picture of for this to be figured out through the forum?
**Is it a he or she?
Without probing is it possible to determine the sex also?

It's a normal, also pinkies are way too small for a BP that size.
Side note....why do you need to know the sex? If your planning on breeding ok. But if it's just your pet it doesn't really matter what sex it is. Why risk injuring from probing or popping if you have never done it. Or spend money at a vet.

[chrisredfield003]

I would never attempt to Prob or do any sort of procedure good heads up tho.I meant a professional sexing.I don't need its sex anytime soon or maybe ever.It was just a thought.

How can I find out where its from or what type of ball python it is?

[The Serpent Merchant]

it is a normal Ball Python, what do you mean where it's from?