New ball python- feeding and general husbandry questions

[Toothless]

Hello everyone. We got a male baby ball python last Saturday and are super excited! He's gorgeous and seems very healthy- my feeder guy breeds balls and has a gorgeous collection.
He's currently in a 3 x2 x 1 foot tank- front opening with a 95F basking spot, 75F low ambient, and lots of hides. I'm starting a wooden 4 x 2 x 1 enclosure as his adult cage.
He ate a small AFR on Thursday, but seems hungry again today. How often should he be eating- the breeder said every 7 days?

[yl4870]

How much does he weigh? and how old?

Thats a huge tank to start him off in. I would suggest something smaller.

[Toothless]

How much does he weigh? and how old?

Thats a huge tank to start him off in. I would suggest something smaller.

Not sure how much he weighs, but the breeder said he had eaten two times before I got him. He's 14 inches long.

[thejennabird]

Hello and welcome to the club!

How often should he be eating- the breeder said every 7 days?

It depends on the size of the meal and the age of the snake. If he's indeed a baby, common advice is 10-15% of the body weight every 3-5 days. Since you don't know the weight, go with the second most common advice: food that is just slightly wider than the widest part of your snake.

You say your snake is on African Soft Furs. Is this something your "feeder guy" breeds and can give you regularly on discount? Most people go with normal rats because ASFs are expensive or hard to find. But if ASFs are gonna work for you long-term, then feed whatever works!

I'm starting a wooden 4 x 2 x 1 enclosure as his adult cage.

Sweet! What sort of wood are you using? You probably don't need the advice, but it's worth mentioning that many woods don't do well under high humidity conditions. But people use melamine for all sorts of snazzy BP enclosures, so if you're using that, post pics when you're done!

Def post some pics of your new guy and his home as soon as he's settled in!

[Toothless]

Hello and welcome to the club!
It depends on the size of the meal and the age of the snake. If he's indeed a baby, common advice is 10-15% of the body weight every 3-5 days. Since you don't know the weight, go with the second most common advice: food that is just slightly wider than the widest part of your snake.

You say your snake is on African Soft Furs. Is this something your "feeder guy" breeds and can give you regularly on discount? Most people go with normal rats because ASFs are expensive or hard to find. But if ASFs are gonna work for you long-term, then feed whatever works!


Sweet! What sort of wood are you using? You probably don't need the advice, but it's worth mentioning that many woods don't do well under high humidity conditions. But people use melamine for all sorts of snazzy BP enclosures, so if you're using that, post pics when you're done!

Def post some pics of your new guy and his home as soon as he's settled in!

I do have a scale, so could weigh him if needed, I just didn't want to stress him too much while he settles in . Thank you for the advice.

I buy the ASF in bulk for my monitors so always have a stockpile. I've heard they can be picky eaters- can offering different colors/ breeds of food while young help them grow up to be 'less picky'?

Was planning to go with a bioactive setup as the adult build so will probably build it similar to the monitor and ameiva enclosures. I'm considering building a 4 (or 5) x 2 x 5 foot and splitting it between the ameivas and python (python on top).

[thejennabird]

Most BPs refuse food when they're stressed (poor husbandry) or seasonal changes. They're really creatures of habit and routine, so I'd say switching up food "breeds" regularly is more likely to cause problems than sticking to the same prey type every meal. As for "colors" - I've heard that depends on the snake! Some will only eat white rodents, while other don't seem to care about color at all. I don't think it would hurt to feed a mix of colored and white rats, but wouldn't go out of my way to select food based on color (unless your snake shows a preference). Anyways, just my $0.02!

Was planning to go with a bioactive setup as the adult build

Neat! Bioactive enclosures aren't common around here, so it will be interesting to see what yours looks like and how it works when it's finished!

[Toothless]

Most BPs refuse food when they're stressed (poor husbandry) or seasonal changes. They're really creatures of habit and routine, so I'd say switching up food "breeds" regularly is more likely to cause problems than sticking to the same prey type every meal. As for "colors" - I've heard that depends on the snake! Some will only eat white rodents, while other don't seem to care about color at all. I don't think it would hurt to feed a mix of colored and white rats, but wouldn't go out of my way to select food based on color (unless your snake shows a preference). Anyways, just my $0.02!


Neat! Bioactive enclosures aren't common around here, so it will be interesting to see what yours looks like and how it works when it's finished!

Thanks for the tip .

I LOVE bioactive setups as it makes for easy cleaning, and keeps it smelling fresh- nothing better than never having to scoop poo . Will most likely be a few months until it's done as time is limited but I'll post some photos when it's completed. Planning to use foam insulation to make some ledges and caves, along with an underground burrow and some live plants.
Can't wait until this guy settles in and can come out to explore. He's still quite skittish.

[Velrys]

Just because nobody has put them up yet; here are some good sources of information.

Care Sheet

Tank set up instructions

You seem intelligent so rather than ask a million questions it might be quicker to take a look at these and see if you are set up correctly. The only reason I bring this up is because you said your "basking spot" is at 95. This is the upper limit of temp range for a BP (meaning if your stat were to overheat by a degree it would be outside the safe temp range) and bps don't actually need "basking" spots but rather belly heat provided under the hide.

You also list your ambient as 75... again this is the low limit of preferred temps. You are obviously creating a gradient in your enclosure but it might be a good idea to leave yourself some wiggle room to account for outside conditions. I would suggest trying to go for a 80 to 90 degree gradient in your enclosure.

Good luck with the live plants! I have tried a couple different plants and the BPs love them... they show their love my mauling the buhjesus out them. Let me know if you find one that can stand up. (I've never tried woody plants...)

[Toothless]

Just because nobody has put them up yet; here are some good sources of information.

Care Sheet

Tank set up instructions

You seem intelligent so rather than ask a million questions it might be quicker to take a look at these and see if you are set up correctly. The only reason I bring this up is because you said your "basking spot" is at 95. This is the upper limit of temp range for a BP (meaning if your stat were to overheat by a degree it would be outside the safe temp range) and bps don't actually need "basking" spots but rather belly heat provided under the hide.

You also list your ambient as 75... again this is the low limit of preferred temps. You are obviously creating a gradient in your enclosure but it might be a good idea to leave yourself some wiggle room to account for outside conditions. I would suggest trying to go for a 80 to 90 degree gradient in your enclosure.

Good luck with the live plants! I have tried a couple different plants and the BPs love them... they show their love my mauling the buhjesus out them. Let me know if you find one that can stand up. (I've never tried woody plants...)

Thank you for the links. I've read a few care sheets, but the more the merrier .
The 'basking spot' is actually the surface temp above his underground heater- ambient is 85F at the warm end. I'll tune it down a few degrees though so I don't roast him (I'm used to 160F basking spots so this low stuff is new to me). I'm using a herpstat to regulate the temperature.
It's hard to keep the ambient much higher in this tank as it's room temp at the lowest point. The wooden enclosure will make it easier to maintain proper temps as room temp won't have much effect. Is it imperative I raise it asap? I can move him next to the bosc enclosure which throws a lot of heat if need be.

Thank you all for the great advice so far . This is my son's first snake and we want to make sure he is healthy for years to come.

[Velrys]

No, honestly a lot of people I know don't really even sweat the ambient (room temp was what they relied on), as long as your providing belly heat at 90ish I think your BP will be ok, honestly unless you are really cooking them they are sitting in their hide all the time anyway.

Good call, taking it down just a touch is a good idea. Like I said 95 is there max limit so a little wiggle room wouldn't be a bad idea. Excellent, unfortunately most guides call it a basking spot too, since you had monitors I just wanted to be sure there was a difference in the set ups.