First BP

[chaoticl0gic]

Hello all,
I recently adopted a BP From my Girlfriend and was wondering if anyone had advice for a novice, she is about 2 years old, and about 2 ft long, I currently have her in a 10gal tank with a hide rock over the heating pad and a water bowl. I am using sand as Substrate but that will change very soon (I was told it was ok by the folks at the pet store). I am planning on getting her a exo-terra tank this week. Any advice would be great appreciated
Thanks
Dave


BTW her Name is Rai

[unimom]

Welcome Dave. And congrats on your new bp!


First of all there are a few links that you should look at on here. The care sheet is the most important, I wish I knew how to link to it. You need at least two hides for your bp. One on the warm side and one on the cool side. Second there needs to be a temp gradiant for your bp to regulate its temps. It's a cold blooded animal and will need to change it's temp using the temp in it's enclosure for various reasons. Also, you may want to look at the instructions on how to build an enclosure here as it will be much cheaper and better for Rai. I am sure others will chime in with their welcomes soon.

[hornsrule]

welcome, hope all goes well. for your bp you will probably find it easier to use a rubbermaid tub. easier to keep temps and humidity while it is cheaper. also, you will want to add a second hide to the enclosure on the cool side so that there is the option for it to thermo regulate. do you have any kind of thermostat on the heater? if not you will need to get one of those so you can keep the temps in the cage appropriately. 90-92 warm side about 80 cool side. again welcome and i hope this helps. feel free to answer any more questions you have hope you enjoy her!

[frankykeno]

Welcome to the forum. Here's the caresheet for ball pythons. You'll find lots of good information there....feel free to ask questions about anything to do with getting your snake all set up and settled in properly.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

Ball pythons are shy, fairly secretive snakes that need hides on both cool and warm sides of their enclosures in order to properly thermoregulate for digestion. They also have specific needs as far as temperature and humidity so they can be happy, healthy, eat and shed correctly. They need more floor space than height as they aren't climbers usually.

Whatever housing option you are considering think about it's ability to hold proper temps and more importantly humidity (screen tops are difficult that way), as well as good floor space and enough of it to give a decent thermal gradient. Warm side 92-94 degrees, cool side 82-84 so you want about a 10 degree or so gradient. Humidity normally about 50-60% raised to around 70% during their shed cycles.

Spend lots of time and ask tons of questions about housing. If you set up something that is easily manageable you'll save hours of fiddling with things trying to achieve a nice stable environment for your snake.

We also have a great search function here so there's lots of threads available for you to review. Please feel free to ask any questions that come to mind.


~~Jo~~

[4theSNAKElady]

Temp regulation is crucial, but i do have one of my babies in an exoterra enclosure. It looks awesome,if you are willing to spend the money on it, as those setups can be pretty pricey. I bought this cage specifically as a show piece for my living room, as all of my breeders have their own room upstairs. To help keep humidity up, i have moss in the bottom, and continually spray throughout the day. I do have a heat pad on the one side, and three hides. Keep in mind the size you get though, as your BP will still grow.......With everything included, plants,branches, heating,rheostat,hides,lamp,etc...the whole thing probably cost about $200.00. You might not want to spend this much, as i had to buy the biggest size they had to accomodate my baby. Good luck with your new BP!!

[elevatethis]

The Exo-terra setup you linked too would NOT be appropriate for a ball python. They are terrestrial and will not use any of the air space provided in those tanks. If you want to spend some $$$ on a nice cage for your snake, check out www.animalplastics.com instead. Check out their Terrestrial caging section. An Animal Plastics T3 would be perfect for a bp from juvi to adult, with adequate hides provided of course. Those Exo-Terra cages are expensive, and a waste of money on a terrestrial species like a ball python.