Hey guys well I'm going to you all the information I've read so far about ball pythons in magazines, articles, books, and of course here in bp.net. So please go easy on me.

Housing/Habitat:

The basic things you need for a ball python is a water bowl (make sure you provide fresh water everyday). Hiding places, you need one on the cool side and one on the hot side. A branch or something a little bit rough so your snake could rub against when in shed. For bedding you can use aspen bedding, paper towels, or newspaper. I wouldn't recommend to use bark as substrate because it might be to harsh for skin. You also need something that generates heat and for that you need an Under Tank Heater (UTH) or flex watt paper (I think that's what is called), you might also need a heat lamp for winter when temperatures drop. Do NOT buy a rock heater as a heat source, in many cases ball pythons have been burned. You also need something that can control the temperature a Repti Temp Control from ZooMed should do just fine. Of course you need somewhere to put your ball python(s) in, and a glass tank or tub should do just fine. A long 20 gallon tank should do the job, I wouldn't recommend to put it on a 40 gallon or bigger tank when it's a baby or juvenile, it might be intimidated for the size of it. After it grows in a few years you can put it on a 40 gallon tank and it should do just fine for a lifetime. For a tub you want to get a 41 QT. Sterilite and drill or do some holes to it somehow.

Feeding:

You should feed your snake every once a week or as needed (offer appropiate size rodents). Do NOT handle your snake until 48 hours passed after it ate or it will likely throw it back up. Most snakes go off feeding during winter months and most the times when in shed. If your snake doesn't eat it's likely stressed about something; Are you handling/disturbing it too much? If so try leaving it alone for a week then offer food. Is the cage in a place that gets a lot of noise? If so try putting it in a quiet place. Are you offering bigger rodents? Even though they are able to swallow it they prefer smaller prey. If you've done may things and still doesn't eat it might have ticks and mites this is because they are wild caught. If you bought it off your local pet store next time try buying one from Petco or Petsmart those are captive bred and so far do eat. Do not force feed your snake you'll just stressed it out more. They've got to eat sometime if nothing is wrong with your snake (I've read in an article that the longest record so far that a ball python hasn't eat is 22 months, but it ate at last).

Temps/Humidity:

The hot side temperature should be somewhere between 85*-92*F all year long (unless breeding). I wil recommend you to buy a digital thermometer with a probe and put the probe underneath the hide of the hot side. The cool side should be somewhere between 75*-92*F all year long (unless breeding). If your temperatures are lower than the ones provided your snake might get a Respiratory Infection (RI), which the signs are mucus in mouth or nostrils and might be fatal if left untreated. The humidity should be 50%-60% all year long, except when in shed it should go from 70%-80%. If your humidity is lower than 50% your snake will get a bad shed and might get a dent in its eye(s). If it's higher than 60% (unless in shed) your snake might get scale rot.

If you've followed everything in this thread your snake should be a happy snake, and like I always say a happy snake is a happy owner.