Hello everyone In a week or two I should (hopefully) be getting my first ball python. I'm not looking to breed or anything (not yet ) so this snake is just to be a pet. I have had a corn snake now for a few months so I'm not completely new to snake care, and I've done all my research and read all the care sheets and such. I'm really just hoping some of you can point me towards some affordable products and give me some advice. First off, I'm looking for a good tub to house her in. I've went tub shopping (haha) but I'm always afraid I'm gonna buy the wrong one cause with my luck I'll buy that one tub you should NEVER use xD The snake I'm getting *should* be a baby female. I've looked at quite a few of the name brand "locking" tubs and not only am I having trouble finding a suitable size, but they don't seem very secure. I'm terrified at the idea of an escape as I have a cat in the house and radiators she can get lost under. For my corn I'm using a glass tank w/ locks AND bungee cords even though he's never tried to escape yet. So, any ideas on a tub? I know I'm gonna have to upgrade which is another reason I'm going with tubs over tanks aside from the fact I don't have the space for anymore tanks lol. Links are particularly helpful, i'm willing to buy online as long as the price is decent. My budget for this is $420 max. I can't really spend a dollar over that at the moment. Secondly, I wanted to ask about ordering. I'm looking to get my snake from BHB Reptiles as they seem to be very reputable and I haven't heard any complaints. I also watch they're little youtube series and they seem to really care about their animals/know what they're doing. Their price for a normal ball python female is $70 w/ shipping. My big question is does anyone know what they feed their baby balls? Live or frozen? I do NOT want to be feeding live unless its absolutely necessary as I live in an apartment w/ my mother (I'm 18) and having live mice (or especially rats!) in the house is a big no-no. If she were to go off feed for a while and it was a necessity then, sure, that'd be fine, but every week won't work haha I also had a question about heat tape. I know its supposed to be a whole lot cheaper then heat mats and I'm really looking into it as I don't want to have to buy another heat mat every time she moves up a tub size. I'm just not very sure on how to set it up. I know it requires a thermostat, and I already have one for my corn setup so I know how those work, but not sure how I'd hook one up to heat tape. Also, I use one of the cheap hydrofarm ones. Would that be ok with heat tape? Last thing, I will be keeping her in the same room that I keep my birds (parakeets) in. The birds are all tucked away, so I'm not worried about them escaping or the snake being able to get to them. Would there be any other issues with keeping them in the same room? Thanks in advance! Sorry for such a long post full of noobish questions xD