I am getting a ball python tomorrow and am very excited. He will be my first snake although I have kept everything from reptiles to pigs my whole life. I have a few last minute questions that I think some experienced keepers would be very helpful answering.

1. Do most reptile expos sell frozen rodents?

2. My thermostat (herpstat intro) is set to 96 but I can't get the substrate temperature over 85. Should I just turn the thermostat up until I get the right temperature?

3. Any tips at all would be great, maybe something you wish you would have known before getting your first snake

4. I love animals more than I like most people so feeding rodents is a little sad to me. I understand they were breed for the purpose of being food, and that it is in the best interest of the snake so I will obviously give him the proper diet but I was wondering if there is anything that made you feel a little better about seeing a dead animals body.

thank you to the very helpful people of this forum!