Hello Fellow Ball Lovers!

[iloveballs315]

Hello! My name is Amanda and im new here to the forum. My boyfriend and I recently purchased a Normal Ball Python and shes a girl! I dont have pics up yet but she is just so freaking cute! we have fallen and love and now are addicted to snakes and possibly want to get more in the future.

But for now we want to be the best owners we can be for our first snake and I had a few questions for you guys cause u seem so experienced here!

1 One i have no idea what to name her... we have come up with persephone ( goddess of the underworld in Greek Mythology), or Dora cause shes just so curious... but i dont know if they will fit. Any suggestions rememeber it is a girl!

2. Whats normal snake behavior? How do i know shes happy?
Iv done lots of research and it seems its all conflicting. So far ive had her for 3 weeks. She is very active around her tank, she is always laying out , flickering her tongue and laying all over the place. She eats every saturday and has completely eaten with out regurgetation everytime! Another thing is i handle her alot, i mean once a day maybe 15 - 20 mins. sometimes she will curl around my hand and rest, or other times she is exploring everywhere ( not running away neccessarily). Does she seem happy to u veterens? Some books said i should handle her for the first 3 months so let me know. to me she doesnt seem stressed. she seems relaxed and doesnt flinch when i handle her. Thanks for the input!

Hopefully ill be talking with everyone often and soon!

[Elise.m]

Welcome to the site!

If you haven't read the caresheet here, go ahead and read that. It's pretty accurate, and gives alot of information. Remember, there is no 100% correct way to keep a BP, but these are things that are tried and true, very good guidelines.

BPs are nocturnal, so if she's out during the day something is stressing her out. If she is, in the next post list what you have her set up in, and we'll be able to help you. Main questions you want to answer:

What kind of heat source do you have? How is it regulated?
How many hides do you have? What kind are they?
Do you have digital thermometers or dials?
How big is her tank?
How old is she? (If you don't know for sure, try to get a weight and length on her and we can guesstimate, but nothing that will confirm her age)

That's the main things I can think of right now, someone might point out if I missed something.

[iloveballs315]

ok so i have heat lamps as the heat source and a heat pad underneath the tank. i regulate the temps with 3 thermometers one on the cool side, two on the warm side at the top of the tank and the bottom of the tank. And i have something to measure the humidy (50 to 60%) She is in my room in the basement so her only light source is a UV day lightbulb. She isnt out ALWAYS in the light, she usually is in her hiding spots but sometimes she likes to lay around her water dish or on her tree. i know ball pythons are nocturnal but i didnt think that ment they didnt go out in the day light period?

I only have a 10 gallon right now for the tank and one hide is a log hide but its pushed up against the back so theres only one way to get in and its nice and dark and fitting. Her other hide is a tree i have that is hollowed out and whatnot. i am going to get another hide but im waiting til after christmas to get a bigger tank.

She is under a year old... maybe as think as the width of a half dollar? lol i dont know exactly when she has been hatched but she eats the furry white little mice and she has a very healthy appetite, not picky at all. Shes about 18 inches i would say.

She seems happy, but i just wanted to compare to how others tell there snake is happy. most people say its about their appetite thats the tell tale sign. Thanks for any feedback!

[iloveballs315]

also i just want to say that i know she doesnt NEED the UV light, i use it just to regulate day/night time for her. Because its usually always dark in my basement.

[PolkaDotPenguin]

Sounds like her set up is fine! I would also look and see what other people saying about handling her. I know that when you 1st get a new snake you want to leave them alone for a week or two. That way to make them more comfortable with their new surrondings.
Also snakes are not like dogs. They really dont like to be held all the time. More or less they like to hide. So usually when my snakes start to explore they mean they are looking for some where to hide, so thats when i will put them up and leave them alone. Although every snake is differant. It just depends!

Also get some pics up when you can. I would love to see her coloring, and how big she is! Congrats cause it becomes addicting!

[Kaorte]

Thermometers don't control heat sources. ThermoSTATS do. If you do not have a thermostat or dimmer on the heat mat, it can cook your snake. Please look into getting one soon.

What kind of thermometers are you using? This is very important. If you have the probe kind, you are golden. But if you are using the dial gague thermometers, then you are not getting an accurate reading.

Nocturnal means active at night. If the snake is out during the day then that is not normal. Peeking out of the hide is okay.

I would try and get her two identical tight fitting hides. The half logs just don't do it and that is probably why she is laying out so much. You can find opaque plastic bowls at the dollar store and cut a hole in the side and tada! A nice new hide.

She sounds a little on the skinny side. You should probably be feeding her adult mice by now if you aren't already.

[iloveballs315]

ok so ill look into the thermostat cause i dont have one. any recommendations?

My thermometers i have the digital one with a probe inside the tank and then a round one ( idk what u wld call it, its not digital) and another sticky one. i know they vary with accuracy but they seem to be doing well. that's why i have three to make sure they r all on the same page and what not.

ill look into getting her a new hide, i want to add more hides but her tank isnt big enough, another thing i am looking into. Hopefully a different hide will help with the day light activeness.

[Kaorte]

The reptitemp 500r is great for single setups. It is hard to find in stores though so you will probably have to order it online.

Take your probe and stick it right on the glass where the UTH is under the substrate. This point in the tank should never get above 95*

The dial thermometers (non digital) are basically useless. I would just stick with digital readers.