I need help with my new ball python please

[joepythons]

well since i have a tall tank i do not have a lid on it, and the heat source is clamped to the side at the top so the heat source is not exactly close to the bottom of the cage... but i will try spraying her...

thank you again.


please give me more advice.

Uuh the snake will escape without a lid on the tank

[Nate]

Uuh the snake will escape without a lid on the tank

I guess that depends on how tall the tank is.

[joepythons]

I guess that depends on how tall the tank is.

I guess time will tell

[iCandiBallPythons]

In most opinions you'll find on bp housing, a 50 gallon tank can be extremely overwhelming to a bp. This can cause stress, and feeding refusals. These guys really dont require a huge amount of space and tend to do alot better in smaller enclosures. In the wild they spend the majority of the time burrowed. Judging by the size in the pic I would downsize to a 10 gallon with a locking screen top and get 2 appropriate size hides (place 1 on the hot side and 1 on the cool side) and purchase an appropriate size UTH and a thermostat ( on the lower priced thermostats the zoomed 500R should do the job of controlling the UTH) from a reputable pet store and place the UTH on one end of the tank to create a "hot spot" . You will want the hot spot on the inside of the tank to read in the lower 90'sF. you may also want to cover 3 sides of your tank with black construction paper or some other dark material, this will typically make the snake feel more secure.

[BiggBaddWolf]

I do not get the "do not use a large tank" thing for ball pythons. I have successfully used 40 gallon tanks a lot. Do ball pythons not go beyond the area of a 10-20 gallon tank in the wild? Nor have I ever covered the sides of my tank....I guess I just have weird snakes who don't know they are supposed to be stressed out over these things...LOL

[RockyTop]

I do not get the "do not use a large tank" thing for ball pythons. I have successfully used 40 gallon tanks a lot. Do ball pythons not go beyond the area of a 10-20 gallon tank in the wild? Nor have I ever covered the sides of my tank....I guess I just have weird snakes who don't know they are supposed to be stressed out over these things...LOL

What was explained to me, and that made sense, was that snakes, like most animals, have different temperaments. Some may be perfectly fine in a large open tank, some may be stressed out by the size. The ones who are ok with a large hide, are not going to get stressed out by a smaller size. So I believe the consensus is to get a setup together before you get a snake to accommodate a wide array of different personalities a snake may have.

As to the "in the wild" question, I would venture to stay most ball pythons aren't cruising around in the open plans of Africa, but are entrenched in brush, rocks, crevices, etc. I could be wrong, but it makes sense to me lol.

As for the OP, I don't want to be mean or anything just being constructive, before you get another animal please ensure you do the proper reading beforehand. I can tell you really do care about your snake and that is great. You care enough about her to ask for advice. There are a lot of helpful articles on this website and others to help ensure you can successfully keep a healthy and happy snake.

So you just got your snake a couple days ago and it is shedding; yet, you are still messing with her lol. This may be stressing her out. The best thing you can do is let her be. Usually you want leave your snake alone the first week you get it, so it can adjust to it's new environment. And also, while it is shedding, you may want to leave it alone. Both can be stressful times for a snake!

Please review that Ball Python care sheet linked above, it will answer many of your questions! Good luck to you and your snake! Keep us updated!

[mason]

I'd honestly say you've bought the wrong species.


you'll pretty much only see the thing if you get it out or when you feed it. Royals pythons spend 95% of their times doing just that, hiding. Out of all the royals we have here (under 100 so not a huge collection, but big enough) there are only a handful who you will ever see (if you leave them to their own devices and dont disturb them for handling)]

The best way to help a royal of that size to shed is to provide it with a wet hide as well as it's current hide. Justy use something like a cricket tub, cut a hole in the lid, fill with spagnum moss (or similar, anything that is both safe and holds water well).

Give the snake to opportunity to and he should manage his own humidty levels all by himself, give him a warm dry area AND a warm wet area and he'll choose the one that suits at the time. This way you're not forcing the snake to live in a very high humidty environment but he can choose to put himself in the high humidity AREA of his environment.


Going back to the top again, royas generally are shy, retiring creatures and if you see them out and about they either want feeding or watering.

[travis_1989]

I did alot of research on the snakes, but i was just worried cause i never read anything about them being so scareed all of the time,

but everyones information helped alot.

oh and his cage was setup three days before i got him thank you very much.

[ChrisS]

I would recomend getting another heat mat to put under your snake and leave the one on your beardie. You can also get moss to help raise the humidity in the cage since its so tall. Great looking snake!

[Kaorte]

If you are only using a heat lamp and have no covering on the tank, chances are you are going to be dealing with a very bad shed.

You really need to either get a smaller tank for the little dude, or get some sort of top for the tank. A piece of plexi-glass with holes drilled for ventilation would work.

Also, only use lamp heat as a supplement. Belly heat should be your primary source of heat. You should be measuring your hot side temperature with a digital thermometer with a probe. If you are using anything else you are not getting an accurate reading.

You also need something digital to read humidity. Your snake will need between 60-70% humidity during the shed cycle.

Honestly, the cheapest and easiest option would be to put the snake in a tub until it is older.