Quote Originally Posted by BiggBaddWolf View Post
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!