Getting First BP Please Help!!!

[pianoflute2]

Hey, I'm new here and I plan on getting a BP from a local pet store. I need help knowing what to get for him or her. My younger sister gave me a 100 gallon Reptarium for my birthday and I am wondering if that will work for housing my snake. I keep my room really warm, about 65 during the day and around 70+ at night. My room is also fairly humid (don't have a tool to check that right now). I have set up the cage and added the substrate (newspaper) and hides so far. When I get my allowance I'm going to get things for my snake to climb on, fake plants, and heat lamps. I would like to know what would work best. Also, will the Reptarium work? My family has four cats and one of them sleeps in my room at night. Could my cat get through the mesh and harm my snake? We keep her claws trimmed but she seems to like sitting on top of the cage. Would that stress my snake too much? The Reptarium zips closed and I don't think that she could open it. Please help!!! Thank you in advance.

[Skittles1101]

You can't keep a bp in a reptarium...those are meant for chams and the such. Not to mention your bp would be VERY stressed out in an enclosure anywhere near 100 gallons. Please take a look at the caresheet and read it thoroughly. If you have any questions after reading it then please feel free to ask

I would advise you also to do a lot more research on this animal before picking it up....

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

And welcome to the site

[Jeo123]

100 gallon is way too big, especially for a young BP. If nothing else, you're probably going to have to section parts of it off.

And cat's and snakes don't really get along from what I've heard. Keep an eye on your cat and make sure that lid is secure. I would do everything possible to get that cat to stop hanging out up there, it certainly won't make your snake feel relaxed.

Also, you will need your heat source before you get a snake. Under the Tank Heaters are much better than heat lamps because lamps dry the air out.

Your snake needs an air temp in the 80s, with a hot spot of 92-94 and a cool spot in the mid 80s.

I suggest reading the care sheet...

[PitOnTheProwl]

UTH and thermostat, if you are crafty you can divide the tank.
Depending on the size you the BP you get will depend on where the divider needs to be.
+3 on reading the care sheet

[blushingball419]

x4

It will be almost impossible to keep up the humidity that a bp needs in an enclosure like that. Plus it's WAY too big, since I'm assuming that it's fairly young/small if you're getting it from a pet store. And yeah, having a cat in there with a mesh cage like that isn't a good idea... even though the cat probably wouldn't be able to get through it, if the snake had its face against the mesh while exploring and the cat decided to paw at it and got a claw in there... not good.

Ball pythons are awesome snakes though, and the care sheet here is a great place to start!!

[pianoflute2]

I was planning on sectioning off the cage to about half until the BP got bigger. I've been working on training my cat to stay off of the cage and she's been doing quite well. (I've set up more places for her to lay down.) I know that my room at the temperature it's at right now would NOT work. So I'll need an under the tank heater and not heat lamps? Wouldn't I need both to keep the air temp up? I have read the care sheet multiple times. Oh, and I have a humidifier in my room.

[Skittles1101]

UTH and thermostat, if you are crafty you can divide the tank.
Depending on the size you the BP you get will depend on where the divider needs to be.
+3 on reading the care sheet

He/she doesn't have a tank, it's one of those huge mesh enclosures for chams....there's no way a bp can be kept in those right?? I thought the same thing until I googled "reptarium" lol

I'm not wrong in thinking not only is it unsafe with other pets in the house but how could it possibly hold humidity? Unless he/she lives in New Mexico the humidity inside the house can't be that high?

[pianoflute2]

He doesn't have a tank, it's one of those huge mesh enclosures for chams....there's no way a bp can be kept in those right?? I thought the same thing until I googled "reptarium" lol I'm not wrong in thinking not only is it unsafe with other pets in the house but how could it possibly hold humidity? Unless he/she lives in New Mexico the humidity inside the house can't be that high?

I have a humidifier in my room.

[blushingball419]

I've been working on training my cat to stay off of the cage and she's been doing quite well. (I've set up more places for her to lay down.)

Well, it's very difficult to train a cat. Believe me, as soon as she sees a snake moving around in there, she'll want to go over and investigate. It's just not the right kind of enclosure for a bp anyway in my opinion.

He doesn't have a tank, it's one of those huge mesh enclosures for chams....there's no way a bp can be kept in those right??

I suppose you could, but you'd probably have to mist like 20 times a day haha unless you live in a humid climate or have a good humidifier anyway //edit// sorry, I didn't see that you had a humidifier

[pianoflute2]

Well, it's very difficult to train a cat. Believe me, as soon as she sees a snake moving around in there, she'll want to go over and investigate. It's just not the right kind of enclosure for a bp anyway in my opinion.



I suppose you could, but you'd probably have to mist like 20 times a day haha unless you live in a humid climate or have a good humidifier anyway.

My cat knows that if she goes near the cage she gets sprayed with water, which she hates. And I have a humidifier.