Obtained my first Ball this weekend, locally from Santa Cruz Reptiles!

[3ofSwords]

Congrats on your new snake!!

[catzeye21138]

Trolololololololololololol. Just saying.

[Smoked Oyster]

Trolololololololololololol. Just saying.

Wow. Sorry I posted.

I wish people would share specific concerns. Oh well, this is the Internet, where different ideas are rarely tolerated. I will think long and hard before I post here again.

[Smoked Oyster]

Congrats on your new snake!!

Thank you.

[babyknees]

I would still offer a couple hides. That way the option is there if she wants them.

[MidSouthMorphs]

I don't know about him being a troll. But I do feel he was fed bad information by this guy Steve, i've never heard of him. Go to http://animalplastics.com/ and get a CB-70 rack that is a 3 stack and get a Herpstat or Helix thermostat. Change your substrate, get a water bowl, and hide for your Ball Python.

This forum is the best place to get information, some of the best are on this site. If you refuse it here then you don't want the best help you can get.

[MidSouthMorphs]

Wow. Sorry I posted.

I wish people would share specific concerns. Oh well, this is the Internet, where different ideas are rarely tolerated. I will think long and hard before I post here again.

Don't feel that way man, catzeye and the other ones needs to check themselves. So please do not post this again. You should feel welcome, members like that who go out of their way to post things like this are the trolls.

[jtomb1510]

First off congrats on your new BP
Second, don't be discouraged about posting on here. Everyone here is here to help.
Third, I don't know this Steve guy, but he is feeding you really bad info. Throw that heating pad in the trash and get one designed for reptiles as well as get a
t-stat. Trash that substrate as well. Aspen, cyprus, paper towels, newspaper.
A hide is absolutely necessary as well because it makes your bp feel safe and in turn you won't have problems with feeding and shedding. Hope this helps some.

[DemmBalls]

I definitely don't think you are a troll, but you don't find it at all funny that about 99% of the big BP breeders and hobbyists use similar methods for keeping these snakes? One guy says to do it this way...And you discredit all information that everyone is offering? The end of the day...Do as you wish.

P.s. The snake looks very healthy to me and some snakes do very well without hides. I prefer using hides w/ most of my snakes, but some will never use it and eat fine without it. If she has no hide and is still feeding for you..Don't use one.

[xdeus]

Congratulations on your new snake. Obviously there are many ways to successfully keep a healthy snake, so there is no "right" way.

However, I find it interesting that you have so much praise for this "Steve" person and yet discount all of the excellent advice that is on this forum. FWIW, I have lived in the Monterey area for about 20 years now, and have never heard of Steve or done business with him. I'm not saying he is a bad breeder, but he probably isn't as popular as you may believe.

I'm not sure why he would claim reptile UTH are bad and would recommend a regular heat pad. Heat pads are designed for occasional use and reptile UTH are designed for constant use. Personally, I have racks and cages with UTH that I have used for many, many years and have not had a single failure. That's not to say that they will never fail, but I would rely on them much more than a human heat pad.

Good luck with your new snake and congrats again.