Questions.

[Daybreaker]

Questions:

How do you know when to move up in size of food? I always see people post about how they are feeding there Ball Python 3 pinkies/fuzzies depending on the current size of food they are eating.

Is better to keep the (cage?) as simple as possible or make it look nice? (or is it mostly based upon the individual persons preference?)

When you buy a snake are you able to have them shipped? If so what is the best time of the year? (I live in PA so winters are cold and summers are hot) I looked for breeders in my state and couldn't find anyone reputable.

I am an animal lover. Well in a sense anyway for the fact I can't own to many animals. (i am currently in college and living in a dorm. Most we can have is a fish. Stupid right?) I love to play around with my pets. With a snake what is the recommended amount of time to "handle" your snake a day? or is it based upon the handler and the snake his/herself?

1) Pinkies/fuzzies (mice) are way too small IMO for even babies. But besides that point, I go by the 10-15% rule. I weigh my snakes once a month and take their weight and times it by 10-15% and find a prey item that fits: sometimes I pick some that are a little smaller or larger depending on the snake (one of my BPs will only take smaller prey, for example)

2) All my tubs are set up pretty simple: two hides (or the younger ones), water bowl, thermometer/humidity guage, and maybe some fake plants or "driftwood" in there for hiding purposes. My corn's 20L tank is very realistic/natural set up since it's more for a display cage.

3) Almost all of my snakes were shipped, and some breeders ship yearround, some wait till the temps are in certain ranges (I usually see in between 40-90 degrees they'll ship or offer a live arrival guarentee).

4) I handle my snakes mostly to clean tubs, weights, or to take photos: I like to give them their "space" so they don't get too stressed. The amount of handling depends on the snake I think: some tolerate more, some less. You'll just need to guage your new snake and learn its personality to see how it reacts to different levels of handling.

Also, I would check to make sure snakes are allowed in your dorm before jumping in and getting one.

Welcome to BP!