I picked up my first Ball Python/introduction :)

[grizzjr1]

Hey everyone, I picked up my first ball python today! I'll start off with a little introduction, my name is Mason and I am from Wisconsin. I have always had an interest in reptiles (a lot of animals to be honest haha) and have had a few creatures in the past. I have had a few small furry creatures, some cats, some dogs, a green anole, a leopard gecko, and I raised a few snapping turtles (I rescued about 20-25 eggs that were laid on a gravel road because it was going to have construction work done, I made my own little nest and had all but 3 hatch then released most of them but kept a few for a while before releasing them as well). I had wanted a BP when I was younger but my mom wasn't keen on the idea because she thought they were too much work and I was too irresponsible haha. Teenage life got in the way of me getting any more pets other than a cat and beagle for a while but this last year I went off to college. I had been thinking for a while recently that I really wanted another scaley friend and decided to go with a ball python for a combination of reasons. Anyways, I have spent the last few days looking for good breeders and found a place called Reptile Rapture in Madison, Wisconsin. Today I went up there to browse and see what they had for BPs with my girlfriend, they had a few nice looking morphs and a lot of other reptiles that all looked to be incredibly healthy and well taken care of. I spoke with the owners for a while and asked if they had any baby normal BPs in stock. She came out with 4 little gems and let my girlfriend and I look at and play with them. They all were bred by the owners friend (2012 babies) and looked very healthy. Three of them kind of stayed in balls and were a little afraid but that's normal of course. One seemed to just want to explore and slithered all around my arms and hands. His coloring is pretty cool and I decided I fell in love with the little guy so I asked if I could buy him. They were all pretty young (not sure exactly when they hatched) but all have shed and were eating good. She said they were putting them out in a display this week and he is ready to go if I wanted him today. I of course said yes I bought him along with a 10 gallon tank, locking lid, a hide, a water dish, head pad, lamp, dark cypress substrate, and a few frozen hoppers. On the ride home he seemed like he was begging to get out of his little container so I let him creep around and get comfy in between my legs where it was warm. I got him home and set everything up with his hide on the hot side of the tank above the pad, lamp kind of in the middle but more towards the hot side, and an upside down paper bowl with a hole cut out on the cool side along with the water bowl. I am very happy with my new little buddy and have decided to name him Sativa I have a few questions to ask everyone on the forums as you guys seem to have a lot of knowledge and I have read many conflicting opinions, so here they are:

1. I purchased a 75W blue day light for the lamp at Petco because my room is dark during the day and I wanted him to have a good day/night cycle. I know that they do not require UVA or UVB light, but I was just wondering if there is a different bulb I should get instead? There was red, blue, white, really a large assortment of lights and was unsure. I figured the blue light would be a little darker than it is but its not an issue or anything. I just want him to be comfy and not have more light than he needs.

2. I have a dorm room type set up that is basically one decent size room. My roommate has no issue with Sativa living here before I move at the end of August, but I was just wondering if it will be too much traffic for him? My roommate and I both work 8 until about 5 and really aren't in the room a ton until night time.

3. What else should I put in the enclosure? I know that BPs don't really like wide open spaces, and while it isn't a huge tank or anything, all has is the two hides (the bowl is buried under substrate) and his water dish. Is there anything that they like to climb around in or something else I can add in to take up space and keep him cozy?

4. When I move at the end of August it will be about a 4-5 hour car ride, is this going to stress him out too much or anything? I know they are shipped but I still worry. Also, even though he will be in the same enclosure, should I give him more time to resettle in again?

5. The lady I talked to at Reptile Rapture said he was in an enclosure with 3 dark sides and one glass side, should I put black construction paper on the back and two sides to make him more comfy?

6. Tonight I took him out (after the lights were turned off, I am putting him on an 8 AM to 8 PM light and vice versa for dark schedule) and he explored a little for about 15 minutes before I put him back in, I read afterwards on the forums that I probably shouldn't take him out for a few days to a week, I hope I didn't stress him too much. He hasn't really explored too much other than going into the warm hide after I put him in the first time and the cool hide after putting him in the second time. I suppose he will take time to adjust, but when would be a good time period to wait before I take him out again?

7. He was fed live hoppers at the place I got him, I would like to switch to F/T (what I got at the store) because I would like to reduce injury rise, will this be difficult? I know what I have to do to warm them up and seem appetizing to him but was just wondering how this will go. When should I try to feed him for the first time? Also, I have read conflicting opinions on whether he should be fed inside or out of his enclosure, what do you recommend? I am mainly concerned about him accidentally getting some cypress along with his meal, would laying down newspaper or something over the cypress work?

Thank you very much for reading! I'm sorry it was a bit lengthy, but I would appreciate any responses I should have some pictures of the enclosure and Sativa tomorrow providing he decides to explore! I'm sure I'll end up having some more questions too. Thanks again for any input

[The Serpent Merchant]

Welcome to the site!

1. lights are not necessary at all if you already have the proper temperatures in the cage. if you want a day/night cycle (light) then a whit, blue, or red light will be fine. if you are using it for heat I would use an infrared bulb.

2. traffic can bother them but it really depends on the individual snake

3. This is how I set up my cages... works great:



4. the main issue will be keeping him warm enough. other than that it isn;t the end of the world. I'm a college student myself and have done this.

5. This is a good idea, it makes the cage more secure for them

6. I would wait 7 days then attempt to feed. if he eats then wait 2 days (to digest) then you can start handling I wouldn't start handling until he starts eating.

7. switching with some is very easy... other not so much. give it a shot, see what happens then deal with it. (come back here and we'll help!) as for where to feed I suggest feeding right in the cage. this will not make them aggressive, and a small amount of substrate isn't going to hurt. (larger amounts is usually easy to remove with a pair of needle nose pliers.

A few things to add:

how are you measuring temperatures/humidity?

you mentioned that you are using a heating pad... do you have a thermostat regulating it? if not you need to get one ASAP as they get hot enough to kill a snake in the matter of hours

check out these 2 threads:

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

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...04#post1845904

[grizzjr1]

Welcome to the site!

1. lights are not necessary at all if you already have the proper temperatures in the cage. if you want a day/night cycle (light) then a whit, blue, or red light will be fine. if you are using it for heat I would use an infrared bulb.

2. traffic can bother them but it really depends on the individual snake

3. This is how I set up my cages... works great:



4. the main issue will be keeping him warm enough. other than that it isn;t the end of the world. I'm a college student myself and have done this.

5. This is a good idea, it makes the cage more secure for them

6. I would wait 7 days then attempt to feed. if he eats then wait 2 days (to digest) then you can start handling I wouldn't start handling until he starts eating.

7. switching with some is very easy... other not so much. give it a shot, see what happens then deal with it. (come back here and we'll help!

A few things to add:

how are you measuring temperatures/humidity?

you mentioned that you are using a heating pad... do you have a thermostat regulating it? if not you need to get one ASAP as they get hot enough to kill a snake in the matter of hours

check out these 2 threads:

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

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...04#post1845904

Thanks for the response! I am going to Walmart tomorrow to pick up an Accu-rite thermometer/hydrometer, I completely forgot about them when I was in the store because I was too eager to get him home and into the enclosure. Just to make sure he is okay tonight I have the temperature in my room at 80 and misted the cage a little. I do not have a thermostat at the moment because I was told I wouldn't need one with this pad (it's an 8x8 inch under tank stick on Exoterra heat wave), to be sure it isn't too hot I have about 2.5-3" of the substrate in the tank. If you think I should pick up a thermostat still I will tomorrow as soon as possible. Thanks for the links too!

[The Serpent Merchant]

Those absolutely need thermostats... I have yet to come across one that did not.

Here are 2 good ones, the ones sold in pet stores are junk (overpriced too)

Budget: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

Quality: http://spyderrobotics.com/

with 2.5-3 inches of substrate the heating pad isn't going to be able to get the right temperatures. they only heat the bottom of the cage and not the air in the cage so you will need a thin layer of substrate, 1/2" thick or less. Also simply having a thick substrate layer does;'t make it any sdafer. BP's can and aty times will dig down into their substrate and lay on the bottom of the tank (which with an unregulated heating pad can easily be hotter than 120 degrees.

Make sure that you put the probe of the act-rite on the floor of the cage directly over the heating pad

[grizzjr1]

Those absolutely need thermostats... I have yet to come across one that did not.

Here are 2 good ones, the ones sold in pet stores are junk (overpriced too)

Budget: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

Quality: http://spyderrobotics.com/

with 2.5-3 inches of substrate the heating pad isn't going to be able to get the right temperatures. they only heat the bottom of the cage and not the air in the cage so you will need a thin layer of substrate, 1/2" thick or less. Also simply having a thick substrate layer does;'t make it any sdafer. BP's can and aty times will dig down into their substrate and lay on the bottom of the tank (which with an unregulated heating pad can easily be hotter than 120 degrees.

Make sure that you put the probe of the act-rite on the floor of the cage directly over the heating pad

Just ordered the one from Amazon, I didn't realize they could get that hot! I was thinking of mainly having the pad heat substrate and not so much the air in the tank, then use a light for heating the air. Then I run into an issue with the humidity though... Would the infared light be fine to leave on at night too? I will remove some substrate in the morning, thanks again for the help. I'm glad i posted on the forum.

[The Serpent Merchant]

That is why I suggest infrared bulbs, they can be run 24/7... This is the exact bulb I have used in the past:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=11147193

I suggest a lamp dimmer so you can adjust the heat output

Like this one (which can be found at most home improvement stores/Walmarts)

http://1000bulbs.com/product/64247/L...Shopping&gclid

[grizzjr1]

That is why I suggest infrared bulbs, they can be run 24/7... This is the exact bulb I have used in the past:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=11147193

I suggest a lamp dimmer so you can adjust the heat output

Like this one (which can be found at most home improvement stores/Walmarts)

http://1000bulbs.com/product/64247/L...Shopping&gclid

That's the exact one I was looking at, awesome haha. My last lamp I had was nicer and had a built in dimmer but this one doesn't so I'll add that to my Walmart run tomorrow along with the Accu-rite. Any clue what section I should look in the store for the thermometer? Also, if i replace the day bulb with the infared what should I do for lighting during the day? Just leave my room light on? I'm not sure if he needs a 12/12 cycle but I have read its a good idea. I supposed I could just open my blinds but I'm not sure how much light comes in my room during the day.

[The Serpent Merchant]

The act-rites are usually in the section by the lightbulbs/ air conditioner thermostats. but I have seen in them in a bunch of other places as well (outdoor section, paint section, etc.)

in the wild BP's are nocturnal... during the day they stay in rodent burrows or termite mounds, then come out to hunt at night. because of this day/night cycles really aren't necessary. Bp's love dark hides that are nice and snug... That isn't to say that they are bad, but your BP will be fine without one. I use fluorescent lights for viewing on a 12 hour schedule.

Make sure that your tank isn't directly in front of a window, as the tanks can act like a green house and get really hot.

[Vypyrz]

Hello Mason, and to BP.net.

I would suggest not using the heat pad until you get a controller. If your room stays around 80F, then your BP should be fine for a few days until the thermostat arrives. Just don't feed him until you get the belly heat running. A thicker layer of substrate over a belly heat device is actually worse than a thin layer, because it will start acting like an insulator and trap the heat under it along the glass, and if you snake happens to push the substrate out pf the way, there is a good chance for a burn.

Sent from my Motorola ATRIX using Tapatalk 2.

[mackynz]

I think adequate advice has been given, so I'll just say welcome!

Also, good to see another WI herper