New Here And To Reptiles!!

[Kavin2845]

Hey guys new here and to reptiles I'm thinking of a ball python I have a 20 gallon long tank and want to know about how I should set up and were can I find cheap frozen rodents to feed the snake thx!!!

[Capray]

Welcome! Here's a good place to start- http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

There are many good frozen rodent companies, hopefully someone else'll chime in.

[Archimedes]

Welcome to the forum and to the addiction!

This Caresheet will tell you the basics of setup and care of your new animal. Different areas of this website will contain valuable information, questions and answers from your peers in the community. If you have any particular questions, don't hesitate to ask, we have a lot of experienced breeders, keepers and hobbyists who love giving feedback!

Happy Herping, and again, if you can think of anything specific, certainly fire away, or search it on the forum searchbar!

Here's a list of feeder companies that are the base of the market value-- however, you may find them cheaper live at a local pet store, or find it's more effective for you to buy in smaller quantities. It's all personal preference, really. Just do some research as to what size feeder your potential BP would require.

Any prospective snakes in mind yet?

[Kavin2845]

Welcome to the forum and to the addiction!

This Caresheet will tell you the basics of setup and care of your new animal. Different areas of this website will contain valuable information, questions and answers from your peers in the community. If you have any particular questions, don't hesitate to ask, we have a lot of experienced breeders, keepers and hobbyists who love giving feedback!

Happy Herping, and again, if you can think of anything specific, certainly fire away, or search it on the forum searchbar!

Here's a list of feeder companies that are the base of the market value-- however, you may find them cheaper live at a local pet store, or find it's more effective for you to buy in smaller quantities. It's all personal preference, really. Just do some research as to what size feeder your potential BP would require.

Any prospective snakes in mind yet?

Nothing too expensive I've seen em only for like $2000 something like $50 or $75
I was wondering the different size rodents I should feed and how often from a baby to an adult and I want a male since they tend to stay smaller and way I can tell the difference or do I just buy and get lucky?

[Capray]

Ball pythons can be sexed pretty simply. The size difference isn't too huge usually..

As a baby, hey can eat baby rats (fuzzies) as soon as they hatch. You want to feed them an appropriate meal once a week while they grow, they reach adulthood in a couple years. As an adult they can be fed every other week as a maitnence diet, only if the snake continues to look substantial in weight (ball ythons are pretty heav bodied, naturally)

EDIT: Normal male babies are usually pretty cheap. Females are a bit more expensive. There are different patterns and colors that are more rare, so those are probably the expensive ones you're seeing.

[Archimedes]

Nothing too expensive I've seen em only for like $2000 something like $50 or $75
I was wondering the different size rodents I should feed and how often from a baby to an adult and I want a male since they tend to stay smaller and way I can tell the difference or do I just buy and get lucky?

Most of us here will always recommend buying from a breeder, as it not only supports the growth of the hobby, but produces healthier, higher-quality animals. You can find excellent normals within a 50-dollar budget, and since it sounds like you're looking for something pet-quality rather than breeder quality, you may be able to find a couple of morphs within your price range too.

There will be a rundown of prey size on the caresheet. No one feeds pinkies to their ball pythons except perhaps as a first meal out of the egg, or during a health issue. A good rule of thumb is weighing your snake, and then feeding it prey that weighs 10-15% of its body weight. For example, a 100-gram snake would get a 10-15 gram prey.

Most snakes from a good breeder will come reliably sexed, but a herp veterinarian can also determine the sex of your python, plus there are plenty of videos out there on sexing your python at home. I wouldn't recommend doing it though until you've seen someone else do it in person and can mimic their methods, there's just too much risk in hurting the snake.

Good questions so far!

[Archimedes]

Hahah Chloe, I feel like we're competing with our responses because we're the only ones up

[Capray]

Hahah Chloe, I feel like we're competing with our responses because we're the only ones up

Who says we weren't??

[Kavin2845]

Most of us here will always recommend buying from a breeder, as it not only supports the growth of the hobby, but produces healthier, higher-quality animals. You can find excellent normals within a 50-dollar budget, and since it sounds like you're looking for something pet-quality rather than breeder quality, you may be able to find a couple of morphs within your price range too.

There will be a rundown of prey size on the caresheet. No one feeds pinkies to their ball pythons except perhaps as a first meal out of the egg, or during a health issue. A good rule of thumb is weighing your snake, and then feeding it prey that weighs 10-15% of its body weight. For example, a 100-gram snake would get a 10-15 gram prey.

Most snakes from a good breeder will come reliably sexed, but a herp veterinarian can also determine the sex of your python, plus there are plenty of videos out there on sexing your python at home. I wouldn't recommend doing it though until you've seen someone else do it in person and can mimic their methods, there's just too much risk in hurting the snake.

Good questions so far!

Yeah I was looking at BHB reptiles and saw some cool looking normals for 40 bucks but the thing is the shipping to my place is $40 and I feel that I could get a cool morph for $80 that $80 for a normal, do you understand what I'm getting to? The only pet store I know are petco and petsmart also there is a pet express and I seen some cool morphs there before but not sure if I could trust them.

[Archimedes]

Well, there are breeders all over that would be willing to do local business. It's always a good idea to check the BOI (Board Of Inquiry) over on faunaclassifieds, because they have a rundown of customer reviews of all different breeders in all areas of the US and Canada, if not more widespread. Trust me, there are hundred of options, and thousands of snakes, to look at. =]

Plus, say you do find a really nice looking local morph for 80, you've just accomplished your goal without worrying about shipping charges. Really, that's what makes the hobby expensive, heh. But also more fun, because from what I hear, unboxing days are like Christmas but better.