A few quick questions

[Naom9Anne]

How can a snake thermo-regulate if they only have one choice? It isn't going to be a constant 30 degrees in Africa, most BP keepers have their hot end at a constant temperature. In Africa it surely cools at night therefore the snakes one hide will be suitable as a hot hide during the day and a cooler hide at night?

Just my thinking...

[Daybreaker]

Mine use one hide only,both of them..they very rarely if ever explore out of there hides.once in a while in the middle of the night I'll catch them. They ever jus hang out of there hides and if so,I'd assume something is off in the enclosure ..yeah they all are different I guess...only reason I can assume they constantly come out and explore and change hides is cause there hot side is too hot and there hungry and under fed..in Africa,they don't have cool hides and hot hides or cool sides and warm sides..they reside in a single hide until whenever they decide to find another,in Africa it's just hot on average. This is just my opinion. I don't believe snakes need two hides if your temps are all good they will be happy and warm in just one..once again in my opinion and what I seen from my friends who have boas and ball pythons...to each there own.

What thermostat do you use for your heat source?

[Physician&Snakes]

Africa is a very dynamic continent...with drastic changes as you move from country to country. This is a very good read on climate and weather variation in terrestrial ecosystems...
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/...C%3E2.3.CO%3B2

[200xth]

Of course they don't have hot sides and cool sides in Africa. They're not kept in a box in Africa either.

If the rat hole they're in gets too hot, they crawl out of it and under a log that's a bit cooler. That gets too cold, they find another rat hole that's a bit warmer. No sides, just tons of microclimates that vary every few feet. They find what they want/need and move to a new one when they need it.

[BrandiR]

What thermostat do you use for your heat source?

You can't have an opinion as to how something behaves in the wild or how the climate is.
"In Africa it gets down to 8* in July sometimes so they knit sweaters out of shrubbery to keep warm, they don't even need hides. But that's just my opinion."

Do you understand?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[BrandiR]

You can't have an opinion as to how something behaves in the wild or how the climate is.
"In Africa it gets down to 8* in July sometimes so they knit sweaters out of shrubbery to keep warm, they don't even need hides. But that's just my opinion."

Do you understand?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

I don't know why I quoted this. I meant to quote the snarky New Yorker, in reference to constantly offer his "opinion" on things that can be determined by fact.

If I had any common sense I could propbably figure out Taptalk!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[Crazymonkee]

I don't know why I quoted this. I meant to quote the snarky New Yorker, in reference to constantly offer his "opinion" on things that can be determined by fact.

If I had any common sense I could propbably figure out Taptalk!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Omg that made me chuckle lol

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[Libby]

As far as active time, if I happen to be/get up between midnight and about 2am, my girl will sometimes be hanging out on top of her logs looking to come out of her enclosure. Doesn't happen when Millie's in shed or digesting, but it's lots of fun when she does. She'll even crawl right out into my hands. Wonderful for snake bonding time (please ignore anthropomorphism), bad for sleep schedule.

[Mike41793]

I am hoping to get my first ball python sometime soon and I had a few questions.

The first I'm just curious, about what time in the evening do your snakes become active.

Also I have gotten a LOT of varying information on what to feed and what size. What are, if any, the generally accepted guidelines for feeding?

I have also seen a lot of varying info about enclosure size (from 10 to 75 gallons for an adult). I am assuming as with most things bigger is always better but what is the best average size without busting the bank?

Are there generally any personality differences in gender (females more or less friendly etc) or is it all pretty well the same?

Thanks for all the information!

Great choice! Ball pythons are awesome snakes to keep.

You don't have to worry about them becoming active to hold them. I get mine out whenever i feel like it. The only time it isn't a good idea to handle them extensively is roughly the first 24hrs after they've eaten. I handle mine briefly right after they eat if i have to clean their tub or something but for the first 24hrs i wouldn't handle for any length of time.

Feeding depends on what size they are. A good rule to go by, for the first year of their life, is to feed them a rodent roughly the same size as the widest part of their body. Once they're adults you don't have to follow that rule though. An 80-125g rat (live or frozen thawed) every 7-10 days is fine for an adult bp. That isn't a set rule or even exactly what i do, its just a general recommendation that someone new to the hobby like you would be fine following.

I'd forget the tanks, I'd recommend a tub or pvc enclosure. You can keep an adult bp in a 32qt tub perfectly fine. I'd get one with locking handles. For bigger females (over 2000ish grams) i'd recommend something a bit bigger like a 41qt tub. There are a lot of good companies that make pvc enclosures that work, one good one is Animal Plastics. Under "terrestrial cages" the T3 would be perfect for an adult bp, either sex.
http://www.apcages.com/

No difference in temperament as far as sex or morph really. Depends on the individual.

[Naom9Anne]

As I said in a much earlier post I don't think there is much of a difference in temperament between male snakes and female snakes but I think I have a slightly stroppy female whereas my males are just delightful. I had my pastel out today and as she tried to delve into a coat on the sofa I scooped her out and was met with a striking snake (mouth open, if I was in range I would have joined the bite club). If this had happened even 2 weeks ago I would have been freaked out, I laughed at her, made her ball up and kept holding her! She will be conditioned

In comparison my boy was plopped on my neck while I walked around and apart from having a little delve into my hair (I usually tie it up) he just sat there, moved around slightly and came off easily. My hatchling spider boy was very active and inquisitive, I only had him out for a minute as he only joined us 3 days ago but he shed today so I took him out to check him over.

Three very different responses from the three out today

I have 3 guys and 3 girls. I think my pastel is simply a feisty snake rather than a feisty female. Snakes can be calmed though with time so I wouldn't let it worry so much, it's a learning curve but never the end of the world. Males generally cost less, that is about the extent of difference between them