I hope this helps alot. Thank you Jonah for contributing This shopping list is great, and you can find TONS of fun stuff at WalMart. Rubbermaids would probably be, in alot of people's opinions, the best way to house a BP, but that is up to you. They certainly keep humidity and heat very well and are very cheap (which is good on alot of our budgets). Also, there are some things that you don't have to get at the pet shop, but just reading this should give you the gist of mostly everything you need.

Ball (Royal) Python Shopping List!

Pet Shop List
Tank - This can be a glass aquarium (20L is good), a large rubbermaid, or a nice little professional number found at vision, animal plastics, neodeshacages, etc. (See weblink section under caging - http://www.ball-pythons.net/Web_Link...ink-cid-2.html ) also this housing care sheet could help - http://www.ball-pythons.net/Sections...-4-page-1.html

LOCKING LID - a locking lid is very uesful as BP's are strong and can push off a typical lid. Be sure to get lid clips on a tank or clamps or very strong locking rubbermaid.

Substrate (bedding,litter,etc.)- Your substrate is your cage or tank flooring. You can choose many things the best of course is newspaper for economic and cleanliness reasons, then repile carpet ain't bad (be sure to get 2 pieces so you can clean one and have one in the tank). Cypress bedding also works well, as does bed-a-beast and eco-earth (ground husk types of bedding). DO NOT USE - anything even close to PINE or CEDAR unless you would like to poison your new pet.

2 Hides- One for the warm side and one for the cool - you can buy the rock or cocount looking ones at petstores or make your own from empty boxes, old clay pots, disposable tupperware etc.

Water Dish- It is very important to provide your new BP with fresh water daily. You can buy one of the fancy water dishes at the pet store (be sure it is big enough for your BP to soak in if he wants) or you can just get a heavy bowl from somewhere else, just be sure it isn't so light that when your snake tries to get in it tips. No fun cleaning up soaking wet substrate, plus your snake won't be able to soak.

Thermostat/Rheostat- How antsy are you? If you can keep your temps where they need to be without one than awesome, but if you are using a light or ceramic heat emitter you NEED either a rheostat or thermostat. Even if you are using a heating pad depending on the adjustment amount (L,M,Hi, or 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,etc.) you may want to pick up a rheostat or thermostat. Don't buy the petstore thermostat try to get the one from http://www.bigappleherp.com the pet store ones tend to eat up bulbs and such fast, the BAH one is a little easier on your bulbs and such. If you are comfortable/have the time to monitor temps regularly a rheostat is for you. Pet store rheostats will probably be fine.
EDIT: A sliding dimmer switch works as well and is a bit less expensive. -Thanks Jotay!

Tongs- Tongs are essential for feeding any snake from colubrid to reticulated. NEVER feed by holding the mouse with your hand it is a very n00b thing to do. Snakes have an INCREDIBLE sense of smell so unless you would like to get bitten use tongs and wash your hands after handling any prey items. NOTE: BP's don't have the best aim when striking so it is best to avoid any tongs with sharp points (i.e. tweezers) so that if your BP misses he won't slice himself on what you are holding the prey with.

Walmart List
Heat - this can be a human heating pad WITHOUT AUTO SHUT-OFF (recommended), A heat lamp with either a red or blue(*edit* Black light style) bulb, a heat lamp with a ceramic heating element,(pet store) a pet store style under tank heater, heat tape, or a combo of the above. You only want about 1/3 of the tank to have the heat source to keep a proper temperature gradient.

Rubber Feet - if you decide to go with a tank get some rubber feed that stick on the bottoms of chairs to prevent scratching the floor, these can be found at Walmart for cheap, get four to create some air space between your tank and your heating device (heating pad ).

Anti-Bacterial Soap/ Soapless Hand Dis-infectant - BP's can carry salmonella be sure to wash your hands frequently after handling your snake and especially between handling different snakes.

box of cheap latex/plastic gloves- You'd be amazed at how handy these come in - everything from cleaning out the nasty cage floor on cleaning day to protecting your hands from caulk while making the home made humidifier.

Thermometer/Hygrometer- This to some extent determines whether your snake thrives or suffers. Most dial thermometers are WAY off. A digital combo Thermo/Hygro from Walmart runs about $15 and can be used to monitor the temps on each side (one probe, other sensor is in the unit as is the hygrometer [humidity level meter]). This is the most important device of all - snakes can't talk so it is up to you to maintain the environment properly, if you aren't recieving good information (i.e. bad dials/sensors/meters) you can't maintain the environment well and the snake suffers and could die. So go the extra mile and dollar and get a thermometer/hygrometer you can put some confidence in.

OPTIONAL you could pick up some contact paper, or duct tape to use on the lid if you choose a tank it helps keep the humidity in (glass tanks have trouble holding humidity and heat at times). So you can get that while you're at Walmart if you feel you may need it.
This info is from http://www.ball-pythons.net/PNphpBB2...5-start-0.html

I really hope alot of his helps, but the most important thing a new bp owner needs is patience.. Lots and lots of patience. Oh yeah, and the right-size mouse/rat once a week helps too (On this subject, read more on the feeding aspects)