Quote Originally Posted by RedCloud View Post
Hello everyone In a week or two I should (hopefully) be getting my first ball python. I'm not looking to breed or anything (not yet ) so this snake is just to be a pet. I have had a corn snake now for a few months so I'm not completely new to snake care, and I've done all my research and read all the care sheets and such. I'm really just hoping some of you can point me towards some affordable products and give me some advice. First off, I'm looking for a good tub to house her in. I've went tub shopping (haha) but I'm always afraid I'm gonna buy the wrong one cause with my luck I'll buy that one tub you should NEVER use xD The snake I'm getting *should* be a baby female. I've looked at quite a few of the name brand "locking" tubs and not only am I having trouble finding a suitable size, but they don't seem very secure. I'm terrified at the idea of an escape as I have a cat in the house and radiators she can get lost under. For my corn I'm using a glass tank w/ locks AND bungee cords even though he's never tried to escape yet. So, any ideas on a tub? I know I'm gonna have to upgrade which is another reason I'm going with tubs over tanks aside from the fact I don't have the space for anymore tanks lol. Links are particularly helpful, i'm willing to buy online as long as the price is decent. My budget for this is $420 max. I can't really spend a dollar over that at the moment. Secondly, I wanted to ask about ordering. I'm looking to get my snake from BHB Reptiles as they seem to be very reputable and I haven't heard any complaints. I also watch they're little youtube series and they seem to really care about their animals/know what they're doing. Their price for a normal ball python female is $70 w/ shipping. My big question is does anyone know what they feed their baby balls? Live or frozen? I do NOT want to be feeding live unless its absolutely necessary as I live in an apartment w/ my mother (I'm 18) and having live mice (or especially rats!) in the house is a big no-no. If she were to go off feed for a while and it was a necessity then, sure, that'd be fine, but every week won't work haha I also had a question about heat tape. I know its supposed to be a whole lot cheaper then heat mats and I'm really looking into it as I don't want to have to buy another heat mat every time she moves up a tub size. I'm just not very sure on how to set it up. I know it requires a thermostat, and I already have one for my corn setup so I know how those work, but not sure how I'd hook one up to heat tape. Also, I use one of the cheap hydrofarm ones. Would that be ok with heat tape? Last thing, I will be keeping her in the same room that I keep my birds (parakeets) in. The birds are all tucked away, so I'm not worried about them escaping or the snake being able to get to them. Would there be any other issues with keeping them in the same room? Thanks in advance! Sorry for such a long post full of noobish questions xD
We have used the Sterilite ClearView Latch tubs (clear bins with purple latches) with no escaping issues since we got our boys in December. I know some people use bungee cords, luggage straps, or binder clips to help keep the lid secure, especially with larger bins, but we have not needed to use anything other than the latches. We started them in the 15 qt bins, and recently switched them to 32 qt bins. We purchased them at Target - I'm pretty sure if you buy them online, you have to buy like 6 of them, so it'd probably be better to just look in the store. I think the 15 qt bins were about $5-6 each, and the 32 qt bins were about $8 each, but I'm not positive. They look like these: http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProdu...=252&section=1 and http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProdu...=252&section=1 An adult male ball python should be fine in a 32 qt bin, but an adult female will probably need a 41 qt bin.

Wherever you get your baby, ask the breeder what she's eating. It'd definitely be easiest if she's already on frozen/thawed rats, if that's what you want her to ultimately be on. I also would recommend going to a reptile show to purchase her, because it's cheaper (prices are generally lower and you save the cost of shipping), and you can actually see and handle her before you make a final decision. Shipping is also fairly stressful for them, so if you can avoid shipping, it's generally easier on the snake.

We have a Herpstat 1 and love it, and the Vivarium electronics thermostats are also supposed to be really good. They're pretty similar in price.
http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html
http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats

We built our own rack out of melamine, and we're using 4" THG heat tape. We purchased it from Reptile Basics, and it came pre-assembled at exactly the lengths I requested, so it was really easy.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-tape

This thread is really helpful for setting up a tub: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e-Basics-*DUW*
You can use the second method of attaching the heat mat (or in your case heat tape) to a piece of melamine so it's easier to clean the tubs, and when you switch tub sizes, you don't have to worry about moving the heat tape at all. I hope that makes sense.

To answer your last question, you shouldn't have any issues with housing her in the same room as your birds. There are several people who successfully keep mice, rats, etc. in the same room as their snakes. I have noticed that my bearded dragons (who are in the same room as our ball pythons) seem to notice and watch the snakes sometimes when they are moving about their tubs. I have no experience with birds, but you may want to consider if they can see each other when you're deciding where the snake's tub will be in relation to the birds.