husband brought home a BP. Now what?!

[iobyrhiannon@outlook]

Locks and weights are on my list as well! Another question. She apparently has a sister still at the store that was raised with her. They tried to get him to buy her as well. He didnt but wants to. Ive read not to house 2 together. Its pulling at my heart strings a little that they are separated but not sure I can handle 2! Thoughts?

[Eric Alan]

Locks and weights are on my list as well! Another question. She apparently has a sister still at the store that was raised with her. They tried to get him to buy her as well. He didnt but wants to. Ive read not to house 2 together. Its pulling at my heart strings a little that they are separated but not sure I can handle 2! Thoughts?

Don't, unless you plan on setting up two separate enclosures for them. More experienced keepers can make it work, but while you're learning the ropes it'll be significantly more trouble than you want to take on.

[Yonny]

You can get a ceramic water dish from the dollar tree, if you have one, for a buck. Also I don't know about other peoples pythons but my guy seems to love his half log hide...

[iobyrhiannon@outlook]

Eric alan my thoughts exactly!

[Reinz]

Welcome to the forum Rhiannon.

One invaluable tool that I believe no one has mentioned is a temperature gun. You can get one at Lowes or Amazon. Don't trust YOUR sense of touch. The temp guns are accurate and I use mine daily to check the main areas of my tanks. They cost about $30 +/- .

[mikesmelly]

You don't necessarily need a heat lamp unless the ambient temp in the room isn't about 80 degrees. If it's less than that I strongly suggest a ceramic heat emitter, it gives off no light which can be stressful to snakes. It will raise the ambient temp in the tank about 7 degrees depending on the wattage. Also don't measure tanks by how many gallons it is, what's important is the dimensions. For an adult BP, 36×18×18 will be large enough. You may want to start smaller until she grows, but if not you can just fill the tank with a lot of clutter.

You definitely want a thermostat regulating your UTH, I set mine at 90 degrees.

Two hides on each side of the tank, a water dish, decent bedding, and fake plants/decorations will make your tank complete.

[kinley]

I just dont have any kind of small dish that she wont tip over. Was going to see about a small cat size bowl. What im using is an 8x8 casserole dish haha! Should they feel cold to the touch? Ive got to get the thermometer and all that but she says over the uth and in the hide over it but feels cold to me.

If you use a Tupperware, the type that have the lid that can snap to the bottom of it, just snap a lid to the bottom and put it in there like that. The lid will give it stability so it doesn't tip!



That's what I'm using right now while my baby is sick.

[anicatgirl]

I am going to go simple. Read Eric's links. They are all the info you will need, and in a more straightforward way than all of us offering opinions.

That said, and I hope you enjoy your stay. This place is full of awesome, knowledgeable people.

[Eric Alan]

I am going to go simple. Read Eric's links. They are all the info you will need, and in a more straightforward way than all of us offering opinions.

That said, and I hope you enjoy your stay. This place is full of awesome, knowledgeable people.

It's certainly not ALL of the info a person will need, but they're definitely a good starting point.

[Penultimate]

Alright. I'm going to echo some of what's already been said. A thermostat (or a dimmer switch) for the UTH is top priority. Don't worry about feeding until everything else is in order. As for temperatures, 90 on the warm side and 75-80ish on the cool side is going to be your best bet. Measure this with a temperature gun and digital thermometers. She shouldn't need a lamp unless you end up struggling with temps. Do not use the cheap plastic dials to measure temperature and humidity. Home Depot will probably have everything you need to read temperatures. As for hide boxes, try the Reptile Basics website. They don't look natural, but they should work for her.

Also, I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but you should probably watch her for snake mites. Sometimes the big chain stores have mite issues. Humans, dogs and all other animals are not at risk if the snake has mites, no worries. Look for pepper flake things in the water and keep an eye on her to see if she soaks excessively in her water dish. If you notice her soaking, check under her chin for little black specks. If she has mites, I have heard good things about the product Provent-a-Mite. Hopefully this won't be a problem, but it's something to be aware of.

Once you have everything set up correctly, ball pythons are some of the easiest pets out there. This girl should fit right in with your lifestyle. I'd highly recommend looking over the links in Eric Alan's signature. Those are some useful links. Welcome to the forum!