Extreme newbie wanna-be here....

[Yodawagon]

I would avoid petco or pet smart. There's many online sources for finding snakes. You also get more for your money typically by going with a breeder. If you think you might want to breed in the future, start with a female. Paper towel works great for me. I use a bin.

[John1982]

I've been reading a lot of "care guides" and recommendations for enclosures, and pricing all of the required setup costs. It seems that is the biggest expense aside from some rare or unforeseeable vet costs. Am I accurate with that assumption? Correctamundo, if including the price of the snake in your initial setup costs.

So, being that I am completely 100% new, I have a few questions that I have yet to find answers to... here is where I would greatly appreciate the advice of veteran BP owners or others that are knowledgeable on the topics.

1. Enclosure - Half of what I read says aquarium type is okay if you cover the top to keep humidity in, others say PVC is the way to go. Is one really superior? Aquariums are fine. Sure, there are better options these days - and they're gradually pushing aquariums to the side - but that doesn't negate the fact that glass sided enclosures have been, and are still being, used to successfully keep reptiles.

2. I only have a few places locally that sell snakes. Petco, and a little place that doesn't keep the cages of their stock very clean, so I don't feel the snakes are very well cared for. I have seen much prettier and cheaper snakes online at breeder's websites. Do these snakes handle the shipping process okay, or should I stick with something local? There is a nearby reptile expo coming up this weekend that I hope to check out... maybe I'll luck out there. Snakes handle shipping just fine if packaged right and sent priority overnight.

3. Cost - I can't say that I have a set amount of money to spend, but at the same time, I don't want to spend $700 if I could have gotten something just as practical for $300, in terms of an enclosure/accessories/supplies. PVCCages seem to be pretty nice... like their T8, I believe it was, but it's only 12" high... does that make it hard to access the snake or clean? What's often overlooked is a quality thermostat, which you NEED to properly regulate your heat source. This is probably the single most expensive setup item but you only need one. There are plenty of corners you can cut to save money, the thermostat should not be one of them. Expect to pay somewhere in the $100-200 range for a top quality unit.

4. I saw a bit of conflicting facts on light requirements for the BP's. Some say if the heat is sufficient, no extra light is needed unless you want it for display purposes. I like the LED's to light up the cage. Is additional UV lighting required BP's? Not really needed for ball pythons as they don't often see the light of day, given the choice, in nature or captivity. Some genus, especially the more active diurnal types, seem to benefit from exposure to UVB lighting; Thamnophis and Opheodrys come to mind.

5. Substrait - It looks like a lot of people just use paper... like from a big roll of butcher's paper or brown craft paper that you can buy by the roll. Is that really all you need in the bottom of the cage or is something like reptile cage carpet better? Paper is good because it allows you to see waste immediately. Cleaning is as easy as removing the paper, wiping down the enclosure, putting a fresh sheet down. Bear in mind that while heat and humidity are good, mold and bacteria are bad. You need to find a substrate that works best for you, that you can keep clean, while still providing the right parameters for your pet. I'd steer clear of reptile carpet. While it can be used successfully, it takes a lot more cleaning/upkeep than pretty much any other substrate.


I know that is a lot of questions, and if anyone can help with any of them, the wiser I will be. I'm old enough to know that I don't know anything, so any knowledge is welcome.

Just in case you want to know, I think the piebald's and Mojave's are gorgeous. Agreed!

Again, thank you,
Jason

My pleasure, Jason, and welcome to the wonderful world of reptiles. Thanks for doing your research first too! Your future herp has everything to gain from this important, and often overlooked, part of responsible pet ownership!

[hazzaram]

awesome guys, and thank you very much. I've been sitting here at the keyboard hoping to get some replies. I guess I'm a little excited. LOL. I will definitely look more into the tub enclosures for now, at least for starters. I guess I didn't think of them as being "escape proof", but I guess if you secure it, it could be. Hopefully I'll get to the expo this weekend and get to get up close and personal with some snakes and talk to some people in person. That goes a long way, I know. I may stop by Petco and see what they have, but I've felt their pet stuff is usually overpriced and where I'm located, I'm getting advice from a college student that may or may not still be hungover from the night before and is probably telling me what he/she read on a box somewhere. I'm sure some of them know their stuff.... but I'd feel better hearing it from a breeder or owner of snakes. I was at the pet store today (the dirty one) and they had two ball pythons, one was over 3' and the other I'd guess was between 2'-3'. The smaller one was $160 and the larger was $199. They didn't look to be anything special, but maybe they were. As I said before, I don't trust that place too much either. lol.

Back to researching... thanks again! I'll keep you posted, I'm sure!

I use the tubs with the latching handles and for extra security, I use a luggage strap from the dollar store and clip it around the middle. It keeps everything escape proof!

[AllThatInThemGenes]

Welcome!!! I will be keeping an eye out for what morph you end up getting (secretly i hope you get a pied )

[PitOnTheProwl]

Welcome.
Most everyone hit it out of the park.
I personally would go check out the expo (pricing will always be better).
Don't forget IF you do decide on a morph and are checking out sites from breeders, there is also shipping to add on (usually about $50).
Where exactly in the "southwest" are you? You might have breeders closer than you think.

First thing will be finding something that catches your eye and go from there.

[ShaggyRS6]

1-5 seems like you have a good understanding of what you need, just look into PETCO first to see if they have any of the snakes your interested in FIRST, I got my Lemon Blast for $53 and some change from a pet store, look there first then if they don't have what your looking for try the expos and breeders online...

^^^^^^^^^ this - I also got my snake from Petco. Little Monty Is awesome.

[LittleTreeGuy]

Welcome.
Where exactly in the "southwest" are you? You might have breeders closer than you think.

That should be southwestern Pennsylvania... not southwestern US. I'm about an hour south of Pittsburgh, very close to West Virginia actually.


Okay, so I strolled up to Petco today. They had some BP's that looked to be healthy and were in the $60-$150 range. None really drew me in like some of the morphs I have seen. I was about to start loading up a cart with a 20long critter cage and some other stuff when I happened to ask a group of guys working there if they had thermostats in stock. Turns out, he is BOA guy and is going to the same expo I was planning on going to tomorrow. He kinda laughed and said, I wouldn't buy anything here... go to the expo and see what you can find. Worst case, you have to come back here or another pet store to pick up an enclosure, but it's likely that I can find something, perhaps even something used there for a lot less. I also spoke to someone from the expo via Facebook and they assured me I can get anything and everything there if I so choose. So now I'll just wait until tomorrow and check things out and see where that takes me.

I did have another question come to mind today... what do you all do in the event power goes out at your house? Do you use a computer UPS system or something, or just try to keep the enclosure warm?

[Crowfingers]

I don't know if they will be attending the same expo, but I recently got my first ball python from American Made Exotics.
I originally sent them an email to see if the available snakes on the site were all that were available, or if they had more that would be at the expo. I got a return email in less that a hour (this was at 10pm). Over the next 5 days I sent them at least 12 emails, all of which were answered nearly immediately. I was interested in three of the snakes, and they offered to bring them to the show so I could see them in person (also meant I didn't have to pay shipping). I did get my snake from them, he has been great, when I got home from the expo, the owner of American Made Exotics had emailed me and apologized that he didn't get to give me all the snakes info since he was busy with other customers. He ended up sending me the records of every meal he ever had plus every weight that had ever been taken while he was with the breeder. Because of this experience, I would highly recommend looking them up, or talking to them if they are at your expo. I know they go to a lot of expos on the east coast.

[gaitedappy]

I did have another question come to mind today... what do you all do in the event power goes out at your house? Do you use a computer UPS system or something, or just try to keep the enclosure warm?

I too would be interested to hear some answers to this question, it's isn't one I've thought of. I suppose one could use a small generator if it's needed, but I would think the enclosure should be able to hold the heat for a while before that would be needed...

[ShaggyRS6]

I too would be interested to hear some answers to this question, it's isn't one I've thought of. I suppose one could use a small generator if it's needed, but I would think the enclosure should be able to hold the heat for a while before that would be needed...

FWIW I used to use a UPS on my Marine Fish tank. Had to use it a couple of times.