Emotional Roller Coaster!

[Acedink]

I wish ball pythons came with a warning about the stress it can cause you (and the stress you can cause them).

I'm a noob to this, and of course watched the $100 tank setup video and was convinced this was an easy pet to have. I took my daughter to ReptiCon like 6-7 weeks ago, and she picked out a Banana Ball. All along the way I felt like I kept screwing up with the care. The little guy didn't eat...Until last night. F/T weren't working, and then I learned the setup wasn't ideal. Just last week I added a hide to the 'warm' side (80-82 degrees) as before I only had a hide on the hot side. The tank is in the basement which is the best the wife would allow. So it is a bit chilly down there, so I again, just recently added a 2nd UTH for the 80-82 side.

I don't think I could have done it without these boards. I went from the high of buying the little guy and seeing the look on my 10 year old's face, and then the stress and sleepless nights when he wouldn't eat. And now, the pure happiness that he finally ate. It was a live feeder, but I'm perfectly fine with that. I finally found a place near me that has them.

Just a big thank you to these boards, and every single person who responded to my questions. I took a little bit from everyone to finally get things right.

Best part is that no one seems to be judgy on here at least from what I've seen. Just trying to help other owners with their questions.

Thanks again!

[dboeren]

Everyone starts somewhere, and glad to hear that your little guy is eating now. You can work on transitioning him to f/t once you feel confident that everything is OK.

[Acedink]

Thanks, and I do plan to keep him on live for at least a month or two to make sure he eats, and is growing.

[SMTHook]

UTHs don't effect ambient temperature much. I'd make sure I have a temperature gun to spot check floor temps. It can be 80 degrees ambient and 130 degrees on the ground. Be careful.

[Damage, Inc.]

Congratulations!!!
One thing that causes me stress too is when they won't eat. But once they do it's a wonderful feeling.

[glasspassages]

I completely agree with OP. I got my first ball python a month ago and I've spent countless hours on this forum learning everything there is to know about proper husbandry. Snakes are so different from any other animal I've cared for, so I was constantly and neurotically reading up on any new behaviour I'd see my little ball do, especially since I got him from craigslist and was unsure of his past. This forum gave me a lot of peace of mind and steered me in the right direction many times. I'm lucky that Eggs my ball python is a really easy going blobber knobber who doesn't mind being handled and eats with the power of ten suns, but I really couldn't have done as well as I have with him without all the valuable info I found on this forum.
Here is a pic of Eggs the first day I got him. He's gained about 35g since.

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[Bogertophis]

That's a really beautiful snake!

[glasspassages]

That's a really beautiful snake!

Thank you! He is exactly the snake I wanted... I really love that he has a lot of oranges along with the light yellows. That's why I named him Eggs... 'cause it looks like he's got egg yolks all over him.

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