New to Ball Pythons...

[mlg]

I recently got a beautiful Lesser Spider Axanthic from a young lady who was moving to college and unable to take her along. She is beautiful with blue eyes, white belly. She will be 4 years old next month. So far she is a good eater for me and does not mind being handled. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I have done tons of research over the years as I have always wanted a snake as a pet. I plan to get her a larger enclosure and was thinking of doing a bioactive vivarium. Pros? Cons?

[dakski]

First, welcome.

Secondly, if she's eating for you that's a big plus! Sounds like you are on the right track.

Third, a few basics on husbandry in case you don't know.

1. Ideal Temps For a BP - Hot side (87-89F), Ambient (81-84F), and cool side (78-80F).

2. Ideal Humidity For a BP - 45-55% with a small bump when your snake is in shed

3. All heating elements must be plugged into and controlled by a thermostat for stability of temps and for the safety of your BP. Too cold can hurt digestion, but too hot can be dangerous or even deadly.

Finally, what type (PVC, glass, etc.) and size enclosure is she in now? What size do you want? Do you know what type of enclosure you want to upgrade to?

Bioactive enclosures can be cool, but also in some ways more work, from what I've heard. I'll let people with more experience there chime in as I've never done one.

I like to keep things pretty simple with my enclosures, and use paper substrate which is easy to clean. I have 11 enclosures now and keeping things simple and clean is very helpful at that point. I also have PVC enclosures, so humidity and temps aren't an issue.

Again, welcome, and don't be afraid to ask about things you want to know or have questions on.

Good luck and keep us posted.

P.S. I noticed in your profile pic that your BP has some stuck shed on her tail. That can be because of humidity issues or stress. Either way, you will want to get that off of her quickly and gently. Any questions on how, just ask.

[mlg]

First of all thank you for the welcome!

That pic was the day I got her. I have already let her soak a couple days after I got her, as I didn't want to stress her, and was able to easily wipe the scales on her tail and she had some on her neck as well that easily wiped off after soak. As of right now she came with a 20gal glass enclosure with heat pad under tank and overhead lamp. I plan to go to ceramic overhead as from what research I have done over the years lighting is not required other than for day/night cycle and often causes issues with humidity. I have had her for almost 2 weeks and have been able to keep temps steady at 89 on warm side and 80-82 on cool side, humidity has fluctuated a bit between 55 and 60%. Previous owner used newspaper, with a single hide, and water bowl and that's it. I plan to change her to a substrate this week when I clean her tank and get her a second hide in place. I plan to change 1-2 things at a time as to not cause any stress. She has adjusted well so far and I don't want to hinder any progress we have made.
I try to handle her for 10min a day other than the 48-72 hours after I fed her. She is use to being handled and so far has always been pretty curious and relaxed when being handled. Just trying to get her use to me as her caretaker. I also only get her out if she is already out and exploring in her enclosure.
I have two enclosures that I am seriously looking at one is PVC 4'x2'x2', the other is glass on three sides and comes in 50gal or 67gal. My husband is a fan of the Bioactive enclosures and has done extensive research as he has been wanting a Bearded Dragon. From what I have researched, they may take more time with Ball Pythons to figure out their patterns of how they move around the enclosure to figure out placement for plants etc as they will just bulldose over them, also must have dwarf isopods as larger ones can injure the snake. If we do bioactive the larger would be needed to create a good ecosystem but I am nervous about keeping it warm enough. We live in a pretty humid area in southern Indiana so its not as much of an issue.

[mlg]

Also I do have a question when it comes to breeding season.
I do not plan to breed her, but was wandering as far as if I need to just leave her alone during this time as I would when she is in the shedding process or if our normal routine is okay.
Thank you.

[nikkubus]

Ceramic heat is my least favorite option for any snake that likes mid-high humidity (I do not count heat lights as an option at all). I would not recommend that. If you are going bioactive, under-tank-heating isn't a good option either. I would look into radiant heat panels. They function similar to a ceramic, but without quite as much drying of the air, and do better on standard thermostats, especially if they are a little bigger than needed. If you get a CHE that is more watts than needed, there is a chance (even on thermostat) for the heat to get too high because once the thermostat shuts it off, it's going to continue heating for quite some time as it cools down. Radiant heat also adds the bonus of being easier to place inside the enclosure in a variety of enclosure styles, rather than having to modify the hood of the enclosure for it to be outside.

4x2x2 is probably a great choice for size to go bioactive, but I will caution you, that is a HUGE jump from what she has now. You need to decorate the heck out of it in plants, wood, hides, etc so she feels nice and safe while she gets used to having all that room. You are going to want to set it up a good deal of time before actually moving her, especially if you are doing live plants. I give my bioactive enclosures at least 6 weeks without the main animal(s) going in them for the plants to get settled and the isopods and springtails to really get going, and then add some more isopods and springtails right before the animal to give it a boost to handle the waste. If you haven't stared cultures of either of those yet, I'd even get going on that before the enclosure, as they will breed a lot faster when they have an easier time finding each other. I have a little tray I save dead leaves from my houseplants to feed them, which I know are pesticide free, but you can purchase leaves online if you don't really have that option. A false-bottom is an absolute must in my opinion to provide some drainage. There are tons of guide on youtube how to do that using light diffuser and hydroton. Depending how your enclosure comes, you may have to modify the front to be able to support a deep enough drainage layer. I'd avoid anything with a wire mesh lid unless it's only part of it, as heat an humidity is going to escape a lot. If you are going with live plants, make sure you choose things that don't need much light, because the ball python will not like that, and ones that are pretty sturdy and/or grow fast enough that damage isn't a big deal. I've had pretty good luck with pothos and small dracaena.

IMHO bioactive are a ton of work to set up and in the beginning, but once you really get the going are a lot easier to maintain than a normal enclosure because you don't really have to clean them. All I do to mine once they are really going is water them just like I would any other enclosure, and prune plants that have gone a little crazy.

As far as breeding season goes, if you are not breeding her, you do not need to do anything differently than always.

[mlg]

Thank you for the info!

Yes! I told my husband if we go to something that large we will have to have a lot of clutter so she will feel secure. If we do a bio I planned to do a subterranean hide over the heat pad so she would be able to get down to the warmth.

As far as plants if we go this route I was looking at doing pathos and mother-in-laws tongue, that I have seen are pretty sturdy.

When I am off this week I plan to leave the light off and monitor the temp of her enclosure and see if the heat pad does the job and just forgo an overhead heat source at this time if the temp doesn't drop.

[Hugsplox]

Thank you for the info!

Yes! I told my husband if we go to something that large we will have to have a lot of clutter so she will feel secure. If we do a bio I planned to do a subterranean hide over the heat pad so she would be able to get down to the warmth.

As far as plants if we go this route I was looking at doing pathos and mother-in-laws tongue, that I have seen are pretty sturdy.

When I am off this week I plan to leave the light off and monitor the temp of her enclosure and see if the heat pad does the job and just forgo an overhead heat source at this time if the temp doesn't drop.

Also just to follow up on what Nikkubus said, if/when you do move her into a new enclosure, you should treat her as if you just got her. So no handling until she's eaten three times consecutively for you. Let her settle into that new enclosure as if she had just come home with you. I also agree that if you're going to do a 4x2x2 a radiant heat panel would be a great option. I'm currently using one and have had no issues maintaining the parameters I shoot for.

[mlg]

Thank you!