Hi! New to Ball Pythons!

[Bogertophis]

Very nice choice! And I assume you know not to handle a new snake until he has "settled in" & preferably has taken food preferably 3 times at normal (weekly) intervals without refusals (unless in shed, then refusing food is normal)? This is very hard even for adults, but miserable for most kids. But handling can put them off eating, & that's the most important thing- their health & the functioning of their immune system. And there's nothing so frustrating as a snake that won't eat...trust me.

Looks like you've fixed up a nice home already too- -the only issue is that it's a better idea to avoid all the fancy substrate & hides & just use white paper towels on the floor for the first month or so & ONLY plastic hides, just IN CASE he brought snake mites home with him- otherwise, they can hide everywhere. I'm hoping that doesn't happen (but sadly it does all too often, since things get passed around at expos, even if the seller you bought from had no such issues), & at least mites should show up pretty well on this guy, except on his head. But do keep a watch anyway- mite eggs are tiny & part of the problem too- & snake mites can kill snakes, especially young & smaller ones, & they can multiply faster than you'd think- exponentially. They also carry diseases. So do stay vigilant.

I hope you remembered to ask the source/breeder/seller exactly what this snake is eating reliably? (as in mice or rats, live or f/t, & size) And the hatch date is good to know also.

And sorry if all this is already well-understood by you- but since you're new around here, I don't want things to go unmentioned, because above all, we want you to have SUCCESS with your new snake- so don't take what I've said to be a buzz-kill, ok? It's not intended that way at all- we just aim to help.