bad BP book?

[mr~python]

i got this BP book from petco a couple weeks ago and i think it has some incorrect info.

it says stuff like:
-"77-88 during the day and 68-73 at night"(i thought that was way too cold!)
-"BP's are quite social animals, and several large or small specimens(though not mixed in size) can share a sufficiently large cage."(i thought they werent and would eat eachother)
-"a cage 48 inches x 30 inches x36 inches would be suitable for a pair of adult BP's"(isnt that a little big?)

i could be wrong, but what do you guys think?

[daniel1983]

what is the title and author?

[tigerlily]

I would take that book back!

[mr~python]

what is the title and author?

The Guide to Owning a Ball Python by John Coborn with Jerry G. Walls.

[kjc]

i think i bought that book from petco too, we were using it, but then we found this site with actual people who seem to know what they are talking about so we decided to stick with your guys advice since a lot of the stuff in there conflicts with the majority of people here say.so im sticking to the advice of people with experience with snakes rather than a book from a place which doesnt even have thermometers or hygrometers in their cages with their snakes for sale.

[daniel1983]

I have that one.....and it was definately a waste of money....horrible info IMO... Feel free to give a review in our review section I have a few reptile books that I need to put up on our review section....

[mr~python]

i dont even think it tells you how often to feed a BP. im still lookin though, but ive read the whole book a couple times.

[Lady Python]

BPs are sociable. My two live happily together Bobby is older than Byron and initially they kept their distance from each other. Now where you find one, you find the other. The only thing I do is feed them separately (one in viv, one out both at the same time). I know Byron is definitely male (he was probed before I got him - he's definitely a Mummy's Boy LOL). Bobby I'm not sure on so it could be Robert or Roberta (although I refer to him as a him). We know a breeder (who we got some cornsnakes from) who is willing to come over and probe all our snakes so we know what sex they are.
Temps in that book are too low - hot side should be around 92 Deg F, cool side about 84 Deg F but that can vary depending on the size of viv you've got.

I've got a 2ft x 2ft x 15 in viv at the moment which my two BPs are rapidly outgrowing (guess what they're getting for Christmas ) and I find the temp in the viv doesn't tend to vary as much as it should, so mine usually sits in the high 80's. Doesn't seem to bother the snakes as they are eating and shedding fine. I don't turn them down at night unless I think they're too hot. By what I've read on the forums, turning the temps down at night is more done if you intend to breed. I don't want to breed my snakes so tend to keep a stable temperature and humidity.

I think Adam is more the person to advise on temps and definitely the one to ask on this.

A good book is the Ball Python Manual. I have that one, and although I think some of the info in it is outdated (just my own personal opinion), there is a lot of really good, valuable advice. It's not an expensive book but if you keep BPs is definitely worth having.

[Adam_Wysocki]

BPs are sociable.

Not according to every leading expert in the field of herpetology. Massing together in groups the way turtles, snakes, frogs, etc do is a far cry from what is commonly known as social behavior.

My two live happily together Bobby is older than Byron and initially they kept their distance from each other. Now where you find one, you find the other.

That is a classic example of one animal dominating the other. Just like many other reptiles, ball pythons express their dominance over other individuals to ensure placement for the best food, water, basking, etc sources. Some of the most flagrant examples of this type of dominance can be seen in bearded dragons with their head bobbing and "piliing on" behaviors ... in ball pythons it's much more subtle, but the same principle applies.

FWIW, the book is crap ... lots of old information about keeping bp's that has it's origins in the 70's and 80's when people didn't know a thing about ball pythons and basically kept them the same way as boas. We know much better today.

-adam

[Lady Python]

Adam, which book is crap? The BP Manual, the Petco one or both? For the record, I've learnt more off the forums than I have through books but am learning something new every day just by watching my snakes.