Quote Originally Posted by LSama
I'm considering a BP, hopefully to be purchased at MARS this year. So that's my first question; I would prefer to buy from a buyer that is, at the very least, someone local to my area. I live in Glen Burnie; I'm about 10-20 minutes from Baltimore and Annapolis, give or take a few minutes. Are there any reputable dealers that you guys can suggest I should keep my eyes open for, while I'm at MARS? Which brings me to my next question...
Look for mites. I've never seen one before, but they should be very small and black. (If I am wrong, please correct me)Make sure the snake isn't opening it's mouth often to breathe. Also make sure it isn't anorexic or too skinny.

I know MARS is a big event, and I'm slightly worried that the only thing I'm going to see while I'm there is going to be nothing but really expensive morphes, something I don't have the cash for, frankly. I'm sure some of you have been to MARS(or go regularly!)--is this something I should even be bothered with worrying about? I'm looking to get just a plain ol' normal BP, though believe you me when I say that I love some of the pictures of the reduced patterns I've seen floating around on the forums, of normals(Oh, those long back stripes, how I love them..!). Oh, this leads into another question...
You should definately be able to find a normal at the show. I wouldn't worry.

While I understand what reduced is, I'm not 100% sure what 'blushing' and 'flames' are--I mean, I know they are patterns/colors/lackthereof! on snakes, but do you think you guys could give me a better explination(a visual would be even better!)?
Not too sure of flames, but blushing means that the snake has faded spots where it should be dark. (again, correct me if I'm wrong)

Onto the topic of enclosures. First of all, what are good size dimensions for a slitherbaby? I've heard that getting something too big can be stressful, and I don't want that..and while I'm sure, one day, I'm going to want something nice and lovely to look at(AP, I'm thinking!), I've read that rubbermade/sterilite is a widely used enclosure; It's cheap, it holds humity well, and can be replaced easily as soon as the snake gets bigger. And while a glass tank would be aesthetically pleasing, I've heard it a bit harder to keep the humidity right--and they make sterilite that's virtually see-through anyway..
Yup, tubs are way better than aquariums. Tubs aren't aesthetically pleasing, but why should an enclosure for a Ball Python be? Ball-pythons are generally shy and chances are, you won't see your snake out and about.

But I've a slight concern. I intend to use UTH pads for heating: Is this safe to use with plastic, no matter how heavy-duty, directly? Or should I put something between the pad and the plastic? I certainly DON'T want to melt it! Heck, should I decide to use a glass aquarium, for whatever reason, does the same still apply? Because I don't want to burn my new slitherbaby, either! And what is safe to put the heating pad, itself, on? The place I have in mind for the snake is atop a large metal trunk, that currently has a sheet across the top of it? Is that safe to put the UTH on, itself?
I wouldn't worry because if you have a thermostat/rheostat/dimmer, (Which you should have) the temperature won't get hot enough to burn the tub or aquarium.

Substrate! Newspaper, while cheap and effective..well, it just doesn't look all that flattering, if you ask me. I've heard that aspen shavings are really good; I was considering using maybe a bottom layer of newspaper and cover that in the shavings..But then, earlier, I saw a video of someone who had apparently been simple shredding paper in a paper shredder(I believe they said it was junk mail, actually!), which I have. Which leads to this question: Is this safe? I've read there are concerns about substrate getting stuck to fur on rodents and then making it into the python's mouth, which is probably not a good thing..I imagine a paper cut in the mouth wouldn't be much funner(Though this is probably horribly unlikely)! And like pine is unsafe for snakes, I'm worried that...well, that if the paper got wet, who knows where it's been and what it's got on it.. Is this really safe? Or should I just stick to newspaper/aspen shavings and call it a day? Though I could probably make a newspaper last a loooong time if I shave that bad boy up..
I would just use newspaper/aspen. I don't know if shredded paper is good.

My roommate and I(you'll probably see her show up on this thread and ask more questions!) are insane audiophiles..and we listen to music constantly. I wear headphones, but she doesn't have that luxury. It's not like we're talking booming, insanely loud bass here, or anything like that, but at night, she likes to keep it on--helps her sleep. During the day, it's very quite down here in the basement, but I don't want the snake to become stressed out by the music that's on at night--again, we're not talking about anything insanely loud or anything, but still, sound is sound, and snakes have ears too! ...Kinda. ..Sorta. Yea.
You could keep the snake somewhere where she doesn't listen to music. They can get stressed by the vibrations.

I greatly, greatly appreciate all of you--reading this forum has really helped me in the past few months!
Me too! Except they've helped me for years LOL