Quote Originally Posted by BostonMacK
Hello everyone, wonderful site here.
Welcome to BPNet! Glad you found us!

I am 32 years old and just got the OK from my wife to go and buy a snake, mind you this has taken me years. I have decided to go with a BP due to all the great things I hear about them one of which is it being a great "first timer" snake.
BP's are a great snake. Big enough to handle nicely but not huge enough to ever need more than one handler or be a problem sizewise. They tend to be very laid back though will stress when over handled as most snakes will. They aren't hard to keep properly as long as you stick to some basics. A good place to start is the caresheet here.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

What do I look for in a snake?
If you are looking for a nice pet snake a male normal Ball Python will likely suit you very well. If you are planning to breed at some point down the road than either a male morph or a female normal might be something you want to consider. I would suggest you avoid most pet stores as the vast majority of them are going to sell you a wild caught ball python and tell you it's captive born, may send it home with a lovely case of mites along with it, or sell you a non-feeding snake that supposedly eats well. Most pet stores do not sex their snakes so you also won't know whether you've got a male or a female. With an unknown quality pet store baby BP you may as well budget in a fecal float done by a herp vet (checks for internal parasites) and a sexing if you want to know what you've actually got.

It's quicker to get a snake from PetCo, it may well work out but statistically it's likely to end up costing you a lot more than finding a breeder (ask around there are good ones and bad ones) and having a nice, well started, healthy, properly sexed baby shipped to your door.

If you are going to go out tomorrow though and buy one from a pet store, do get an enclosure first. Pick your snake, put down a deposit and then get an enclosure set up and stable first. It will safe you a lot of hassle and the snake a lot of stress.

As far as picking a snake, look for one that is chunky looking. BP's are a girthy snake and you shouldn't be seeing a triangular looking body shape with the spine prominent. You want a snake without stuck sheds on it, without damage to it's scales, clean clear eyes, clean dry vent, etc. Find out what it eats and make sure you can get a weekly supply of this type of food (mice or rats - live, pre-killed or frozen/thawed). If you are buying a pet store snake, ask if you can watch it being fed. That way you know it eats and also can mimic how it's fed so it will be more likely to eat for you.

Sorry about the huge post. There's a lot of things to think about right now as you decide to get your snake and it can be a bit overwhelming but the members of BPNet are passionate about helping newcomers so you can have a great experience as a snake owner and the snake can live a wonderful life with you.