An introduction, and setting up for a young BP

[AlanZ]

Greetings all.

I'm a first time poster on this forum.

After many years without a reptile in the house, we're setting up for a young ball python.

A quick bit of history, if you don't mind. My wife and I had a boa for 15 years. We got him as a baby, and when we "retired" him (a good thing, putting him out to stud) 20 years ago, he was 10.5 feet long and weighed 60 lbs.

We've had our African Grey parrott (or does she have us?) for about 33 years.

The current saga began a few weeks ago when I was chatting online with Deb (Dalvers63) whom I've known for years. The proud aunt was showing me photos of the recent BP babies.

I made the 'mistake' of showing the photos to my younger son Josh (19 years old) and this got his attention! He's entering his second year of college, and is seriously considering a career in veterinary, or a related field

We stopped by a local pet store so he could see a baby bp, and handle one. As luck would have it, they were cleaning one of the cages, and a small BP was out of the cage, so Josh got to play with it for a while... his first time touching a snake. He was hooked!

So, he got 'snake' lust. I spoke to Deb about this, and rather than take one of the babies, we're going to adopt a young female bp (currently named baby_m) who is nearly a year old (370 grams).

We're setting up for the new arrival, and I think we've got a handle on the necessities, but would appreciate any additional comments and thoughts on the matter before Deb ships the youngster from WA to NJ to her new home.

Already in house:

• Herpstat thermostat
• LCD thermometer/hygrometer
• Tiny digital IR thermometer (considering getting a better one)
• Water dish
• Small log cluster from pet store
• aspen bedding (although we'll probably start with newspaper and see how it goes from there)
• Hemostat 10"
• Shoebox size sterilite box for housing during cage cleaning

Arriving in a few days:

• Reptile Basics 3x2x1' cage
• UltraTherm UTH mat
• 2 - Reptile Basics medium hide boxes
• 35 frozen weanling size rats from The Mouse Factory

Back when we had our boa, our snake wasn't very good at live food, he was bitten a few times. I read a book called "The Keeper and the Kept" by the curator of the reptile collection of the Staten Island Zoo, and he (radically) suggested that snakes actually prefered dead food. In those days there was only one store in anywhere near us that sold frozen rats, a great convenience and our snake thrived on them. It's great to see them readily available these days, and turned into a small online industry!

So, I think we've got things pretty well covered. Josh is paying for most of this himself, so it's a significant investment on his part, which he's making gladly.

He's excited about having everything ready and setup before calling Deb to ship the youngster to us.

Is there anything we're obviously overlooking?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[frankykeno]

Alan, congrats to your family, yourself and your son on getting what sounds like a lovely first ball python. The preparation you're putting into this will pay off for both you and even more importantly for the snake.

After just a quick run through your list the only thing that jumps out at me is the hide. Most of those log hides are open at each end which doesn't suit these type of snakes terribly well. They tend to like hides that completely encase them other than obviously an entrance either in the side or the roof of the hide. Also they will sometimes toilet in their hides and those log ones I've heard are pretty near impossible to really clean let alone disinfect occasionally. Also it's best to offer the snake two hides if the enclosure has the room, one on each end.

You can go with a commercial snake hide or just make one yourself out of any sort of heavy, plastic, dark colored bowl or heavy black rubber dog dish or whatever (be creative). Think dark, barely bigger than the snake is coiled up and easy for you to clean. If you need pictures, don't hesitate to ask.

You should be quite pleased with the quality of the product from The Mouse Factory. I feel live these days but back when I did feed f/t, I always ordered from them.

Welcome to BPNet and don't forget to post pictures of your new snake as soon as she arrives. You've probably already read about it here but remember to allow her a good solid week of no feeding, no handling to get settled in properly.

[TanyaL]

First off, welcome to the board!

It sounds like you have pretty much everything under control and are better off than most (including myself) who start off with snakes.
This forum is loaded with so many great members who have so much advice and help to offer...I'm sure somebody will be along soon to give their advice!

[starmom]

Welcome!!!

Oh boy, you're going to LOVE your RBI stuff!!!

I have several of their 2x3 cages and they are fantastic!! Hold heat and humidity really well, very easy to clean, and gives a very mellow access to the snake!! Their hides are awesome and all of my snakes use them!!

Herpstat is an excellent choice as they are rock-solid dependable and (if you have the II) comes with nifty features

Mouse Factory rodents are simply the best- bar none. The are healthy, clean, and low odor. Edna takes very good care of her rodents while they are alive as well as amazing post-mortem care. Awesome, healthy food for your son's new snake!!

Of course, while it sounds like you and your family are on a rock-solid path of successful ball python husbandry, you failed to mention one little item------
WE LOVE PICTURES!!!!!!
Please take several and share!!!!!

Again, welcome to the community

[AlanZ]

All,

Thanks for the kind welcome.

Franky,

The Reptile Basics hides are enclosed, they're not log shaped. The medium hide (10x7x2.5") is shown here with a hatchling.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/image.php?type=P&id=16327

I've ordered two identical hides.

[AlanZ]

Ah, now I see where you got the impression about the log shaped hides.

What I was referring to was a small driftwood cluster, not used as a hide, but perhaps useful for shedding, giving her something to rub against or crawl over.

The actual item is a Mac's Creation Driftwood Jungle Gym. The one pictured here is the larger, more complex version. The one we got is simply 4 pieces of driftwood attached into a roughly square shape with overlapping ends.

http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/produ...763095t400.jpg

[Argentra]

I have some of those for my corns...they love it!. Just be careful and bake it often, since bugs like mites love hiding in all that wood. That's why I don't use them for my BPs anymore - just too risky. But my corns adore them.

Very nice and thorough list, there. Glad to see someone who's really prepared and knows their stuff.

[frankykeno]

All,

Thanks for the kind welcome.

Franky,

The Reptile Basics hides are enclosed, they're not log shaped. The medium hide (10x7x2.5") is shown here with a hatchling.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/image.php?type=P&id=16327

I've ordered two identical hides.

Oh silly me I obviously missed that! Those are excellent hides and will work out beautifully for you and your snake. Believe me chipping dried urates off a hard to clean hide loses it's charm pretty fast LOL.

The log thing is just cage decor and will do fine other than the warnings to watch it for bug issues but you'll probably be fine there with the snake coming in clean and just being super careful with quarantine if you bring in another snake at a later date (or visit snake shows or pet stores...you do NOT want any little hitchhikers coming home with you )

Can't wait to see it all set up and your lovely snake. It's heartwarming to see this much work going into snake keeping prior to the snake showing up. Great job!

[dsirkle]

Welcome, and I must say that you are well prepared for the arrival of this snake.

[tideguyinva]

welcome to the site. Sounds like you are on your way. Good luck to you and your son. He is gonna get the fever soon and have to have more LOL. Thats what happened to me.