I'm certain I've done some of it wrong, but things seem to be going OK so far. I've been interested in snakes for a very long time, but for one reason or another never adopted one. Recently, I was at a PetSmart to buy fish for my daughter and noticed two ball pythons in a display.

I probably get some points for this one: I went home and did a lot of online research. I saw a lot of data, some with indicia of trustworthiness (I was particularly attentive to the thoughts of the primary reptile curator at a zoo), others purely opinion and everything in between. After reading and reading, I decided I was ready for a ball python.

I located a 29H fish tank on Craigslist that already had a metal mesh lid, two thermometers and a hygrometer. I got it for less than the cost of the instruments. Then I made a trip to the local department store for items like clamp lamps and flower pots to use as hides - a lot cheaper than the pet store. But PetSmart got to sell me a UTH, light timer and heat bulb.

I took everything home and put together an enclosure. I wanted to see how the temperatures and humidity would work out. (These snakes had been at PetSmart for a while, no one was going to come in and close them out.) Finally, I felt I was ready to bring home a ball python.

When I went to PetSmart to make a purchase, I'd already been there and had handled their snakes. I'd also had a nice chat with a gentleman who worked there who had ball pythons of his own - this had a positive impression. When I was ready to buy, I handled both snakes and chose the one who seemed most comfortable with the exercise. I paid the bill, and now owned a ball python.

Based on everything I'd read, I wasn't expecting a lot of interaction for a while. However, when I put Escher in his new home, he spent some time exploring it. Originally, I had one small clay flower pot as a hide, propped up against a flower pot base that served as a water dish. Escher seemed happy with this arrangement, and eventually found his way under the flower pot. It's on the cool side of the enclosure (between 75 and 80 degrees, depending on the time of day), and it seems to be his favorite even though I added another on the warm side (95-90 during the day). I also added another water dish, which I've seen him use. The current lighting is a 75w heat lamp on a dimmer (which is nearly all the way up), plus a halogen office lamp to provide additional light; the halogen stays on a bit longer than the heat lamp, to provide morning/evening dynamics. Escher seems most active (at least to my eyes, since I don't see him at night) during the 'morning' and 'evening' parts of the light cycle.

I've handled him a few times, trying not to overdo it but also wanting him to become accustomed to the practice. In every case, when I grasp him gently about a third of the way back on his body, he begins to 'ball up' but doesn't go into a tight wrap. As I stroke his body, he loosens up, and eventually usually relaxes most of his body. Most recently, as I held him, his body was completely relaxed and extended, and he rested his head and neck in my palm, gently flicking me with his tongue occasionally. I would like to think I've met with approval.

I'm following all the advice on not being stressed about feeding. The pet store advised me (and showed me their records) that their balls were feeding about once every two weeks. This seems less frequent than it should be for snakes of this age, but on the other hand there were two of them in a small enclosure. I purchased pinkies from The Mouse Factory, which arrived in excellent condition. I still haven't achieved feeding, but this morning was encouraging - and embarrassing. I defrosted the mouse in cold water, placed it in hot water for a few minutes to get the temp up, grabbed its tail with a hemostat and went to work. I dragged the mouse by the hide (where Escher was curled up), and he came right out after it, tongue flicking. As I held the hemostat, the snake struck at the mouse. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite prepared for that, and I jerked my hand back (despite the fact I was perfectly safe on the other end of a hemostat). Worse, I wear a heavy class ring on that hand, and it banged against the glass....

But I am consoling myself that this is all new to me, and I've learned the 'magic' formula for engaging Escher with food. I plan to try again tomorrow evening, after removing my class ring. I'm also encouraged by the fact that he seems so active and healthy and, although I'm sure he's hungry, he's doing fine.

Thus far. I'm concerned about disturbing his day/night cycle because he is in my home office; I usually work late there, but I've been avoiding turning on the lights for now. (I'm writing this on a laptop on the dining room table.) I think I'll get a blue moonlight bulb, as well as a dimmer for my office lighting. I'm a bit concerned about temperatures this winter, but my office also contains my main workstation (a quad-core AMD with a terabyte of storage), which pumps out a fair amount of heat (and makes me uncomfortable in the summer for that reason!). I'm moving another computer in, a VAX 4000-300, which can generate a fair amount of heat in its own right. If needed, I may do another UTH, but for now my temperatures seem within suggested norms and my snake appears OK with it (spending most of his time on the 'cool' side).

One funny thing he did, and I'll give it a rest: I was watching him in the morning and he headed for the water dish on the warm side. He drank from it, his small tongue flicking into the water, and it appeared he might crawl in for a bath. Instead, Escher extended his head over the water, lightly dipping his belly in the liquid as he stretched across the dish. His head reached the far side, and the remainder of his body flowed across the dish. As his tail started to cross the edge, I was sure it would plop into the water - but no, he held it up, again gently touching the water's surface, as he completed the crossing. What a graceful animal!

I'm looking forward to learning from all of you as my new friend settles into his home. Cheers....