First snake!

[Girlnextdoor]

Hello everyone ☺️ Today we got a new addition to our family, our first snake! A juvenile ball python female that I'm hoping to call Primrose if I can get hubby to agree 😂 neither of us have ever owned snakes but we have both been interested in them. Hubby got really into them after meeting our neighbors boa constrictor and Brazilian rainbow boa, it took a little bit of convincing on my part to get an easy snake as obviously we've never had snakes before, my husband really wants a green tree Python 😒 I said he's not allowed one until he learns with this one 😂 I already know I'm gonna be the main caregiver. The pet store said that she only arrived on Wednesday and hadn't fed yet but told us she should be eating large fuzzies so I currently have a few of them in my freezer, really hope she isn't picky and takes thawed frozen mice vs live ones 🐁 if she wants live it'll take me some getting used to 😂 Her tank is 10 gallons and pretty basic right now, I'm hoping to get a branch, more plants, cuter hide and water bowl. It's okay for now right? She has a day light and night light and the temp right now with the nightlight is at 90. We keep checking on her and she goes all over her tank so she seems happy. I can't wait to learn more about snakes and meet everyone and their snakey babies!

[stevowns]

Likewise, I recently got into snakes via a ball python like yourself and learned a few things during my research and trial/error phase.

First, humidity and temps are probably the two most important things for your snake (and pretty much any reptile pet). I see that you have a temperature gradient which is great, but some tips might help you on the long run to keep their husbandry ideal for your snake.

As you've probably already read, you want a 88-95 (95 being the absolute hottest ever) with a 78-82 cool spot. You want to regulate this using a thermostat that you can buy online or any reptile/pet store. Next is humidity, heat lamps aren't the best for this because for one, ball pythons do best when they have a under tank heat source so they can warm them bellies to propagate their digestive system. Two, heat lamps tend to dry out the air, making it very hard for you to keep their humidity up in the 70's when you have a glass enclosure like the one you depicted. I recommend a UTH (Under Tank Heather) regulated by a thermostat. You can use your lamps as a supplementary heat source to keep temps up during colder months when ambient temps drop below 70. This will reduce the likelihood of your snake not having enough humidity AND ensure a healthy digestive system for your snake. These all will factor in eventually if your ball python decides to go off feed, which is not unusual for BP's.


You will also want a hygrometer that comes with a probe such as the Accurite brand from walmart that comes attached with a probe that will allow you to simultaneously check both the hot spot and cold spot at once. It will also tell you the current humidity as well, all in one digital screen. Additionally, I would keep a hide on the cool side as well since BP's hide most of the day being nocturnal creatures. Ultimately,You want them to be able to choose where they hide based on their own thermal regulation.

Next is your enclosure. That size will suffice for your BP for now, but I myself decided to go with a sterilite tub with holes drilled in with a soldering iron (you can get both the tub and iron at walmart for probably less than 15 dollars). Tubs make keeping your husbandry in the ballpark of where you want it to be and cleaning SO MUCH EASIER. But again, for some people aesthetics are important, in which case, refer back up to my UTH suggestion above. It will help you deal with the cons of having a glass enclosure over a plastic tub. Remember that keeping your snake healthy in a clean and controlled environment is key above all. At least for me, decorating the enclosure made it tedious to clean out when my girl made a mess, and I don't think snakes mind a simple enclosure as long as they have sufficient hides. Again this is all personal preference. If you have the dedication and passion for an amazing looking enclosure, more power to you. I love seeing beautiful enclosures as the next guy, but it just doesn't fit into my schedule and I want to be able to quickly clean and sanitize without any hassles. Good luck with your new ball python, I am having a blast with mine!

[EL Ziggy]

Welcome and best wishes. My first snake was a BP too, many moons ago :). I'd ditch the heat lamps and go with a UTH regulated by a thermostat also. You could swap the analog thermometer and hygrometer for the digital kind. Add another hide and a few more fake plants and you should be good to go.