new ball python owner

[MothGirl]

planning on getting my ball next week looking for a place for advice for stuff. stuff like tank heating and insulation... what kinds of prints are neat and i guess why some ones are better? i've heard spider prints look cool but aren't good starters.. as well, the breeder also has a few super cool albino ones at a good price and says albinos tend to be better eaters and more "hardy" than stuff like "banana prints" which was what i was looking for.. apparently an albino would make a great first python... and tbh i want to know why that is.. and what kinds of special things it needs besides the basics. i'm scared and nervous because its like taking a life under my care. it depends on me to know what i'm doing and while i've binged a bunch of snake care youtube videos, i've never actually owned one before. and the catch 22 is that i've got to own one first before i can get the experience of owning one before. heh. i want to spoil it and make it special and care for it as my own. i've got my tank set up and all the supplies except for the food and the snake itself! hoping to go get one picked out next week... i'm so excited but i couldn't go on this journey without making a couple of friendlies to talk to who have already well started theirs. so here i am and this is my welcome!

[craigafrechette]

Hello and welcome.

First, I would find a different breeder. Snakes don't come in "prints". They are morphs. And there is absolutely ZERO link between morph and whether they are better eaters or not. It's simply outward appearance and has literally ZERO affect on temperament, eating, etc...
That's like saying a car will go faster if you paint racing stripes on it.

As for the spider gene, some spiders can have what is known as a "wobble". Most are not affected at all, but some can display a wobble or "corkscrew" when nervous or excited. It's basically a choice as to whether you want to deal with that or not. Unfortunately, there's no real way of knowing how severe it can get, or if the animal will be affected at all. It's kinda a roll of the dice.

So my best advice is to take your time, find a reputable breeder and pick the right animal for you. If you want a banana there are literally hundreds to choose from.
You can check out morph market.com to get started.

Trust me, it'll be worth it to find a better breeder. Better for the animal and better for you.

[Veronica]

Yeah, I wouldn't trust anyone that calls their morphs prints, although that's an interesting way to describe it. I personally don't like the spider gene, and it could make the snake harder to feed. (but I don't want to start an argument here so please let's not talk about it lol)

[Crypticpickles]

When it comes to care watching on YouTube , it isn't always the best for care guides it all depends on who you watch.

What I personally did was watch a bunch of different YouTube videos and then take the information I learned from there and researched it on whether it was accurate or not. Who were you watching on YouTube for care videos? I would personally recommend both GoHerping and Snake Discovery. As well as Reptifiles Care Guide (https://www.reptifiles.com/ball-python-care-guide/) .

I personally wouldn't recommend Brian Barczyak YouTube videos but to each their own I guess lol.

[MothGirl]

Hello and welcome.

First, I would find a different breeder. Snakes don't come in "prints". They are morphs. And there is absolutely ZERO link between morph and whether they are better eaters or not. It's simply outward appearance and has literally ZERO affect on temperament, eating, etc...
That's like saying a car will go faster if you paint racing stripes on it.

thank you! and oh, i guess that makes sense. i was under the impression they were talking about "rarer types" being ... well, rare.. so they need to inbreed the snakes or something to make more... which is why there are more problems in rare snakes. like being bad at eating and being picky and stuff. [again not saying this from my own point of view, merely from what i was told.. which, full disclosure, is a private breeder someone at petco linked me to that works for petco... of which the lady there was the one who used the word "print" and not morph, not the breeder itself.] most of the irl conversations about buying a snake have been with the petco staff. otherwise, just watching youtube videos about snake care. its not like i have any other friends to learn from.. which in all honesty is why i joined here! i want to know what i need to, to be able to be a good "mom" for the ball python!

[MothGirl]

i also see the "spider" thing is a sensitive topic... but... i'm not quite aware "what it is" in all honesty. what does corkscrew mean? does the snake contort itself like a nervous tick or something?

[Tsubaki]

First of all welcome, yes a wobble can be so mild that their head sways a bit, but it can be so bad an animal contorts its entire body and will have grave difficulty eating. I personally (No matter how pretty) woulnd't want a snake with that risk. There are many youtube videos about it, and it is not just spider with that defect. Other morphs have it too.

[MothGirl]

First of all welcome, yes a wobble can be so mild that their head sways a bit, but it can be so bad an animal contorts its entire body and will have grave difficulty eating. I personally (No matter how pretty) woulnd't want a snake with that risk. There are many youtube videos about it, and it is not just spider with that defect. Other morphs have it too.

thank you so much for explaining it to me!

as far as my new ball goes.. she's wonderful! i just got her. one of the albinos i was talking about.. she's a Champaigne Albino Morph.. super pretty. she was last fed on the 28th and eats adult frozen mice.. apparently she eats really really well 172 grams. i dont know how old she is at all but maybe a few months? weeks? i couldn't say she's my first one. anyway she's young is all i know. has eaten and shed. i dont know whether to be worried or not but she's not once hissed at me the entire week of being in her new home. i followed the care guide i was given that said to wait like 3 days and said she would be hiding for the entire time [she was actually out and about. in her hide on the warm side until the lights went off and she explored around a bit.. then fell asleep in the cool-side hide] so i guess she feels comfortable enough, which makes me happy. i did notice water was missing from the dish when i woke up so i know she is drinking at least. [i'm using repti-conditioner drops although they said tap water should be just fine for snakes] lets see... after the 3 days i opened her cold side hide to pick her up.. she kinda just watched my hand and stared at it. no hisses. no agressive S shape. she let me pick her up just like that and kinda just sniffed around. she did ball up the first time [3 minutes] but the second time [5ish minutes? in my hands and also set her down on the desk to just make sure she's ok [theres pink on her belly... that means she's going to start shedding?]] anyway, second time she was picked up.. she didn't ball. didn't hiss [i've actually NEVER heard her his yet.. ever.] she jsut explored around.

is this normal or is she like ultra super brave for a snake? first ever feeding in her new home is tomorrow. HOWEVER. i dont know whether to keep her in the tank or not. petco says she could mistake a hand for a meal if she's expecting meals delivered to her in her tank. but some people go all out on tangents on how its so super bad to take her to a seperate tub to feed her. and well tbh... she's so good at being picked up could that possibly be the result of feeding her in a seperate tank like they said? anyway, i do have a question about doing that, if i do. how long do i leave her in the tank? i mean, i know she needs to be left alone for 24 hours or so at least on the first feed in the new place.. but like, do i feed her then transfer her back then leave her alone? or do i just feed her and close the second tank for 24 hours with her in it? its a plastic tub as per what they said was perfect... i'm a bit worried as to all the missing documentation about her.. but otherwise she seems in really good health... and again really super calm.. to the point where i dont think its normal, but i also dont know much about it becaus she's my first.

oh and her name's Beira [after the scottish mythilogical immortal snake goddess of winter... i live in maine, so....]


sorry this is a wall of text and sorry i asked a tonne of questions! please do let me know your oppinions and advice!

[ClockwerkBonnet]

In terms of what cage to feed her in, the people here tend to agree with those people demanding that you should feed Beira in her tank.

[MothGirl]

In terms of what cage to feed her in, the people here tend to agree with those people demanding that you should feed Beira in her tank.

i did as suggested and opened up all of her hides and overturned them before offering her food. she pretty instantly caught on that she was being fed once i booped her nose with ti and started following the mouse.. she struck and it took a while before she let it go... then dragged it across the tank and tried to figure out which end to eat first... by that time i figured i best just go figure something to eat for myself and not spook her or anything that'd make it drop it or get scared or anything... i came back to her pressing her face on the glass to push the tail into her mouth. it was rather funny. i then just kinda left her alone for a few hours before going back into the tank and restoring her hides. here's a picture in her cold hide with it still open. she usually coils up into a corner of it and that fits her fine but she looks really fat in this image. lol barely fits. she's so adorable and i love her to peices!!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/639875582846566403/674397611674959879/image0.jpg

[Veronica]

She looks very cute!

[MothGirl]

She looks very cute!

thank you so much!!!

[dangernoodles]

What a pretty girl.

[craigafrechette]

i did as suggested and opened up all of her hides and overturned them before offering her food. she pretty instantly caught on that she was being fed once i booped her nose with ti and started following the mouse.. she struck and it took a while before she let it go... then dragged it across the tank and tried to figure out which end to eat first... by that time i figured i best just go figure something to eat for myself and not spook her or anything that'd make it drop it or get scared or anything... i came back to her pressing her face on the glass to push the tail into her mouth. it was rather funny. i then just kinda left her alone for a few hours before going back into the tank and restoring her hides. here's a picture in her cold hide with it still open. she usually coils up into a corner of it and that fits her fine but she looks really fat in this image. lol barely fits. she's so adorable and i love her to peices!!

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/639875582846566403/674397611674959879/image0.jpg

Why did you flip the hides? I'm surprised the snake ate for you after doing that.

They are ambush predators who thrive by staying hidden and striking unsuspecting prey as it passes by. Moving forward just leave the hides as is.

[Aaron_S]

Congrats. Everything is going well. I would start the process of switching to rats as a prey item now that the snake has eaten for you. Means it's settling in well.

[MothGirl]

Why did you flip the hides? I'm surprised the snake ate for you after doing that.

They are ambush predators who thrive by staying hidden and striking unsuspecting prey as it passes by. Moving forward just leave the hides as is.

i did it the first time because tbh someone said so. and she did eat just fine. but the second time since its been more than a week since, there was no flipping. i took her from the hide so she knew something was up. shes only ever been fed in a seperate tank and apparently thats bad so while i AM feeding her in the same tank, i am picking her up a little first. plus otherwise she kinda just stays in her hide and doesn't even pay attention to being fed. not going to lie, she's pretty dumb but i love her so much. she does seem A LOT more happy in her tank than before though. she's a lot more explorative and will stick her head out like a dog laying half out of their dog house and just watch while i'm home. shes not just completely hiding all the time.

[craigafrechette]

i did it the first time because tbh someone said so. and she did eat just fine. but the second time since its been more than a week since, there was no flipping. i took her from the hide so she knew something was up. shes only ever been fed in a seperate tank and apparently thats bad so while i AM feeding her in the same tank, i am picking her up a little first. plus otherwise she kinda just stays in her hide and doesn't even pay attention to being fed. not going to lie, she's pretty dumb but i love her so much. she does seem A LOT more happy in her tank than before though. she's a lot more explorative and will stick her head out like a dog laying half out of their dog house and just watch while i'm home. shes not just completely hiding all the time.

Your snake, you can do what you want to do. But feeding that way is not only going to eventually lead to refusals, it's also a good way to get yourself tagged.

Think about it like this...nobody pulls them out of their termite mounds when they eat in nature. They know how to eat, they've survived thousands and thousands of years without us intervening to feed them.

[MothGirl]

Your snake, you can do what you want to do. But feeding that way is not only going to eventually lead to refusals, it's also a good way to get yourself tagged.

Think about it like this...nobody pulls them out of their termite mounds when they eat in nature. They know how to eat, they've survived thousands and thousands of years without us intervening to feed them.

i dont understand what you mean by tagged? this is my first reptile, mind you.. its not that i'm doing things based on preference, is that i'm legitimately trying to be the best caretaker for my reptile and if she doesnt eat, well i get worried... i know its not a big issue but its weird.. i've yet to wrap my head around the fact they only eat once a week so missing food for days is "ok".. only reason i took her out of her hide is because she didnt seem like she knew what was happening. i simply wanted her to know it was feeding time since she's used to being taken out to a completely seperate container to be fed [the breeder did this] so i'd assume taking her out of her hide but still in the same tank would be a much lesser evil, so to speak. i've only ever fed her twice now and shes still understanding she gets fed in the same tank. almost like taking her out of her hide like that is training wheels to ween her off of expecting to be fed from the alternate container so she knows somethings up at least.. if any of that makes sense. more of a "i did this because of this reason, but i hope to not need to in the future" type thing. not as an "i do this every time" thing

[craigafrechette]

i dont understand what you mean by tagged? this is my first reptile, mind you.. its not that i'm doing things based on preference, is that i'm legitimately trying to be the best caretaker for my reptile and if she doesnt eat, well i get worried... i know its not a big issue but its weird.. i've yet to wrap my head around the fact they only eat once a week so missing food for days is "ok".. only reason i took her out of her hide is because she didnt seem like she knew what was happening. i simply wanted her to know it was feeding time since she's used to being taken out to a completely seperate container to be fed [the breeder did this] so i'd assume taking her out of her hide but still in the same tank would be a much lesser evil, so to speak. i've only ever fed her twice now and shes still understanding she gets fed in the same tank. almost like taking her out of her hide like that is training wheels to ween her off of expecting to be fed from the alternate container so she knows somethings up at least.. if any of that makes sense. more of a "i did this because of this reason, but i hope to not need to in the future" type thing. not as an "i do this every time" thing

Gotcha. I completely see where you're coming from. Your reasoning makes perfect sense.

As long as she's eating and you have a plan in place keep doing what you're doing. You're definitely off to a good start.

Oh, and sorry...tagged = bitten.
Snakes use scent and heat to track their prey. So, if the snakes smells prey close by and then picks up the heat signature of your hand, they may be inclined to strike, mistaking your hand for it's meal.
BPs aren't typically a species with a super strong food response, but it's a good practice to try to follow just to be safe.

Keep up the good work!

[MothGirl]

Gotcha. I completely see where you're coming from. Your reasoning makes perfect sense.

As long as she's eating and you have a plan in place keep doing what you're doing. You're definitely off to a good start.

Oh, and sorry...tagged = bitten.
Snakes use scent and heat to track their prey. So, if the snakes smells prey close by and then picks up the heat signature of your hand, they may be inclined to strike, mistaking your hand for it's meal.
BPs aren't typically a species with a super strong food response, but it's a good practice to try to follow just to be safe.

Keep up the good work!

that really means so mucuh! thank you!