Starter snake

[reptiguy123]

Are balls a good snake to start out with? As far as I know in temperment, they are the nicest snakes that I have ever met. Anyway, this is my first time posting in this forum and and suggestions on cage setup and requirements are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!:)

[snakehunter]

AS far as husbandry, size and temperment they make the PERFECT first snake...............HOWEVER bps are NOTORIOUS for not eating FOR A LONG TIME, so if you have great deal of patience and dont mind ripping out some hair be fore your next barber visit, sure they make good starters. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!! :)

[emroul]

I agree with snakehunter. In my opinion, they are not the best starter snakes because of their eating habits. The only time they would be ok as a beginner snake is for someone who REALLY researched EVERYTHING they need to know about caring for them properly. But for someone who just sees a cute baby bp in a petstore and brings him home after a couple hours of looking around about how to take care of it, they would definately NOT be a good first snake for them. If you are serious about owning one of these beautiful creatures, do tons and tons of research, ask ask ask questions, and most importantly LISTEN to what people have to say. ;)

Jennifer

[knads06]

Thats a great response as i have definitely learned the hard way. Even though i researched a lot before buying my bp i have since learned that every bp is different from one another. One thing that works for someone wont necessarily work for others. But this site is great for finding how to properly set up your enviroment for your snake such as temps, substrates, hides, etc. Many people will have gone through the same experience as you so theres a world of knowledge to learn from on this site. Best of luck

[reptiguy123]

Thanks, guys. So...what is the preferred humidity, substrate, etc.?
What should the cage size? I heard that they don't need big cages, but I don't know what a big cage is for a ball. Tank or custom-built? Heating? I heard that they don't need hide boxes. Is this true?

A while ago I saw a ball that got fed about 3 mice per week. Is this enough? How big do they get? Thanks again. I looked at caresheets, but I trust you guys a lot more.

[mykee]

There is a lot of information about balls that you need to learn. I would recommend going out, and picking up a few books on the captive husbandry of ball pythons or searching websites/caresheets on bp's and doing your own research. Asking us to tell you everything there is to know about bp's is just not a realistic request.

[reptiguy123]

I don't need solid information, just suggestions, experiances, tips, etc.

[Artemis]

Reptiguy-

BP's are known for their moderate size and good temperments,
but BP's also have very specific requirements in order for them to be healthy, and to feel safe, and those things are critical in having a snake that is not too stressed to eat or to shed properly.

I will go out on a limb and say yes, they make good first snakes, IF you take the time to meet their needs.

If you are serious about wanting a ball python., learn all about their husbandry requirements first, and make a project out of making the ultimate BP enclosure.

Once you have made your enclosure, run it without the snake for about a week, and measure and record your temperatures and humidity readings to see if they are in-range and stable. During this week do lots of internet research about ball pythons. Learn about diseases, biology, and anything else you can learn. If you have specific questions that you cant find the answers too, the people on these forums are always more than happy to help.

I recently aquired a BP as my first snake, but I did about 2 months of research, and asked for advice and listened to the Wisdom of the people with greater experience, and so far everything is going great. (the trick is not only hearing peoples advice, but taking a look at the experience of the person giving it, and to actually take it, even if it isnt what you wanted to hear.)

There is a lot of info out there on the net, and the key to keeping any animal is to be well informed about it, and it's needs.

Best of luck, and let us know what you end up deciding.

But first things first- start with research, and making a proper enclosure to bring your snake home too.


Artemis

P.S. In terms of "tips" the best tip I can give you as a begginer is to leave your snake alone for 2 weeks. Dont try to feed it, or hold it (unless absolutely necessary such as to treat mites)

Go in the enclosure only to provide the snake with more water, as needed, and clean out any poo/urates.

Worked like a charm for me. It was hard not to take mine out and play with it, but it paid off in the end, and I got through my first feed (one of the initial hurdles of BP keeping)..

Another thing- temps and humidities and such are all info you can find ranges for on care sheets. Check for the info there.

Here is a link to the BP care sheet on this site:

http://www.ssnakess.com/caresheets/bp/care.html

And you are wrong, you DO need solid info if you are asking about temps and humidities and such. Those are the ultimately basic things about BP's that you need to know off the top of your head if you are going to get one.

[sapphire_moon]

Personally, yes, you do need solid information if you are going to keep any reptile.

There are to many care sheets to be asking about the basics. But it is always good to ask questions.

Basics

baby bp needs

small secure cage

2 small tight hide spots

water bowl

news paper/paper towel substrate to watch for mites for about 1 month.

hot side 90-95
cool side 80-85
UTH controlled with a lamp dimmer or rheostat
digital thermometer
humidity guage

humidity %50-%60 when NOT in shed
%60-%70 when IN shed (or higher if having problems shedding)

leave alone for 2 wks don't touch, don't look, just water every other day or so.

and In my personal opinion only, don't handle (unless nesesary) until he has successfully ate 4 times (not in a row but week after week)

BP's make great first time snakes as long as you put in LOTS (more than 1 wks) worth of research, set the cage up and make sure it is stable atleast 1-2 wks before you get the snake.

Have a good reptile/exotics vet lined up just in case.


Yes they need hides, they are a shy snake.
They can live in something about 3ft long all their life.
If you want you can go for cages.
they get anywhere from 3-5ft (sometimes, but rarely larger)
Mice suck, bp's should be on some kind of rats from hatching (opinion only about the from hatching thing).

Always try to feed f/t or f/k

[reptiguy123]

" you DO need solid info if you are asking about temps and humidities and such. "

I meant not from you; I can get that stuff from caresheets. BTW, thanks for the caresheet. Good stuff! If there is any more stuff that I don't trust on a caresheet or am unsure of, I will be sure to verify it with you guys!:)