first ball

[nanna]

Well we did it. My husband got me a 2 year old female ball python for my birthday she is a sweet heart. The girl we got her from did not want to sell her, but she had to, no pets were allowed were she was living. She said we seemed to be "good people" she had turned down several people who looked at her and put a high price on her so only the truly interested would want to see her. She did not want some soccer mom with a rowdy son getting and mistreating her. I am so very excited. I was worried that when we finally found one and got her that I would be scared but I am not I am more nervous about hurting her then anything else. She is used to being handled a lot she was taken to the local farmers market/petting zoo several times.
Any comments or care suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[mykee]

Congratulations.

[Lankyrob]

Congrats, best advice is leave her be for at least a week with no handling to settle into your home. And probably best not to handle her til she has fed a couple of times for you. Balls can be funny eaters so best to get her into a settled routine before the handling starts.

good luck!!

[marvelfreak]

Congrats! Hello and welcome! Once she settle in we love to see pics. What kind of cage do you have her in and does it have locks? Snakes after all are escape artists. What are your temps at warm end and at the cool end? You want to have a couple hide at least one at each end. Any question just ask.:)

[nanna]

She is in a 55 gallon long she has one large hide and some vines. She has her heat set up but I am tinkering with it to set it just right. I have been doing a lot of research but can never know all there is to know. Dakota is my first and I think she is a good girl to learn with. She has been so patient with me. A few questions that I have the girl I got her from has been feeding her once a month about 4-5 live mice is this good or should she eat more often? She does not flinch or startle very easy at all can anyone recommend a good book I am a reader and will be constantly looking to expand my knowledge to better care for her. Thanks nanna

[infernalis]

There is a few really affordable titles here..

Amazon.com: ball python care: Books (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ball+python+care&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=3306346101&ref=pd_sl_88u09aw691_b)

Although I'm sure you can get all the husbandry information you could ever need right on the forums.

[marvelfreak]

At two years old she should be eating small to med rats twice a month. F/T would be best.