First snake ever!

[JadeTigress]

Hi everyone. I'm looking into getting my first snake ever, I'm trying to be good and do all my research beforehand. But I'm still confused on some things, and getting actual advice from people is way different than reading an article. :p

Anyway, I've been looking for breeders, and this is pretty much the only one I could find within driving distance of me: Ziller Reptiles | Your Place for Ball Pythons and Other Exotic Reptiles | Welcome (http://www.zillerreptiles.com/)

Just based off of the website, do you think he'd be a good choice? I don't really know what to look for.

Also, I'm so confused on cage setup. Specifically, how to keep the temperature and the humidity at the right levels. Sorry if that's a n00b thing, I just have never done it before. There are just so many heating things to choose from, I have no idea what to use or what wattage or anything.

Thanks in advance! :D

[infernalis]

Welcome aboard....

Thanks for choosing this forum, we have plenty of BP owners here that are more than happy to share their knowledge with you..

[stephanbakir]

Basic questions to ask the breeder are
1: are they good eaters? and are they eating live or F/T
2: any history of illness?
3: age
4: are they aggressive or "tame"

There are lots of ways to maintain humidity and temperature but a few really important things to know are.
1: don't use heat rocks (rock with an electric cable going into it)
2: getting a temp gun is huge, every reptile owner should have one
3: make sure to give your snakes a temperature gradient in their enclosure so they can regulate their own temperature
4: feeding your snake F/T is preferable to reduce risk to your snake, from potential damage caused by the prey, and from diseased passed from the prey to the snake
5: once you get your reptile give it at least a week to get used to his new habitat
cant think of anything else right now but that should get you started.

[Reptile_Reptile]

steph covered the basics on the questions
Humidity-
-use a good substrate like repti bark mixed with eco earth (or separately thats just what infernalis uses) a good substrate is key to good humidity.
-get some sphagnum moss and make a humid hide that allows your snake to get a boost of humidity whenever it feels it needs it (keep this in the cold side of the tank)
temperature-
-get thermostat for whatever heating sources you use, that eliminates all guess work.
-UTH (under tank heaters) are great for establishing a hot and cold side of the tank.
-if you want to use a heating lamp i would suggest ceramic heat bulbs they dont emit light so it wont bother your snake.
tank setup-
10g tank is great for young ball pythons.
2+ hides one on the cold end one in the warm end
1 humid hide
at least one water bowl (if you have a over large tank add a second or 3rd and it will help with humidity)
and 1-2 inches of substrate.

hope any of this helped im sure i missed something.

[mykee]

Congratulations on doing some research prior to owning your new ball python.
Very responsible of you.
If you have any husbandry questions regarding a ball python as a pet, you can go to my website (link in my sig) and read over the FAQ's, there is some great basic information on ball python care and set-up as well as some commonly asked questions.
Feel free to e-mail me and ask any additional questions that weren't answered.
At this time, I would be remiss to not bring up the following:


Here we go with the bad advice again:

Humidity-
-use a good substrate like repti bark mixed with eco earth (or separately thats just what infernalis uses) a good substrate is key to good humidity.
DON'T use what's mentioned above. NEVER USE EARTH in a ball python enclosure. EVER!!! A newer keeper needs to monitor their ball python for issues, and a loose substrate is the worst for that. Use paper towels or newspaper for the first few months.
-get some sphagnum moss and make a humid hide that allows your snake to get a boost of humidity whenever it feels it needs it (keep this in the cold side of the tank)
NEVER have your humid hide in the cool side of your enclosure. ALWAYS on the warm side. Wet and cold = respiratory infection.
You should also not use a humid hide unless the animal is in shed. Your entire enclosure whoudl be humidity controlled, not a small box in that enclosure.
temperature-
-get thermostat for whatever heating sources you use, that eliminates all guess work.
-UTH (under tank heaters) are great for establishing a hot and cold side of the tank.
An UTH or heat tape will only "establish" a warm side. You need to control the temperature of your room externally to maintain both the ambient and the cool side temps.
-if you want to use a heating lamp i would suggest ceramic heat bulbs they dont emit light so it wont bother your snake.
Snakes are not affected by light, so it will not "bother" them.
tank setup-
10g tank is great for young ball pythons.
2+ hides one on the cold end one in the warm end
1 humid hide
In a small tank like a 10 gallon for a newly arrived baby ball python, one hide on each end is more than sufficient.
at least one water bowl (if you have a over large tank add a second or 3rd and it will help with humidity)
and 1-2 inches of substrate.
Read above regarding substrate."[/QUOTE]

JR!!
I know that it will seem to you like I'm picking on you here so just to clear this one up: I am. however, only because we have already had this discussion a while back. You did the exact same thing and then cried, complained and generally bemoaned that I was picking on you.
Clearly you don't remember so I'll give you the abridged version:
(I don't want to make you cry, so I'll keep it short this time):
If you don't know what you are talking about (which is clearly the case from the multiple examples above, PLEASE don't give JUNK information to someone who is new, new to the hobby and looking for CORRECT information from someone who knows what they are talking about.

This has nothing to do with you and me here, passing out bad information to someone who is unaware that the info they are receiving is garbage, is irresponsible.
If you do not know the answer, instead of knowingly giving out wrong information; SHUT UP.

Let the whining begin.

[Jay]

Great advice personalty when i get a new snake they go on paper towels so i can monitor for mites and such, also there fecal. after that i use fine dirt coco fiber really fine grain.
never feed them on it either

[JadeTigress]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I really appreciate it. I do have another question, though. When I do finally get my baby, do I need to keep it in a 10 gallon, or can I keep it in a 20 gallon long that it can grow into and just clutter the tank up so the snake doesn't feel like it's in a huge open space? If I need to go the 10 gal. route, that's not a huge deal. I have a bunch of them lying around. I just didn't know if it would be less stress for the snake to stay in the same enclosure for a longer timespan.

[stephanbakir]

you can keep him in a basket ball court, just make sure he has some place where he can hide, and touch most of the walls of his space.

[DeesBalls]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I really appreciate it. I do have another question, though. When I do finally get my baby, do I need to keep it in a 10 gallon, or can I keep it in a 20 gallon long that it can grow into and just clutter the tank up so the snake doesn't feel like it's in a huge open space? If I need to go the 10 gal. route, that's not a huge deal. I have a bunch of them lying around. I just didn't know if it would be less stress for the snake to stay in the same enclosure for a longer timespan.

a ball python is going to like to feel like it is in a small space. i personally went with a 10 gal tank for mine for like a year or so... i had 2 hides, one on cool side, one on hot side, with water bowl in the middle.. i used cypress mulch and covered the screen top with a damn towel to also help with humidity...
If YOU USE A UTH for a hear source, PLEASE USE A THERMOSTAT, OR A RHEOSTAT TO KEEP TEMPS DOWN!!! this is something i see alot of "noobs" doing and it can harm the snake bad.. i went with an over head heat bulb, but that tends to dry out the enclosure, so i did struggle with humidity issues..

IF you go with the 20g long....
I dont recommended it, then again, i am not an expert... however if you do, give it plenty of hides ( all the same ) and throw some fake plants and stuff in there.. you want it to be as cluttered as possible to make the new guy feel secure. but dont over do it with decor..

i hope this helps. like i said, i am not an expert, however from the few years i belonged to this site, i have learned alot...last piece of advice i can give... listen to peoples advice, dont ignore it..

please any one, correct me if i am wrong...

[Reptile_Reptile]

my advice wasnt bad at all in a ten gallon to put the humid hide on the warm side makes too much bacteria its still fine on the cold its what i use on my guy, and eco earth repti bark was good, i didnt think about first time paper towel usage stuff my bad. and for the uth you said what i said buddy. they are in fact affected by light, having a light bulb in your face while you trying to sleep (bps are nocturnal as im sure you know) is not fun, but not a big problem nor did i say it is one.

[belovedboas]

I have to admit I have owned maybe 4 or 5 balls over the years....but Mykee definetelyyyy seems to know his stuff....I'd be listening to him...no offense JR:)

[Shmoges]

In reguards to not having a moist hide on the cold side, if its still within there temp gradient why would they get a RI? I would rather have my moist hides on the cooler side than be a stinky hot breeding ground for bacteria.

[mykee]

If your cool side is 80 degrees and wet, you'll get an RI.
Optimal temps for ball pythons are in the 88-95 range. These are the temps that their bodies can do everything most efficiently.
If you allow them the opportunity to be both wet and well below their optimal temps (lets face it, ball pythons have reptile brains) they will utilize that environment.
As well, a "humid hide" should only be used during a shed, as the can get to 100% humidity; much too high for everyday use. Scale rot can also become an issue (caused by too much moisture).
Your enclosure should be 60% all the time (higher in shed) therefore, there is no need for a humid hide.

[Shmoges]

I am in a climate thats 10-20% humidity so I have a humid hide 24 7 as well as a room humidifier for my python and colubrids. Ambient temp is 80+ so it sounds like I am risking RI on my animals?

[mykee]

If your humid hide is in the cool side of your enclosure, (over 80 certainly less of an issue) but I would keep an eye out for sure, yes. I would personally be more concerned with scale rot; depending on the amount of time he spends in there. Consistently humid areas breed bacteria which leads to scale rot. Secondary issue (though no less serious) would be URI's due to the moisture and lower temps.

[Reptile_Reptile]

my cool side is 85 (with a range of 1 degree in either direction) my warm is 90 give or take a degree also. but truthfully i didnt think about scale rot when i added it. and he likes to use it a lot, is this a problem? should i be taking it out occasionally?

[Lankyrob]

Is four or five degrees a big enough gradient? Our hot side is 91f and cool side varies between 78&82f dependant on the room temperature. Never thought about problems with the humid hide and ri's tho. Can anyone suggest the temp that the humid hide shoukd be kept at to be safe? Oras JR suggests should humid hides only be in with the snake wehn shedding time is near?

[mykee]

"Is four or five degrees a big enough gradient?"
No.

"should humid hides only be in with the snake wehn shedding time is near? "
Essentially, yes.
There are mitigating circumstances where a humid hide is necessary all the time, but it is always best to provide the proper husbandry in the entire enclosure rather than in a micro eco-system. Problems may ensue.

[Reptile_Reptile]

sorry wrote the 85 when i first woke up, 80 is my low end give or take a few degree's (yesterday was warm and i had trouble keeping it from 85) sorry about that.

oh an i guess maynard is going to lose his humid hide, for now i dont want any problems for him, ill porbably end up misting once a day again.

[natsamjosh]

Very exciting, good luck with your first snake. Just curious, what made you decide on a ball python. Not saying that's a good or bad choice, just curious. Whenever I have the opportunity to get a new snake I have hard time narrowing it down to even a few species.

I don't own any ball pythons, but in general I prefer a snake cage rather than a glass aquarium. It's harder to control humidity with a fish tank. Just my $.02.

Good luck!

[Freebody]

make yourself a vivarium first thing, if you dont already have a cage, that way you have a full size cage for him right at the beginning, just give it lots of places to hide and feel secure with the bigger cages and he will be fine. here is an easy tank to build. its will make it mush easier to keep humidity up, vrs a Fish tank made for fishies lol 3ft long by 2ft deep 1 foot high will be good full grown, but plywood comes 4x8, may as well make it 1 ft longer and not waste the wood lol :) How to build 4x2 enclosure for $100 - Redtailboa.net (http://www.redtailboa.net/forums/how-tos-tutorials/28742-how-build-4x2-enclosure-100-a.html)
GL

[mykee]

"I prefer a snake cage rather than a glass aquarium. It's harder to control humidity with a fish tank. Just my $.02"
From your mouth to Gods ear.

[mistersprinkles]

my advice wasnt bad at all in a ten gallon to put the humid hide on the warm side makes too much bacteria its still fine on the cold its what i use on my guy, and eco earth repti bark was good, i didnt think about first time paper towel usage stuff my bad. and for the uth you said what i said buddy. they are in fact affected by light, having a light bulb in your face while you trying to sleep (bps are nocturnal as im sure you know) is not fun, but not a big problem nor did i say it is one.

A humidity gradient is not possible in a 10 gallon aquarium.

Ball pythons come from a savannah type environment. Eco earth is not particularly suited to snakes from that environment. It just doesn't make sense. Ball pythons are more susceptible to a lot of breathing issues related to incorrect humidity than many reptiles so that's not something that should be done.

_____________________________


As far as enclosure size, as was said, you can keep the snake in whatever size enclosure you want. The only thing that would matter would be providing enough hiding spots and tighter areas for the snake to feel like it was safe and hidden. It's not really practical for a small snake though. One thing that you can do is to get the enclosure that can house the full size snake, and block off maybe 1/4 of it, then 1/2/ then 1/4 and then none of it. They make aquarium dividers for exactly this purpose and you can get ones that are water and air tight so the blocked off area would have no heat/humidity impact on the not blocked off area.

Regardless, if you can afford to fully equip a much larger enclosure and keep the temperature and humidity within the correct ranges for the animal within it, while making it a comfortable environment for a smaller animal, there's no real issues with that. Just make sure the snake knows where to find water, food, and heat. If you have it in a huge space, take note of where it usually likes to hide (all snakes will have a spot they stay in 60+ percent of the time) and place it's meals and water near by.

Ball pythons really really like smashed out flower pots. Get a cheap brown flower pot, put it upside down, and smash out a little hole about two times as wide as the snake on one side at the ground level. Then sand the smashed area so there are no sharp areas. It's also prettier to make a round door but that's just being anal at that point the snake doesn't care. Lots of those spread around the tank with some of those bark hides would be good. They're not really big on branches for climbing. They're actually prone to trying to climb them then falling. Because of that, a tall enclosure isn't important. You can spend the same amount of money on something 36x18tall by 12 wide as 36x12tall by 18 wide and that's more space the snake can use. 1 foot tall is way more than a ball python will ever need. They also try to climb taller cages, and fall over (they are very very clumsy snakes second only to the blood python in my opinion), so a very tall cage isn't a good idea.

Keep in mind whatever you put it in, it's going to pick a corner, and live there almost all the time, save for about 3 hours at night where it will patrol it's cage in search of food.

[mykee]

Well said Sir (or Madam).

[infernalis]

cardboard boxes make superb hides too..

[mykee]

Until their first shed; then it's just a pile of soggy, molded mush.