New bally

[DestinyLynette]

So my fiancee gifted me a bumblebee ball python. :) He will be coming in on Tuesday, and I will be preparing for his arrival over the weekend. But I do need help- you see, I got my female when she was an adult; I've never had to care for a baby snake. I believe he will be in the 140g range. What, in your opinion, will he be needing? Fuzzies? Hoppers?
He will be staying in a very nice wooden snake box; a barista at my local coffee shop gave me it for free :) The measurements are 32 x 15 x 15 on it; it has some sort of hard white plastic looking board on the bottom (pressure board?). Is that okay to put a heat pad on? There's a hole on the top of the wood for a heat lamp too

[Starbuck]

congrats!
I've found that baby snakes are a bit more sensitive to humidity than adults. I would make sure you have multiple (2-3) shallow water pans around his cage as well, so he can easily find some water to drink as needed, this will also help keep humidity up.
I would NOT put a heat pad IN the tank with him; most of them have a sticky side which can be dangerous for your snake if he gets stuck on it. i'd attach it to the outside of the cage, attached to a thermostat (herpstat, hydrofarm...), with the probe inside the cage above the mat. You can also use heat tape, radiant heat panels, heat cord etc for heat.

Also, make sure the hides you have in his tank are small enough for him to curl up in, he will feel more secure and safe. Empty clean food boxes are a good alternatie for rapidly growing baby snakes.


Hopefully someone with more ball-python experience can chime in on what you should feed. Good luck :)

[Aaron_S]

congrats!
I've found that baby snakes are a bit more sensitive to humidity than adults. I would make sure you have multiple (2-3) shallow water pans around his cage as well, so he can easily find some water to drink as needed, this will also help keep humidity up.

This is fail.

A snake is born ready to hunt, kill and eat. They know how to search out a secure place to stay hidden as well as the need for water. They DO NOT need to be babied with multiple shallow pans. One is sufficient and he won't die looking for it. Besides most snakes, in particular boids, get a lot of water from their prey.

Secondly, with "pans" too large you're asking for too much humidity which can easily lead to scale rot. If they are too small they will simply dry out and not supply sufficient humidity levels.

One, properly sized water dish is enough. One that it can fit into is properly sized.


The cage is probably too big for that small of a baby. He may not eat at all. If you are hellbent on the free enclosure, make sure there's lots of tight-fitting hides and I get to say "told you so" if it doesn't eat.

If you use a heat mat, adhere it to the bottom, outside. Attach a thermostat to it.

I'd find out exactly what the enclosure is made of before use though.


For eating, depending on what the previous owner was feeding it is what I'd go with. My animals at that size eat 20 - 35gram rats.

[jarich]

Isnt that just basically the size of a 30 gallon tank? Doesnt seem that big as long as you put a bunch of hiding places in there for him, like you said Aaron. Lynette, as you probably know they are nocturnal and sleep most of the day, so need secure hides so they dont feel so exposed. Ive found that if you buy some dense plants in the pot and stick the whole thing in the enclosure it solves both the humidity issues (and any worry about water spillage) and gives them a more enriched environment. The babies will often hide in the pot itself if the plant has dense foliage, and it gives some ground cover if the plant is a vine or trailing kind. For snake enclosures, a pothos or philodendron works great.

[DestinyLynette]

I suppose I worded that wrong; I know heat pads go on the outside of the enclosure. I just wasn't sure if that particular material (the pressure board) would be safe to use with a heating pad. He'll be having the wood chip bedding I keep Rosca in so there won't be direct heat, to avoid burns. I'm going shopping today or tomorrow to get his supplies, including the hides. I was going to have one at the cool end and one at the warm end, but given he'll be a baby in a larger tank, you're saying he'll want more?
I tried to look up the measurements for the cage to figure out what it would be as a traditional tank but I wasn't sure; the girl that gave it to me claimed it was 20gal but it seems way larger than that. I could get him a smaller tank, but I really wanted to give him the wood one for better humidity and temp control. I'm in the process of building my adult female a wood cage now.
Jarich, I really like that idea of the plant. Would I need to cover the whole bottom of the cage with potting soil and directly plant the pothos? I've really liked the ideas of vivariums before but I haven't looked too much into it- I was waiting til my girl got the wooden cage; but since I have a smaller one to experiment with now, it seems to be a great idea.

[Lankyrob]

For babies i like to use large cork bark pieces that cover a large percentage of the floor space. They can then either hide uderneath or climb over the top, but can explore the viv without being exposed.

[DestinyLynette]

Oh just to add, I know I'd need organic non-fertilized potting soil if I go that route.

[DestinyLynette]

Here is a picture of what I have so far. That is organic 100% natural potting soil, with some reptile substrate called "plantation soil" on top. Water dish in the back, pothos planted to the left. No I haven't gotten the hides yet; I was going to order them from a site I liked but apparently shipping isn't available to my area, so I'll be getting those tomorrow or Monday. But besides the hide and the heat source (on its way), I can't imagine what else I'm missing. I would get 2 pothos but being my first time I though I'd see how the one went. Stuff to climb on, maybe? I have something for my other snake, Rosca, but she doesn't seem to use it much.

[Lankyrob]

Once you have hides water and heat pretty much everything else is for your benefit rather than the snakes, do what makes you appy as you will have to look at it each day.