Some questions

672 · 10-08-03, 06:39 PM

All right, I plan on aquiring a bp for my next snake and have a few questions. I have read many caresheets, but want to know the strategies that you guys have in keeping them.... so 1)Where would be the best place to aquire one?(i live in ottawa, and would like it to be semi-local) 2) What is a reliable website for buying frozen rats/mice that are able to ship to Canada? 3) What size tank would you recommend? 4) What sex would you recommend? 5) For heating, would you recommend a heat pad, a heat lamp, or both? I think that's about it for now, though I know I'm forgetting something

BoidKeeper · 10-08-03, 07:34 PM

1)Where would be the best place to aquire one?
A breeder. Big or small it's better then buying one from a pet store. Pet store balls are almost always WC. Or place an add in the classifieds for a BP in Ottawa I'm sure someone has one. Just make sure it's eating. Eating F/T would be best, much more convinient for you.
2) What is a reliable website for buying frozen rats/mice that are able to ship to Canada?
No need to go outside of Canada for rodents, just contact Ian the mouse man. Not sure of his web site though. I'm sure someone will post it. If they don't I will when I find it.
3) What size tank would you recommend?
Start small and work your way up if the snake is a hatchling. If the tank is not going to be a display style set up you can always use a nice rubbermaid container. They're cheap and very functional.
4) What sex would you recommend?
Female
5) For heating, would you recommend a heat pad, a heat lamp, or both?
Heat pad. But if your air temp in your house is too low, lower then 75 at night I would use both.
Hope this helps,
Trevor

sapphire_moon · 10-08-03, 08:28 PM

well the best place to aquire one is a breeder, and from this website there are quite a few good breeders up there....some of them are on this website. hmmm, get the sex you want. The females are supposed to get larger than the males.

Size of tank..I don't recommend tanks, they don't hold humidity very well, but that also depends on the humidity of where you live...

a 2ft snake can be housed in a 20 gal long tank. And a full grown adult (3.5-4 ft average.) a 30-40 gal tank......but remember BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER!

personally I use a UTH and a reg light bulb...it puts off heat, but it's more for the day time/night time cycle than anything. But it can be used for heat.

Get a good captive breed and born baby, make sure it's started good on F/T adult mice or rat pups of same size. Let it acclimate in it's enclosure for atleast at bare min. 5-7 days! And I'm sure alot of people here have more info that I do.....

ReptiZone · 10-08-03, 09:25 PM

sapphire_moon

I just have a few questions for you.

Quote:

Size of tank..I don't recommend tanks, they don't hold humidity very well

Quote:

a 2ft snake can be housed in a 20 gal long tank. And a full grown adult (3.5-4 ft average.) a 30-40 gal tank

why do you not recomend them and then turn around and tell him to get one.

Quote:

but remember BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER!

and why are you giving false information. It has ben proven that ball Python do better in a smaller size enclosure it reduces stress and helps to keep heat and humidity acurat and the they seam to eat better in small cages.

When you don't know PLZ don't answer I dont want to be mean but I see this more and more in the ball python threads. not jst from you don't think I am just picking on you I am just posting so other ppl se it to and get the idea.

lilyskip · 10-08-03, 11:25 PM

chondro, i don't think sapphire was giving out bad information. saying "20gal long tank" gives you a sense for size, and she didn't say that it SHOULD be housed in a 20gal long, but that it would fit there. and bigger tanks for adults ARE better, since they have room to move. housing a full grown adult bp in a 30-40 gal might be a stretch. It seemed like she was talking about ADULTS in big tanks, not babies. Sapphire knows what she's talking about...I didn't find her advice to be misleading at all.

Anyway, 672, to answer your questions:

I can't answer the first two, since I'm not from Canada. Sorry.

3) What size tank would you recommend?
Like Sapphire said, tanks don't hold humidity very well, and can be expensive. I have my bp in a 20gal, though, and i just have to mist it a lot. You can get a rubbermaid that's about that size (2' x 1' x 1', thereabouts] but an adult will need at least four feet of length. Whatever size you choose, make sure you've got plenty of hiding places, or your snake will get stressed out.

4) What sex would you recommend?
Are you thinking about breeding one day? If that's a possibility at all, get a female. The only reason I didn't is that females get bigger than males, and I didn't want a huge snake. (I soon changed my mind on this, though) A female's a better investment, but if you're worried about size, go with a male.

5) For heating, would you recommend a heat pad, a heat lamp, or both?
heat pads are the best, but if you're like me and your heatpad doesn't produce enough heat, then use overhead lights to supplement. Arrange your setup first, and that way you can look at your temperatures and decide if you need lights or not. It seems like most breeders only use heatpads, but that may also be because it is more space-efficient, too. regardless, snakes don't NEED a basking light, so the only reason you'd need it would be for supplemental heat.

mykee · 10-08-03, 11:45 PM

Ok, here's a different perspective on this scenario. As for glass aquarium, they'll do fine, but they do not hold humidity ( which is important during the shedding process)and are expensive. I would go with a rubbermaid enclosure. For my hatchlings and up to about 500g, I use a rubbermaid that measures 16"long, 8"wide by 5.5" high. Between 500g-1500g I use a rubbermaid that measures 26" long, 16" wide by 9" high. When they are over 1500g's they get the "Big One". Measures 34" long, 16" wide by 5.5" high. You will never need an enclosure bigger than this. There is no such thing as a 4' long rubbermaid, it would be unnecessary. As for heat, I use heat tape, but a UTH (under tank heater) would do fine. Some even use a human heating pad, but I would not recommend it. If you live INDOORS, there should be no need for any supplemental heating required, as BP's heat at night can drop into the low 70's. As for acquiring food in Canada, Ian at Canadianmouseman.com, as of right now, only sells mice, and I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you get your ball feeding or rats immediately. No mice for BP's, they are nowhere near as nutritious and it'll be a pain in the a$$ when your ball is 2000g, you'll end up feeding him/her 15 mice a week. TOO MUCH $$$$$$!!!!
I would buy a female for a few reasons, 1. They are the same prices as males as babies, but are worth 10X more than males as adults. 2. Females grow larger quicker than males. A well-fed adult female could weigh as much as 4500g. A well-fed adult male might top out the scale around 2000g. 3. In my opinion, females are more personable and easier to handle. (forgive my anthropomorphizing all). 4. My females at least tend to be better eaters than any of my males. I've rambled. Hope this helped. Good luck.

672 · 10-09-03, 02:02 PM

Another few questions, what substrate do you use? If i was to build an enclosure, what material, and length would you suggest? hmmm... well thats all for now.....

lilyskip · 10-09-03, 03:05 PM

I use newspaper as a substrate, mostly because it's free and ridiculously easy to change. i haven't had any problems with the ink making huxley dirty yet. however, Marla, my adult bp, makes a lot of noise crinkling her paper at night. As far as acceptable substrates, Cedar and Pine contain oils that can be fatal, so definitely don't use those. Someone else with more experience in different substrates could help you more in comparing the virtues of other types.

honduranfreekk · 10-09-03, 03:59 PM

Hey 672 shoot me a email and I will try and help as much as I can.I,am also in Ottawa

sapphire_moon · 10-10-03, 09:35 PM

because he asked for the size of tank, and I was using something that he could compare size to. It also depends on the humidity where you live. Where I am it's usually 40%-60% daily. So they are usually fine. But in dryer climates it might be harder to keep the humidity up.

Mine don't feed better in a smaller enclosure. No snake is born in a little box and kept there. They do need room to move, I personally if I could would set up an entire room for each snake. But seeing as I don't have millions upon millions of dollars I can't.

I wouldn't put my 3ft-3.5ft bp in my little 20 gal long tank. I am just saying put the snake in something that is appropriate to the snakes size.

As for substrate I'm not sure about it, but I THINK you can use aspen bedding. You might want to ask someone else about that though.

I have heard of people using eco-earth, and bed-a-beast.

I personally use newspaper....

As for heat and humidity, if you use the appropriate size UTH, heat tape or whatever you are using for heat, then it should be fine. But as I said, humidity depends on where you live and how much of it (humidity) is in your house.