Ball Python Basics 101

[Reptile_Reptile]

One day, I'll save this so I don't have to type it out from memory every time someone gets their first ball python.


What your royal/ball python needs:

Enclosure
Substrate
Water Dish
Heat Source
Hides
Thermometer/Hygrometer




1> Enclosure

A 20 gallon size enclosure will do for her as a hatchling, but within one year, she will grow out of that and need to be moved to a 40g or larger enclosure. They aren't huge snakes, but they are very fat snakes and take up a lot of space. Your options for an enclosure are thus.

a> Aquarium
Pros: Cheap (You can generally find 55g aquariums on craigslist for 30 to 50 bucks. High visibility.
Cons: Bad at keeping heat and humidity in. Have to pull snake out from above, which is stressful.

b> tubs
Pros: Cheap cheap cheap. Cheapest of the cheap. Great at keeping in heat and humidity.
Cons: Poor snake visibility. Severely limits your heating options. Not very aesthetically pleasing.

c> Custom built enclosures
Pros: Get exactly what you need. Cheaper than purpose built enclosures (see below). Addresses all of the cons of aquariums and tubs.
Cons: You have to build it yourself. It will run you $100 to $200 in supplies, *if* you have your own tools.

d> Purpose built enclosures (vision cages, boaphile cages, etc)
Pros: Very good at keeping heat and humidity in. High visibility. Best looking. Most are stackable. They are built specifically to hold snakes.
Cons: Cost can run anywhere from hundreds of dollars to over a thousand dollars, depending on size.

Substrate - There are tons of options here, literally dozens of different things. I will list the pros and cons of the most popular ones and give you my opinion on them. With all loose substrates, you ideally shouldn't feed the snake inside its enclosure (due to risk of accidental ingestion).


Shredded Newspaper -

Pro: Cheap. Can be changed every day easily if snake has mites or diarrhea.
Con: Looks like crap. Not very absorbent.


Ecoearth - (comes in bricks, you add water and it expands, it's the consistency of top soil, made from coconut fiber)

Pros - Hold moisture very well. Looks like real earth.
Cons - Dark color and loose texture makes spot cleaning more difficult and mites more difficult to see.

Aspen Shavings - (The only wood shavings you should use. NEVER use cedar or pine/fir/spruce. They are toxic and will kill your animal.)

Pros: Cheap, Loose and easy for snakes to burrow in.
Cons: Don't hold moisture very well. Not very aesthetically pleasing.

Astroturf/Reptile Carpet -

Pros - Very easy to spot clean. Cheap (you buy it once, and use it forever).
Cons - Snakes can't burrow into it.

Really, it all comes down to personal preference. As long as your snake has sufficient hides, and sufficient humidity it doesn't matter what his substrate is, as long as you stay away from the toxic ones. Never use Pine/spruce/fir shavings. Never use cedar shavings. Never use sand or gravel.

Water Dish - Anything works. I find dog water dishes work the best for me. Make sure the dish is large enough for the snake to comfortably fit inside, and deep enough that he can completely immerse himself without overflowing. Pet stores sell special reptile dishes, but they're horribly overpriced and none of them are really big enough for a royal/ball python. I highly recommend a light colored water dish (makes it easier to check the water at a glance). Just be sure he always has fresh clean water deep enough to soak in.

Heat Source - This is a big thing. Corns are basically ok at room temperature with a little bit of supplemental heating. Royal/Ball pythons, however, are tropical. They need a temperature gradient running from ~78 to ~85 Farenheit. How you achieve this depends on several factors. Most notably, what temperature the room your snake will be in is, and what kind of enclosure your snake is going to be kept in.


Infrared Heat Lights - These are the red lights, the sort they keep food warm with. If you use these, be sure that the snake cannot get in contact with the bulb. The surface of these bulbs get over 400 degrees and will burn the snake instantly.

Pros: Cheap. Produce a lot of heat. Can be used at night.
Cons: Use a lot of electricity. Dangerous hot spots. Cannot use with tubs. Not aesthetically pleasing.

Ceramic Heat Emitter - These are basically a flat light bulb made out of ceramic. They produce heat, but no light. Like heat lights, you must keep a guard around them to prevent contact with the snake.

Pros: No energy wasted as light. Energy efficient. Can produce a LOT of heat.
Cons: Cannot be used with tubs. Expensive ($50 at a US petstore, cheaper online).

UTH - Under tank heaters are thermostat controlled heat pads that adhere to the underside of an enclosure and heat them.

Pros: Efficient. Inexpensive. Can be used with tubs.
Cons: Don't put out much heat. Unless your ambient temperature is regularly over 75 degrees, supplemental heating will be necessary.

Heat Cable/Tape - Heat cable is basically the guts of an electric blanket. Unlike the other heating solutions, Heat cable is safe to use inside an enclosure. The surface temperature of the cable never gets more than 110 degrees. Because of this, they are extremely efficient at heating enclosures.

Pros: Most efficient. Can be used with tubs.
Cons: Expense on par with Ceramic Heat Emitters.

No matter what kind of heating you use, I highly recommend you get yourself a thermostat. For less than $30 you can get a thermostat and take all of the risk and guesswork out of maintaining your snake's required temperatures.


Hides -- Like water dishes, anything works. You can buy fancy resin hides from a pet store made to look like rocks, or you can use a butter tub with a hole cut in it. Your snake won't know the difference. There are, however, two important things to remember.

1> Your snake should have at least two hides (preferably 3). One on the warm side and one on the cool side is an absolute must.
2> The smaller the hide, the better. If the hide looks so small that your snake couldn't possibly fit inside, it *might* be small enough. A snake is never happier than when it *barely* fits inside its hide. The more walls it touches at once, the happier it will be.

Thermometers/Hygrometers -- If you don't already have one, get an infrared/laser thermometer. The sort that you point and push a button, and it tells you the temperature. They run about $15 and are more useful than a million internal thermometers. Internal thermometers tell you the temperature where the thermometer is, not where the snake is. You should also get a Hygrometer (humidity meter). Do not get a cheap dial one. They are inherently inaccurate. They are rubbish, trust me on this. For $10 you can get a digital hygrometer from a home improvement store. (Check the garden section, think green houses)


Well, that's what you need for a Ball Python. Once you've got your snake, the hard part starts.

Firstly. Royal/Ball Pythons have a reputation as finicky eaters. We could debate the causes of this all night, but that won't change the fact that a newly adopted snake isn't going to want to eat. If you follow the, er, following, advice you shouldn't have a problem getting your little guy to start eating.

Step 1: Before he arrives, have his enclosure set up, and heated in a quiet, unused, and dark room or closet.

Step 2: If he arrives in a box, or bag, or deli cup, open it inside his enclosure, and leave him be. Don't take him out.

Step 3: Leave him in the quiet, dark, unused room for two weeks. Do not open his enclosure except to spot clean or replace soiled water. Do not play a tv or radio in the room. Treat it as you would a basinet with a colicky baby who just fell asleep.

Step 4: If he is not showing signs of shed (blue eyes, dull scales), offer him food after two weeks of the exact species, age, and vital status as he was being fed by the breeder. If he was on live hopper rats, start him on live hopper rats. If he was on frozen/thawed mice, start him on frozen/thawed mice. Feed him at night, and if you must stay to watch, do it from a distance, quietly.

Step 5: If he refuses to eat, continue the isolation for another week and try again.


If he continues to refuse to eat, there are a myriad of things you can try, which I won't get into here, because they're quite gruesome, and hopefully you'll never need them. The important thing is to remember to think like the snake. He is scared, he is in a new place, there are new smells, and he is a baby. He knows he is very near the bottom of the food chain. He also knows that he can go a very long time without food (up to 22 months). Because of this, he will not want to eat until he is sure he is safe, because eating makes him vulnerable.

You won't have to keep up the isolation forever. Once he is eating regularly he can be handled, and moved to a more traveled area. I know it is tempting to handle them immediately, but remember, these animals live a very long time. You are going to have 30+ years to spend with this snake, so give him the two weeks he needs to get used to his situation.