OK heres the deal: About a month ago we(hubby and I) took in a ball python from my bils bedroom(yes it had been loose without a cage food or water). We put it in a 29 gallon tank and have have been feeding it once a week(a med size rat). It shed in one piece the night we got it and has been urinating and it just dumped today(looked like small dog turds). It is pretty grumpy. It hisses if you touch it and if you do pick it up it tries to squeeze you to death. It doesnt seem to want to bite but I am terrified of snakes and it is really hard for me to do anything with this snake but make sure he/she has a clean house and fed properly. So I have a couple questions. What temp should I keep the tank? I have a under the tank heater but thats all. I keep my house about 72 f. For a hide out I use brown paper bags that I get from the grocery store(also serves as a climbng activity).And I just use newspaper for the bottom so I can take out soiled paper right away. I think this snake is about 37" long(I measured the skin it shed). Is there anyway to tame this snake or will it forever be rotten? My hubby has had many snakes in his past and he still will not fool with this guy(so he leaves it up to me----and im terrified of snakes). I also have a 2 year old son that loves snakes and I really feel bad that he cant really fool around with this one too much. He is very gentle(we have 2 small dogs, a parrot, and a rabbit, did have 2 small hamsters) and he knows how to handle delicate creatures. I guess this is a vent with questions...all advice is welcome....I dont know what to do at this point.

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• New to Ball pythons(first snake for me) - ElisMom, Wed Sep 22 22:35:23 2004
• RE: New to Ball pythons(first snake for me) - cmh7s, Thu Sep 23 07:35:52 2004
• RE: New to Ball pythons(first snake for me) - shelby514, Thu Sep 23 14:24:21 2004
• RE: New to Ball pythons (long) - pengulove, Fri Sep 24 11:57:58 2004