Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought 9,5 months old female of ball python just a week ago.There are so many things I don't know and hope I'll learn it,but for the beggining,can anyone tell me should I expect that my new pet will spend whole time during daylite(spot-lite on) hidden in the hidding basket?Is that normal for balls or it will change when she gets used to her new 'house'?Thnx a lot...Alex

It will change depending on the time of year, thier moods, the cycle of the moon (joke) or whatever else ball pythons run their lives by. Just provide the best habitat you can and it should thrive.

Best chances to catch it doing anything are in the evening and early mornings.

Congrats on your purchase! Welcome to the wonderful world of ball pythons!

-John

Thx a lot John! You were wright at once.Already today,my dear Penelope(that's the name my wife gave to our ball python) started to behave much more freely.In last 2 hours or so,she's exploring here home from each to each corner,which makes us extremly happy to see her in action.Now I want to kick my self for even having thoughts whole day that I should have taken boa constrictor instead...No way man...If you could tell me,also,will it bother her if I handle her almost every day(exept when she eats 2 days after) for,let say,half an hour or so?Thx again.Alex.

should be fine to handle her. They will let you know when they dont want to be handled. Usually when mine are in shed I'll leave them alone.
-----
1.0 Het for pied
0.1 Het for Pied
1.5 normal balls
1.1 bearded dragons
1.3 kids
1.0 husband
To many little critters list

Yes, listen to Melinda. She will not mind being handled most of the time, in fact (despite what some will say), many enjoy being handled. Don't handle them a lot just before or after eating however, and generally not when they are in shed. Other than that, you should be all set.

My roommate has a columbian red tail named Penelope, good name, snake has bit of an attitude though. I hope your remains more tame

-John

That's what I've also heard about boas,that they know to be aggresive some times...It's a problem for me,coz my daughters are 4 and 1,5 years old,so I don't want to take any risks that they will be afraid of snake(boa in this case).Other than that,I really like look of red-tails and would like to have it as a pet,some day when I learn a bit more about snakes in generally...

Hi - Bps are Nocturnal and you Shold not see them during the light hours, unless they are going from the warm side hide to the cool side hide (yes you Need 2 hides - one on each end). The warm side being between 90f-93f and the cool side being between 80f-83f, using a UHT (Under Tank Heater) ...additional heat source may be used if you can not reach those temps, With a Thermostat (controls the heat source like one that is in your house)... Belly Burn is nasty, unhealthy, and very Costly...

Substrate - anything but Cedar and pine (TOXIC TO ALL SNAKES) or Sand (will dry them out, get in their mouths and under scales and cause infection)

Most use Aspen... many use news paper , some use shelf liner
- No Contact Paper -

www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide is a great place to go to get most of your questions answered about being a new snake owner, great site. Good choice of getting a ball over a boa, not due to aggression but size. You need to be an experienced snake owner to have anything over 5 foot. Scratch the thoughts of boas being tempered bad. In most cases they are just a docile as balls. I have 50 or so balls now and have 2 that are overly aggressive and will bite. My partner has 20 or so boas and he also has only 2 that has bitten.
Link

-----
www.fbballpythons.com