Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

Well I am considering getting a ball python or two and have a couple of questions. I have read a good number of care sheets on the net but figured I would as the experts out here first.

The primary reason for getting the ball will be for a pet. I go to college and love animals. I recently moved out of my parents house and can not stand not having my dogs around. Little past experience I have. I use to breed leopard geckos - had about 60 of them. Now I have eastern box turtles about 8 of them back at my parents house.

Reasons for considering balls. I love snakes and have never been able to have one....mom is scared of them. With classes and working I do not have the time to get a dog as a pet and have heard snakes are fairly low maintenance. How true is this?

Questions:
To get a very nice and docile adult am I best to get a baby and raise it up? I am not worried about a certain color pattern.

What size cage would you recommend for an adult? 2 adults?

Can a male and female be housed together year round?

I know no special lighting is needed as far as UVB goes. Any other beginner advise/tips/things I should know about before getting one?

Where would you recommend getting a ball? I hate pet stores, local reptile show maybe? Mail order? All my lizards and turtles were mail ordered.

Thanks,
Scott Yonkers

To get a very nice and docile adult am I best to get a baby and raise it up? I am not worried about a certain color pattern.

Ball pythons are docile, but to make sure it is captive bred, you should get a baby.

What size cage would you recommend for an adult? 2 adults?

An adult would need a 40 or 50 gal aquarium. For babies, it is best to go with a 10 gal. Set up the cage a few days before you order your snake. Before you order the snake, make sure the temps and humidity is perfect.

Can a male and female be housed together year round?

2 ball pythons shouldn't be housed together.

I know no special lighting is needed as far as UVB goes. Any other beginner advise/tips/things I should know about before getting one?

Just get a book about BP's. NERD has a great care sheet.

Where would you recommend getting a ball? I hate pet stores, local reptile show maybe? Mail order? All my lizards and turtles were mail ordered.

Buy from a reputable breeder. I would recommend newenglandreptile.com
ralphdavisreptiles.com
pkreptiles.com
ballpython.com
vpi.com

Those are all great sites and reputable breeders with healthy animals. They have live arrival gaurantees on their animals which is very imprtant. Don't go to a reptile show, usually those BP's are almost as bad as pet stores unless the person is breeding morphs. The web is the best place to get a BP. If you want more BP web sites, just email me, I ave at least 20 great sites. Check kingsnake.com classifieds. Hope this helps.

Hey Scott,
Welome to the world of Bps. I agree with most of what has been said in the past post. As far as housing animals together, I have heard of people who DO and have no problems, I have also heard of others who claim it stresses the animals as they are not social by nature. I think it's an owners judgement call. Of the 2 I have, one is 2003 and the other is 2002, so because of the size difference, I don't house together. I may at some future point. Who knows?
All in all, they are great pets. I would recommend getting them as babies and raising them. I purchased my first at Regal Reptiles here in RI and my 2nd at the New York Expo in White Plains. NERD, Regal, and Renaissance Reptiles as well as others will be at the expo, so you can purchase a quality snake at cost, without shipping charges. There is another one coming up this weekend! Woohoo! I promised the hubby no more animals until we purchase our house. It's gonna be tough, though. I'd like to get started with some Leos.
They are low maint animals, once you get the cage set up. I think I have the most problem maintaining humidity in my tanks. I usually end up soaking the snakes after an incomplete shed. Seems that's a pretty common problem for BPs.
That and read, read, read. There are tons of care sheets out there, and they all contain basically the same info as far as heat, lighting, humidity, food, etc.
Good luck!
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband

Hey,

Well I am still unsure on what kind of snake.

I thought i was for sure on a ball python now again unsure. How common is it for balls to be super docile? A freind was telling me he prefers boas over pythons and he use to breed balls. Said babies can be quite nippy as well as adults.

What are your opinions on this?

Scott