First off if you want to get a BP only to PROVE you can keep one, don't get it.
second, if tanks is what you want then nothing less than a 40 gal breeder (3'L x 20" W x 12"T Min size enclosure). Females usually get larger than males, though not always (male 3.5-4ft, females 4-5 ft, 5ft being rare, but can happen), and both can and probably will go off feeding.
Get a cb from a good reputable breeder.
If you get a baby a 10 gal-20 gal long tank should work fine for a while.
Use a UTH (under tank heater) or even a human heating pad.(put them UNDER the tank, NOT in the tank)
Use a theremometer and put it directly above the heating pad in the tank. A indoor/outdoor thermometer can measure both the hot side and room temp (cool side. You can use a cheap lamp dimmer from wal-mart to keep the UTH from getting to hot!
Hot side 90F-95F Degrees.
Cool side 80F-85F Degrees
You would really want 2 hides, so it doesn't have to chose between security and warmth. So one over the hot side and one on the cool side.
A water bowl (kind of in the middle or a little over the heating pad for humidity) that is kind of heavy so they can't tip it over, but big enough to soak in if they want.
No cedar or pine (or softwood really) aspen shavings, paper, paper towels, care soft, soft sorbent, and shredded news paper works great.
Keep the humidity atleast 50% min and atleast 70-80 percent when in shed.
Lights can be used for the day night cycle( 10-12 hours on, 10-12 hours off), but really kind of useless when it comes to heating a bp enclosure.
As said above if you use a loose substrate then put paper down under the bp or move to a seperate container.
When you get your new bp have the cage set up and the temps ready. Don't just throw everything together and expect it to work, the uth may have problems, etc....
Set the cage up hospital style.
hides, water bowl, and white paper towel, so you can check for mites, and such.
Put the cage in a low traffic area to keep stress levels down.
BP's are really not a good begginer snake.
Leave the bp alone for 2 weeks, do not attempt feeding, don't handle, don't tap on the glass. Change water as needed, thats about it.
Once the 2 weeks have passed,(start spot cleaning, picking up fecal and urates, maybe just tearing off that piece of paper towel and putting a smaller piece down over the glass) You can try your first feeding (NO LIVE, a live adult mouse can kill a 4ft BP!)
Get a bp from a breeder that feeds F/T (frozen thawed)DO NOT handle for 3 days after you have fed the bp.
A hatchling bp can take an adult mouse.
You can feed your bp something the SAME size as the largest part of the snake or a LITTLE bit bigger.
You will not feed mice all the bp's life. Eventually you will have to feed rats. so try to get them started on rats ASAP. They have all kinds of sizes, day old, month old, rat pups which I believe are the same size as adult mice, but it depends on where you get them.
I would suggest waiting until after at least 4 feedings to handle the snake.
At about 1 feeding every 7 days. As the bp gets bigger, about 3-4ft you can tapper off to appropriatly sized meals (make sure it leaves a lump! but not to big or it can rot in the snakes belly) every 8-10 days. I feed my 4ft male every 7 days (when he eats!)
After then the snake should be all settled in and you can change substrate, add climbing branches, and start a routine holding to "tame" the snake down.
The bp may appear to be extremely docile. But that is a defence tactic, As is rolling into a ball.
Most Ball Pythons are extremely head shy, they do not like their heads to be touched. This may agitate some bp's and induce a fear strike at you, a fear strike is a strike and let go, a food strike (thinking you are food) is a strike and coil. Never pick up your bp after handling ANY small animal. You might want to practice washing your hands before AND after handling your snake.
Never feed with your hands, use tongs, the kind for tossing salads and such from wal-mart is what I use.
Make sure any cage you use is ESCAPE PROOF. If they can get their head through something, they can get their body through.
When my male bp was about 2ft he got his head and half of his body through my partners size 10 ring before we noticed it, he was able to get out, but we never left jewelry on the bed again.
Get a fecal done when you get it, no matter if you get it from a good breeder or not.
If you don't want to use the bp as a display snake you can always get a LARGE rubbermaid drill holes in the sides, and use that as a cage to, I have both my BP's in 4ft rubbermaids With a UTH (hooked up to a lamp dimmer).It is a cheap way to house snakes, but it holds humidity a lot better than a glas tank does.
They have both been off feed since 11-25-03, as long as a bp has good weight (not triangular) then it will be fine, unless you suspect illness, Than a bp can go up to 1 year without eating (sometimes longer).
Never put your bp around your neck, You never know when they will get angry, don't shove the snake in people's faces, (especially if they are scared of snakes) it makes the people mad at you and stresses the snake out.
Don't take it on car trips, it's not a dog.
Snakes are instintual animals, they can't be trained. And will always either flee or fight when cornored.
When getting a bp look around the eyes, make sure there is no little black specks moving around the eyes, nose, heat pits, vents, or belly scales,
Make sure there is no old sheds left (especially on the eyes, vent and tail),
Make sure there are no bubbles coming from the nose or mouth.
and when it wraps around your hand make sure that it has good muscle tone and isn't just going to fall off your arm.
As I said BP's do not make good begginer snakes. They stress to easily, and make the novice pull out their hair when they stop eating. Just about everything can stress a bp and cause them to stop eating.
I think that about covers it,
I hope this has helped!
If you have any questions let me know!
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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn
