Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im saving some money up for a new snake, i think im going to get a ball python...ive looked at caresheets but they give out lots of different info, what does the temp have to be like? warm and cool, and at night? what size of an enclosure do they need? i plan on getting a young one and i have 2 spare 20 longs would that do for a while? if i get one i plan on moving it up to something like a 50 or 60 gallon thanks for the info
Chuck

They're really easy snakes, actually.

Hot Side 85-92
Cool Side 78-84
Basking 90-92
Ambient mid-80's
Regular Humidity 50-60%
Shed Humidity 80%

The 20L will actually work for an adult. You'll want to make sure you've got plenty of hides for a baby in one of those. They tend to stress if the tank is too big and the don't feel secure.

cool over the next few days ill start working on how to get the temps that high in the room it will go in and i will make sure there is lots of hides...i read somewhere before that u dont have to keep the humidity at a constant 60% if u give them a humid hide? is this true? i wouldnt mind misting the cage a few times a day and i would provide a humid hide just for extra humidity thanks for the help...do they need a red light at night? for extra heat? or does that all depend on what the temp drops to at night?

Yeah, as long as they've got a humid hide, and use it, you don't have to really worry too much about humidity. I'd suggest using either lighting or undertank heating (prefered by most keepers) for temperature. If you can keep the room temp in the low/mid-80's great but, you're still going to need about 90 on the hot side. And they need belly heat, which can be a UTH or proper sized bulb. I use bulbs and have substrate temp's of 88-92 for the hot side and 82-86 for the cool side, aswell as the proper ambient temp's. The red light is mostly for viewing at night, when they're the most active. But, as I stated, I use bulbs as my heat sourse aswell.

A 20 long for a ball python would work for about a year, depending on how fast it grows.
There is no way a bp would fit in a 20 long all it's life! I have a 4ft ball python. I wouldn't even attempt to shove him in there with a proper sized water bowl PLUS hides!

I have both my BP's (a 4ft and a 2.5ft) in (SEPERATE) 4ft long rubbermaid like containers (yes they work wonders, especially when holding in the humidity)

With a tank you might have to mist it daily, depending on the humidity of where you live. You can always take a towel, dampen one side, put the damp side over HALF of the screen and put something like alummunim foil or plastic wrap over the top of the towel to hold in humidity.

You will need a water bowl large enough for it to soak in if it wants to. and atleast 1 climbing branch, they are not very graceful, but they will probably use it.

for bedding you will want to use newspaper or paper towel at first to spot any mites, and have a fecal done when s/he "Goes".
after that you can use aspen shavings (I use it, great for quick clean up), cypress mulch, and a variety of other things.

DO NOT use pine or cedar, it has phenols in it which can cause respirtory problems in the snake (its the stuff that makes it smell real woodsy)
and do not use sand, it is very bad for the snake.

If you use a particle substrate (such as aspen) either put down newspaper underneath it before it eats, or feed it in a seperate container.

when you get it do not handle(or attempt to feed) for atleast 10-14 days. Then attempt to feed (try to get it on rats ASAP, they are more nutritional, a rat of about 2 weeks is the same size as an adult mouse, which is the size a baby bp will probably be eating) if it eats, then feed it 3 more times (one time a week) after it has fed successfully for 4 feedings then handle it more often (than cleaning and such).

Ball pythons stress VERY easily. I don't even reccomend them for a first snake.
But if you are going to get one be prepared. They can and WILL go off feed for unknown reasons. And stay off feed for up to 1 year!
Don't be worried about this unless you suspect illness or if they rapidly loose weight.

Use a UTH to reach the proper temps, but UTH's usually get way over 100 degrees so getting a lamp dimmer and "dimming" the heat to the proper temp will be needed.

Like I said a 20 long will work for about a year.
Hot Side: 90-95
cool side: 80-85

Night drop: about 7-10 degrees (don't really need one though)

Humidity: when NOT in shed- about 40%-60%
When IN shed 60%-80%

sorry I babbled on.......good luck with your snake!

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1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn, 0.1 western hognose

i just plan on using a 20 long for a few months until i can get some more cash and get a 50 or 60 it wouldnt be my first snake, i have a cal king and corn snake who have no troubles feeding or anything. the humidity in there cage without trying to keep any in is about 40 right now...and thats without misting or anything, so i cant see it being too much of a problem keeping humidity up plus i will be providing a humid hide. i have saved up some money this past month as i have been doing research on BP's cuz i think it will be my next snake... how big do they usually get? i read females usually get considerably larger then the males do so i am hoping to get a female thanks
Chuck

Chuck420,
saw your post on the Ball Python forum. I have put together a caresheet that is made up of all the advice I've received from this and other forums. It's not well organized yet, but many have found it helpful. I'd be happy to email it to you if you're interested. It is a word docutment. Just email me if you'd like a copy:

tigergenesis@comcast.net

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python
"Aragorn"

1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa
"Gimli"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

It'll do great in the 20L for well over a year. Balls like smaller enclosures, especially young snakes who stress even harder than adults. In fact, the 20L will be a little big for your baby but give it plenty of hides and it'll be fine. A misting every two days should be fine for your humidity if it's already at 40%. And remember, these guys aren't the same kind of feeders that Kings and Corns, they can go off of feed for several month a year. But when they're eating it's better to feed a larger meal than several smaller meals, the same size as the snake's largest diameter. Good luck with getting your Ball.