Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,
I am about to buy a 3-4 month old, captive bred, Ball Python. Have a 20 gallon tank setup with bark substrate, under tank heater, 75-watt red infrared bulb, water bowl, small branch, some fake leaves, hiding spots, and fluorescent light for daytime viewing. Temperature is in the low 80's, humidity fluctuates between 40-70. Of course, this is all without the snake, but at least is a stable environment so far.

Thought about getting a snake two years ago but hesitated. I have been a little skittish about snakes before but have always had a big interest. Now my (almost) 6 year-old son absolutely loves snakes. I am getting much more interested & comfortable with ownership because of his interest. Will definitely make sure any interaction with my son is supervised.

Have been reading/researching Ball Pythons and they seem like a good fit. We like the coloration, good temperament, and common snake. Any advice you all can offer for a beginner would be good: general comments, acclimation, how often it should be handled/how long (minutes), typical signs of stress, etc.

Thanks!

If you are set on a ball, I would check out the ball forum for specifics. Some will tell you that they are not great beginner snakes. I cannot speak from experience on them, since I have mostly cornsnakes and other North American Ratsnakes (which ARE great beginner snakes!). Oh, my 8 year old has been into snakes, right along with me, since he was 6. It has been a great experience for both of us. Good luck. Duffy

I would not recommend a ball python for a beginner snake. But if you do make sure it's Captive Born or you will have Big problems (wild Balls are frequently hard to start feeding)

Your temp is too cool. Balls do better in temps around 90F (daytime). A hide box is a good idea, preferably with an enterance through the top.

One more thing...A healthy Ball can fast up to a year. They commonly go on hunger strikes. This is not a snake that you can feed every 4-5 days.

Good luck,

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

i just got my first ball a couple of weeks ago,a wonderful change of pace from my hondurans.if it's possible see the snake feed,frozen thawed would be ideal.when you get home with the snake put it away and forget about for a week,cover the tank and let it get cozy with it's new surrondings (hard to do,but it's best for the snake).i was told they stress easy and should not be handled until they have fed 4-5 times.you will need more humditiy,just cover part of the tank top.i have read four different ball books and i like "the ball python manual" the best.have fun!

From what I have gathered, Ball Pythons are relatively good beginner snakes. I am sure its captrive born and so far it seems like a good eater. We have put a deposit on it and left it at the shop until I get teh habitat setup. May actually get it Sunday.

Thanks!

Hey there,

You're making a good choice. Balls are wonderful beginners snakes, so long as you start with CB (heck, I even started with CH and my ball has thrived to this day). I think people stress out too much about their ball pythons. If it goes off feed for awhile, don't panic. It WILL eventually feed. If it's in generally good health, leave it be, and it will feed. As long as you have an open water bowl for soaking, you should have a humidity of around 60%, which is good. Just keep one hide over the warm area (around 90F), and another hide over the cooler area (high low 80's), feed it once a week, and you should be set. They have great personalities. One of my first snakes was a ball, and I love her to death.

As has been pointed out...your temps need to be 90 at the high end. I would also very much recommend setting up a humid hide now and using it to supply adequate humidity instead of misting the cage etc. Plus you will want to cover most of the screen top of your tank with plexiglass or some solid vapor barrier.
I don't think of BP as good beginners because they are not as resilient or flexible as a good old North American colubrid (cornsnake/ ratsnakes especially) They need humid hides and higher temps. and, whether they seem mellow or not, they stress from handling where a corn doesn't nearly as much. That and the whole fasting for months can be frustrating and unhealthy with a novice keeper who doesn't monitor temps and weights.That all said...if you are observant and do your homework to supply a correct environment then ANY animal is 'easy'.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

I have had both cb. and wc imports. You will not have feeding issues or stress problems with cb. All my cb eat weekly, never fast except during shed. cb are great for a beginer. I would do away with the fluorescent light. Snakes don't need lights, just get temp up a bit on the warm side and you should be just fine.

I replaced the 75-watt red infrared bulb with a 100-watt ceramic heater yesterday. This is augmenting an undertank heater. Also covered a significant portion of the screen with aluminum foil (as a temporary measure until I get some plexiglass cut to fit). Finally, I added a bigger water bowl as well.

All this worked well as the temps from 90-92 on the left or heated side to 80 on the cooler right side. The humidity level is in the high 60's.

Seems things are much more where they need to be.

What is a humid hide and how do the work?

Sounds like you are good to go. Make sure you measure your temp directly under the ceramic heater. A humid hide is simple a hide box with moist mulch or even moist paper towls in it. If youe humidity level is at 60, I dont't think you need to worry wiht a humid hide. What I do is when they go into shed I mist the sides of the cages with warm water once a day until they shed. That raises humidity which aides the shedding process. I think you are fine.

>>What is a humid hide and how do the work?

A humid hide is a plastic hide container...for my adults it is a sweater box, with a hole cut in the lid and inside is spaghnum moss that was soaked in warm water and squeezed out. You will need to remist the moss now and then. Then you have a box for the snake to go into when it needs to hydrate (when it is in shed) but doesn't feel comfortable soaking in the water. Like a damp burrow. And, the second advantage is that the rest of the cage is dry enough to prevent scale rot or fungus or bacterial. (moss is naturally resistant to growing icks)Spraying down the cage will raise the humidity for a few hours...if it is a tank with screen top.

In the smaller, baby tubs, (12 qt-28qt with holes) I find they really don't need it as the tub retains the humidity from the water dish and they have fine sheds anyway.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

Just came home with a captive bred ball python that my son named "Sammy". He/she seems to be a rather active snake.

Thanks for all the posts.

.
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