Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was recently given this almost 2 year old male Ball Python. He belonged to a teen, who decided that she wanted to rehome him due to other interests. I have thought about having one since high school (long time). He was shedding in pieces when he came home with me, and had been fed sporadically. Since I brought him home, he's fed 3 times, first on a hopper mouse, and he did so well with it, I moved onto regular mice. He's about 30" long, and not more than 3.5 -4 inches thick at his thickest part. Is this too skinny for an almost 2 year old? Should I feed him 2x a week? Is he a "normal"? I have been soaking him, and he's pretty much shed out. I handle him often, and he's quite docile about it. His housing came with him, it's a 50-60 gallon tank, with 2 hides, and a good sized water dish. It came with an under heater, and a light, so it stays about 85 degrees on one end, and 70 on the other, the humidity is staying right at 60, should it be higher? Is there a good BP care book I should get? I've been googling for info, but any input is appreciated. I'm going to try to put a pic in this post....

Balls are incredibly easy to care for. if you get a care sheet from kingsnake.com or reptileallsorts.com and follow it, you'll do good. Ive had mine for about 2yrs now and he's awesome. He eats like a pig and never strikes. i feed him 3-4 mice a week alternating. sometimes 2. make sure the water bowl is big enough for him to soak his whole body in. any more questions let me know.

The animal is much to large for mice as a normal diet unless you give multiples, it should be eating medium size rats. Balls come from savannah grasslands, soaking is not good for their skin. The humidity should be high but not a large water dish. Balls also are a nocturnal species, lights are not recommended just as smaller cages are preferable giving the animal a better sense of safety and security. The animal in the picture looks borderline emaciated, it definitely needs much more bodyweight.

"Balls come from savannah grasslands, soaking is not good for their skin."

If your ball is having a bad shed, as they this one was, it is fine to soak them! But I wouldn't soak one unless it is having a bad shed.

I have to ask where did you read/hear that is bad for there skin? I'm not saying it's not bad for them, I just want to know where you got that info from.
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Please...
Keep an OPEN MIND, You'll be AMAZED...

I'm not all that experienced in keeping snakes, but I've read some things over the past six months or so. You can find all kinds of care sheets online. A few that I liked are:

http://www.kingsnake.com/ballpythonguide/

http://www.anapsid.org/ball.html

http://my.pclink.com/~dkelley/python.html .

You can also find small books that give an overview of the care of ball pythons. I have two of these books, and I think both are linked from the last of the three pages that I cited above. There's a new book that was written and is being sold by a frequent contributor to this forum. The book can be ordered through

http://www.newenglandreptile.com/ .

I haven't ordered it yet, but my impression is that the book is big and full of pictures and descriptions of different morphs. I don't know whether the care information is that much more comprehensive that what is found in other books. If you look at the links for ball python breeders, you'll find that many include caresheets on their websites.

Another good source of information is this forum. Most questions have been asked here many times, and if you look through old posts, you'll find them. About half the time, the subject line for the thread is written clearly enough to understand what the question will be and whether the answers will be helpful.

The good news is that there is a great deal of information. The bad news is that there isn't always consensus.

For instance, people will offer all kinds of ideas for what size cage is needed. You already have one post telling you that your 50 to 60 gallon cage is too big. I have a ball python that's younger and smaller than yours, and she's perfectly happy in a 55 gallon aquarium. Some care sheets say that a cage with bottom surface area of 36 inches by 24 inches is plenty for an adult ball python. Others say that the cage needs to be as long as the snake is. Others say that half the perimeter of the cage needs to be equal to or greater than the snake's length. I don't know the right answer or whether there is a single right answer.

I've concluded based on my limited experience and my reading that a "too big" cage is okay for a ball python as long as he has plenty of effective hides. Of course, people will also disagree about what makes an effective hide. Some very respected people on these boards say that the log and half-log hides that you find at pet stores are worthless. I have two snakes that use these hides occasionally. I wouldn't want them to be stuck with log or half-log hides as an only choice, but I'm happy that I'm giving them that choice. The important thing is that the hide is configured so that the snake feels safe in it. I like to give my snake many choices to find what she likes best. Most people probably think that I go overboard on providing a choice of hides.

From what most people are telling me, your warm side temperature at the substrate level should be a little warmer. Of course, you need to measure the temperature at the substrate level where the snake is and not halfway up the cage wall. The consensus on temperature seems to be that ball pythons need a basking spot that's around 90 degrees with a gentle gradient to the low to mid 70's on the cool side. Some people will recommend a temperature gun, and a frequent contributor to this board sells one that I like very much. You can find this device at

http://www.tempgun.com .

I have the PE-2 model, but most people are happy with the PE-1. I like getting information from the temperature gun, digital thermometers, and aquarium thermometers. Most people probably think that I go overboard on thermometers, but I doubt anyone would seriously argue against measuring temperature two ways.

If you're getting a consistent 60% humidity, you're doing better than I've done. I think the guides would generally say that your humidity is good. Maybe someone else will make further comments on that point.

Congratulations on getting a ball python. Like you, I've wanted one since I was a kid. I'm 42, and I just bought my first snake and first ball python in October. (I also bought a California Kingsnake at that time.) I love my snakes although I worry about their health. As I gain more confidence in their care, I'll enjoy them more.

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

For the input from all who've replied! It's my goal to get this guy healthy. The teen who had him did NOT feed him properly, maybe once a month.... I found the caresheet on this sight and printed it out, and will keep going through the old posts on this sight to educate myself! I appreciate your help and information!