Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi all,

i am in the market to adpot a ball python, and i had a few questions. i have heard males are easier to care for than females, at least for beginners like me. is there any reason why i should select one sex over the other (clutching eggs, etc)? i am looking to adopt a 2 year old female i found on craig's list. what is the average length for a 2 year old female? would it be a bad idea to adopt an adult snake, or should i raise one from a baby? are there any specific things i should check for before adopting this snake, or any particular questions i should ask the current owner (besides feeding habits, etc.)? any other care advice or tips would be much appreciated as well! thanks...

-sherri

> i have heard males are easier to care for than females, at least

Hmmm. Not sure how. I don't notice much of a difference.

>for beginners like me. is there any reason why i should select one sex over the other (clutching eggs, etc)? i am looking to

Not unless you plan to breed the female. If you are just looking for a starter pet, then either would be fine.

>what is the average length for a 2 year old female?

Average? Hard to say. But as long as the snake is healthy, it should not matter.

> would it be a bad idea to adopt an adult snake, or should i raise one from a baby?

There are pros and cons. It would be easier to acclimate and tame a hatchling than it would an adult. That being said, you might get an adult that is already tame.

> are there any specific things i should check for before adopting this snake, or any particular questions i should ask the current owner (besides feeding habits, etc.)? any other care advice or tips would be much appreciated as well! thanks...

Yes. Has it been to the vet? Does it have a history of problems? What are its feeding habits? Does it eat live rats or what? Why is the person giving it up? Get as much info as you can.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I checked with the current owner. They have raised the ball python from a baby, and previously kept a ball python for 23 years, but the female i'm looking at has never been to the vet. Should I be terribly concerned? The owners say it has always been healthy. I work as a vet tech for an exotics vet, so when I do get the snake I'll take it in for a preliminary check up.

That should be fine.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I bought my first snakes three months ago, and before getting the snake, I bought the cage and began trying to regulate temperatures. While things have changed at times, I'm still glad that I had the cage ready and was getting reasonable regulation before I brought home a snake to live in that cage. Having to get everything running properly while knowing that my snake was suffering because something was wrong would be stressful. If the snake doesn't come with a cage, I'd get the cage and bedding now and start trying to make things work.

I bought aquariums because the folks at the pet store were selling them and offering me live advice. If I had it to do over, I'd get some of the cages made for snakes. If you're really desperate for advice, I wrote a long account of some of my first steps in a thread that I posted during the weekend January 14 and 15. (I think that's the date.) If you're going to spend that much time reading, you'd learn more from reading some of the caresheets on kingsnake.com and on the forum sponsors' pages. If you're bored after checking out those sources, you might find that thread. Some people actually added some good advice for me.

You might also follow the link to Jay's page on the previous response. He has some interesting information on his website.

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