Ball Python Owners [v.1]

[Sulin]

Hello there!

Welcome everyone! I couldn't find a thread specifically for ball pythons so I thought to make one myself <33
Every different kind of ball python is welcome here, even if you don't own a ball python maybe you know someone who does or you might have questions for others about their ball pythons! Everything around here is ball python related so feel free to hop on in whenever you please :3

You can talk about your BPs, their terrarium, how you care for them, what they eat (nothing to descriptive please), morphs, etc.
(as long as it is all following CS rules and guidelines)

Please remember to have fun and enjoy this thread with your fellow snake owners <3

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Rules:
1. Please stay on topic about BPs, if your post isn't BP related do not post it (unless it somehow related back to BPs).
2. DO NOT SPAM! Spam includes (but is not limited to): one word/one sentence posts (short questions do not count), one word/one sentence responses going on between users, off-topic/irrelevant material, repeating of one's self even after being responded to, or personal conversations.
3. Be kind, and polite to fellow posters, respect their beliefs or opinions. Do not engage if you do not like what they are discussing, just move on.
4. We all would love to see pictures of your BPs but before you post please make sure any pictures with faces that can be identified in them are blacked/blurred out.

If you don't follow the rules, there is a chance this thread gets lock for everybody. Therefore any negative behaviors will not be tolerated and you may be asked to kindly stop posting IF you repeatedly disobey the guidelines that have been set up.

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I actually have a few questions I'd like to ask myself!
I am currently saving for a ball python and would love some help, I've wanted one for as long as I can remember and now that I have the ability to earn money I can lol

Anyways:
- Does it matter the sex of the BP? Like does a female BP have a worse or better temper than a male or even the other way around y'know?
- Morphs! What is a pretty but cheap morph I should save for to start out with?
- Any recommendations on what brand of terrarium is strong, sturdy, and reliable for a steady price?
- I have heard many many recommendations on what to put in their terrarium but I would like some more lol Bedding? what type water bowl, stimulate objects? etc?
- and overall just some ideas you think I should keep in mind? (I know a lot about BPs but I don't want to start out this thread by asking to many double checking type questions)

[RosyWindFox]

Hello! I'm a snake owner but not a BP owner but I've looked into them quite a bit and know quite a few experienced keepers.
Sex does not affect behavior most of the year however iirc males can be slightly more likely to food strike during breeding season. However I wouldn't really say one is better than the other, really I'd just get whatever sex is available in the morph/from the breeder you want.

I've heard great things about dubiaroaches.com PVCs! I'd recommend their 4x2x2' for a full grown BP. reviews for Zen Habitats and LEAP have been pretty mixed so I'd personally avoid them. I think Dragonhaus had a big scandal recently if Im remembering the right company so I'd avoid them too. You can sometimes find local people who build enclosures or make one yourself if you have tools and some basic knowledge!

Realistically your costs are mostly going to be from things like enclosure, heating, lighting, vet fund, etc. This can easily be several hundred to over a thousand depending on the supplies you get. Imo with a ~$500 budget for the animal itself you could get pretty much any more common morph, Pied, Banana, Albino, BEL, Pinstripe, etc. Even some lesser expensive combos would be available to you. Breeder is much more important than morph if you're not intending to breed yourself. It's way more important to get your animal from a reliable breeder who cares about their animals, treats them well and doesn't have disease and parasites running rampant in their facilities then to get a particular color. However if you look through a couple good breeders you'll probably find an animal you like in your price range.
Morphs to avoid: Spider, Scaleless, Woma, Hidden Gene Woma/HGW, Champagne, Super Spotnose, Super Cypress, Caramel ALbino, Super cinnamon, Super Black Pastel, 8 ball (cinnamon + black pastel), Super lesser/butter

May wobble: Spotnose, Super Chocolate, Cypress

One note is that Banana is linked to the Y or X chromosome and due to it's nature Males are a lot cheaper and easier to find.

Inside your enclosure should be: substrate, hides, things to climb on, water dish, cover, basking spot
substrate: you have 3 options for substrate, sterile substrate, loose substrate and bioactive substrate.
Sterile substrate: ideal for quarantine, needs to be changed out more frequently, easy to spot mites on, relatively sterile, easy to observe droppings. You can either use unprinted newspaper or paper towel. I recommend paper towel for sterile substrate as it's the easiest.
Bioactive substrate: a soil mixture that supports microfauna and live plants, never needs to be replaced, DOES need to be cleaned (droppings removed), least sterile, can be very enriching, VERY hard to spot snake mites, little friends in the soil! I recommend doing a topsoil mix with add ins for the CUC and plants.
Loose substrate: Not very sterile, More enriching than sterile substrate, harder to spot mites on, easiest option imo, depending on your substrate, enclosure size and how good you are about cleaning out droppings you may only have to replace the substrate 2-4x a year! Aspen is an option (avoid cedar and pine) however I dont really recommend it. ITs not great at holding in humidity and isnt very natural. Cocofibre is dusty if it gets too dry (can cause respiratory issues) and the fact that coconut is easier to digest than just dirt is a myth. I personally recommend picking up a couple bags of manure & fertilizer free topsoil from your local gardening store! It's like $3-5 a bag for a HUGE bag however it IS seasonal so make sure to stock up in spring. Reptisoil is another option but contains peat moss (unsustainable) and its a lot more expensive. You can mix in orchid bark or sphagnum moss in small amounts if you want.

Personally I recommend paper towel for quarantine and if health issues are noticed and either a topsoil mix or bioactive topsoil mix otherwise.

[RosyWindFox]

For hides you want at least 3 true hides, a warm hide, cool hide and humid hide.

What's a true hide?
A true hide has only one entrance, is opaque (not clear), and fits the animal relatively snugly with the entrance not being overly large. For instance half logs do not count as a true hide.
Hides should fit the whole animal allowing them to obscure themself from view and feel secure, they should have nowhere the animal could get stuck/cut on, no materials that could be harmful: glitter, fabric, paints that may contain toxins, etc.

A warm hide is just a hide on the warm side of the tank it should be fairly heat resistant (I would not recommend plastic), a cool hide is the same but on the cool side of the tank. A humid hide is a little humid retreat in the tank! It's important to provide gradients to animals, a humid hide acts as a humid microclimate being at 90%+ humidity all the time allowing the snake to regulate their humidity as needed. Reptiles get most of their hydration through humidity and food so its super important!
A humid hide must be something that wont mold! For my humid hide I use a little microwave noodle bowl that has a lid, I cut a hole for the entrance and keep wet sphagnum moss inside to keep it humid.

Water dish should be big enough for the animal to soak in curled up, should be made of something that wont leak chemicals, etc into the water. Always provide clean fresh water to your snake. You can buy a water dish for reptiles for a couple bucks online or at a pet store.

While for a basking spot you really just need an area free of clutter that the heat lamp is above adding in some pieces of slate can be really enriching in natural! It also keeps the enclosure warmer at night. MooseheadSlate on etsy has been recommended to me.

You should also have things for your ball python to climb on! They're NOT semi arboreal but just because they're terrestrial doesn't mean they don't love to climb! You can provide cork tubes, branches, etc to allow them to climb. Just make sure theyre not too sharp! Some ball pythons even like a "sky hide" which is just a hide that's been attached upside down to the enclosure ceiling.

Cover or Clutter is really important to make snakes especially ball pythons feel secure! This can be things like half logs (also count as something to climb on), fake plants, etc. I use driftwood, half logs and fake foliage for my kids! Make sure to make sure any fake foliage doesnt run dye, rinse under cool water if after 5 seconds or so the water running off is colored dont use it, then lay it on a paper towel for 5-10 minutes if the dye seeps into the towel dont use it. Dont use anything with glitter, tiny pieces that fall off or very sharp bits.

NO: Cedar, Pine, Fabric, Glitter, Sharp Objects in the enclosure.
Fabric CAN work for temporary enrichment for a day in the enclosure but should not be in permanently. It's a breeding ground for disease and they can get their little teeth caught on it.

[RosyWindFox]

And a few little extra notes:
Quarantine!!! All new animals!!! Always!!! No exceptions!!!!
I recommend a 60-90 day "sterile" quarantine period for all new animals.
Sterile substrate, no wood, everything in the enclosure MUST be able to be fully sanitized, sanitize everything every 1-2 weeks, I bought a big thing of chlorhexidine for $20 at a local farm store, diluted it and sprayed everything down (WITH THE SNAKE OUT OF THE ENCLOSURE), let sit for 15 minutes, wipe everything off (I do the enclosure and decor separately) rinse everything, wipe again then put everything back and the snake back. I also use this time to weigh my snakes.

Have a vet fund! It makes me so sad everytime I see someone not take their animal to the vet when they obviously need it because they didn't save up any money for vet bills. I recommend $300, for some exotics vets a checkup alone can be $100 + tests, medicine, etc its good to be prepared.
That said DO NOT immediately take your snake to the vet for a checkup. When you first get your snake you want to minimize stress. This means unless your snake is in dire condition (which it shouldnt be) there's no need for a vet visit in the first month.
Minor stuck shed, minor dehydration, minor-moderate snake mites can be safely treated at home if you know what youre doing. Teeny nicks dont need treatment unless they get infected just switch to Paper towel until it heals.
Scale rot, major cases of anything, extreme lethargy, seizures, burns, moderate-severe wounds all require vet attention do not attempt to treat these at home.
If your snake is fine Id wait at least one month to take them to the vet for a checkup however its not mandatory to do a checkup.

Ball pythons live in a humid environment! Shoot for around 50-60% humidity in the enclosure.

They are NOT pet rocks! Theyre intelligent and curious! They may not be as active as a cornsnake or garter but they do deserve the space to get proper excercise!

While they may be docile normally a bad bp bite will hurt and will draw blood make sure you can handle this.

Belly heat is not better for BPs, its not better for digestion its a common myth.
A reptile halogen bulb (followed slightly by general reptile incandescents) is best followed by a Deep Heat Projecter (DHP). Ceramic heat emitters (CHE) are best if your nighttime temps are too low but if theyre not too bad you dont need nighttime heat and a temp drop at night is beneficial and natural.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have EVERY heat source on a thermostat. Thermostats save lives and prevent fires. A thermostat is a device that plugs into a heat source and turns it OFF or dims it if it gets too hot. If the dome you're using has a dimmer attached you can use an on/off stat, you will have to dim manually so its not flickering. This takes a while to get tuned in and you will have to adjust it. Alternatively you can get a dimming stat, theyre more expensive but automatically dim to the right level.

You should have thermohygrometers in your tank too! These measure the temp and humidity. I recommend one on the warm end (not basking spot) and one on the cool end, I got a 12 pack on amazon for like $20. You need to know the right temp and humidity so you can adjust it!

Ball pythons like all reptiles benefit from UVB! Look into getting yours UVB! You want the long tube bulbs! NEVER the coil, compact or combo UVB bulbs they either dont work or theyre dangerous.

Avoid colored lights, red bulbs, combo UVB + heat bulbs and mercury bulbs/mercury vapor bulbs (MVB) for your heating they are dangerous.

[RosyWindFox]

A few last notes:

For the first two weeks minimize handling. Only handle when cleaning, weighing, etc. After this slowly work on introducing handling in a positive way.

Avoid contact with other animals!! exception of CUC. Dont let your snake near any dogs, snakes, birds, horses, kangaroos whatever. Its stressful for them, the other animal or both and dangerous a lot of the time.

You can feed BPs a varied diet! While mice, rats or african soft furs should be their main staples they can have chicks, gerbils, hasmters, rabbits, guinea pigs or quail as long as theyre of appropriate size.

Id stay away from pet stores for your snake theyre generally not great for buying your reptiles from.
100% avoid chain petstores such as petco/petsmart

Any breeder that has a website where you can add to cart and checkout is a BIG red flag!!! Good breeders care about who their animals go to and wont allow someone to buy one without making sure theyre a good home.

Any breeder that has hundreds of reptiles for sale is a red flag.

Avoid BHB/Brian Barczyk, Snakes at Sunset, Backwater Reptiles, Underground Reptiles, Big Apple Herp, Bob Clark, Darling Geckos, Dynasty Reptiles, Geckos Etc, Gobble's Reptiles, Gopher Your Pet, JD Constrictions, LLL Reptiles, NERD, Outback Reptiles, (Jay's) PRehistoric Pets, Reptile City, Reptiles by Mack, Samson Pruitt/SLither Inc, Strictly Reptiles, The Urban Gecko, The Urban Reptile (TUR), Wilbanks, XYZ Reptiles

Most of the bp breeders I know arent actually breeding yet but I highly highly highly recommend Inspiration Exotics, she's so so sweet, loves her animals so much and is overall just amazing. KC's Royal Pythons is also great.




Sorry for so much text!! Unfortunately reptiles are quite complex to take care of haha.
Feel free to ask me any questions! My PMs are open or you can message here