Ball Python husbandry...a lot to it!!!

[Hamadryad]

Hey all you Ball Python keepers!!
Well, I have been really studying and experimenting with my Ball Pythons and I have come to the conclusion that Ball Pythons are actually much more demanding of a snake to care for than most people realize.Ball Pythons are considered an "easy" snake and a beginners species but I am realizing that in order for them to eat and thrive they require very strict conditions.I think a lot of the problems that people have encountered with keeping BPs is that the conditions they are being kept in are not as perfect as they need to be.

I am currently maintaining my pair of Ball Pythons ( a 30 inch long female named Trinity and a 24 inch long male named Cypher ) in a custom built enclosure that I designed and built myself.they have a water bowl and a hide.I am keeping them at about 65% humidity and a temp of 90 degrees in the hot spot and about 82 degrees in the cool zone.I allow the temp to start dropping at about 5:30pm and it stabilizes at about 78 degrees during the evening.

Right now my BPs are taking live adult mice ( Trinity has started taking live juvie rats but Cypher is still on mice ) but I am going to be transitioning them to frozen P/K within the next month or so.I feed in the evening and I do not disturb my snakes for at least 48 hours after they have fed to eliminate the possibility of a regurg.

I handle the snakes about 3 X a week for about a half hour - Trinity is fully tame but Cypher is still a little on the skittish side and displays a tendency to "Ball" when disturbed.He will come along in time.

Well, that is my input on BPs ...I sure appreciate the advice I have received on this board and I hope I can contribute some of my own...

The Evil Spider Hunter

 

[Lycanthrope]

couldnt agree with you more, ball pythons shouldnt be considered the staple beginner snake that they are. people argue with me all the time when i tell them a kingsnake or cornsnake would be a better starter snake and that id rather not sell them a ball python. but, petco insists on keeping a minimum of 10 of them in the store at any given time, and my co workers will sell anything to anyone without thinking twice. in the last year ive had 3 customers come in with a starved, half dead snake with mites and 4 layers of sheds on them. then they ask "why wont my snake eat?" i think its the same problem with iguanas, and savannah and nile monitors. they are just so readily available and affordable that people view them as disposeable, or just dont put the foreplanning into it they should. after all its only a 60$ loss. on the bright side, one of the three snakes that were brought into me in a near death state is now a very plump 3 foot ball python. after i patched him up, soaked and peeled his sheds, removed the eyecaps, and fed him a couple times i reinstructed his owner, who actually took the measures to fix her wrongs.

 

[MrT]

Their strong as heck too.
I have two, and both escaped last night.
Their in large tanks with screen type lids, but not those sliding ones. The lids fix really tight, so I never expected them to be able to push them off, but they both did on the same night.
They didn't go far, just across the room and under a pile of pillows.
I guess its time to buy new tanks, or get some bungie cords.

BTW, I mist the substrate and sides once a day.
85- 90 degs.
Hide boxes.
Spot heat lamp.
Heating pads under tank
Cool spot.
Only feed f/t rats once a week...

Ernie

 

[MrT]

A picture.

Ernie

 

[MrT]

One more.

 

[MrT]

Just one more.

 

[Bry]

Good points there, SH. I agree that ball pythons are not the best beginner snakes, although they are not among the worst, with the exception of WCs. Their care is a bit more involved than most people think. The feeding fasts that many balls go through can seriously stress out people, who are more accustomed to eating 2-3 times a day, as opposed to once every 7-14 days. I will also add that misinformation has led to inadequate care by the keepers, usually by no fault of their own. A lot of people buy into the misconception that ball pythons come from dry areas. As a result, I have often heard people say that ball pythons are prone to bad sheds, retained eye caps, and dented eyes. In actuality, they come from jungles and rather humid areas. Among myself and others who provide their ball python with higher humidity, the bad sheds and eye problems have become virtually non-existant. I do agree that they require a bit more work than T's. However, once you get the hang of snake-keeping, many of the more common species seems to be fairly simple, as long as you are consistent in providing good care.

MrT, yeah, the buggers are some good escape artists. I hope you've invested in screen-top locks that you can find at most pet stores. Using screen tops alone to keep snakes contained is like hoping Granny's toy poodle won't explode in the microwave. Kingsnakes are some of the best escape artists. After 3 solid years with no escapes, my adult male kingsnake somehow pushed open the screen top with locks (maybe I forgot to lock it) and escaped the same day I was moving out. Fortunately, I found him within a few hours. Upon putting him back in his cage at the new place, I installed two extra locks for good measure.

Bry