Birthday Ball Python

[lil-blu]

So for my birthday my husband said i could get a ball python from our local reptile show. Before I come home with my new baby i wanted to make sure that i have everything right. I bought the Ball Python book by Barrons but it has not arrived yet, so i have been doing online research.
so what I have come up with so far is the following:
20-30 long tank (I'll be getting one that is about 18 inches long)
astro turf, or aspen shaving substrate (is there any other safe kind?)
2 hides (at different temperature areas)
water dish (deep enough for it to soak in)
under tank heat pad
heat lamp
something for it to climb on (hubby is going to make something out of PVC pipe)
spare tank for feeding

is there anything that i'm missing, i want to make sure that i have the set up right before the 19th(day of the show). I have a number of tarantulas so the exotic pet thing is not unknown to me. I just like to make sure that I do right by any animal that relies on me for it's survival.

thanks in advance guys

justyne

 

[Mina]

That sounds good. Are you getting a baby? Remember, when you bring it home you need to put it in its new house and leave it alone for a week, no handling!! Yes, there are other kinds of substrate, we use coconut chunks, I hate the way damp aspen smells. The tank size you are getting will be good for a while, but it won't work once your snake is an adult. Ball pythons only get 5 1/2 to 6 feet long, but they are a very bulky snake in the body, their body girth can get quite impressive.
The only thing I question is why do you think it needs something to climb on? They aren't arboreal snakes, if they want to climb on things they can use hides and or rocks or other cage furniture.
Make sure you get an indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer, so you can keep track of the temps on both sides and the humidity.
I would also suggest going to ball python.com and checking them out, they have a lot of good information and they are a forum for snakes just like this one is for tarantulas.
Enjoy your snake!!!!!

 

[Mushroom Spore]

astro turf, or aspen shaving substrate (is there any other safe kind?)

I would go with aspen over astro turf. These are burrowing snakes, and mine had a blast once I took him off the astro turf and switched to aspen shavings.

under tank heat pad
heat lamp

Do NOT get both. Multiple heat sources is a good way to accidentally cook an animal, plus heat lamps will drop the humidity in the enclosure to nothing in a matter of hours. And a ball python kept in poor humidity is not going to be a healthy ball python I tell you what. (Speaking from personal experience, because the dry winters here have been rough on my own baby.)

something for it to climb on (hubby is going to make something out of PVC pipe)

You don't really need to bother. Ball pythons are burrow-dwelling animals that live out on grasslands and savannas. Climbing is not something they're really wired to care much about, or to be any good at. Your python will appreciate a few inches more aspen to burrow in more than it will a climbing object.

spare tank for feeding

Don't bother buying an actual tank for this. Just use a shoebox that you can throw away when it eventually gets gross and replace it with another shoebox. I have a huge stack of shoeboxes in my closet for just this purpose.

What you do need that I didn't see mentioned is some way to measure the temperatures at the hot and cooler ends of the tank, and also your humidity.

 

[lil-blu]

Yes i am getting a baby, or as close to one as i can get.

i have a spare 10 gallon tank that has no spider, so i was just going to use that until it was full. I heard that you can feed them in the bath tub, does anyone actaully do that?

would it be better to get the heating pad or the heat lamp?

i knew I was forgetting something. I picked up 2 temp/hydro things today, same ones i use for my leopard geckos.

i was thinking something to climb on becuase i always see the ones at the pet store climbing on things. so I assumed that they would like it.

I appreciate the advice, like i said i just wanted to make sure that he would ba happy when i brought him home.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

i have a spare 10 gallon tank that has no spider, so i was just going to use that until it was full. I heard that you can feed them in the bath tub, does anyone actaully do that?

Oh well if you already have one that's fine then. And I think a few people do use the bathtub, but to be honest that sounds horrifically unsanitary. Both for the rodent carcass and the fact that reptiles carry salmonella--I've read of at least one incident where a whole family caught salmonella and it was traced to the fact that they let their pet snake soak in...either the bathtub or the kitchen sink, I'm not sure which.

would it be better to get the heating pad or the heat lamp?

The pad. Like I said, heat lamps will ruin your humidity.

i was thinking something to climb on becuase i always see the ones at the pet store climbing on things. so I assumed that they would like it.

Pet store pythons are generally extremely stressed wild-caught babies housed in crowded, poor conditions with too few hides, bad temps, and all of them starving to death (though so stressed that they will never be able to eat). That's why you see them zooming around obsessively.

A healthy, content ball python is the laziest butt you'll ever see.

 

[ballpython2]

So for my birthday my husband said i could get a ball python from our local reptile show. Before I come home with my new baby i wanted to make sure that i have everything right. I bought the Ball Python book by Barrons but it has not arrived yet, so i have been doing online research.
so what I have come up with so far is the following:
20-30 long tank (I'll be getting one that is about 18 inches long)
astro turf, or aspen shaving substrate (is there any other safe kind?)
2 hides (at different temperature areas)
water dish (deep enough for it to soak in)
under tank heat pad
heat lamp
something for it to climb on (hubby is going to make something out of PVC pipe)
spare tank for feeding

is there anything that i'm missing, i want to make sure that i have the set up right before the 19th(day of the show). I have a number of tarantulas so the exotic pet thing is not unknown to me. I just like to make sure that I do right by any animal that relies on me for it's survival.

thanks in advance guys

justyne

In my opinion you should just use papertowels/newspapers and make a simple set up.

 

[lil-blu]

In my opinion you should just use papertowels/newspapers and make a simple set up.

Honestly i don;t like the look. I would rather have it look more natural using the aspen. I know it would be easier but the tank is going to be in the guest room, and i want it to look nice.

 

[Spinarak]

Join a Ball Python forum, a wealth of information. Also, you may want to consider an enclosure made for humidity/temp specific snake or at least cover the screen with a damp towel to maintain humidity levels. Remember, no matter what the thermometer directly under the heat lamp reads the draft from outside the enclosure will have the greatest impact. It's like us standing in front of a fire in freezing temperatures.

 

[bslatton]

try using cypress mulch instead of aspen. you will never hold humidity with that stuff, and besides it really doesn't look natural. all my snakes and others have natural looking setups. i am including a pic of my BP setup just as a reference. and you may want to try getting a small clear box with a locking lid. something like a rubbermaid product. you can use it for feeding and for soaking your BP come shed time. mine is about shoebox size and is very handy.