New additions

[BrotherM213]

I got two new baby ball pythons from a buddy today. got a male/female pair for $30 so i couldn't pass it up. I know they're just regular ball python but these are my first big snakes. last snake I had was a baby ratsnake i found and took care of for a while and before that i was 12 or 13 and had a hog nose snake for about a year. just glad i have something that isn't a spider i can hold. will probably post some pics of the tank i built for them once i'm done putting the climbing stuff in.

Size reference

Female

Male-I like how he has that stripe instead of a pattern behind his head..makes it easy to tell them apart.

 

[Aztek]

Nice little BPs

 

[Harrod]

Very good looking pythons! I love the stripe.

 

[BrotherM213]

Thanks guys!
here is the finished cage...for now. the water bowl was bigger than i had expected so i had to put a couple boards underneath so it would fit in there flat. might try to find a smaller dish until they get bigger and i when i can build a wider cage.

 

[gecko_keeper/KBfauna]

Very nice pick up.

 

[JoeRossi]

Cage..

Cage looks great & reminds me of back in the day when I use to make all of my Emerald Tree Boa, Brazilian Rainbow, Columbian boa, etc...... cages. The only thing I would suggest is the carpet on the bottom makes it dificult to clean. Might want to think about throwing in some substrate. I recently started to use vermiculite and or shreded paper and it has been awesome for my few boas I still keep. It has been much easier to maintain and cheaper. Great wood work Man 2 thumbs up:clap: .

Joe

 

[BrotherM213]

ya I had everything ordered, then I read a couple threads about it being hard to get clean (figures). but after reading and hearing first hand advice I plan on switching to substrate...will also allow me to get rid of the boards under the dish so it doesn't look so dumb.

but ya, I love to build things too, especially when the material is free. allows for more customized options (you can't drill into the side of a glass tank)when you feel like switching things up, plus I despise glass (tables, doors, drinking glasses, etc.)i'm a big guy and way too clumsy.


thanks guys for the comments..it's much appreciated!

 

[JoeRossi]

No problem....

No problem & thank your for humbly taking advice. I know when I first started out some 25 years ago I made the mistake of carpet and wood & did not seal the wood or anything else. The wood kept getting wet under the carpet from the water bowl and started rotting and soon the bottom fell out. Had to start over, but we learn from our mistakes.

Also, I am with you on using what you have. I converted a few doll houses, cabinents, night stands, stepping blocks, dresser, etc.. to cages. Often times I was like how the heck did I convert that. By the way I have a nice aboreal Snake set up 4ft by 2.5 ft hand built waiting for someone to pick up if anyone is local in So cal. Might just ask for a T trade or something.

Best of luck & God Bless,
Joe

 

[BrotherM213]

I made the mistake of carpet and wood & did not seal the wood or anything else. The wood kept getting wet under the carpet from the water bowl and started rotting and soon the bottom fell out. Had to start over, but we learn from our mistakes..

Lol. I almost made that mistake with this. Only had the bottom covered with waterproof material and everything else was bare, but then my brain kicked on and realized I should cover the sides and frame too.

I converted a few doll houses, cabinents, night stands, stepping blocks, dresser, etc.. to cages. Often times I was like how the heck did I convert that..

I hear ya. it is fun to figure out how to build things out of something not intended for that use.

No problem & thank your for humbly taking advice.

I am basically a New-B at keeping snakes so all information from experienced keepers is gladly accepted.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Nice tank! Unfortunately, two things:

-You need hiding places available on both sides of the enclosure. As it is, your snakes must choose between feeling safe in the logs and raising their temperature when they need to. They're going to end up trying to cram themselves between the bowl and the wall and use that as a warm-end hide, I've seen this firsthand. Mine almost got stuck before I figured out what his deal was.

-I really must advise against housing them together. This is a very stress-sensitive species and having another snake in the enclosure that they can't get away from will only add to that, as well as make it difficult to know who shed/regurgitated/bled/had some other problem. Also if either snake gets sick, the other will almost certainly catch the same thing due to living in close quarters. Any "cuddling" that you may see is actually a dominance display (stress)...or you have a baby male/female pair and they will try to breed WAY TOO SOON. Oh man, I almost forgot about that, that one's serious. Females especially have to be pretty big before they can safely breed.

 

[BrotherM213]

damn. I thought this species would live well together. they acctually did "cuddle" twice when they were first put in there. but i thought they were just keeping warm since it was when the cage was first getting heated up. I did notice however that the male was always on top.
since the cage has warmed up (starting warming it at about 1:00 p.m. yesterday) they have been in there own hides with no contact except when they were both out climbing around last night. I did put one of the pieces on the warm side earlier so we'll see what happens.

I didn't think they could breed until a certain age so i was going to leave them together and seperate them when they got a little bigger. but what you say about them breeding makes sense. i might try and just split the cage with a barrier. I think i need to go pick up a keeper book since they are alot pickier than i once thought. thanks!!

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I didn't think they could breed until a certain age so i was going to leave them together and seperate them when they got a little bigger. but what you say about them breeding makes sense.

It's kinda like humans - human females can technically become pregnant at a ridiculously young age, in some as young as 9 or 12 or so, but it's a really bad idea even in a purely physical/biological sense.

Anyway I think most people say BPs can be housed together because they aren't as likely to outright eat each other as some other species. When they do have problems from being housed with another snake, it's usually more subtle and not always recognized for what it is. A book is probably a good idea, but be careful: anybody can publish a pet care book, they don't have to actually know what they're talking about. So take everything you read with a grain of salt, and over time you'll get the hang of it too.

At least you'll still be able to get a lifetime of use out of that nifty custom cage. Even as they grow bigger and you need to take out a divider (or whatever arrangements you end up with), that could probably house the male by himself for his entire life. They don't need a ton of space, really just room for all the necessary cage furniture and room to stretch out completely. So that'd probably be more than enough for an adult male, mine is like four and a half years old now and only barely outgrowing his 20 long.

 

[BrotherM213]

ok. they are only 15" each right now and the cage is 36"x15"x15" so if i divide it, there should be plenty of room for "exercise" and stretching. but it will pretty much take away a cold and hot side since i will need a heat source for each side. you think this will be a problem or would it work to give them hot and cold cycles (turning it off at night)? cause right now at night with no heat it only gets to 70 at the lowest.

right now with ceramic heat bulb the hot side is between 80-85 and the cold side sits at roughly 75

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Heat is definitely important, in fact if you can keep the warm end at 88-90F that's really preferable. 80 is about where the cool end should be.

If you're planning to divide it into two square-ish portions instead of two long rectangles, you could put an undertank heater under the middle of the tank and they could share it. You may or may not still need the lamp/s depending on your house temperatures, but having a heat source UNDER the tank helps a lot - heat rises, so all the heat from the UTH has to go through the tank. Lamp fixtures help direct the heat some, but they're also well above the ground where the snake actually lives, so not as much heat is going to make it all the way down there.

 

[BrotherM213]

heat rises, so all the heat from the UTH has to go through the tank. Lamp fixtures help direct the heat some, but they're also well above the ground where the snake actually lives, so not as much heat is going to make it all the way down there.

good point. I was originally going to use an UTH but wasn't to sure how well the heat would get through since the cage is made from 1/2" particle board. didn't have much cash so I didn't want to spend the money and have it not work.
but mid 80's seem to be as high as i can get it. i have a 60 watt day bulb i will try, to see what that will do. but i do plan on dividing it in the next few days once i can get some smaller dishes and another hide, so i'm hoping that will help raise the temps...once i get the cash i am going to try the UTH, see what happens. I will probably update once i get everything rearranged. thanks for the help!

 

[JC]

Wow, nice addition, cool cage. Mushroom knows his snakes, follow his advise. Male looks in pre-shed. Watch out for the UTH and that carpet and the wooden cage, it can turn ugly. Contact me if want help if any feeding problems arise. Congrats.

 

[BrotherM213]

Thanks!

ya, that's one of the reasons i went with the ceramic heater. I was worried about the fire issue. I found a reptile heater called a heat cable. says it works with wood so i might try that hooked up to a thermostat. and the turf isn't actual carpet (i know, it matches the floor carpet but it's just coincidence)it's that ECO Mat but i guess there's really no difference