Thread: ball python

I've been out of the Pet Shop loop for MANY years, I build my own equipment now days.

There is a book out there Amazon.com: The Ball Python (Herpetocultural Library) (9781882770724): Philippe De Vosjoli, Philippe De Vosjoli: Books I highly recommend you get this book and read it FIRST. The auther goes into great detail on raising Ball Pythons, care, feeding, breeding, everything you need to know before you buy. It's readally available and worth the expence.

+1 to all said above
I wish I would have know about that book 15yrs ago, I may order it now anyhow
I have had mine for 15 years now, I inherited it not by choice and wasn't crazy about it initially but have sort of warmed to it

it also helps tremendously if you find a vet and pet store that is used to selling and or caring for reptiles and not just cats and dogs, we only had it get sick bad once so far, but that required us giving it injections and it almost didn't make it

got mine in a 2'x4'x4' enclosure which in addition to the heat lamps has a few branches and shelves for it to crawl on and wrap himself around, not hard to make at all

be careful letting it loose near furniture that has any openings on bottom and coils inside too, (including car seats)

Yes car seats are evil... So many bad memories of loose snakes and car seats... Lucky me nothing bad happened but the nerves and stress level could level a city block...

A friend of mine raises and sells ball pythons. He would love to talk with you. If you want contact info and website, PM me.

$150-200 is reasonable for a Ball Python, though you can get them cheaper.

They're pretty easy to take care of apart from the escape issue and the finicky feeding. Some will only accept live food.

If this is going to be your first snake, I'd advise you to rethink the Ball Python idea. They do get large (though not very long), and smell can be a bit of an issue.

Start off with a kingsnake or cornsnake or something similar. They may get longer, but they're much less massive, and they're also quite active. They still are escape artists, though.

I personally preferred keeping lizards and tarantulas to snakes. Can't anymore .

Just spotted this thread while cruising the forum. I keep and breed many species of snake and have done for quite a few years, I`d be happy to answer any questions you have You`re right to be wary of "man in shop", he will tell you all sorts to get you to buy the snake. Some of the "advice" I`ve heard from people in shops is just awful......

You can email me if you want a quicker reply, I`m at [email protected]

I was thinking ball python because of there aggression being minimal. but I will look into the others.
Thanks

+1 to the corn snake suggestion. They aren't as hefty as a ball python but are cheaper and come in a wicked amount of colour morphs. Ball's are good snakes, but a corn may be a little easier for a beginner to own. There are some very good forums dedicated to snake and reptile keeping, look them up and you will find more info then you could ever imagine.

my 2 cents: You don't need any heat lamps if you've got the right size under tank heat mat to heat up a portion of the tank hot enough. DO NOT buy any sort of heat device that goes into the tank, the snake WILL burn itself eventually.

Don't bother getting the snake from a pet store unless they specialize in reptiles. If you can find one of them, you should be ok, otherwise look for a breeder in your area as well as local reptile expos and shows.

In regards to food, he will need mice and full grown may even take rats, if I remember correctly for the Ball. Feed frozen, avoid live. While frozen does not provide the chase, live rodents could harm or kill your snake. Frozen is much easier to store as well.

Escaping. It will probably happen at least once. Get a good, tight fitting lid, and if you get a ball, you will need something to secure the lid. You can use bricks, books anything heavy. Some lids come with locks, but my favourite is those ratcheting tie down strips that you use on cars tying down stuff. If he does get out, snakes will often go up, or towards heat source. you can lay out a feeder inside a homemade trap to get him back if you can't find him.

the most important thing is probably to do your research and get everything set up( ie heating so you can see the heat fluctuations) a little while before you get him.

good luck

Yeah ball pythons are a very good started snake for that reason. Don`t be put off because of the picky eater thing, just be prepared. Great snakes are Ball pythons, I love them My biggest is pushing six feet now which is huge for a Ball python. She had to have surgery for a prolapse recently so I had to do a six week course of injections after that and she was good as gold! She`s such a sweetheart......

Ball Python's are excellent starter snakes very timid...if your really into it...Get a red tail boa. They are very docile not as much as a Ball, but still fun.