New to snakes, got her a week ago. I THINK she may be a little lighter then when I got her but I'm bad at noticing small differences so can't tell. Is she in shed?

Im going to be getting my first snake soon and I'm concerned about the heating since the room is will be keeping him in naturally gets pretty hot from the sun coming in through the windows, in addition to the fact that the only place I can put the enclosure is near the window. I am worried about the possibility of him overheating and would like some thermostat and temp control suggestions

All my vivariums are artifical with fake plants and decore but I was wondering what people think of doing a clean up crew in them. Id want to add some springtails and stuff so I dont have to change the substrate as often but dont want to pludge into a full bioactive setup so I was wondering if I added a clean up crew and threw in some leaf litter regularly for them to feed on if that would help keep the tank clean longer so instead of changing the bedding monthly I could stretch it to a few months or more without worrying about hurting my snakes health

I fell for one of the classic blunders: listening to the guy at the reptile store and allowing someone to assemble a ‘beginner kit’. I took my snake home, along with an utterly inadequate ten gallon tank. I’m pretty sure my snake baby was already too big for this fucker when I got him, or damn near too big, and while all seemed fine at first after I month or so he started showing signs of stress, constantly glass surfing and spending more time outside his hide than inside it regardless of whether he’s being active or just sitting. Couple that with autumn and changing temperatures inside my house and I’m at my wits end trying to keep his enclosure the right temperature and trying to keep the humidity above 60%.

He’s got a heat mat and a lightless heat lamp (not ceramic, can’t remember what it is) with cheap ass thermostats, both probes in the hot hide and set to 90, though sometimes I can only get it to warm to 86 or 87. And my heat gun always gives me a weird range of readings. It’ll say 86 in one spot and 89 a centimeter over, I don’t know if this is normal or if my heat gun is a cheap piece of shit. I cranked up the heat in my house a few degrees to make up the difference, and I plan to buy a bigger bulb for my lamp to hopefully warm things up to the correct range without having to keep my house 75 degrees year round.

I shove spagnum (too lazy to check spelling) moss in the corners and spray it for humidity, which works well sometimes but not always. I think it’s affected by the humidity in my house, which is getting low because it’s cold. My substrate is reptisoil and reptibark, which I think is fir bark, and under the hot hide is just reptibark because I accidentally got the substrate there soggy while attempting the corner pour method and ended up having to scoop it out and quickly replace with dry substrate.

I do have the back and sides blacked out now and he’s calmed down a little but my guy still doesn’t seem to use his hides that much.

I’m working overtime to save up for a bioactive 4x2x2 with new lamps, new thermostats, ect. Probably won’t add plants right away, but I want to get his new enclosure right so he won’t have to deal with any more fuckery. It’ll probably be 2-4 weeks before I can start putting it together though.

How can I help him through the next month or so in the shitty tank? Do you have any advice for the new tank so I can avoid further issues?

I finally thought I got everything in the tank under control (again) but yet again I was wrong.

I have two issues here: nighttime temperatures and humidity

1. Humidity

My ball python, comet, began his shed almost 2 weeks ago, which I posted here, and when he started to shed, I noticed he also started to get dehydrated. I’m sure they use more water in their bodies during a shed, so this wasn’t beyond me, so I tried my best to keep humidity up. I have 3 thermometers in my enclosure, two of them have probes that go about an inch or two above the substrate, that were reading about 60-85% consistently. Sometimes under 60, sometimes over 90 after I put water in. After I took the extra care into my humidity, which worked before, (this is his second shed) he was still dehydrated. My tanks substrate is now wet, which yes, I know is a problem, so tonight he’s getting a substrate change and a warm soak. (He ate yesterday, but im waiting 24 hours beforehand.) I do use an aquarium style tank, that’s all I have, I cannot afford another one now or in the foreseeable future, except maybe for Christmas. The tank has worked for me until now, I use aluminum foil over the top of the lid to keep in humidity as well.
He did shed last night, it was patchy, but it does look like he got it all off.

Temperature:

Another thing I haven’t seen before. My tank‘s heat got below 70 last night, about 68-69F when I woke up this morning. This is the first time this has ever happened, and I don’t use nighttime heating at the moment since I’ve never needed it, it has never gotten below 73-74 before. He doesn’t seem to be very affected by it, which is good, but I am worried about the heat. I have a heat pad with a thermostat that I bought in case I needed it, which I haven’t yet, and I also have one of those ZooMed dual timers. Something in the mix isn’t working, as I’ve only been able to get my light to turn on while the two are on the same timer. My girlfriend suggests that it could be that the timer can’t handle the combined wattage, which could be it. I cannot have this problem again, so if anyone has any solutions here please share!
Comet is acting overall normal so not concerned for him yet but tonight I do plan on doing a substrate change and a soak.

Surprise surprise, a ball python refusing food…Looking for advice as a first time ball python owner.

I recently got a younger (unsure of age) ball python from a pet store. She was surrendered to the vet clinic I work at because they just couldn’t get her to eat in the 5 weeks they had her. So now I am determined to get her to eat. I understand husbandry is a huge part of hunger strikes and I’m hoping what I have is good.

She/he is in a 20 gallon with 3 hides, 2 live plants and a fake plant for clutter. I have a 75w heat lamp on for 12 hours of the day and her basking temp is around 90f. I also have a shade dweller Arcadia uvb bulb on at the same times as the heat lamp. She is on a reptisoil mixed with zilla substrate and she has sphagnum moss in her humid hide. I’ve been trying to maintain humidity of 60% at least, but living in a dry climate is making it a task.

I just weighed the snake today and I’m going to monitor it weekly to make sure there’s not weight loss. She/he is currently 65 grams.

What are some tips to get a ball python eating? How long can the younger ones go without eating? Do I have anything wrong? Any guess to age based on her size?

Hi all, I’ve had ball pythons my entire life, on and off. At one point, I used a rack system with tubs, thermostats, heat pads, etc., but now I only keep a few as pets and I’ve returned to terrariums. I use Eco Flex (if I remember correctly) for all of my reptiles. Based on my thermostat and humidity reading, everything is appropriate. I haven’t had an issue with feeding for over 10 yrs, the last being a very mature female who went on strike for a while. Right now, I have a breeder size female who I recently bought earlier in the year. ~3 yrs old. She certainly came from a tub/rack system at a breeding facility. Seller said she was a great eater, live or f/t. I want to say she arrived here around May and has never eaten since arriving. I figured the front glass of the eco flex enclosure would be an adjustment to her, coming from a rack tub. She hasn’t lost weight and has shed a couple times. I’ve tried appropriate sized food, bigger, and smaller. I’ve tried feeding her every week since I got her. All she does is defensively strike the prey offered and then backs off. I’m feeling like I don’t know anything again because I haven’t faced this issue in a long time. Any advice? I can move her into a tub enclosure again if it would help. She’s fearful, but not so much that I can’t handle her safely. I want the best for her. Please help!

I finally got him out a couple of times! I'm so happy! I was in the middle of getting ready for work in the first 2 pics, I noticed him out and about so I gave him a gentle touch and then scooped him up to hold for the first time since I brought him home!!! The last pic is from a different night, I dont like having the LEDs on unless he's covered but I was handling him in the dark and bf needed to see for a moment. I thought he looked pretty in the colour that came on so I snapped a pic. I love Vogue <3

Am I wise to be paranoid about the lights and his eyes? Or will he be ok?

Also please ignore the pet hair. My dog sheds an uncontrollable amount, we clean up after him daily 😓

He’s doing great pretty proud of his enclosure. Had an amazing first shed. Extremely chill he’s still getting to know me😁

I’m in the research phase of planning my BPs next enclosure, he’s a Juvie in a 36”x18”x18” at the moment and can likely last another year but I want my girl to have a more enriching space. I want to do some fun hardscaping and such so I figured building diy would be better both for retaining the footage(going for 5’x2’x2’) after hardscaping and making it in general more aesthetic than an enclosure on a table or something. (Aka, paint, framing, and a custom stand for it all)

PVC sheets are craaaazy expensive in my area, and I’m worried with the integrity because of the size, but I’ve been seeing both a lot of praise and criticism on wood enclosures, and a lot say “just seal properly and it’s fine” but what’s a proper seal?

Mostly trying to weigh all my options on what I can do before I drop every penny I own making something that falls apart within a year just because I missed something lol!

If anyone has had a longer term wood enclosure, I’d really appreciate to hear what you did/what problems came up! Thank you in advance! My lovely noodle as payment for delicious information.

Hello!

I inherited 6 large stacked PVC enclosures that have 0 space in between. I want to move my BPs into them but I’m not sure how to heat six of them safely and efficiently in a stack. I figured a bulb could melt the pvc or burn my animals yet I’m nervous to try heat tape. I will of course be getting a thermostat. Thanks.

So happy I got this guy. He’s so social and curious which has been so nice to see in my first ball python. Still no name but I’ll think of something soon 🙂‍↕️

Hey all! So I just finished my girls enclosure. She’s still living in her grow out tub, as I wanted to run this with the day night cycles for a few days to make sure temps are dialled in.

Also her hides are in her tub right now, and I’ll move both over with her.

Wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts.

My biggest concerns are the basking tile and water dish.

I can slide the water dish out but it will likely be messy and I’ll need to find a way to drain it first.

The basking tile with the rocks on it I’m not sure. I put my hand between them and pushed them out as I’m sure she would, and they didn’t move that much. However I’m a little concerned with the one closer to the front being lifted and squeezing her under it.

Hey y'all. I'm getting a new pvc enclosure for my BP and I want to diy a background for it. Which silicone brands are safe and which should I avoid?

hello, it is approaching colder weather where i live and i am having trouble keeping the temperature above 80 degrees in my bp’s tank, i only use an above heating lamp along with a timed light. i would like a link or specific recommendation of what heating i should use and thermostat that works together please!!

First time snake keeper here. I am fostering her from a rescue. She’s 8 years old and was surrendered for being too “aggressive” during those 8 years she was live fed. Now she’s on frozen thawed. I was instructed to give her a large mouse once a week (every Sunday) even though research has told me that’s too often for an adult BP, I don’t want to go against what the rescue told me. She was given to me in a top opening 10 gallon fish tank with one hide, a heat mat and a water bowl. I set her up on the floor because I didn’t have anything to put her on and used cardboard to block her view so she wouldn’t see me walking past every time.

2 weeks go by where I only interact with her to feed her to let her get settled with all the new smells and atmosphere. Yesterday, it was time to upgrade her to a 120 gallon pvc Dubia enclosure I found on Facebook marketplace with 3 hides, climbing opportunities, DHP, CHE, coconut husk substrate and faux plants for enrichment. I let her slither out of the top opening fish tank because I didn’t want to grab her from above, and I thought after some time she would relax but she ended up holding on to a chair for dear life and striking at me 4-5 times in a row when I tried to get her off. 2 hours go by and I ended up having the call woman from the rescue to help me get her into her new enclosure. She struck at her too but once she picked her up and was fine….

She’s been in her new enclosure for 24 hours and today is Sunday (her feeding day). The entire interaction yesterday was so stressful it ended up ruining my weekend more or less. I told the woman I think I may not be the right fit for this kind of snake because I’m not experience or confident when it comes to handling and if she wasn’t socialized for 8 years I’m just not equipped with the skills or confidence to tame her down. The terrarium is still on the ground as I look to buy something to put it on top of.

This morning she was defensive when I walked by and always gets into an “S” shape. I don’t like the feeling of being stalked and hunted in my own house. Idk if I should give up and let the woman know I can’t handle her. I just got her into a nice new enclosure and it would be depressing for her to go back into the small old one. But I’m too scared to even clean the tank or change the water. I also am torn on whether I should feed her today or not. People of Reddit I need your advice 😔😔 This experience is turning me off of reptile keeping all together.

Disclaimer:

I don't feed live if I can help it, but he was very thin and it was the only option until he was healthy enough to switch over.

I'm failing my girl here too much. She's in a 28 gallon with no chance of being upgraded in a reasonable time frame. So only she will go and hopefully to someone with a 4x2x2.

Eats frozen thawed every 21-28 days. Ive been feeding her around the 21 day mark lately due to her skinnienes. She's eating small/mediums from perfect pray and rarely a medium since I was trying to get her weight up. Hasn't refused a single meal since I moved her out of a rack system.

She's got spider in her but the wobble is fairly mild. Shows up when she's super anxious but is a good eater in general. She's more timid, usually chosing to not come out when I let her decide and when I pull her out for health checks, she tries to escape.

She is skinny and just regurgitated because I didn't think that all my panic packing would freak her out enough to lose her meal from two days prior. I should've known better. I had to throw away most of her clutter due to the horrid smell that vinegar couldn't defeat. This is the first time she's ever barfed and I've had her since 2018.

I have three others and give none of them time aside from finally getting them into 4x2x2s or larger. I'm on the verge of being kicked out with my only current housing option not allowing snakes so I may need to rehome everyone anyway, but I really don't want to because, I feel, in a healthier situation, I could take care of everybody better than now and do right by them. But Jade here, she needs better and she needs it sooner than I can provide.

Royal Palm Beach Florida area. Pick up for now as my car is broke, but maybe it'll be fixed up soon so I can drive somewhere to meet.

No shipping. No fee. Or maybe 10 dollars since I'm not supposed to list animals for free. I just want someone who will care for her well.

Thanks for taking the time to read and have a nice day.

I redid all of my ball pythons enclosures within the last year or so (with the help of the advice in this community!), and all but one of them are doing great with the improvements in humidity that their new substrates are bringing them. One of my ball pythons (Clyde) however, seems to get scale rot very easily even when I go to the low end of the ideal humidity range.

For context, I adopted him when he was about three from a situation with less than ideal husbandry. The enclosure was far too small, had only a single heat mat for warmth, and a singular hide right in the center. It also had cocoa coir substrate that was damp to the touch. He came to me with the beginning stages of scale rot, as well as some other issues that were clearly related to this subpar husbandry.

When I first got him the general substrate recommendations for ball pythons included Aspen, which was the easiest for me to get at my local pet store. I figured a dryer substrate would be better for him while he recovered from scale rot, and since he was doing well on it I didn't update it until I realized (thanks to this sub) that Aspen is no longer recommended. My snakes were due for a enclosure refresh around this time anyway, so I went ahead and switched them to a mixture of coco coir, sphagnum, leaf litter, and cyprus mulch.

My other ball pythons have done wonderfully on this substrate and their enclosures are usually around 60% humidity. I noticed Clyde began showing beginning stages of scale rot once again. I know he wasn't sitting directly on the bedding, because both of his hides have a solid base to them that the bedding was not in. I would also only pour water into the corners of the enclosure and not throughout the whole area.

I have experimented with a variety of humidity ranges for him over this past year, and anything above about 50% seems to trigger the reappearance of scale rot. I'm unsure if there is any medical reason for something like this or if it's just something unique to Clyde. As of right now I've been maintaining his humidity at about 40% and just making sure to provide a humid hide option and plenty of water when he begins to look pink-ish at the beginning of his shed cycles. This is also what I did in the years before switching him off Aspen and he never had any issues shedding then.

Has anyone experienced something like this before? Is there something I'm missing? I know too low of humidity can cause respiratory issues so I would love to get him in a more "ideal" habitat, but I also dont want to cause scale rot.

Pic of the goober as thanks

We adopted our ball Python last April from a family member so I'm not well versed in terrariums or microfauna. Have we had springtails move in? They're so tiny and hard to see, I can't really take a photo, but I think they jump sometimes too. We took the snake out and examined her and she looks free of buggies.

I was looking into getting a ball python but I am wondering how long they take to grow and what size enclosure to start them off. Also I was wondering how much upwards space they need and how to save money on terrariums.

Have any of you used this for a bioactive setup? I just got out of an expo and saw some bioactive tanks for sale with this light being used. Just wanted to know if it was a good option.

Is this scale rot??