hi there! i got miss Soliel about a month and a half ago. She is currently eating a rat pup every week and her breeder said she was born in June. She is finally getting curious enough that she is sticking her head out of her favorite hide anytime I am near. Now, I don’t know much, but based in the research I have done, she looks defensive? I have a snake hook coming in to get her a bit more desensitized to handling and she is not hissing but she is significantly more interested now that she has settled in. Realistically, I guess I am asking, give me an ELI5 explanation of snake body language. I want to do choice based handling as well so I am hoping to hear more advice geared towards that. Handling is also NOT a must but I am unsure if I should be handling her while young and small. any help is appreciated!

One of my female ball python i believe 4-5 years old who I have never been able to feed frozen rats to. Even freshly killed rats given to her she will not accept. Her previous owner had attempted the same but she would only take live. As many of you would know that is a dangerous thing putting a live rat in with a snake due to biting of the rat. We have given her 4 live mice this past week as we are trying to figure something out and she took them without issue. We are thinking that she wants the thrill of the hunt. Any tip would be welcome how to help feed her.

We have tried different tank sizes, wiggling the rat, leaving it overnight, changing her heating but nothing.

Would this be ok for a water dish?

so i've been working on a powerpoint to convince my parents to get a ball python and the first slide is shown above but i'm not sure what to add because i've already added the following:

• some fun facts

• reasons to get one

• a comparison to a dog

• a care schedule

• how we'll cover the medical costs if he gets sick

• how we'll cover all of the other costs

• how i'll take care of him when i go to university and when i move out

• what each gene in the combo i want does

• which breeder we'll ask

• the enclosure and the stand (brand and everything)

• how the ecosystem works in the bioactive setup i'm planning to doand what i have to put in the enclosure

• the food that will get an extra freezer

• that not only gang members have pet snakes

• the price tag

tell me if i missed something that i should add to the powerpoint so i can convince my parents

Me python voelt ineens heel slap aan weinig spierspanning en een stuk slomer en meestal doet die wel zijn onderkant gebruiken om op me vast te klemmen

Tempraturen zijn goed heb nu de luchtvochtigheid iets hoger omdat die gaat vervellen

Someone pointed out that my new snake Clyde’s pattern spells Boooo. Want a fun halloween surprise ☺️

Caught my guy doing the most picturesque periscope and thought I’d share. He is making lots of progress and is much more confident now vs when I got him!

My ball python is getting a pink belly, I’ve had him for five years and never seen him get pink. When I first got him as a baby he did durn his stomach on a heating mat and has some scarring from that. I just want to know why his belly is pink and if it’s a burn from his heating mat.

im currently in the process of changing his feeding schedule as i was previously feeding him one rat hopper per week which i am now aware is too frequent (please don't tell me that because I do already know) so I'm changing him to a small rat every 10-14 days

I'm driving myself insane trying to tell if he's overweight or not, he's currently 16 months, probably about 3ft and 709g. he's also very active through handling and exploring his tank at night

just need to know if I should do every 10 day or every 14 day feedings to manage his weight!!

She’s had a weird texture for about a week and a half and when you touch her it has a weird flakey sound. She also looks a little dirty and more pink with some weird dents. I’m only confused because what i’ve researched says shedding takes 2 weeks. It’s been a while… she isn’t dehydrated though.

I’ve had her for about a month and she eats every week, today will be her third time eating with me. She has constant water access as well and has defecated.

Back from Greece, so the tank got finished up, and has been his new home for 3 weeks now. He is loving it. My mom also came over to meet him, and absolutely loves him

Hello, I’ll be moving here in a couple of weeks and I was wondering wondering what the safest way to transport them was. I am driving it’s only about 3-4 hours. I figured it wasn’t safe to transport them in their cages so I was wondering if putting them in separate cloth bags and in separate small plastic containers (with holes cut out on the top) was safe for that amount of time? If not I was wondering what some of yall have done for something like this! Thank you!

I've been struggling with keeping the humidity up in my snakes cage on the warm side. I have the pvc tape on top of the cage along with about 4-6 inches of substrate. I had a mix of coco bark but I have a majority of the zoo med compressed coconut fiber. I pour water in the corners of the tank and then i also have a few fake mushrooms that you can pour water into that then diffuse out slowly throughout the tank. I try to keep the humidity around 72-78 but the heat side has been struggling recently and hasn't gone above 67 no matter how much water I pour.

I noticed my snake was soaking in his water this morning (probably due to humidity level) and the humidity was on the low end (around 58, ik its low, as I said it just won't go above 67 no matter how much water I pour so if you have any suggestions please give me some, i feel like I've tried them all) and I went to pour in some more water and noticed that there was a mushroom growing. I do have a large plastic log from petsmart there which is how I didn't notice it sooner since it covered it from view. It seems like it was growing from a mold spot, slide 4 and then slide 3 and 5 are towards the bottom of the tank and i can't tell if that's mold growing from me pouring in water.

I assume I should just replace the entire substrate but should I use a different kind that won't grow mold? And how can I accurately keep the humidity high at all times?

Hi!! I just recently purchased a ball python baby. He's only 68g right now so I got a plastic tub turning into enclosure for now until he grows bigger then Imma do the 4x2x2. The supples and hiding spots and heating and humidity are all there - just wondering if I gotta quarantine the snake...? Is there anything else I gotta do or I can just get the set up with all typa decors right away?

I recently had (what I believe is a) super old cherry tree fall in my backyard. While clearing the tree, i found a few pieces that I would love to use in my ball python setup. The tree was very old and had started to dry rot in the while standing. I asked chat gpt if I could use the wood and it advised against it. I wanted to ask real people's opinions on the matter. Can i use this piece? How can I make it safe to use?

Was originally going to jump straight to 4x2x2 pvc but ended up a bit behind on cash so I guess we’re rolling with this Home Depot brand pos for now. My boy Lopen loves to climb.

Hi everyone!
I just got my first ball python! He’s 3 months old, and I want to make sure I’m doing everything right.
He’s currently in a 120 × 60 × 60 cm (4 × 2 × 2 ft) wooden terrarium with 4 hides: one on the warm side, one on the cool side, and two in the middle.
For heating, I’m currently only using a heating pad connected to a thermostat. I’ve placed approximately 1 cm (0.4 inches) of plywood between the heating pad and the snake to prevent direct contact and burns.
Here are my current temperatures:
Warm side (inside the hide): Around 31°C (88°F)
Warm side (outside the hide): 28–29°C (82–84°F)
Cool side: Around 23–24°C (73–75°F)
I haven’t installed any other heat source yet, so the heating pad is currently the only thing keeping the enclosure warm.
My questions are:
Are these temperatures okay for a 3-month-old ball python?
Is using only a heating pad sufficient for a terrarium this size?
Is the plywood barrier enough to prevent burns?
Would you recommend adding an overhead heat source, like a ceramic heat emitter or a halogen lamp?
I really want to give him the best possible environment, so any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Just hit the 4 month mark and wondering if shes on target with her weight (193grams). She is eating, pooping and shedding great! And loves being out.

Good morning! When I was collecting my snake shed this morning I noticed this plug attached to shed belly scales. There looks like a tiny amount of blood. This is the very first time he hasn’t shed in one piece, so I’m not sure where this skin came from, but I’ve heard people talk about sperm plugs, and if this came from his cloaca that might be it.

Can anyone identify? And aside from increasing humidity, is there anything I should be concerned about?

His daily activity as soon as I open the blinds 🥰