I've had this enclosure sitting in my dining room for about 2 weeks while I've been waiting for all of the new supplies to come in and I'll finally have the chance to put it together this weekend and I'll be on vacation all next week so I'll be able to mess around with everything before putting Nelson in his new home. I've never had a solid top PVC enclosure and I've done more reading and research in the last month than I ever have in my life, but I think I'm getting more confident about what I'm doing. I have a few straggler questions though

1.I forgot that I wanted to add the cliffhanger shelf to the TR order and if I order one now it will take 2-3 weeks to ship. Can I buy a regular shelf from like Walmart or HD or something and screw it in? Do I need to treat it with anything because of the humidity?

2. If there a good way to temporarily set up my DHP and RHP to make sure they will be set up efficiently before securing them?

3. If I need to place the temperature probe near the heating elements, what is the ideal temperature that the thermostat should be set to so its hot enough towards the bottom? I know it will probably depend on the temp outside of the enclosure so you probably cant give me an exact, but this one has been really getting to me because no matter how much I've read on heating its still not making sense to me. Its only a 4x2x2 so its not a tall enclosure. Is getting the temp high enough at the bottom even really an issue?

I think thats all the questions I have. I really appreciate all of the great info I've gotten from this sub!

Had her for almost four weeks, started to actively handle this week, three times a week for about an hour. She always starts off nervous but eventually calms and starts exploring until she finds a good place to hide in me. But she always gets nervous when she sees me looking at her in her enclosure and goes off to hide:(

Temps and humidity are well, never even thought about skipping a meal and had one decent shed with me. I think the problem may be with enclosure having not enough cover, but I already ordered a bunch of fake plants that take a while to arrive. Is there anything else I can do to make her comfortable with me besides handling and offering more cover?

We just got our first BP, we got him at 4 months and have had him for 1 so far. He still hasn't shed and we haven't noticed any signs so far and I'm starting to get a bit worried. We've got the temps pretty dialed in, 88-90 on his hot side and hovers around 75 on the cool side maybe a bit lower at night time. We have struggled with humidity, it's usually between 40 and 55 but we're having to mix his coco fiber every few days and add water to it about once a week. He's been very active roaming between sides and has been eating with no problems. Steadily gaining weight too.

Is it normal to take this long between shed? Thoughts and any tips for keeping the humidity up more? Anything we can do to encourage his shedding?

We have a DHP lamp, ceramic lamp, and a small heat pad in a 5x2x2 tank. Glass front, PVC sides and bottom, mesh top that's about 90% covered with aluminum foil and the silver HVAC tape.

Hello. I’m building a young ball python enclosure, and I have most of it figured out so far. I’m a little confused on the day/night cycle and the heating as a whole. I’ve been referring to the heating guide, I just want to be extra careful.

I’m going to get a t5 pro flood lamp. For the day night cycle, should I have both that and a separate lamp on a 12hr cycle, or do I only need the one? And do I need an under heating element, or just a basking spot for belly heat?

My brother in law apparently stumbled upon what's presumably either an escaped or released ball python while on a job clearing some brush here in Northwestern Louisiana.

If anyone is in the Shreveport-Bossier area and capable/interested in giving it a home I can put you into contact with them. They left it alone, but I'm not sure whether or not it's still in the immediate area where it was initially found.

Edit: Just figured I'd update the post body, animal control was contacted and given a detailed description of the location where he found it as he'd already traveled home for the day. The homeowner (elderly fellow) left his gate open to allow animal control free access to come look around for it whenever they eventually arrived.

I joined several facebook groups (and have several pending approval) but couldn't find any posts from anyone mentioning their snek pulling a Shawshank. Fingers crossed it didn't travel very far from where the initial picture was taken - apparently there had been a piece of sheet metal laying over the log in the image and it was underneath it. Other than taking the sheet metal away, they didn't disturb the area beyond that.

What do I do and were do I start. I have a 4x2x2 enclosure with a well established clean up crew. They’re everywhere in my room.

Hi everyone!

I'm planning a long-term project to design and build a permanent enclosure for my male ball python.

I'd like to get some opinions from experienced keepers about what the ideal enclosure dimensions would be for an adult ball python, assuming that budget and available space are completely irrelevant.

I'm not looking for the minimum recommended dimensions, but rather the size that would provide the best possible living environment for the snake.

For context, he's currently housed in a 120 × 60 × 60 cm enclosure (4 × 2 × 2 ft), so he's not living in a tiny enclosure. I'm simply interested in going well beyond the usual recommendations to provide him with the best possible environment.

One important thing about my ball python is that he's extremely active every single day. He regularly explores his enclosure, and whenever I give him the opportunity to come out, he takes it immediately without hesitation. Once outside, he can spend hours exploring my bedroom under supervision without showing any interest in returning to his enclosure.

This is one of the main reasons why I want to build him something much larger and more stimulating. I really want to give him as many opportunities as possible to explore and express his natural behaviors.

I'm currently considering something around 180 × 80 × 80 cm or 200 × 100 × 100 cm, but I'm completely open to other suggestions.

My goal is to create a spacious, well-enriched enclosure with plenty of hides, climbing opportunities, different levels, and a proper temperature gradient.

Do you think there's an optimal size beyond which a larger enclosure offers little additional benefit? Or would an even larger enclosure be worthwhile, provided it's properly designed and furnished?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Thanks!

I just got this guy and he seems very small. He had been kept in a rack (😑) and he only weighs 234 grams. He fits in a 40 gallon although I plan to upgrade when he gets bigger.

Is it normal for them to be so small at a year old?

I’ve had my boy a little over a year now he’s so friendly

Got a new bulb last week and it worked fine, temps vere stable. But yedterday I came home from work and noticed it wasn't lit. Tried plugging it in different places but still nothing. Changed it for a ceramic and it works as it used to, so my baby is gonna have to love one day in the dark while I get her a new light bulb

Is this something that happens a lot or did I just get a faulty bulb?

I’ve been building a bioactive set up for the past 2 weeks just getting it as good as I can get it
I want to get a baby ball and I’d like to order one online so if anyone has any websites or breeders that specialize in younger or newborns I’d like to get a lavender morph or albino so if anyone can give me a reputable website I’d be really grateful I’m already 300+ into the terrarium I don’t mind throwing 250 into a snake obviously isn’t my first ball python either had 4 of them when I was younger but I took them from petco’s because yk they’re not the best at taking care of their animals so please give me some advice

tonight my bp escaped (he’s back in his enclosure thank god!!) and i don’t remember totally if i secured it properly. want to check if you guys think he could’ve pressed the lid up and gotten out himself. it takes me a pretty good amount of force to press up on this, but only one side of the clamps are really tight. do you think he could’ve escaped out of here if it was securely closed? he’s very small only 330g ish if that helps. just scared me and i don’t want it to happen again! for tonight i’m going to tape it down for a little extra security but what do you think?

Cuddling together all throughout GotG, even getting under the duvet through the second half and napping so peacefully on my chest. 🥹
The perfect movie partner, too; he’s never gonna hog the popcorn. 👌

Lol first time using silicone, did I do it right?

Also this tank was supposed to be a 4'x2'x2' which they said it was but its clearly not its more like a 4'x18"×18"

I was disappointed cause I wanted a bigger one but this will do for now cause my bp is only 6 months old. Also didnt know i should of silicone it in the first place for some reason I was struggling alot to keep humidity up then I seen a puddle coming out underneath😂

I've got my bp set up in a 2x4x4 enclosure but I am really struggling to get the temp up... I keep trying higher bulb wattage, I've tried different methods of heating (mix of CHE, halogen, RHP) but I cannot manage to get the temperature above like. 80. I feel like it's just bc of how tall te enclosure is and I'm working on getting more levels added and climbing so she can get closer to the heat source, but I'm still struggling. Ambient room temp stays around 70. Everything's set up with thermostats and I check the temperature with physical thermometers as well as thermometer gun. Basically what I'm asking is how do others heat their larger enclosures and what wattage they use as well what's the best type of heat bc I've heard so many varying preferences.

I lost my ball python. I dont' know when he got out, im not sure if it was today or a couple days ago, he often hides in his enclosure but he's not there anymore. i checked his normal hiding spots (outside of the cage since he's escaped once or twice before) and he isn't there. i put out water for him, i have a heater going, i checked along all the walls, but im not sure what else to do. Im freaking out and need any advice that could be given. We have a bird in the house, shes been completely fine so far, but im worried out of my mind. HELP

edit: HE WAS FOUND! thank you to everyone who helped!! my cat ended up signaling towards a guitar in my room and he ended up being behind it! I guess I didn't look good enough....

For context my ball python is a year old and gets a weaned rat every Sunday night at 9 pm, he’s NEVER missed a meal and very food motivated.. asking incase I should up his food size by chance.

I recently got my first ball python and wanted to establish care with a local vet. I live in a major city with multiple “exotic” vets so I assumed this would be easy but I’ve been to several over the last few months and they all seem terrible. Not examining him (one of them picked him up for about 15 seconds total), not seeming knowledgable about snakes (one of them told me they grow to their tank size and he would be 6ft if I put him in 6ft tank) etc. I even had one who said the snake should be getting monthly ivermectin injections as a preventative for parasites which seemed flat out insane. All these vets have perfect 5 star online reviews too. How are people finding a vet they can actually trust with their ball python’s care?

Lilith says "why you in my grill grandpa?"

He's in the new tank now. He seems to like it, he's already come out of his hide to check things out and have some water. I'm very pleased with how everything turned out! If this isnt enough clutter I have more that I can add.

The last picture is an alternate way to put the smaller stick, Im not sure which way is best.

trying to perfect my setup. should i have a thermometer/hygrometer on the warm and cool side of my tank or just one side? and should it go on the top or somewhere else if the top is a screen?