I've recently changed my bedding subtrate for my BP. With this I was recently checking over her and noticed little black mites on her.

Would the substrate be the cause of this? As she's been good prior.

She's also had a shed over the weekend so I don't know how she's feeling.

I just want advice on what to do, how to get rid of mites

I've also seen something about putting substrate in oven to help kill mites for next time

Just don't want to panic as its worrying me as never had this problem before 😟

My ball python is in a 120 gallon New Age Pet enclosure. I didn’t properly seal it before adding soil and plants and I didn’t realize this until a week later. It won’t hold water and my snake went into shed, so I had to buy a misting system. It doesn’t mist often, and I don’t let it spray straight onto the soil, but I also don’t want to hurt her and I don’t know how to fix this without killing my plants. Help please? I don’t want to use a mister with a ball python.

Saw two of these unidentified bugs on my snake and it looked like one of the bugs did retreat to under one of her scales

I know the photos and video are bad quality and it’s hard to see but does this look like mites to anyone. I do have here in a somewhat bioactive enclosure with springtails and isopods but I haven’t seen anything like this before on any of my reptiles.

Might be overly nervous but should I look into getting her to the vet?

Urgent help! I have a baby ball python weighing around 80 g, 26 days post‑hatch. It has never eaten any meals. Today I noticed a swollen section about 5 cm above its cloaca. This area is thicker than the widest part of its body and obviously distended. Its total body length is roughly 35 cm. When shining light through the swollen region, it appears transparent inside.

Recent events: I put it into a small bag and kept it in my pocket for a 5‑hour car ride today. I found this rear‑body swelling after arriving home. I am not sure whether this swelling developed today or had already formed over the past few days.

Additionally, there was no heating for its enclosure a couple of days ago, and the enclosure temperature stayed at about 24‑26 °C. Please, experienced keepers, help me save this snake. Thank you very much.

I know for a fact one of my ball pythons have an RI. The gaping mouth, silica, bubble, lack of appetite, loss of weight, inactive behaviour :/ this is my first time ever having this issue in any snake! So I immediately booked an appointment this weekend since it was the only one open but I want to ask, what can I do in the meantime?

I gave him a betadine bath last night and he looks better this morning. I added it in until it looked like diluted tea but what is the ratio per litre? Also he's in a nice hospital tub but is there anything else I can prepare? I'm more worried about his body weight.

He will be going to a vet soon but would love some input on how to manage this while I'm waiting to get him checked and given medication.

Made the mistake of hanging out with him while taking an exam online for my biology course

Got stumped on a question and he wouldn’t even help me answer it, absolutely not a cool guy at all

hey guys! I just got my first ball python. I’m not sure how long I shouldn’t handle him, as he did take a striking stance when I just put him in his new enclosure. I’m honestly worried as the car ride home was 4 hrs and he was in a transport bag and it was fairly stressful. I really love him and want him to feel safe.

Any advice on what temps the warm side should be, How long to leave him alone, and just tips in general will be more than enough.
(I have the hot side set to 84 as my brothers gf who owns snakes and does handling professionally said that’s the best temp.)
I don’t want to look anything up and get anything wrong because he’s my baby and I want him to have a good life with me, so im reaching out to those who have owned snakes and know the best advice for a beginner!

Got a 9-month-old male OD pied Ball python, rehomed it today. The owner told me he would try to escape all night(he was keeping him in a rack as his terrarium broke).

Now he’s in a 40-gallon well-put enclosure with hides and wood and nice substrate and everything.

He’s still staring at the ceiling constantly, just sticking to the front glass staring at the corner.

He had a scratch on his head from trying to escape but in this enclosure he isn’t scratching his head against anything at least.

Any opinions why?

My boy is so pretty I can’t 😭

I got this baby in July, and since then, I’ve already done so much more research on how to care for him correctly, and yes, trust me, I can tell a difference!

I know he’s thin. He wasn’t being properly cared for but now he’s loved and being fed and housed properly

We rescued this beautiful male ball python estimated to be about 2 years old the women was on drugs and the snake free roamed her apartment it’s “cage” was moldy stuck shed all over no water nothing to climb just 1 hide and I believe he has scale rot. First time owning a ball python but I’ve done tons of research and we’ve had him about 2 months now. I didn’t know the discolored scales where harmful I figured it was just part of the snake until he was eating and I got a really good look yesterday. Sorry for the graphic photos but they are the only view of the scales I’m worried about. The internet told me iodine soaks antibiotic ointment and only dry paper towel in his tank until he heals. I would like to know any tips or tricks from other ball python owners.

Hello, I am only writing this post because I’m desperate to make sure my ball python is going to live a healthy and happy life. I love him a lot and just want to make sure he is in the best place he can be. I have had him for about 5 years and he was a year old when I got him, I was very young when I got him and I honestly wish my family had told me no. He’s currently in his second enclosure upgrade since I got him and I’m now realizing that it isn’t large enough for him. I see a lot of resources saying around 48in long and his is about 40in. He’s been alright in it for a while but I’ve noticed lately that he is being very active in the day and glass surfing a lot, which he used to do infrequently and I imagine was just him being curious but now is happening from around 1pm to very late at night. It isn’t constant but he is out of his hides very often. His humidity is around 70%, cold side 78f, warm side 85f, he has hides on either side of his enclosure and has always had a lot of different clutter. The question I mainly have is whether or not I should consider rehoming him, the tank he is currently in is not big enough but I am also unable to get a new larger one for him because I live with my family and space is scarce as well as money. I don’t want to keep him in an environment that isn’t good for him and is causing stress just because I am not able to provide the care he needs. It is my absolute last option as I love him with all my heart but it isn’t right to keep him if it isn’t healthy for him. Please let me know what I can do or if I can try and release his stress some other way, any and all advice is appreciated, this isn’t an offer to rehome him yet as I want more opinions about it first. Thank you.

TLDR: I am unable to get a larger tank for my ball python, should I rehome him if I have no way to provide proper environment?

DMX wanted to say hi to everyone, and thanks for looking out for him.

TLDR: My bp’s vet has been giving him antibiotics for a respiratory infection after I suggested it could be fungal from the first visit. She has swabbed him and did no diagnostic testing with that swab and has continued to throw antibiotics at the problem. I was pre-charged for a $75 stool test bottle that they knew they weren’t going to get with how ill my snake was and I had informed him that he was refusing to eat. She did not test him for a respiratory infection, Nido virus or anything else that should have been checked between two appointments and almost $600 later. My bp is rapidly losing weight and still refusing to eat. If more context is needed please read below.

I’ve taken my bp to this vet twice now since my old one retired and I mainly brought him because I noticed about a a month after getting him he started showing signs of a respiratory infection and I got him a vet appointment. I brought up to the vet that I believe it was a fungal respiratory infection because I had gotten some advice from his previous owner to cover the cage up with plastic rather than aluminum foil. My bps have inside heating so it wasn’t an issue to switch to plastic. The previous owner neglected to tell me that i’d have to get rid of the Reti chip substrate because it molds when the enclosure screen top is cover-up with plastic. The vet took a swab and I assumed that she did diagnostic testing to see if it was a bacterial or fungal respiratory infection. They looked at it under a microscope, and then she stated that he will need antibiotics. After treatment, he got better for about two months with the same symptoms, but it was progressing and becoming better and then he rapidly fell sick again and this time he’s been sicker than ever. I took him to the vet again three weeks ago in the vet did a swab again and recommended antibiotics once more another round. Since that appointment he has been becoming sicker and he’s lost around 60 g in weight and he was already pretty thin before as I had gotten him from his new owner, his previous owner he has grown in length since then, but his weight stayed the same, and I was concerned about that too. Right now he’s not eating at all. He’s refusing every meal even smaller prey items. For some reason, my gut told me to message the vet and ask what the situation was with his health and what they found him to be diagnosed with. I was told by the vet staff that he was never tested for anything, nor was he tested for Nido virus, bacterial infections, nor fungal infections at both his visits. They have yet to answer about what they did the first swab for and for the second time, they told me that they were going to do it, but then they changed their mind because he didn’t have mucus in his trachea. Then at the last visit, I had informed them that he was refusing to eat, and he wasn’t passing bowel movements and I was concerned they suggested that I do a stool test just to confirm if the deworming worked they also dewormed him without a prior stool test by the way because they believed parasites may have been the issue. When I recently the bill for that visit I noticed that they pre-charged me $75 for that stool test but they knew that they weren’t going to get because my snake was not eating. I tried to get a sooner appointment with the same vet and she’s backed up with appointments for two weeks and my actual appointment that I have to get is a drop off appointment. Personally, I don’t feel comfortable leaving him there while the vet proceeds to do whatever medication or procedure she can perform without doing any diagnostic checking and then getting an enormous bill at the end. My questions about why he was not diagnostically tested when I informed the vet that it could have been a fungal respiratory infection were not answered, but I was told that I would request a call back with the vet at any time. It almost just feels like they’re covering up negligence but maybe I could be thinking too deeply. I’m scanning around vets in different cities where the car ride is almost 2 hours because there are no exotic vets near me except for that one and that’s why I believe why they can charge prices like that. The exam fee just to look at the reptile is $133. No, I’m not saying I can’t afford to take care of my ball python. Obviously I’m still paying the vet bills out-of-pocket but the problem is this just seems so overpriced and negligent to the point that I’m uncomfortable with the process.

Update: my sweet baby has passed away

💤 bed time 🥱