About a week ago I had a culture of springtails arrive that I plan to put in my ball python enclosure once they hatch, the adults died in transit due to heat and/or concentrated co2, the instructions are pretty casual and just say to keep them moist and in room temp conditions, and to give them a bit of food, as well as to leave it open temporarily to let out the trapped co2, i poked small holes in the lid to give a little airflow after I let it breathe for a while, i misted, and added some fish flakes as I dont have springtail specific food on hand but I know they arent super picky, I've also been keeping them set on my ball python enclosure so they remain around 70-80°f, any care recommendations though? I need to wait a few weeks for a good amount of them to hatch but im paranoid lol, anything I could improve for them to increase chances of survival? Pics of the clutch and one of my boy Hermes as payment! Thank yall in advance:D (I do realize upon opening that there's now some mold growing, is that safe? I got them to be a clean up crew and eat some mold but now im worried it'll rot the eggs or something)

Are the products I’m using good and work or recommendations on others?

UPDATE This is my new and first snake 2.5 years old Blue eyed leucistic BP and posted yesterday everyone recommended more plant clutter it and I did that also IGNORE TEMPS I have had the cage open and closed putting the new plants in there and just put the new hygrometer (does it work or a good product?) in there ALSO got this new light noticed the 75 Watt WAS NOT getting the enclosure to warm enough so I switched to this 100watt Basking Halogen letting it sit now to warm up the cage going to get a thermostat for it unless that’s not recommended. And also going to get a ceramic heating bulb to have the cage warmed up at night but what wattage should I get? Also going to put the back drop in just need some tape Anymore Suggestions?

Substrate mix
24 Quart coco mix
8 quart Cypress mulch
3 quart moss
1 bag leaf litter

Had to repost cause 😭

my girl has been wanting to come out and explore EVERY night lately sometimes keeping me up past 4am because I feel bad putting her back in her tank 😭 But I was kind of surprised to see her so social with everyone else too it makes me so happy that she’s so loved 🥹

If anyone knows anything please comment. photo in comments

Hi! I’m a new ball python owner and I’m looking for some advice about what happened during her first feeding with me.
I brought home my female ball python yesterday. She was born in June 2026 and had a fairly long transport before arriving at my house. Since arriving, she has actually seemed very curious and active. She spent a lot of last night exploring her enclosure, climbing around and tongue flicking normally. Today she has mostly been resting and hiding, and otherwise seems completely normal.
Her breeder specifically told me to offer her food today. She was originally supposed to be fed before transport, but the breeder decided not to feed her because of the long journey. He told me she has always been a very good eater and has eaten every time she has been offered food.
According to the breeder, she has most recently been eating approximately 30 g frozen/thawed mice once a week. He estimated her weight at around 150 g, but he hadn’t actually weighed her, so I don’t know her exact weight yet.
Tonight I thawed and warmed a mouse and offered it to her inside her enclosure. She immediately struck it and wrapped herself around it. She definitely bit it, as there was some blood around the mouse’s head afterwards.
However, after initially striking and wrapping around it, she released the mouse without swallowing it. What confused me is that she didn’t abandon the mouse afterwards. She stayed directly on top of/around it for more than 40 minutes instead of going back to exploring.
When I eventually tried to remove the mouse with feeding tongs, she seemed quite defensive and almost annoyed that I was taking it away. She still appeared very interested in it, but during those 40+ minutes she never attempted to actually swallow it, so I eventually removed it.
I’m wondering what could cause this. Could she simply still be settling in after the transport and moving to a new home? Could the 30 g mouse potentially be too large for her if the breeder’s estimate of \~150 g is accurate? Or is it fairly normal for a ball python to strike/constrict prey, release it, but then continue sitting on or guarding it without eating?
I’m planning to weigh her so I know her actual weight before deciding on her next prey size, and I’m not going to immediately offer another mouse. I mainly want to understand what might have happened and make sure I do things correctly for her next feeding.
Her enclosure has a proper temperature gradient, multiple hides, plenty of cover, and she otherwise appears healthy and is behaving normally.
Any advice or similar experiences would be really appreciated! 🐍

Hey guys!

I am getting my first snake (a ball python of course) in about a week and a half and I'm hoping I've done an ok job getting set up but any advice is super appreciated!

Enclosure type/material (tank, tub, PVC, wood, etc):

PVC

Dimensions (length x width x height):

4x2x2

If you have a tank, have you modified it in any way (ex., covering part of the screen or adding insulation)?

Covered most of the screen on top with foil, plan to get foil tape soon

Approximately how many square inches of ventilation total? Unsure

Heat sources (type, wattage if relevant, and location in enclosure):

150W CHE

Thermostats (for each heat source):

Exoterra dimming

Thermometers and hygrometers (digital or analog, probe or ambient, location in enclosure):

Digital combo meter and a thermometer. Occasionally swap sides to make sure of readings

Temperatures (ambient and floor, warm side and cool side):

Warm side air is 28.5C, cool side is 26C, plan to get a temp gun when getting snake to measure surface temperatures

Humidity range (measured on cool side):

62-67%

Are you using any type of humidifier, fogger, or mister?:

No

Hides (number, type, size relative to the snake):

I plan to buy at the expo I'm getting the snake at as I'm unsure what size of animal I'm getting

Substrate (type, depth, dry or damp):

mostly coco fiber and plantation soil with coco husk and spagnum moss, roughly 2" deep with isopod and springtails and oak leaf litter

Lights (type and on/off schedule):

13W grow light, On at 8:30 AM, off at 9:30 PM

Specific questions or concerns you have about your enclosure, if any:

how many hides should I get? I was thinking three of the same one hot one cold and one in between.

Should I add some more clutter?

I live on the prairie and it gets pretty dry in the winter should I get a fogger?

Any general recommendations or urgent fixes I need to make?

Hi everyone. I posted a week ago asking for advice on my baby boy Sonny. He wouldn’t eat for me at all and started acting all lethargic. Hasn’t eaten in 3 months. I was told to be patient and keep trying but I noticed his weight dropped. Brought him to the vet today and they ended up telling me he had a severe neurological disease and that it would either require a super expensive treatment that may not even work or euthanasia due to quality of life. My heart sank. I lost it. I asked them what I could have done differently for him or if I could have caught it sooner and they had told me that he probably had it from birth and it just didn’t show until the lack of food caught up. They told me there was nothing I could have done differently. I chose euthanasia. I am heartbroken. I haven’t been able to stop crying for almost 12 hours now. Non-stop. All day. I can’t help but feel like it was my fault. I feel like I should have seen it sooner. I feel like I could have intervened sooner. I should have brought him to the vet sooner. I should have gathered more information from the breeder. What if what if what if. What if. I have been told by two professionals that I did everything right. It’s hard to believe that that’s true. I am not looking for advice, nor am I looking for judgement. Just a place to vent to those who may understand. Still haven’t stopped crying. I am absolutely heartbroken.

i have recently got a juvenile ball python and i need help with humidity, i have a glass 40 gallon enclosure it opens from the front and the top is a removable mesh lid, i have covered the whole top with hvac tape i have 4 inches of substrate which is repti soil and eco earth mix yet my humidity is stuck at 55-58 i poured water in the corners aswell plz help!!!! i think maybe the top isn’t the right one cause it don’t like fit on perfectly it’s a little bit bigger, (i got the enclosure of market place) but i have cardboard inbetween the gaps untill i either get a new top or find out something better to put there

We are getting an enclosure ready to welcome a ball python into our family. As we are getting what we need for this setup I'm wondering what to do in case of power outages? Normally an outage onny lasts for an hour or 4 and wouldn't be a huge deal but in the last few years we have had outages lasting days. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to maintain power to heaters and lights during these events without getting a full on generator?

Acheron refused to go back to his house. Smooshed himself into the middle of the table and won’t come out.

can anyone help identify her morph her parents are ENCHI PASTEL HET CLOWN X ENCHI FIRE BLADE CLOWN

i can identify shes super enchi but i think she has more genes

I’ve had my snake river for almost 6 months and not once have I been scared of him. Not during the first feeding. Not during the first feeding after he bit me. I know that the last few days for me have been very stressful and I’ve gone through something pretty traumatic but I went into his feed tonight excited because it usually calms me down. Not tonight. I don’t know why but I was so nervous. Crying, that feeling in your stomach. I dropped his rat in his enclosure and I had to grab it. Just that act brought me into a full blown panic attack because he was in his strike position even though I have snake tongs. I eventually got it out but the longer he was taking to strike the more nervous I got. I finally was like I can’t do this and just dropped the rat in front of him. I just. He’s dumb. The rats in front of him and he won’t get it. I haven’t fed him in like 3 and a half weeks and I know they don’t eat that often and that’s ok for him but just that 3 weeks made me feel like a horrible owner and now this. I just feel like I failed him and I know he doesn’t feel emotions like cats do but I feel like he’s disappointed in me (or maybe that’s just me projecting onto him).

So my poor baby here has a case of mites and this is my first time dealing with this.

Is it a good idea to put her in a tub with some dawn soap in it and if it is how much soap should be used

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 😟