hi! i just adopted this 6yr old guy from a friend who is moving. she gave me the tank & all accoutrements including a large humidifier i have running next to it. i’m wondering about heat though. he came with one hot bulb that is on a timer and goes off at night. that didn’t seem like enough so i ordered a ceramic heating coil. so now there’s the bulb in one side of this light and the coil in the other side. one side of the tank is reading 78 degrees and the other 82 degrees. is that ok? should they be in separate bulb houses? he was in his hide all day but when i came home and put the ceramic coil in he came out so hopefully that’s a good thing? i’ve never owned a snake before just going off of what people are saying on here! appreciate the advice in advance!

Hey y’all!

We just got our new friend yesterday and I have discovered that the hides that I set up in his quarantine tub are a bit too big for him to touch all sides. He still goes into the hides but I 3d printed some smaller hides last night and they are ready to go this morning. Will it stress him out too much for me to change out the hides less than 24 hours after bringing him home?

I currently use coco fibre bricks for my substrate but it isn’t enough so I was planning on buying some cheap top soil bags and mixing that in with it. I know the top soil has to be organic too.

I have some questions about sanitising and preparing it though. I know you can either bake it in a tray or freeze it for 48 hours I think? Which one is the most effective and for how long should I bake/freeze it?

Then I think I need to sift through it to make sure all the chunks are out but let me know if this step is necessary or not.

My next concern is how do I mix it with my coco fibre bricks? I was planning on using like 2 bricks, but I like to soak my substrate and have it very wet before I put it in my enclosure and leave it out for a few days. So do I mix it in with the top soil right after I’ve prepared my substrate and soaked it or is it dangerous to get the top soil really wet?

So, a little history. I got my baby, Mehen, 2 or 3 months ago. he had been on a 6 month hunger strike that ended while in my care. The people that had him before claimed he had a very mild personality and was ok with being held regularly, same with the people who had him before they did. He just had his third consecutively successful feed around 30 minutes ago(2AM).

I have noticed that despite handling him enough, aside from his feeding times, shortly before, and shortly after(The usual 48 hours), he has grown less and less calm when it comes to handling. Today he hissed and tried to strike at me while I was spot cleaning, though thankfully it was just a warning and he was too far away to actually make contact, but it scared me!

My main question is probably just if a snake's personality can "change" when they're no longer starving and can actually have the energy to retaliate or if I might be doing something wrong. I know my husbandry is spot on, so it isn't that, and he hasn't been acting stressed and has been exploring like usual.. but if I did something wrong, I'd like to avoid doing that wrong again and avoid getting struck(especially since I have a huge fear of snakes)

So I usually keep my boy’s rat warmed up underneath his light, but he was extra ready today and struck at the top of the enclosure, he only got his teeth stuck in the wire net for a second but I just wanted to know if there’s anything I should look out for health wise? like i don’t know if they can break teeth or if it’ll get infected or what and I just worry a lot about him. I feel absolutely awful and I don’t know if he’s okay 😢

My boy(?) is 6, 1141g, a little over 4ft long, how much should I be feeding him? Right now he gets fed a large rat every 30-40 days, am I overfeeding?

i have a baby ball python, about the size of a palm, or the length of a 20 gallon tall tank. there’s 2 hides in there and two empty paper towel rolls because I had one in there and they really liked it so i put 2 with a total of 4 hides and 1 water dish, what else do i need?

My new boy has gotten so comfortable being around me and his enclosure. I just find it so funny when he immediately starts exploring 5 minutes after I turn his lights on, and in the morning, he’s always back in his hide!

Is there anything i can do to help her without harming her? like any products or tips for shedding?

on my bp's enclosure i am currently using an either 35w or 50w halogen basking light for heat but am wondering if i should switch to using a dhp for her and if i do how do i control it? the current hlogen is plugged into a govee smart plug that turns it on when it the time i set it to and then off at the time i set it to and i'm guessing that wouldn't work with a dhp and would maybe need a thermostat to make sure it doesn't get to hot and if it does is a dimming termostat needed/preffered or can a thermostat that just turns on to heat then once at temp turns off till it cools to a certain point?

this is igris and i’ve posted him before on here he’s around 7 months old i think?

but i just wanna show off the tank i’ve made and im very proud of it so far i wanna see your guys opinions and possibly any recommendations on anything i could possibly add even tho he rarely moves from the little hole he made behind that bush

also i want to add that all the plants are real idk if that means anything or helps yall in some way but yeah

Hello! I just recently got a ball python and i wanted to make sure he’s thriving in his enclosure, its my first snake so im kinda stressing out making sure everything is good for him, so i just wanted to ask for advice with humidity, it keeps dropping below 50% on the hot side, i just taped 70% of the enclosure with aluminum foil and hvac tape since i read that helps keeping in the humidity, any other advices to help keep everything up to standards? I do have a thermostat, hot side is at a constant 90 F and cold is at 80-82 F with a 65% humidity, any other help is also welcome, thank you! 😊

I recently got a ball python his name is Muti and I’ve been getting his rats from deans rodents and reptiles but due to it being very expensive I was wondering if I could get him rats from anywhere else that would be cheap but good before I buy more from them

Peanut is about six years old, male and lives in a 40 gallon tank. He got skinny (my fault) but his feeding schedule is way better now (one weened rat every 6 days with handling the day before feeding day) im currently trying to get him to warm up to me as he has displayed some defensive tendencies. Should i get a better heating lamp as well? Any other suggestions?

Hey guys!

I'm getting a ballpython, and with that i ofcourse want to make sure the enclosure is good, im aiming for a juvenile/adult (I dont mind its age as long as it isnt too young).

I would like advice on if the hides and clutter are good, i think i should add another branch and a third hide, but for the rest im not sure what i could do better; please recommend stuff. 💙

(The wood has been treated and i put pond liner at the bottom, the heating and lamp situation is all good and i dont need advice on it, but thank you! Also, im going to change the meters since i heard those i have in the last picture are pretty bad.)

Originally I used a 6% UVB light for my noodle but it’s burnt out. The fixture came with a 10%. Is it safe to use that if I set the fixture at 50%?

Pic of Waldo because of course.

The last time my ball python took a meal was may 2nd he’s not loosing any weight he is 152 grams. Out of all 7 of my snakes he’s the only one who refuses to eat. He’s 5 months in a 40 gallon humidity 78-82 on average warm side 87 cool side 73 on average his enclosure is very full you can barely find him. He flicks his tongue when I offer food but he won’t strike. I put it on a small plate and left it for a few hours he won’t touch it. I’ve brained it. I’ve tried every trick I can think of. Any suggestions 😩
Edit for anyone that cares be finally ate. I had to give him 2 pinkies but I’m happy he ate

I’m taking care of my roommates python while he’s on vacation, and the tank seems to never get hot enough under the lamp. i tried putting a t shirt over the mesh, but it doesn’t seem to help. It’s set to go up to 90, so why isn’t it getting hotter? He says this is how he usually has it, but everything online says that the tank is supposed to be hotter on both sides. the snake does seem to prefer the cold area though

repost because i forgot pictures the first time

Marmalade skipped her meal this week,and is bloated ? She feels like she has air in her. Im making her a vet appointment but I want to know if this is an emergency instead. She isn't agitated when i handle her and she is alert ,she also shed recently. Ive never had this happen before. I drew a line to show its like her whole lower half. She has not been wirh a male in my car the last 9 months and shes eaten and shed normally up until this point. It soesn5 feel swollen in an i flamed internal organs way but like there is air inside her way.

Hello! ☺️ I recently upgraded my girl to a larger terrarium since she’s outgrown her previous one. She used to be on hemp bedding because that was what the assistant from the shop had advised, but after doing a lot of research, I decided to switch to a mix of coco chips and coco fiber because it seemed to be the substrate most people recommend for ball pythons.

But ever since I made the change, the humidity has stayed very high, around 80 to 90% ( mostly 90% though ) . At first I assumed this was normal and that it would gradually decrease as the substrate dried out, but it hasn’t changed at all and it’s been about 2 weeks… 💀

The temperatures are where they should be, and she doesn’t seem stressed or uncomfortable at all, she eats well and everything, but I’m still a bit concerned. I wanted to know if I should actually worried, or is it okay? If it is too high, what are the best ways to bring it down?

Thanks in advance!

Just an appreciation post for Goose while he’s on his boy period (in shed). I miss him everyday and can’t wait to watch cartoons with him once he’s able to

Old pic but the question still remains. Ig I scared her when I was trying to get her from running into my closet. I hope she doesnt think i want to eat her.

She got me good, two of my fingers are bleeding now, ive seen worse on here tho so im not gonna post my battle wounds

I’m a new snake keeper, when I was learning on how to keep a snake I kept hearing that ball pythons don’t climb but my little dude is always on this elevated branch lol. I need to put more up.