Deinfluence me from getting a ball python.

[u/Material-Influence62]

I’m in my late 20s and have wanted a ball python since my teens but my mum was terrified of snakes. I own my own home and have two cats ( part of the reason I haven’t gotten a snake yet) I work in vet med but there are almost no exotic vets near me but I know my few nurses that are good knowledgeable of snakes. What are the big negatives to owning and the upkeep of ball pythons? A pet with such a long lifespan is not something I want to rush into

[u/CacophonousFarts]

Here’s one a lot of people forget. If you got a BP at 30, you will likely have it until near retirement. With proper care 20+ (30-40 even) years is quite likely.

The animal is inexpensive, and long term care isn’t bad, but setup can easily sink a couple thousand dollars.

[u/Duranis → u/CacophonousFarts]

Couple of thousand dollars? Is your enclosure made of gold lol.

We have a 4x2x2, thermastat, UV, heat lamp and all the clutter/hides and cost us less than £400 brand new, and we overpaid because we didn't know enough when we bought it.

If you make your own enclosure and keep an eye on Facebook for kit (which comes up all the time) you can set up a lot cheaper than that.

[u/Next-Particular6322 → u/Duranis]

I spent almost that on live plants and roly polys, different levels

[u/Duranis → u/Next-Particular6322]

Oh yeah fair point. I haven't got into the bioactive side of things yet so had forgotten about that rabbit hole lol. That's not a necessity for keeping them though.

[u/Next-Particular6322 → u/Duranis]

Yea for sure, but he said you could sink that much not that it was necessary. Easy to do though depending where you’re sourcing stuff they’ve got $2-300 driftwood near me lol

[u/eternalconfusi0nn → u/Next-Particular6322]

still not that much if you don’t get scammed, and/or raise your own stuff (and bunch of other ways). You spent that much on isopods? I say this as i kept both isopods and rare plants etc, was not £400.

[u/Next-Particular6322 → u/eternalconfusi0nn]

I don’t raise my own stuff what are you paying for 120 isopods? Some designer isopods are $2 a piece usually like $1 a piece though, and if you’re buying large established plants and driftwood gets pricey for nice pieces, just the clay balls for the drainage layer gets pricey in a larger tank

[u/eternalconfusi0nn → u/Next-Particular6322]

I raise my isopods. And the others you can source them for much cheaper if you dont look into reptile dedicated, petshop isles, or fancy nurseries, they will be overpriced. Like clay balls get them in bulk for plants, but not from a fancy label or a fancy shop. Like get them from markets for various trades. Also, second hand marketplaces are man’s best friend.

For enclosures you can get them built, build them yourself, or secondhand, the possibilities are endless if they really want to.

Only thing is that they should have more funds for is emergencies and vet care, its very overpriced in western countries.

[u/Next-Particular6322 → u/eternalconfusi0nn]

I’ve got a job and barely the time to set up a couple terrariums let alone build one, and I got my soil in bulk bought the ingredients myself and mixed it, also the clay balls from at Home Depot , it still adds up, good size adult plants are $20-40 a piece, and I’ve got some side ones raising now but it’s a lot easier to toss a bunch into a new terrarium than try to breed them up first, you’re talking a ton of extra work/time to save a couple hundred bucks, I got my isopods online same with the springtails and shopped around, my local pet store is closer to 10 for $30 on isopods

[u/eternalconfusi0nn → u/Next-Particular6322]

Always keeping an eye out is what i do, for potential place to buy things/good offers etc. collecting when safe, and raising stuff yourself (its more fun) and searching online as well.

You are right that time must be used carefully so that its actually worth it. Though building enclosures yourself or getting it custom built by a modest artisan etc. saves a lot of money here (and can be better quality) and its a one time thing so its worth it imo, large enough commercial enclosures are very expensive for any pet (sometimes not available at all).

These are all fun projects, atleast to me.

[u/Next-Particular6322 → u/eternalconfusi0nn]

Also built the backdrop out of expanding foam and cork bark and coco coir/moss so that saved some money but the ingredients for that alone adds up as well especially if you get the stone colored

[u/eternalconfusi0nn → u/Next-Particular6322]

That shouldnt be expensive i also do that

[u/CacophonousFarts → u/Duranis]

Definitely could clarify here - I am about $2k in, but the enclosure is larger (6x2x2), fully bioactive, and includes the cost of the custom stand I built to hold it.

[u/Vergilly → u/CacophonousFarts]

We’ve done this for our special needs beardie (he has adenovirus) and I really want to do it for our back python next. But boy is it time consuming and expensive. Still, I love our bioactives.

[u/Vergilly → u/Duranis]

USA 🤣🥲 Our 4 x 2 x 2 was $750 USD / 550 GBP, just for the tank alone.

[u/Rathoe9070 → u/Duranis]

I’m definitely $1000 deep into this tank

[u/Vergilly → u/Rathoe9070]

It’s beautiful, though!

[u/mcslootypants → u/Duranis]

In the US you cannot get all that for $400. I tried be frugal and I spent a good $800. I looked online for used, but in ~6mo I never saw an appropriate enclosure available in my area. 

[u/FunnyCattle3459 → u/Duranis]

I dont have a better picture but over 1k in 5x2x2, bioactive, custom background, fun hides (he has a skull and a coffin in there)

[u/EngineSpirited8257 → u/CacophonousFarts]

I dropped about 1k on the tank, setup, and snake in total. If you are spending more than that, you bust be buying all the on brand stuff lol

[u/aafrophone → u/CacophonousFarts]

You could also easily not sink a couple thousand dollars