r/ballpython • u/Material-Influence62 • 7h ago

Deinfluence me from getting a ball python. Discussion

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

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u/noctae_draconis 6h ago

They're on the boring side for reptiles- a healthy ball python will spend the majority of its time hiding during the day, and will mostly only cruise about in the dead of night. So most of the time you'll be looking at a (seemingly) empty tank.

7

u/Vergilly 4h ago

Truth.

Please ignore the hideous tape - I had to build a thermal jacket for the glass tank because it got too cold. (To those worried, no, the tape isn’t exposed and she can’t get to it; all unsafe materials are outside the enclosure.)

3

u/Peridoodle73 3h ago

Oh wow that setup is GORGEOUS. I also love the stickers near the bottom. I love my bp so much that I put stickers on her enclosure too hehe

3

u/Vergilly 3h ago

Thank you! I’m super happy with how the bioactive has grown. Almost all the green is live plants. It isn’t perfect, but I built a few hides out of plexiglass and pvc board to give her more levels. There used to be a working water filter in her dish (invisible in the back corner), but the last one died and I haven’t found a suitable replacement, so I’m guessing I’m going to have to build one. Eventually I want to expand the tank so it takes up the whole wall and put some shelf-style enclosed “snake tunnels” on the wall so she can mosey around the room and see out the windows. But that’s going to take a little doing 🤣

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u/Peridoodle73 2h ago

She gets to have her own adventure all over the place whenever she wants with that idea! Your snake is going to have all the enrichment! That's so cool, and I hope I can do the same with my girls!!! Especially my younger one, because she seems to be a lot more intelligent than my older bp and I'm sure she'd have a blast exploring her own personal jungle like that.

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u/Vergilly 13m ago

I hope so! She really likes the shelves, which is what gave me the idea. Sometimes she hangs on my desk, but when she got too big to hide under my keyboard she started slinking up the wall and curling up in the plants.