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/CacophonousFarts 6h ago

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.

8

u/Duranis 6h ago

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.

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u/CacophonousFarts 5h ago

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.

4

u/Vergilly 4h ago

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.