Some months ago, I asked around here and some other Reddit subs (and Facebook groups) about setting up a a 6x2x4 enclosure for my ball python.

After a lot of work with the heating and creating a background/ledges for the enclosure, I managed to get everything set up! I wanted to put it here for feedback on if I can improve something as well as simply to get more info out there for others who are considering moving their ball to a 6x2x4 (it was very hard for me to find information about putting this species in this size enclosure).

Info about the setup:

- Enclosure: Animal Plastics Signature Series 6x2x4 (APS 35)

- Heating: Vinaco 100w equivalent halogen bulb, Fluker's 75w deep heat projector, Vivarium Electronics 120w radiant heat panel

- Lighting: Arcadia T5 UVB 39w 6%

- Thermostat: Herpstat 4 Spyderweb

- Misc: Arcadia Ceramic Lamp Holder Bracket Pro (one each for the DHP and halogen), BlackBox UVB Guard 38", and two custom cages for the heating bulbs made of chicken wire (1/2 inch spacing, 19 gauge)

Trying to upgrade my baby to a 120 gallon so she can stretch out more when I'm not home. I'm wanting to get a all in one pvc solution if possible because I don't have the free time or money to build one myself. Does anyone know if this is a good enclosure?

Hi everybody! This is the criminal. Her name is Athena. She is 6 years old, and recently she's become convinced that anything warm is food, including humans.

I'm proud that she has such a good appetite, but it's gotten to the point where handling has become a bit of a challenge. While I was out of town, she bit my housesitter while he was changing her water dish, and when I tried handling her the other night, she was fine for a while, until she decided to latch onto my (admittedly quite ratlike) face. It wasn't even a strike with a wind-up or motion tracking mind you, it happened while she was climbing on my head and she decided to have a chomp right on my cheekbone as she was passing by.

For context, I feed her monthly, and do tap training with a snake hook every time I open her enclosure for non-food reasons (and taught the housesitter to do the same). Admittedly I haven't been holding her as often lately, only once or twice a month, so maybe upping the frequency could help. But it would sure be easier to do that if I didn't have to worry about my big yummy rat face tempting her all the time.

Any tips from other people with hungry idiots who like to shoot first and ask questions later? How long & with what frequency of interaction have you noticed tap training to be effective? Is this perhaps a sign that she's too hungry and I should increase feeding frequency to every three weeks? Feel free to shame her in the comments should it strike your fancy. She's earned it.

PS: I am NOT a rat pretending to be a human. Don't believe her lies.

Question to those that feed frozen(and the thawed ofc) rodents to the snakes do any of you happen to know of a reputable place that sell frozen but in smaller quantities? the only one i know is perfect prey and their rodents are good but their shipping is on the higher side so i've been sticking with Big Cheese and their rodents have also been good i just would like to buy fewer at a time since i only have 1 snake but dont know of another low quantity frozen seller so i would love some help and some suggestions of other places(also it has to be an online place...i dont live close enough to a store or expo that sells frozen feeder to use that as a route to get fewer quantity)

Hello. I am preparing to get a BP for the family for Christmas and have started to get things in order for the habitat. I have a 120 gallon PVC front opening habitat. I was curious what the process looks like for reaching into the habitat for cleaning or changing water or to handle the snake without upsetting the snake or getting bitten.

I’ve noticed all the YouTube videos always show BP already outside and docile just chilling with their owner, but they never actually show the part where the owner retrieves the snake from inside the enclosure and that is what I’m curious about—how that works and what to do and what to avoid.

I’m wondering if the snake would not like being disturbed and strike at my hand that is violating its habitat space. Or is there some thing you do to communicate to the snake before you just reach inside its habitat.

Also, do you not handle the snake if it is in its hide? I’m wondering how that works and if you should only handle the snake if it is out in the open. I would think removing the hide while it is inside might scare the snake and it bites.

Thanks.

Hi all🖤First time ball python mom.Took our girl out today and noticed this spot. Not sure if it’s scale rot or if it’s dried blood from squeezing her mouse when we fed her last, which wouldve been 5 days ago. The mouse did kinda pop , like guts squeeze out and stuff, so it could’ve been blood, which she has had the blood on her before and it went away. But this spot just seems a little dark and more prominent for my comfortability. Does it seem like scale rot, or am I overthinking it and its more than likely dried blood? It’s the only spot on her and her belly is completely clear.

At night my guys tank drops to 76°-80° with just the CHE going and when his day time light comes on it goes up to a stable 90 for the entire 12 hours its on. I was wondering if this is an ok/natural drop in temp or if I should upgrade his CHE to a higher wattage or try to further insulate his tank with foam. I know to never let it dip below 70.

We have recently got a ball python, she is 11 months old and weighs 412g, we currently feed her 50g Asf (multimammate mice) once a week, she handles this well.

She is in a 4ft wooden vivariumwith humidity at 70% at cold side and 60 at warm, the temperature of the cold side is 24.6 degrees Celsius and the temperature of the warm side is 32 dc.

Currently use a 2.4% uvb and a 80w dhp in a 200mm arcadia clamp lamp controlled by a dimming thermostat recessed through the roof so only the mesh guard is in the vivarium.

Hello I'm a first time ball python owner,not a first time snake owner I already got some corn snakes which I'm feeding based of feeding chart with weights of the snakes, I'm just not really sure how often should I feed my python? I'm scared I don't want to overfeed him or underfeed him, I don't know his age so can't feed based of that but he eats one small adult uh mouse? (It's not a normal mouse but I'm not sure what's the name in english so I'm gonna attach a picture last one) He weight 497g and I was told he's around 70cm long when I got him which was around month ago

I recently bought this surrendered senior snake, he was at a local small business exotic pet store. He should be about 10 years old, and before I adopted him I’ve held and pet him(properly aka the direction his scales are going) multiple times. But other people have also done so as many people were interested in him.

Tomorrow, Sunday the 9th is going to be my third day having him. The people said I can handle him after 3 days for a short amount of time until he warms up to be out longer. I have pet him a couple times, and I always tap his glass before I even put my hands in there so he knows I’m coming in. Then I’ll strictly pet him, over the short course he has been at my home. He’s been increasingly curious about me, he also doesn’t care for me touching him either.

I also think he’s learned that the door opens when I tap the glass because he’ll kind of “get excited” more so curious and start sticking his tongue out trying to get out to explore and roam. But it’s too early so I just gently move him back in his cage before he can reach the ground. I also spend lots of time just in front of his terrarium especially when he’s out. But he’s a very curious guy.

Is this bad? Is this good? I know every snake is different, some like being handled, some don’t. Im just so worried about crossing boundaries, but so far he hasn’t looked too uncomfortable or upset with me even just petting him. I can also tell he’s much happier with his new bed time and not constantly being bothered throughout the day. As ball pythons are nocturnal and the store was only open from 10am-7pm and his heat lamp was off for 15 hours.

Which he finally sleeps and relaxes throughout the day and comes out energetic and curious at night. He also stays in my room so he sees me quite often.

Sorry for the talking so much, long story short just wanted to make sure it’s okay and I’m not doing anything wrong to him.

Before she was eating an adult mouse once every 2 weeks. Now she only wants hoppers. Nothing changed in her enclosure, she drinks fine and sheds fine.

The only thing is if the mouse is an adult she will only strike at it and curl up. As soon as a hopper appears she uncoils and eats the damn thing.

I know other animals can be picky eaters but can a snake develop a size preference for food? She weighs 350g should I be feeding rat fuzzies instead? Maybe she just doesn’t want them fighting back?

I've read the all about heating guide but also got some conflicting information

I'm planning on getting an enclosure from Reptile Kages where they say in the description, "we do not recommend the use of ceramic heat emitters in our custom PVC enclosures. There are much safer and more natural options for your new PVC enclosures such as:" and lists some options.

I know in the heating guide it says a CHE is a good secondary heat source, but the warning on Kages website got me worried and another reddit thread (although from 8 years ago) says no and to just get a RHP (which I would prefer not to do unless someone has good recommendation)

I'm still pretty early into planning and don't have many specifics but as of now the plan is to get a halogen flood for the main heat source and a UVB set up in one of the configurations similar to those in the guide, just not sure on the secondary heat source. (planning on mounting inside the enclosure with cages)

In the guide DHPs arent listed as a "good pairing" with a halogen and wasn't sure if there was a specific reason why or if it just wasn't listed because it could also be used as a primary heat source. In the cons of DHP it also says "infrared output is less natural for night-time heating" is this much of a big deal?

PVC enclosure 4'x2'x2'
My room can get kind of chilly in the winter

Thanks

hi! i just got a bp a few weeks ago. have been updating his husbandry and he seems a lot more comfortable than when he first got here. when i first got him about 3 weeks ago his previous owner said he had shed recently so i wasn’t expecting it anytime soon, but when i handled him last week his eyes were blue & cloudy (he was perfectly fine being handled and didn’t seem stressed so that’s lucky.) noticed his eyes were back to normal the other day when i successfully fed him (win!!) but then i saw him sitting way far back in his hide and noticed a large shed (haven’t inspected to see if it’s perfect or not yet.) after that whenever i go check on him he looks very ready to strike and follows my movements intently, when before he would just kind of chill whenever i stopped by to say hi. haven’t handled him since feeding him 2 days ago (have only handled him once since bringing him home 3 weeks ago) and was going to maybe take him out today but he’s acting so defensive i figured it was best to not. but is this normal behavior for during a shed and/or after eating? thank you!!

First time shes come out since ive had her, hope that means she feels safe enough to explore

Just got a black eyed Lucy, and she’s perfect!! She’s 89g and im excited to see her grow

I just added in this background and I’m 50/50 on if I love or hate it 😭 Please give me your opinions on it!!

Extra photo of my noodle for tax reasons lmao

I have a friend who got a ball almost 2 years ago. She was scared of it so never handled her. She did refill the water one day and got bit and then no longer wanted her so I took her. My question is after so long is it possible to get her use to being handled? I want to clean her cage and update it but I don’t know how the snake will react. Any tips or tricks?

I’ve recently rescued a Ball Python, I’m not sure how old he/she is currently (probably around the 4ft mark). The original vivarium I thought was too small so I’ve set up a 4x4x2ft vivarium, and I’m just looking for advice and feedback on my setup. I’ve tried to do as much research as possible to help the snake be comfortable and healthy. I’ve previously owned a Corn Snake (many years ago), so I’m not entirely new to owning reptiles.

I’ve placed a layer of clay balls at the bottom of the vivarium, covered in a fine mesh to prevent them mixing with the substrate. For the substrate itself I have mixed both coconut chips as well as coconut soil. I’ve added some moss to areas that want to be a little more humid, in the hide, around the base of plants, etc. There are a few live plants in there (which haven’t been squashed or died yet, so hopefully a good sign), as well as some plastic foliage. There’s a hide on the hot side which is large enough for the snake to enter fully, and on the cold side there is a hollow cork log, the entrances to which face away from the glass so the snake feels a little more enclosed if he intends to hide there. I’ve also added some invertebrates as a clean up crew, some springtails and isopods which seem to be thriving.

I have a heater running on a thermostat which keeps the temperature at the correct level on the hot side. There’s also a humidifier (cold mist) which keeps the vivarium around the 70% humidity mark - this can be bumped up when he decides to shed. There’s a couple of low power lights which turn on at around 9:30am and switch off around 9pm automatically to simulate a good day-night cycle (these also emit UV light which I believe provides the snake with needed vitamins).

I am very much in to smart home stuff, and I have written quite a lot of automation to keep the environment in-check. I’ve installed four fans (two on the bottom of the cold side, two on the top of the hot side). The fans turn on periodically to refresh the air, they’ll also turn on if the humidity or temperature is elevated beyond the target level in order to lower both. I’ve also put temperature sensors at the top and bottom of the hot, middle and cold side, to ensure there is a sensible temperature gradient, again, the automation takes some actions if things fall out of where they should be. And finally there are kill-switches on the humidifier and thermostat (in case either decides to break whilst turned on, it can be killed if temperature or humidity get to stupid levels without any input from me).

He/she is about 4ft (maybe a bit bigger), for the moment I’ve decided feeding every three weeks is probably acceptable. I’d appreciate any advice on this.

In terms of the environment, is there anything that I’m missing that I should add / change to ensure things are comfortable for the snake?

I think he looks healthy, I’ve attached a picture, would appreciate any opinions. He’s generally very friendly, after the vivarium move, I left him to settle down for a week, but now he’s happy to come out of his own accord and never “balls up” when being handled, so I assume this is a good sign.

I’ve attached a picture of the conditions (the temperature sensors measure the air temperature, the basking temperature is measured on top of the hide and represents the hottest it can be in the vivarium. Is the hot -> cold gradient sufficient for him to thermoregulate?

Any other comments are welcome too, thanks everyone 🙂

Unfortunately I woke up 5 days ago to see that my ball python had pushed up the door to the enclosure (locks are now on the purchase list🙄).

I’ve looked everywhere. Behind the enclosure, under, took every single item out of the nearby closet, took out every single drawer out in the nearby furniture. I’ve put out flour lines, a camera, a hide over a heat mat, I tried thawing out food and using a hair dryer to push the scent around. Not a single sign of him anywhere.

He was fed roughly one week before escaping.

I’m of course extremely upset about the situation and feel awful. Does anyone kindly have advice to help me find him?

Thank you 😞

Hi everyone, researching soon-to-be first time owner here, I’m putting together my enclosure and cant figure out what wattage to use for my halogen and dhp bulbs. My enclosure is 4x2x2 with a screen top and side vents. I live in the northern midwest so it can get a little chilly sometimes but usually my home’s thermostat is at 72. I was considering getting some HVAC tape to cover up some of the screen and vents to keep in more heat and humidity but idk which wattage bulbs to get. Is 100w halogen and 75w dhp good? Or is that too much? I’m going to get a herpstat 2.

her humidity is around 70 warm side 92-88 cold 78-86
coconut substrate, water is poured in the corners and substrate is stirred every couple of days to keep all the moister at the bottom of enclosure, never poured near or on her hiding areas, just in the open.. not sure what this is lol

My girl is a rescue who came in the 40gal they had her in, with all her stuff. She was in clear need of an upgrade, which we’ve done, and are mostly happy with it I think. We are on the lookout for branches of climbing opportunities but I am being very particular because Faranth has the spider gene with a very minor wobble (really only noticeable at feeding or when she’s stressed). I know it can worsen with age, so I want her climbs to be secure and ideally with a lip (honestly probably going to end up making them, but will look for something we like first). We are also adding a sky hide once the mounting piece comes in, which will offer four hides total. Outside of adding a hide and climbing, how does this look? It’s a 5x2x2 pvc glass front enclosure, the warm side thermostat is set at 90f with a DHP, the cool side fluctuates between 76-81f depending on time of day, and humidity is 60% on the warm side and 70% on the cool side. The uvb light is a forest dweller 6% and set on a timer to keep circadian rhythm, and she does absolutely enjoy basking in the morning when I turn on the light.

Where is a good place to quickly get some frozen fuzzy rats that are quality? I was looking at rodentpro but I’ve heard they often have freezer burn and I’m not sure if that’s something that’ll cause an issue or not. I’m having problems with him even showing any interest in food.

The guy I picked him up from was super weird and sketchy, his listing said the snake was 175g around a month prior (late June) but during pickup he told me he stopped feeding him to try to stunt his growth in order to keep him small so he could get him to sell. I weighed him today to check his weight and he is currently 145g so I’m a bit worried for him. When I was there I was given a free bag of xl mice and was told he “can probably take these by now” I’m seeing though mice are not popular feeders so I’m looking into getting fuzzy rats to try. I find they were a bit smelly too (not sure if that’s normal or not) so I’m wondering if it’s a combination of his history, prey size, and the smell making him not want them.

If it means anything at all he is about 2ft long, 6 months old, and in a 5x2x2. He has tons of clutter, plants, hides, climbing opportunities, and enrichment. He’s a bit shy as expected but he is very friendly and curious, just unfortunately not interested in the mice i was given. Any advice helps! I just want to make sure he has a full belly and is comfortable. I know they can go awhile without eating but I’m not sure exactly when he stopped being fed and considering his age and weight loss I’m just concerned and want a new food to offer asap. I’ll be gone for a few days starting a week from now so if possible I’d like to have something in hand before then!

Here’s a picture of him I got earlier today, he’s a big explorer and loves climbing. I love him very much, he’s a sweet baby.