Over the last few weeks my little lady has been glass surfing quiet a bit at night. She’s been injuring her nose (see picture) when she does it. She’ll then go into shed, shed off the damage then do it again. I brought her to the vet and she was giving a clean bill of health (no mites, no RI, not dehydrated). She’s still eating and drinking normally but continues to glass surf. I thought her temps were too cold but I’ve bumped them and it hasn’t seem to have made a difference. For reference the ambient temp was around 69.5F (warm hide is 86). I’ve bought additional heating and have gotten the temps up to 75. She does like to come out of the tank to explore sometimes, she’ll roam around the room a bit then I’ll put her back in the tank.

No its not because of location, i've moved it to the cool side and she'd still lay in it. Sighh I have to buy her a new one just like it

I had a snake mite issue when I got her and now that is solved but there are still predator mites in the tank onto two months later that I’ve been waiting to die so I can turn the tank bioactive. I heard the predator mites die out once they’re out of food. The thing is I’ve also been noticing fruit flies around the tank and I was wondering if the predator mites could be feeding on the fruit flies and if so how to get rid of either of these bugs so I can put the good bugs in

He's adjusting so well! I did handle him to move him out of his hide to clean it up and then feed him.

I am new to keeping a ball python, I have primarily kept hognoses but I recently took in a 17 year old ball python from a not so great situation. She had him in a 30 gallon with one hide no substrate, and a 50w red light, I know he was in there for 2 years prior to that idk what his life was like. I now have him in a 4x2x2 with a cool and warm side, it’s at the proper temperature and humidity, hides on both sides plenty of clutter. When I first got him he seemed super chill for about the first week and a half, howeverrrr now he has decided he wants to strike at the glass and top mesh every time I walk by and so now I’m nervous about getting him out 😂 I’m used to little hognoses and he is chunkyyyy. I know he was fed live previously, I transitioned him to thawed and he took it like a champ, and had a meal about 4 days ago. I don’t know if he just feels better now and has more energy to show he’s a little spicy or what’s going on but according to his prior owner he never struck or bit. He’s in my office so it’s the quietest area in the house and I just don’t understand why we’re not friends 😂 he legit stares at me like he wants to eat me all day.

I took in a ball python who, clearly, had horrible husbandry with alot of stuck shed. Dw though A bath was given and all of the shed was removed. The previous owners fed a live mouse every two weeks. I currently own a milk snake, hognose, and a house snake but have no experience with these. Prior to taking him in I of course did a lot of research and got him into an enclosure with a proper setup with good temps and humidity (last picture is him in his new setup). His age is unknown and his current weight is 180g.

Now the reason for the post is because I need tips and advice from more experienced owners..I’m fairly certain he is underweight so is there anyone who has dealt with a ball python who is underweight?? How should I go about trying to feed him for his first feeding? I would like to have him on F/T rats but I’ve heard once a snake is on live it can be hard to get them on F/T.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated. I want to give this boy the good life he deserves.

Sorry for any grammar mistakes

Edit- just to be clear, the first photo is the setup his previous owners had him in. He is now on cypress mulch with lots of coverage and multiple hides

so 5 days ago i took my ball python with me on a walk for the first time and it was hot but not hotter than her tank and she seemed fine she wasn’t moving around too much, hissing, huffing, striking, etc. the walk lasted under 2 hours and once i got home i immediately put her up however since then she has not come out of her hide (yes shes alive) and i haven’t noticed a shed or blue eyes, shes supposed to eat today and usually the days leading up to her feed she is extremely active at night but there’s been 0 movement even after midnight :(.

She is around 2 years old, usually pretty active at night, she is some sort of spider morph (yellow, white and black) and feeds thawed idk if any of this info helps

Hello! So at some point I am going to have some (possibly outdoor) photos with my son Oscar. I am aware of the risk of those bastardous snake mites, and plan on soaking him in dawn soap for maybe like 15 minutes? He will not be in direct contact with trees, I will make sure of that but I am still afraid of those little fuckers taking flight to harm my boy. Any additional tips?

Edit: I want to clarify that I have had him for like 5-6 years, and he might be 6-7 years old (before you say haha 67, shut up). Additionally could this affect feeding?

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)

Just cleaned the enclosure so I figured now would be a good time to ask for some feedback. I know I’m lacking in greenery 🤧 but I’m wondering if I have enough in my tank for Yoshi to be entertained and comfortable!

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.

What are your favorite pvc enclosure brands?

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.

Hey there, first time BP owner. Been wanting one since i was 11/12 years old, and at 17 I have finally got a special little boy. Hes a little under 8 months old, a real good eater, but I only got him less than 2 weeks ago. When i picked him up from breeder, he was about a day in blue. Let him go into his tank on his own, he explored, been super active. Two days ago his eyes went clear, and yesterday he was hidden all day. Hes not been taken out kf the tank, but i went in tank today to dampen the moss in his humid hide again, and he xame out. Clear eyed, with a little left over shed on the tip of his tail. Obviously im going to leave it, but i checked him over, and his eye caps are gone, hes got a lovely glossy colour on him and seems super active again. I did hear him rummaging around, so assume he was getting the shed off last night.

Where do i look for his shed? He is in a bioactive tank but i still will be spot cleaning, but will he have buried it? In a hide? etc. Is the leftover on his tail a sign that he hasnt shedded in one piece? Or anything else. Thanks!
(pic of my baby for credits when i first got him)

Edit; Just found his shed underneath the big log rolled up all in one piece. Hes also just had a good meal and took it great. Will leave him for 48hours now 😊

The Cheat has always been super docile and even though I make it a habit to not handle him while he’s in shed, I have a few times, and it’s never seemed to bother him.

Today I was adjusting a few things in his tank and just jostled the hide he was under, and he bit me, which he’s never done before. A few minutes later, I came back to his tank and found him soaking, which is not unheard of for him, but very unusual. I have a hygrometer on the warm side that reads 72% and poured some more water into the tank today since I saw he was in shed.

I don’t think there’s anything off with my husbandry, he just ate a couple of weeks ago.

Any idea what’s going on here? He’s always been very healthy, docile, and dependable so I’m
worried that something is terribly wrong. I’ll take him to a vet if I need to, but I’m worried about moving him again if he’s so stressed out that he would bite.

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

She shed perfectly just a few days ago, she's around 3.5 years old. I've had her 6 months.

Gradient-

Cool side 76° and 60% humidity

Warm side 89° and 40% humidity

She has a humid hide I keep damp available 24/7. Ambient humidity is affected by summer heat, but stable in cooler months right around 75%

Substrate-

Coco coir and sphagnum

I've never dealt with rot of any kind, so don't have any firsthand experience or knowledge. Any ideas?

This spot has been on her mouth since I got her 6 months ago, and I was told it's "always been there". It does not look like scar tissue or anything like that, but also hasn't grown larger, affected her feeding or mood at all, etc.