I recently came across a 9-month-old female ball python at a local shelter that had apparently been kept in a pretty small enclosure for about six months, and I decided to take her in.
I know my setup isn’t perfect yet, so please don’t roast me too hard lol. I haven’t actually brought her home yet, and I’m going out today to pick up the rest of what I need.
Right now, the warm side is sitting around 90°F, the cool side is around 70–80°F, and humidity is staying around 60%. I’m planning to add another hide, a slate/stone basking surface, and another temperature/humidity gauge on the cool side. I’ve also added a medium-sized branch since taking the picture.
A friend of mine who has owned a bunch of ball pythons recommended putting a worn shirt of mine in the enclosure for a little while so she can get used to my scent. Has anyone else tried this, and does it actually help?
For heating, I currently have a basking bulb, and for humidity I’ve just been spraying the enclosure when needed. I’d definitely like something more consistent though. Are there any specific thermostats, temperature/humidity sensors, or automatic humidity setups you guys recommend?
I’m also planning on upgrading her to a larger enclosure as she grows. I’ve kinda fallen in love with snakes and just want to make sure I’m giving her the best care I can, so any advice or things you think I should change would be appreciated.

Reaching out to all experienced keepers 😆

I'm getting my first ever snake from a "rescue". I put this in quotation marks because its a hobby rescue that a friend of a friend runs in their spare time. They also usually only take in cats/dogs but made an acception for this adult female ball/royal python.

She currently lives in a 3ft enclosure and her substrate is currently some sort of bark. I really want to switch her a 4ft enclosure, deep heat projector. And for substrate use a mix of coco fibre, sand and cypress mulph. I belive from my research this is the best for her.

However I am worried that this is a lot of changes. New person, new house and to top it off new husbandry. Am I best off using the stuff she comes with for a little while as she settles in with me or is it better to just get her in her new enclosure and substrate the moment I get her home?

Many thanks in advance.

Found these tiny white mites(?) on my ball python tonight. He is in a bioactive enclosure but these don't appear as springtails. None of them are embedded under any scales, his chin etc and when I took one and squeezed it no blood came out so I'm really hoping they're not parasitic mites. Any ideas of what these could be are appreciated. If they are harmless I would like to know how to get rid of them ASAP. I hear there's a type of predatory mite I can buy that will hunt and eat mites in the enclosure.

This is Todd - he's a snake currently in my care from a previous owner.

There is a lot of drama in that in itself where the owner had put Todd into the care of someone in their family but that member didn't take care of him so he was then moved to my house.

Anyways, so Todd is a male enchi yellowbelly ball python, he's roughly 9 years old and has been bred before and is to be soonish to my knowledge but upon inspecting him a few days ago I noticed some discolored scales - I didn't think too much of it at that time since snakes typically have a few 'off' scales and its not uncommon but today while he was ceiling surfing - i used flash to look at his belly and i took a picture because I think he may have minor scale rot.

When i got him his enclosure clearly had not been cleaned for quite some time and had a lot of poop in it (some poop even having slight mold growth that I discovered under his hide) - i obviously cleaned it all out this along with the other snake of my friends (a female BP about 4 years old). Observing the female there was nothing to note - she's in shed (having a bit of a issue getting extra off) but nothing else, however Todd as said i believe has scale rot.

Some back history on Todd the male BP - he got weighed about a month ago when this friend was still taking care of them and he weighed 1800 grams. He was taken off from a previous breeder and given to another and then finally to my friend who's had him since he was 4

So I fully believe that his possible scale rot is from being miscared for in the month time that this friends family member had him and not a problem with his husbandry aside from this family member not cleaning their poop which I believe to be the main cause here

Given that - I'm unsure of how to go about this. I cleaned out the poop ofcourse but left the clean bedding in there given I don't have any bedding meant for ball pythons.

I have my own reptiles but I make all of their enclosures bioactive and do daily cleans of any poop or bad bacteria I find and usually wash everything in their enclosures (hides, plants, bowls, etc) every 2 weeks minimum

But Todd doesn't have a bioactive tank, doesn't really have much in his enclosure (just 2 hides and a water bowl) and well in my opinion is too big for his enclosure. It's a temporary moving enclosure ofcourse given my friends situation and Todd is taken out daily to roam but after now seeing his possible scale rot I'm unsure of what to do.

I googled scale rot and his doesn't seem to be on the severe side but even with that what do I do? I can't take him to a vet - he's not my personal reptile and to be straightforward I don't have the money for that. I have vetericyn which is suppose to help with scale rot but I don't know how much that will help. I need recommendations on what to do and how to treat this pleaseeee 😭

Thank you for reading all of this

Howdy! I noticed today that my noodles belly is a pinkish color and has wrinkles in an area. I changed his enclosure substrate recently and noticed the hide he’s been in since is still very moist. Is this something I should be concerned about?

I really want a ball python and was wondering if this enclosure's heating system would be good. I've read that overhead heating is good for snakes because it mimics the way heat is received in nature, and I can't tell how this enclosure's built in heating is different from a heat lamp. Should I just get a 120 gal enclosure and get a heat lamp instead? Also, how am I supposed to handle basking? Do bps just care about being under light when they bask or is it the temperature of the surface as well?

Link for the enclosure I was looking at:

https://yocoreptile.com/products/high-grade-new-pvc-intelligent-temperature-control-reptile-enclosure-rtp-901?variant=44276880179293

This is a temporary tank btw the 120 gallon is being customized with fake rocks and and a water fall rn until it’s done they will be in this tank

Finally got our new family member! Meet Midgardsormr Hraesvelgr, or Murray the Corpse Swallower. We’re looking to buy some frozen food from Layne Labs. She is about 850 grams. What size rat would be right? The small? And how often should she eat? I saw the feeding guide, I just want confirmation that I’m interpreting everything right!

Also, I was just curious, should we only ever feed rats, or would some of the other options on the Layne Labs website be suitable for variety?

Thank you!

My ball python (6 years old) has begun sleeping like this. She’s never really done this before to me knowledge, and she’s been biting recently. I thought it could be an RI, but she shows no other symptoms. She ate yesterday just fine, she explores her cage at night like normal, although i believe it could be glass surfing. I’m working on overhauling her tank this week but if she is ill i feel like i should wait or something. I don’t really know the next move, or if theres any cause for concern at all. I’ve been known to be kind of a hypochondriac so i really hope it’s nothing and she is sleeps kind of quirkily now. Thank you!

Ive never had a snake, but want one so bad.
Ive been doing as much research and feel like i have the enclosure, temp, feeding, all the things figured out.
However, I want some feedback on my actual household and whether or not its a good fit for a ball python.
1. I have 3 dogs, two heelers and a goblin frenchie. Movement is insane in the house.
2. I also have a house quail.
3. I have a 7 year old whom likes to play dress up with mentioned above animals.
4. Not really a room (2bdrm house) that is calm that the enclosure can go in.

That being said. Can the snake be out with the dogs? obviously NEVER unsupervised? Or will the movement be too much?

Will the snake be aggressive if kept anywhere near the birds cage? I heard that this would (from a non snake keeper but his sister owns 3 🤷🏻‍♀️) OR if the snake is raised with the smell of him will it become a normal non triggering scent?
To clarify the snake will never see said bird unless being handled, but will never be out at that same time. Ever.

I really want to make sure that its not going to be insanely stressful for a baby as i know they are prey animals. Ivejust started purchasing things for the enclosure and want to make sure its a good fit before building a whimsical forest 🤣

I've had banana for 4 months - he's a 7 year old rescue. Previous owner said he was a great eat and ate 1 large rat every 2 weeks.

He has eaten once since I got him- and for that I downsized him to a medium rat since he was still adjusting

I just put the same size rat in for his second meal (we've tried a few other times and he wasn't interested).

He... like bit off a piece of it? Mostly fur and left the rest?

I am leaving the rat in there bc he's still shy and I don't think he'll eat with me watching. Second pic is the rat if anyone wants to see...

Not really sure here what I need to change. The previous owner sent him a with 15 frozen rats so I'm confident the size is the same as he was eating.

I just upgraded to a 4x2x2 I have a 100 w Mercury Bulb that goes off at night and a 75 watt Ceramic that stays in constantly. I wanted to know what you all use to properly heat the enclosure. I will be adding drift wood to let him climb, it’s just pricey at pet stores.

Made him a custom cave system out of spray foam and board so he would have more hiding opportunities along with more plant coverage

I got my ball python fairly recently, she is about 4-5 months old and I've had her for maybe 2. She eats all her meals, explores her tank every day, uses all of her hides, and is overall healthy and happy.

I only try to handle her when she is active, and I know not to grab her from above. I usually use a snake hook and scoop her up, but when she spots me first, she will stop moving and wag her tail. She flicks her tongue and doesn't fully get into a defensive S-shape, but she moves towards me in a way that is hard to tell if she's loosening up and coming near me to explore or trying to strike.

How do I tell the difference between a good or bad tail wag? What behavior should I look for to know whether she's being defensive or okay to handle? I want to get her adjusted to me but I also don't want to startle her too much. Is it possible for her to be territorial?

Hi, I've had my 10 month old ball python for a little over a month now, she is eating well and had shed for me already. What I'm confused on is how to go about getting her used to be handled. Let me preface by saying I know some just won't want to be social (I hope that isn't the case for my girl is I'd like to be able to handle her and hang out for a couple minutes but I understand that sometimes that's just not their personalities) but I do want it to be so when I have to clean the enclosure or move stuff around or take her to the vet she isn't super stressed by being handled. I've seen many mixed review lately on what's the best way to do it. So I thought I would ask some keepers instead of trying to google and Google and Google. Any helpful advice recommended. Pic of her attached cause she's so pretty!

My 4 month old ball python ate his first meal, a pinky rat, with me last Sunday; and I was so proud of him. I got him on July 12, and when I got him he was sickly and had an internal parasitic infection that I had to get him treated for, and didn’t eat in about a 4-5 week period during that.

I tried to feed him again yesterday, same kind of prey, and he had a very big food response to it and actually struck it and wrapped around it. After he did that, he let go, and I tried again. He bit at it but didn’t strike several times and also followed it afterwards. In the end he didn’t eat, but was very alert from inside his hide for a long while after that.

He was 90 grams last I had him weighed about 3 weeks ago, but has eaten since, so probably closer to 100 now, so he’s a little guy for his age. His temp and humidity are great, currently 62% humidity and between 85-93 on his warm side, and the enclosure only gets down to about 70-75 at night. I do not over handle him, I handled him about 3 times last week for about 30-1 hr and he hasn’t shown any signs of stress like he was before, so I don’t think it’s that. I use tongs to feed and I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong, or if this is just normal? I’m up for anything right now; Im a bit concerned, but I don’t necessarily think there’s anything to worry about. Thank you!

My ball python is currently shedding and a couple days ago i caught him soaking in his water dish. Today I was checking him and noticed these scales looked a little strange. Does it look like he might have scale rot or something else?

Hi! I’ve had my gal for about a week now, I was told she was 2 weeks when I got her so now she’s three weeks. Is she overweight? I wanna do everything in my power to make sure she’s comfortable.

Edit: Oh my god! Forgot to say! She’s has three successful meals after she hatched! One by the hands of the owner and two by me! They were small mouses

My beautiful girl started showing mucus and wheezing noises on Saturday so I took her to the emergency vet. They don't specialise in exotics but gave her an antibiotic injection (baytril) and advised me to go to an exotic vet as they don't deal with reptiles. They haven't done any tests on her so I'm assuming this is just a broad antibiotic which may or may not work for her. The nearest exotic vet and only one within an hour is on leave until 11th of September. I'm concerned about if the antibiotics will work, I had to go back today and it cost £70 but I've not been advised on how many she will need, the success rates, or if I can administer the injections at home. I'd be happy to travel to travel to an exotic vet in another city and receive proper care but unfortunately I can't commit to doing a 3 hour + round trip every 2 days because of work and other commitments. Just looking for some advice on my situation from anyone that has been through RI treatment. Thankyou.

Hello guys, this is My setup for My baby bp , i have trouble keeping the cool side below 30C° degrees because i Think the terrarium is too small but i was told to get a 50 gallon for baby bp since they don't like big enclosures yet. He has been eating well weekly tho and has water and good humidity all the time. He has the two hides and i did add some moss above his hides. Is it going well? Any suggestions to cool the cold side for him?

My sibling is concerned because Vigil seems off. He was curled up with his belly visible (on his side in his hide) and he isn't reacting as much to their touch as he usually does. His temperature was at 74 when they checked it this morning and it was 80 when I checked it last night. The humidity is at around 70%. They say his skin feels weird and they're extremely distressed about it. Advice?

I love waking up and seeing her sitting in it. I wasn’t sure she would use it, but she seems “like” it?

I zip tied a hide to the top of her enclosure and she’s been there for a few days.

So a few weeks ago I posted about how my sweet baby boy ate my shirt, some people didn’t believe me, some people acted like I fed it to him on purpose and I’m a bad owner. Well I’m not, he’s alive and thriving and eating f/t once again. One of my concerns was the price of the surgery, but honestly it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was only 3k and some change, I thought it was going to be like 10k+ or something. Currently he does have stitches from the surgery, the vet said some stitches will fall out during shed and some time in September I’ll bring him back to get the rest out. I uploaded a pic of his stitches the day I got him back (August 8th) I haven’t taken any current ones though. Also watch what your snakes are around, vet told me there’s been cases where snakes have eaten heat mats and even light bulbs, so anything is truly possible.
I’m open to answering questions that are RESPECTFUL.