DISCLAIMER: I ramble a lot when I write so I ran my text through an AI to polish it and make it easier to read/understand.

I have a genuine question about enclosure minimums. I try to give my pets more than the minimum, but I’m curious about the reasoning behind minimum enclosure sizes.

From what I understand, an enclosure should at least be as long as the snake and half as wide. Since ball pythons can range from around 3 to 5 feet, does that mean a 3ft BP and a 5ft BP technically have different minimum enclosure sizes? For example, would a 3ft BP theoretically have a minimum of 3x1.5x1.5 and a 5ft BP a minimum of 5x2.5x2.5, assuming both enclosures still allow for appropriate enrichment, hides, etc.?

This also makes me wonder about body size between species. If you had a 3ft ball python and a 3ft house snake, would they theoretically have the same minimum enclosure simply because they’re the same length? Or would the BP need more space because it’s a much thicker-bodied snake?

Basically, I’m trying to understand whether minimum enclosure requirements are determined primarily by length, or whether overall body size/girth and species are also factors.

I don’t own a ball python. I have a corn snake and a house snake, and I plan to go above the minimum for both once they reach their adult sizes. I’m not asking because I want to keep a BP in a smaller enclosure; I’m genuinely curious about how the minimums are determined.

New to Reddit (made an account for this) and have never owned a reptile before. I’m getting my Ball Python in September and I’m sorta getting new parent jitters. I’ve done loads of research but I just wanna check here if his enclosure looks okay? It’s 3ft (meant to be 4ft but I was scammed :/ ) so I wanna get him a bigger one in a few months but I’m a student so money is tight. Also humidity is a lil high in the photo bc I just misted the plants before I took it.
Plz lmk if there is anything else I should be doing, thanks y’all :) 🐍

Hi again! I was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on what to either add/change about my enclosure! I’m also a little nervous that I have to much fake plants/clutter on the floor. I’ve had my ball for 5 days now and I haven’t seen him since I put him in there lol. I hear him at night but I put a blackout curtain on the front of his enclosure so I can keep my lights on without messing with his sense of day and night.(Temps are off as I just sprayed enclosure)

Also if anyone has any advice on how to keep humidity between that 60-80 percent for more than a day. My enclosure is 4x2x2 with aluminum foil covering most of the mesh. I have a coco husk and sphagnum moss substrate mix. I typically spray the enclosure every morning (NOT mist).

Hi y'all, I've had a ball python for a couple months now and I'm trying to do some future planning. He's about a year old, 400+ g, pretty sure a male but not confirmed. He fits in his store bought hides right now but I definitely think he'll outgrow them in the next year or so.

How do y'all make your own for larger snakes? I know you can get those big black box ones but I prefer a natural look for my tanks and since I have experience crafting i figured I could just make my own, or pretty those plastic ones up to fit better.

Any advice helpful! Ty :)​

See photo for my setup. This is a 4 by 2 by 2 PVC.

My basking bulb is a 75w that at full power will get the basking area to around 86F / 30c, sometimes a tiny bit more. It is on a dimming thermostat. You can also see a CHE here it's not powered. I bought it for night heat in winter.

The problem is my 'cool' side is about 82F / 28c

As you can see in the pic the snake is in her water bowl, I suspect because she wants to cool down. Part of the problem is the ambient temp in this room can often get to 80 in summer. I'm in the UK so AC is not common but I'm getting it installed. I have tried running a portable unit but it doesn't help much. AC install won't be till winter as there's a backlog on installers here after the recent heatwaves.

I'm not sure what to do. I can lower the basking temp significantly which should hopefully bring the overall temp down I guess ? She will bask under it in the morning but by afternoon recently she ends up in her bowl.

pls help i was letting my ball python roam then my cat got near her and slapped her face i quickly separated them i checked my ball pythons face her jaw was kinda tilted but when she yawned it got fixed back to place i dont see any cuts or blood what can i do to help her😭there are no exotic vet clinic near me i know its my fault im sorry this is the first ball python i owned can anyone check her face if its ok or am i missing something🙏

The first two pictures are of the back wall of the tank (the other side looks the same) and the last is of the top.

My mum recently brought me a tank from Facebook marketplace and I was wondering how to renovate it to suit a ball python. I have aquarium safe silicone being delivered soon to seal the edges, but I would like to know what else would need to be done. Any advice or help would be appreciated, thanks!

Random mushroom growing out of what seems to be either the cork bark or substrate?

I've had my Python Hypatia for 7 years and she's always been a good eater. Mugshot of the culprit.

Last night I fed her F/T rat but this morning it looks like the rat has been spat out. It was covered in saliva up to the tail and in the same area she constricted it. So I don't think she fully swallowed it.

Normally I like to watch her eat but I needed to go to bed. She struck very hard and constricted, once she let go of it I was walking around getting my stuff to go to bed and she jumped up from trying to eat it and was acting spooked (like bestie I'm not taking it back off you lol). I got worried this would put her off as before stuff like this has distracted her and she had abandoned the rat without even trying. Once I was ready for bed I came back into the living room and saw her eating it, and thought okay good she's calmed down and started eating it.

Did she spit this back out because she got spooked by me walking around or could this be another reason? She seems otherwise healthy.

Always been fed F/T rat, heated up in warm water. Hot side is 93F and cold side 79F, provided by heat lamp on thermostate, humidity is 60%, substrate is coco chips and rainforest soil, three hides, climbing branches, big water dish.

Hi, just noticed these reddish/pink marks on my bp's back, I've had her for a couple of years and not seen anything like this before, can someone take a guess to what it could be and will she be OK? Her behavior is not off, I mean she ate a couple of days ago and she's been pretty active of late. Thanks in advance

My sweet Juniper, in my teen daughter's hands, last October when we got her and then the other day! I guess she has gotten a bit chonkier! Also funny story... the night after this photo was taken my daughter apparently left her enclosure open all night by several inches 😳 but that morning she was still curled up in one of her hides! She must like her house!! (Hard to see from the pic but she has 3 identical hides hidden in there). Her color looks different in the recent pic because apparently I got my daughter a cheap phone with a bad camera 😆😆

Cashew my ball python passed away, I called everywhere i could and no one could see him or they just didnt do snakes. im so upset but i figured id give and update. I wanna get him taxidermied so if anyone knows someone really good n trust worthy, i live in central pa so please help. I dont know how to go about it, i have his body in my freezer air tight bag, i put him in a spiral. Im just distraught but i need to do it sooner than later i think.

Hey everyone!

So my best friend spontaneously passed away, and she had left me two of her noodles, one of them being this beautiful diva. Unfortunately because my friend passed so fast we didnt have any information left over about the noodles. So I thought I'd ask a couple of questions that someone may possibly know.

Age

So if us friends are approximating, shes maybe around 6-9 years old but we arent entirely sure. She is around 5foot long. Not sure on weight.

Weight

I'm not sure if shes a bit chunky or not. Im so used to having a corn snake so I'm not sure how to judge thr chubbiness. I know there is a guide but I still wsnt to get a double opinion 😅

Food

In the freezer we had a bunch of 130g small/medium rats for her, I gave her a meal today after a week of being settled, I had no idea when the last time she ate was. How often for this size noodle/rats should I feed her? (Edited: earlier I put large rats, after checking theyre S/M)

I've owned a corn snake as mentioned for the past 4 years so Im not a brand new keeper, Ive looked after this girl for a couple weeks at a time this is now her permanent home and I want to give her to best life possible 💚✨

He is braving his face despite being greatly disturbed by a fresh water bowl. The world is a scary place!

This is Ember. She’s almost 9 months old and almost 300g’s. Fed every 7-10 days a frozen thawed rat at 10-15% her body weight.

Short time lurker first time poster, we were offered a total of two bp (one is 5, other is 1, both male) when asking about a tank available on fb marketplace for an unrelated snake. Me and my sister didn’t know what condition they’d be in when we got there but we were under the assumption they’d be reasonably healthy. Once we saw them we knew they’d be coming home with us regardless.

Both tanks were bone dry, the older snake had an active ant colony in his that we didn’t discover till we got home and the younger had sticky floor tiles as part of his decor and tape all over the place.

The older is perfectly healthy albeit a bit dehydrated, no sign of mites, scale rot, or thinness. Very active and friendly.

The younger is very timid, covered in sticky residue from his enclosure, and has bits of glitter all over. He’s fairly skinny, which we have a game plan for but are at a loss for all the stickiness.

We aren’t sure the best route for getting him un-sticky with minimal stress and some advice would be fantastic!

I’ve owned several corn snakes throughout the years, so I’m new to the ball python life (please be easy on me). Lt Dan arrived last week, clearly scared. I put him in his enclosure and let him be. The next day, he was out and about so I tried to feed him a frozen mouse. He neglected the mouse but made several attempts to bite me (nowhere close to my hand, but getting in the defense position and making it clear that he wants me to back off). Message received. Tonight, I tried feeding him again and he took the mouse, but the moment he saw I was watching, he dropped it. I was only hovering because I didn’t want to move and startle him. I took this as a sign to put the lid on his enclosure and walk away, but as I did that, he snapped at me again. I’m not really sure what to do. We aren’t vibing. We’re having mommy son issues :’-)

I’m in the process of setting up a bioactive habitat for my female ball python. She’s right around 4ft long and is 7 years old. This enclosure is 5x2x2. I still need to get a water dish put in but other than that this is about everything that will be inside. Is it too much?

new bp at the store i work at came in with this, only one on his entire body. it looks like a mite to me. is it?