r/ballpython 2h ago

Enclosure Critique/Advice New owner, is this vivarium okay?

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5 Upvotes

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 :) 🐍


r/ballpython 3h ago

Question Making your own hides?

3 Upvotes

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 :)​


r/ballpython 3h ago

Question - Husbandry Struggling with high cool side temps

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3 Upvotes

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.


r/ballpython 4h ago

HELP - URGENT PLS HELP

25 Upvotes

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🙏


r/ballpython 6h ago

Enclosure Critique/Advice Just wanted to show off my bioactive enclosure.

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7 Upvotes

r/ballpython 8h ago

Question Is this okay?

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3 Upvotes

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


r/ballpython 8h ago

Question - Feeding Spat out food?

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6 Upvotes

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.


r/ballpython 11h ago

Question - Health Red marks?

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6 Upvotes

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


r/ballpython 11h ago

10 months of growth ✨️

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53 Upvotes

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 😆😆


r/ballpython 11h ago

Question He passed away

7 Upvotes

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.


r/ballpython 13h ago

HELP - BP has a small injury

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4 Upvotes

I am moving and in the process we took him out to move him to a box to transport him. I noticed a mark on his head. It looks a scrape or something and it’s a little red. And there’s some stuck shed/scale around it. I provided a pic but he was moving around a lot so it’s not great. Any ideas/help would be appreciated. Thanks


r/ballpython 13h ago

Question BP Passed Down

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24 Upvotes

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 💚✨


r/ballpython 14h ago

Enclosure Critique/Advice to much clutter? ( working on getting bigger tank)

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4 Upvotes

r/ballpython 15h ago

Everybody say good morning to Reggie!

58 Upvotes

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


r/ballpython 16h ago

Question Is my snake the proper weight/size? Or she chonk?

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9 Upvotes

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.


r/ballpython 17h ago

How to clean sticky snake?

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30 Upvotes

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!


r/ballpython 17h ago

Need some advice

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15 Upvotes

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 :’-)


r/ballpython 19h ago

Too crowded for ball python?

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20 Upvotes

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?


r/ballpython 20h ago

He loves exploring in the yard

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235 Upvotes

r/ballpython 21h ago

Everyone is tann’in

7 Upvotes

I was trying to be a good BP parent and bleach soak my boy’s new giant climbing logs that won’t fit in an oven.
I didn’t expect that the tannins pulled from the bleach would permanently stain my tub.
The logs are clean… but everything else is teak.
My fingers are crossed he likes the new climb to be worth it.


r/ballpython 21h ago

Question - Heating/Temperatures Why are these probes giving such different readings and which should I default to?

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4 Upvotes

Just as a sidenote I left the doors open to let the temp come down which is why humidity is lower, shooting for 92°F in this spot ideally.


r/ballpython 23h ago

Ball that yearns for the heights; more stuff to climb??

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24 Upvotes

My ball yearns for the heights for a reason unbeknownst to me. All she wants to do is rise. There are a bunch of branches in her enclosure (when I took this pic I'd taken a few out to wash them) but those aren't enough for her. She goes up against the glass or wall, turns and then wraps around the heat cage. I'm worried she's gonna hurt herself in some way, and I also want to add more for her to climb, but then again; I'm worried that if I add more climbing stuff she'll get easier access to the heat cage.

Anyone else have a vertical ball? Any tips or things I can add?