Ball Python owners? | General Discussion

I want one...soooo badly. I have forever and a day. We are getting our house, have the keys just waiting on contractor to finish up. I'm thinking I want to find a space in the office area for a scaly friend; but I want to do it right, and there isn't really a place here to get a good enclosure.

So where did you get yours/ how did you make it (whichever applies to you)? I know I need a decent sized one when they get bigger, and prefer smaller as hatchies. So whats a good size to have for smaller snakes and still have a warm and cool side? Also how do you keep up with the percentage of humidity in the enclosure, do they make some sort of meters?

DianaMoon

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January 19, 2015 09:16:10

I want one...soooo badly. I have forever and a day. We are getting our house, have the keys just waiting on contractor to finish up. I'm thinking I want to find a space in the office area for a scaly friend; but I want to do it right, and there isn't really a place here to get a good enclosure.

So where did you get yours/ how did you make it (whichever applies to you)? I know I need a decent sized one when they get bigger, and prefer smaller as hatchies. So whats a good size to have for smaller snakes and still have a warm and cool side? Also how do you keep up with the percentage of humidity in the enclosure, do they make some sort of meters?

@DianaMoon My sister has one, but I take care of it when she's away.

BPs are a great choice for a snake! They are super docile.
Tank size is something of a debate in the BP community from what i understand. Large scale breeders will keep them in tubs just big enough for a hot/cold side differential, whereas casual keepers like my sister keep them in enclosures as big as 36inx18x18, complete with live plants and everything. Seeing as you're only getting one, here's what my sister did:

For a younger juvenile, start with a 20 gallon tank.
For an adult, a 40 gallon breeder tank (these are tanks that have more floor space rather than width), or an exo-terra 36x18x12 (or 36x18x18 if your BP likes to climb, and some do) would be good. Pretty much anything 40 gallons+ with more floor space rather than height is ideal.
Exo-terras are expensive, but they are NICE. They have front-opening doors so you can be on the snake's level instead of having to reach down into the tank from above.

Definitely check your local craigslist for cheap deals, and keep and eye out for Petco's dollar-a-gallon sale.

They do make humidity meters! Check petco, petsmart, or any local petshop. Amazon will have them as well.
For BPs, make sure they have a water bowl large enough for them to soak in. That will help a little with humidity. Using an under-the-tank heat pad rather than a heat lamp with also help maintain humidity. Other than that, occasional misting with a dollar-store spray bottle works just fine. If you keep having issues, covering, say, half of the top of the tank with foil, a damp washcloth, or plastic wrap cane also helps.

Pitbull

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January 19, 2015 10:46:03

@DianaMoon My sister has one, but I take care of it when she's away.

BPs are a great choice for a snake! They are super docile.
Tank size is something of a debate in the BP community from what i understand. Large scale breeders will keep them in tubs just big enough for a hot/cold side differential, whereas casual keepers like my sister keep them in enclosures as big as 36inx18x18, complete with live plants and everything. Seeing as you're only getting one, here's what my sister did:

For a younger juvenile, start with a 20 gallon tank.
For an adult, a 40 gallon breeder tank (these are tanks that have more floor space rather than width), or an exo-terra 36x18x12 (or 36x18x18 if your BP likes to climb, and some do) would be good. Pretty much anything 40 gallons+ with more floor space rather than height is ideal.
Exo-terras are expensive, but they are NICE. They have front-opening doors so you can be on the snake's level instead of having to reach down into the tank from above.

Definitely check your local craigslist for cheap deals, and keep and eye out for Petco's dollar-a-gallon sale.

They do make humidity meters! Check petco, petsmart, or any local petshop. Amazon will have them as well.
For BPs, make sure they have a water bowl large enough for them to soak in. That will help a little with humidity. Using an under-the-tank heat pad rather than a heat lamp with also help maintain humidity. Other than that, occasional misting with a dollar-store spray bottle works just fine. If you keep having issues, covering, say, half of the top of the tank with foil, a damp washcloth, or plastic wrap cane also helps.

@nagatai

I looked at the exo-terras and man they are nice! I do like the whole side door, makes it seem less like a predator. And from the reviews I found people seemed pretty satisfied with them so unless I find something like godly i'll probably end up getting one or two of those depending on the age of snake.

I've never seen them in local shops, but we just got petco and petsmart this year so I've only been in a couple of times, and not really for long enough to look at whats really available in store.

But they do have them listed online so thats a plus.

DianaMoon

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January 19, 2015 14:03:53

@nagatai

I looked at the exo-terras and man they are nice! I do like the whole side door, makes it seem less like a predator. And from the reviews I found people seemed pretty satisfied with them so unless I find something like godly i'll probably end up getting one or two of those depending on the age of snake.

I've never seen them in local shops, but we just got petco and petsmart this year so I've only been in a couple of times, and not really for long enough to look at whats really available in store.

But they do have them listed online so thats a plus.

Aquariums and all glass cages aren't really ideal for ball pythons. I would definitely recommend getting a PVC enclosure like the ones from Animal Plastics or Boaphile. A T8 is a perfect size for an adult ball python (48x24x12). You can get a divider for the cage when it's young and then remove it when it's time to upgrade. I only have AP cages tho, I don't really know much about boaphile but they do have a good rep. Remember that your bare minimum for a snake is the enclosure, a heating element (heat mats for bps), a thermostat (REALLY IMPORTANT!!!), and hides/waterbowls/etc.
I actually don't have a ball python, but I keep other snakes and I way over research everything so let me know if you have any questions!

EDIT: forgot to ping, sorry @DianaMoon

slothbug

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January 19, 2015 14:14:48

Aquariums and all glass cages aren't really ideal for ball pythons. I would definitely recommend getting a PVC enclosure like the ones from Animal Plastics or Boaphile. A T8 is a perfect size for an adult ball python (48x24x12). You can get a divider for the cage when it's young and then remove it when it's time to upgrade. I only have AP cages tho, I don't really know much about boaphile but they do have a good rep. Remember that your bare minimum for a snake is the enclosure, a heating element (heat mats for bps), a thermostat (REALLY IMPORTANT!!!), and hides/waterbowls/etc.
I actually don't have a ball python, but I keep other snakes and I way over research everything so let me know if you have any questions!

EDIT: forgot to ping, sorry @DianaMoon

morgan: 31, he / they - art shop

Last edited on Jan 19, 2015 14:15:09 by slothbug