Ball head python advice?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
A ball python should never eat pinky mice, or fuzzy mice. A baby ball python is totally capable of eating at least a hopper sized mouse, and in some cases, small adult mice as their first meals straight out of the egg.

Temperature is the next issue. 75-80 is unacceptable and needs to be raised to at least 82-84 degrees ambient with a 90-94 degree hot spot, meaning that at least one small area of the cage is 90-94, with the rest being 82-84. 24/7, no night drops. Especially when they are young.

Hides are equally important. The smaller the better. For ball pythons, a hide that seems too small or something they can barely not fit into is the perfect size for them. A hide with lots of room for them to crawl inside and stretch out kind of defeats the purpose. They feel safe by "feeling" completely closed in by the hide they are in with little or no room to spare.

As far them being picky eaters or refusing to eat for "no reason," I wholeheartedly disagree. I think that a lot of keepers don't meet their needs (temperature, security and the big ones), and this behavior is a reaction to the keeper's husbandry errors. ALL of mine eat voraciously and never go off of food (unless I'm breeding them).

Unfortunately, experience has taught me that a glass tank, heat lamp, single hide, and a water dish is not an adequate setup for a ball python. Plastic enclosures with belly heat is absolultely the way to go with this species.

Hope that helps.
 
thanks every one i did pick one up he is six weeks old, i will post pics, and as of now i have a 50 gallon aquarium with him in it, i might move him temporarily into 10 gallon (i hear this is good?) also easier to maintain a good heat range. next thing, i assume frozen hoppers are the way to go? i can't see putting him in with a live hopper being good as i have read that in some cases the mouse will be able to bite and injure the snake. No offence to earlier posts but i don't just go out and buy an animal except in rare cases like my turtle :P, i have done research but i always like to hear first hand advice, much research is much too general.

Next i have a heat rock? are these alright for ball pythons i know they are considered death traps for bearded dragons?
I like the pot sauna advice i will work on that first thing tomorrow,
next(sorry for the length!)
I am going to build an expansion to the top of the cage give climbing room, secure a door to guarantee no escape routines. this will be made of chicken wire and wood, is this a bad idea due to the ventilation and breeze?
Lastly i have a ceramic heat emitter i have it set up so he can't climb into it an burn, a heat bulb. and i am setting up a heated blanket under the tank. I have two small water dishes that will soon be changed to a small poolish area under the heat source (bad idea?) thanks and i really appreciate all of the help from you guys!
(pics of set up coming shortly)
 
Don't use heat rocks for anything. They are dangerous for any animal. Put him in the 10g for now. BPs dont really move around much and the smaller size would make it feel more secure. Buy a heat pad that sticks to the bottom of the tank. These are designed to be the rite temp and can be kept on 24/7. BPs only stay on the bottom and don't climb so there is no need to add to the enclosure, because it will probabaly never use the extra space except when it trys to excape. As for the top, you can buy screen covers that fit the top of the aquarium and they have clips sold seperatly that hold the top on and my BP has never escaped with that setup. Here is a video by Ralph Davis about setting up a good basic ball python setup. He is the king of ball pythons, and has an extensive archive of videos on you tube partaining to ball pythons.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx8FrA1Gzlk

Part2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E79FlbWMZA
 
I'm not sure if an "expansion" to the top of the enclosure is necessary as ball pythons are generally ground dwelling species and are a bit clumsy when climbing. Not to say that they never climb....but it is not a normal part of their routines. Also, having that much open space at the top of the tank will drastically lower your humidity. In fact you may find it necessary to partially cover the screen to maintain proper humidity levels.

I agree with the previous posts that a heat rock is a no-no. A heat pad under the tank is sufficient, but you MUST put some type of controller on it...either a rheostat or preferably a thermostat. Without some type of control, most heatpads will get too hot and burn your BP.
 
Throw the hot rock away. They are dangerous to any animal unfortunate enough to have one in its enclosure. Belly heat is the best for pythons. If you insist on keeping the snake in a glass tank, a heat pad (w/thermostat or rheostate) in conjunction with a low wattage heat lamp is the best way to go. And even then, maintaining appropriate humidity levels (depending on the climate you live in) is near impossible in glass enclosures. If you ever notice that your snake is shedding in pieces, your humidity is too low. Snakes should shed in once piece that doesn't dry out and flake all over the place.

Use a thermometer to tweak your heating setup to acheive 90-92 in the hotspot, and low 80s everywhere else.

Climbing decor is unnecessary for ball pythons. At best, they'll shift it around and rearrange it as they navigate around it.

Also, a 50 gallon is huge for a baby ball python. Again, if you insist on using a fish enclosure (aka aquarium) for a snake, the 10 gallon is going to be a better choice for a baby ball.

Hope that helps.
 
Ok i thought that would be the case with the heat rock, i haven't had it plugged in, because of that assumption. I do have the wire top on the aquarium right now so could having the expansion hurt at all? was just thinking that my earlier breeze theory didn't apply because i realize it is already a wire mesh top.
 
Ok thanks alot all! always a great site for actual feedback! An first hand experience. I always do my research but it helps to have the collected body of knowledge.
So as of tonight i will either be moving him into a 10 Gallon. Or Keeping him in the 50(sorry its a 50 not 40) Giving him more hiding places. And i will be picking up a undertank heat pad.(Luckly my GF works at our LFS so i can get a bit of a discount).
If i keep him in the 50 witch might be the case i will be moving the ceramic heat emiter to the expansion and then adding the heat pad. Any advice on this?
 
Seriously...you don't need the height expansion on the cage. All that will do is make the tank more difficult to heat evenly. Your snake will spend 99.99999% of its life on the ground, and thats where you need to have the right temperatures.

A lot of people go overboard with cage setups for ball pythons, and they end up with a cage that is heated improperly, hard to keep clean, and overall not optimal for the animal.

The most important things to consider when setting up a ball python are these things: Temperature, Security, and Sanitation.

A ball python that has a warm, safe, clean place to crawl into is a healthy ball python.

Large, extensively decorated setups tend to have improper temperatures, lots of space between hiding places, heat, and water sources, and tend to be cleaned MUCH less frequently by keepers.

A small, simplistic cage that is easy to heat, clean, and have appropriate hides is much better for ball pythons.

I would consider a different species - by your posts it seems that you are focused on having more of a "display" than anything else. I'd look into boas if you are looking for something more active that has arboreal(climbing) tendencies. A ball python is going to hide and stay out of sight most of the time.
 
elevatethis;3091993; said:
Seriously...you don't need the height expansion on the cage. All that will do is make the tank more difficult to heat evenly. Your snake will spend 99.99999% of its life on the ground, and thats where you need to have the right temperatures.

A lot of people go overboard with cage setups for ball pythons, and they end up with a cage that is heated improperly, hard to keep clean, and overall not optimal for the animal.

The most important things to consider when setting up a ball python are these things: Temperature, Security, and Sanitation.

A ball python that has a warm, safe, clean place to crawl into is a healthy ball python.

Large, extensively decorated setups tend to have improper temperatures, lots of space between hiding places, heat, and water sources, and tend to be cleaned MUCH less frequently by keepers.

A small, simplistic cage that is easy to heat, clean, and have appropriate hides is much better for ball pythons.

I would consider a different species - by your posts it seems that you are focused on having more of a "display" than anything else. I'd look into boas if you are looking for something more active that has arboreal(climbing) tendencies. A ball python is going to hide and stay out of sight most of the time.
Click to expand...


Well put. :clap
 
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