(I am SO happy, I’ve been trying to convince my parents to let me get one for EVER!)
Today my parents finally relented and let me get a snake. The one I got is a ball python, presumably a hatchling/young juvenile. I bought with it a 10 gallon aquarium, a steel mesh locking lid, a dome reflector lamp, a 50 watt spot lamp, a 40 watt red night lamp, 2 bags of aspen bedding (only used 3/4 of one bag which was about 2 inches in the tank) I got a 7″x3″ deep heavy ceramic dog bowl for her water soaking dish (curled up 2 snakes her size could easily fit in the bowl), a big grapevine limb thing to bask and climb on, and 2 pinky and 2 fuzzy or hopper mice, i don’t know what size is what, but I do know the 2 are pinkies because they don’t have any fur. Those are frozen. I also got a little stick on thermometer. When I got home I set her up and sprayed the tank with dechlorinated water. The petstore people said they had fed her today, I need to know when and how is the best way to feed her. I read on a care sheet online I need to provide her a hidey hole, what are some good things to make it out of? I do know that my snake will need a 30 or 40 gallon tank when it get’s older, but the caresheets I read all said 10 is fine for a hatchling/young juvenile. . . Any thing else I need to know from personal experience? She looks like she is either pre or post shed because she has one eye cap and her belly is pinkish, what can i do to make her more comfortable, or should i just leave her alone since i just got her?
I think i will be able to leave her alone, but should i still mist the tank to keep humidity up, or will the big bowl of dechlorinated water be okay for that, at least while she’s destressing and/or shedding?
I put a very small cardboard box in there that is just about the size that she is curled up with a small hole in it that she can go through and smaller holes poked for air. I did put her inside it, because she was curled in the corner stressed looking, so I put her in the box and put the box in the corner where she was.
How am I doing so far with my new ball python?
One Response to “How am I doing so far with my new ball python?”
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I don’t agree with a lot of things most pet stores say, but it seems like you’re on the right track. The main thing to remember is that ball pythons are not display animals, they need to hide most of the day or they will get stressed and refuse to eat.
Her belly is pink because she’s going into shed. Leave her be, she doesn’t need any help. The most important thing at this point is to leave her alone. Baby ball pythons are fairly hard to take care of, especially when coming from a pet store because they were on display. I know you wont want to, but you need to leave her alone for two weeks. Don’t mess with her tank, don’t feed her, don’t touch her, don’t do anything! She needs time to settle in.
I also suggest using newspaper or paper towels as substrate. Aspen, coconut fiber, and other substrates like that can accidentally be eaten by your ball python, impact, and kill your snake. Also, I would crumple up some newspaper and put it in the tank. This will help your bp to feel more secure.
I’m in the process of making my “ball python care” page on my website, but you can check out what I have so far http://www.slitherinsisters.com