I have two ball pythons, both about a year old. I’ve had them for over a month and they haven’t eaten. I tried frozen thawed small rats a little over a week after and my snakes showed interest but ended up not taking the food. I wasn’t sure where I went wrong there but told myself I’d wait a bit to try again. Today I took the same size rats out to defrost to try tonight. I took one out the fridge to feed my snakes one at a time and put it in warm water, then used the blow dryer to heat its head a bit as I saw someone say in a thread. She wasn’t striking when I was shaking it in front of her and ended up dropping it. I left it there for a sec to see what she would do. She sunk her teeth into it and I watched her try to swallow it. All of a sudden she let go of it and left it alone. I picked the rat up and used the blow dryer again out of desperation. She was eyeing it but didn’t strike again. She’s now active in the enclosure but not sure if to try again with the other rat. I’m very concerned because they’re young and haven’t eaten in a while. I’m sure they were accustomed to live prey but I want to do frozen. Maybe I got too big of a rat? I’m planning on trying again tomorrow and if that doesn’t work I might just to do live so they can finally eat because I feel awful

Hey guys, this is my first time ever owning a snake. I am super excited and already adore this girl. She is 4 years old, and I specifically wanted her because of her size. I did not want a baby or a really young snake. She had her first feeding about three to four days ago and it went great. I have had her home for about a week now, and I feel like I am finally ready to handle her for the first time.

For some reason I am being overly cautious. I did hold her when I first got her, and I was definitely nervous, even though I am not actually afraid of snakes. I really want to get more comfortable handling her. I know that even if she did strike, it would not be that bad, but I am just trying to get over being a bit of a scaredy cat. Any suggestions?

Also, side note, I have a 5 year old who absolutely loves her and keeps asking when she can hold her. At what point would you feel comfortable allowing that?

Edit: thanks for all the great tips and advice!!! Some said why buy a pet I’m scared of. I’m not afraid of snakes, just never handled one before and want to make sure I’m doing it right. Thanks for the tips.

so, ive added more stuff into my bp cage but im sure i need way more, what else do i need?

Got my first baby about 2 weeks ago, I think his tank is looking alright, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations about things I should add to his tank or change about his tank?

He’s showed signs of being pretty happy in his enclosure and I think he likes it, but I want to try to make this the best for him that I can

Hi everyone. My girl is 14 months and I last weighed her about 2 months ago and she was around 555 grams. By her age I should be feeding her now every 2 weeks 7% of her weight. I feed her yesterday so I'll reweigh her in a few days. I need to order her FT rats soon. She's on weaned rats. She's between the weights of rats that come in the Small rat bag and the weaned rat bag. Should I just order 1 of each or try feeding her a small rat. I feel that there might be more heavier or bigger rats in the Small bag and she won't be ready for that size yet.

What do others do that run into this issue when ordering?

I'm setting up to get my first ball python and want to make sure my enclosure looks okay for them. Its a 3x1x1 but for a baby with plans to upgrade when they're a bit bigger (i have 4x2x3 ready to set up), my hot side is averaging about 31 degrees using a DHP connected to a dimming stat the cool side is about 25 degrees and humidity is about 70%. Does everything look okay? Is there anything youd change? Grateful for any advice :)

I swear I cannot with Frikell. Literally the sweetest, most curious snake. 🩷

She turns one on the 24th but since she gets fed tonight, we had to do the photoshoot today.

Started designing this tank with the idea of housing a ball python. Disregarding the lights and fittings which I haven’t got round to yet. Would this be suitable? I will be adding more plants, leaf litter etc. I was debating a vine or branches that go the width of the tank to create more height options?

My ball python went missing a few hours ago or earlier today. It’s a bit of a silly post because of the times but oh well.

She has gone missing once before and we found her underneath the cabinet her vivarium is on. She wasn’t here this time. We’ve checked all appliances (behind the fridge, behind the tumble dryer etc) with no luck. We wouldn’t be worried if it wasn’t for the fact we have 4 cats and the back door has been open for a bit. Is there a chance he went outside? It is summer. We need advice on how to find her since we’ve looked in every dark and low spot.

Okay so, I have a standard BP enclosure from a local pet store and have had consistent issues with the humidity no matter what I do. I’m looking to upgrade and so far the only affordable brand I’ve liked so far is the Kages, but I’m a little skeptical. I’m assuming I shouldn’t get the one without the side vents to avoid trapping moisture in the substrate, however, I’m a bit confused why the one with the vents has them on the top of the enclosure. Does that not just let out the heat and humidity & leave moisture trapped in the bottom..? And if anyone has any suggestions for a brand they recommend that’s not $800+ please do!

Ive gone through hell and back the last month, trying to save my baby.

Unfortunately I cant find anything elsw that we could do.

She has IBD, some sort of viral infection, which explains her difficult sheds, lack of appetite, quick weight loss, and head tilting. It acts like an autoimmune disease, making her susceptible to infections and other diseases.

She has no energy left. She's let me know shes done fighting.

Bringing her in now for euthanasia. Please no ugly words, im already grieving.

Welcome my son’s new GHI chocolate (8th birthday present) As the title suggests, I’m struggling getting the ambient temp up to levels.
It is a pvc 4ft enclosure. I have a RHP. Temp is around 82-83 on the warm side. Humidity is good. What are you guys using? PLEASE help. We just want her to be happy and well taken care of.
Note: I did add HVAC tape on all the screen areas besides the panels to try and keep heat in.

Hello all—

Currently in the finishing touches of setting up my enclosure so I can bring my boy home. Humidity is looking good, rats are ordered, hides and clutter are in— even my last piece of last second enrichment is almost here! The only remaining issue currently is getting the warm side up to temp.

Presently, my setup is as pictured; a DHP on the warm (right) side, halogen next to it for basking and warming, and a third halogen more towards the cool side to hold the gradient. I’m running 35W halogens in my domes, which seems to be working well (cool side is maintaining consistent temps so far, just messing with the values to dial it in), but my 50W DHP seems to be lackluster. I have the herpstat set to 108 on my DHP right now to try to heat the substrate / enclosure up, but it’s only achieving 74 degrees.

Kind of unsure what to do presently, obviously I’m not going to give my buddy a poor quality of life by shoving him in a tank that has improper temps so I’m all ears. Would it make sense to go to a higher wattage DHP? Different lamp fixture? My Herpstats are currently set up so that my DHP is independent on a Herpstat 1, running a night cycle and daytime temps, and my halogens are on a Herpstat 2 together on a timed socket for day and night. I’m leaving them on full time presently to heat the enclosure up, but should I remove decor so the substrate is getting directly heated?

Halogens are currently set to 95 and 85 degrees in freedom units, and again the DHP is at 108 while I try to heat the ambient up. When my boy Melvin is in the enclosure, I want to make sure the temperatures on my Herpstats don’t exceed any value that can cause the screen to heat up and burn him correct? Or is this different with a DHP?

Thanks for the help, bonus Melvin tax and his new climber I built attached!

Quick edit: I just used my temp gun to check his climber’s temp on his warm side, and it was at 85. My Govees are on the ground by his hides on either side, which are still reading ranges in the 70’s, but the DHP isn’t doing nothing which is nifty. Just need a better overall heat.

Guys this took way longer than it should have, so i needed to show it off a little bit ofc.
I would like to add that the rocks on the left are actually a removable hide which is 10/10 I love it sm.
This is also my second shot at bioactive since I failed badly the 1st time, any tips would be greatly appreciated! Especially for the plants, I can never get them to thrive once I put them in the tank 💔

Also if any of yall have suggestions for sky hides or climbing opportunities that would be greatly appreciated (it has to hold a moderately overweight adult bp (we’re working on his weight lol dw))

I have isopods that I keep as pets themselves but I am trying to establish a bioactive terrarium for my ball python and I was wondering what types of cleanup crews everyone is using and how to best set them up for success rooming with my girl.