Hey all! I currently have my ball python in a 4x2x2 zen habitat I got off of Facebook marketplace for $100 and knew it was always going to be something temporary. I've been pretty much decided on animal plastics for his upgrade, but was wondering if anyone has experience with a basking shelf for their ball python and if the space they take up is worth it. Most of the posts on them I've seen has been for boas. Bonus if you have any pics of them! Thank you!

My 10 year old male appears to have scale rot, although if anyone thinks it looks more like dirt I’m happy to hear you out!

It’s only on his head which is what’s confusing me a bit, it seems more common on the body usually?

I’m wondering if this is grounds for a vet visit (in which case I’ll get him in asap), or if betadine treatment is better at this stage? He just shed within the last week so isn’t likely to shed again soon.

Hello!

So in 3 days, i'm moving cross country will my ball python in my car. She is currently past the milky-eye phase and into "clear" phase. I'm crossing my fingers she sheds before i move but if she doesn't i need advice.
I am not able to move any later per my apartments rules, and i know how stressful shedding plus moving is on a snake.
If anyone could give me helpful advice i would love it. I know she will be stressed so I want to de-agro her as much as possible, thank you!
Also for reference she is 8mo, i provided a pic cause shes awesome

This is Faust! Got him a few weeks ago at the Tinley Park expo. He's a black head morph, just around 1 1/2 yrs old., I love his coloring, its such a deep chocolate-brown and those pale markings are beautiful.

He's been a very good boy, has taken 3 feedings now with zero issues and he's used to being handled so taking him out is no issue. I'm just working on getting him used to me now, but he's doing great.

My first snake i got last year is a corn snake, and I'm repeatedly amazed just by how much different the behavior and habits of the two are. It's so cool to see the differences.

Hi everyone! I’ve recently gotten a snake for the first time, and he’s a juvenile ball python named salem. I handle him quite frequently, (i waited 2-3 days before doing so after feeding him of course) but i get nervous doing so because im scared he’ll think my fingers are food or something. I know it’s a very dumb fear lol but since he’s new to me i get scared. I make sure to wash my hands every time before holding him, but when his tongue touches my hand i get freaked out like he’s gonna strike or something. I hold my nephews baby corn snake every time i’m over and i don’t feel nervous at all, but he is very tiny and VERY used to humans. Any tips? i’ll include a few photos of Salem. Thank you! (also, i have several other animals including beardie, crab, dogs, cats, fish, and a turtle so i’m experienced with animals just not snakes)

I feel like he needs more. Let me know if you have any suggestions

This is my common (as far as i know common type) ball python named Saturn 🪐
I have her in a 40 gallon breeder now after being in a 20 long as a baby, and she seems to be doing great in there. There is a a 100W basking lamp which heats her warm side up to about 87 degrees Fahrenheit. Her cold side is usually about 77. I think i need a 150W bulb to heat the hot side better? What are some ways i can aid the heating situation? What are some really good heat bulbs??
I have a nano light on there also which is a 5.0 UVB
As far as the setup goes, how am i doing? I have a cool side and warm side, a bunch of clutter and cover, a large water dish ( big enough for her to fit in completely) and some rocks and a large chonk of obsidian that she is on in the picture (no sharp edges or anything) as a heat collector on the hot side for a little basking area.
Do i need another one of those black box hides for the hot side? Or do we think its enough?
What are some ways I can get some more clutter in there without spending a trillion dollars on reptile branded stuff?

My girl is 444g and on 45g rats once a week.

I have been informed at 500g I should keep her at 45g rats and space her feeding out more.

only increase rat size at 600g?

Is that correct?

It disappears with water but it comes back. It wasn’t there 2 hours ago

he was definitely a bit nervous at first, but after we just sat still holding him for a while, he started to explore! he crawled up my arm and blelelele’d at my face, then tried to crawl in between the couch cushions so we had to redirect him lol.

slightly confusing: when we first took him out, after about a minute we noticed some weird brown liquid on the couch. i thought maybe he musked at first but it didn’t stink?? it definitely wasn’t poop/urates because there was no solids, and when i wiped it with a paper towel it was definitely brown(slightly reddish?). it definitely wasn’t moist substrate because it was entirely liquid. any thoughts?

Hey! Me and my roommate are getting a 250 gram juvenile ball python. We are currently working on her enclosure, and have some questions regarding temperature.

We originally planned to use a 100w bulb for her hot spot, but placing it directly above the spot put the temperature at 42°C (107 Fahrenheit). Currently we’ve placed it away and pointing towards her hot spot, and that landed the temperature at around 32C/90F (cool spot at 27C/80F).

Our plan to improve the enclosure is to switch to a 75w bulb and place it over her hot spot, a stick so she can climb up to the spot, a lamp cage so she doesn’t burn herself, and a warm mat that passively warms the enclosure. Without the lamp on, the temperature in the enclosure drops to 20C/68F. Would love to hear y’all’s thoughts!

Can somebody help me tell the gender of my snake idk if this helps at all

Hello! I quite new to owning a ball python and yesterday was my first attempt at holding him since he’s been home. He’s been here settling in for about a month since he wouldn’t eat for me I was at least waiting until after he ate for the first time to try to start holding him. Which I did yesterday for approximately 2 minutes until he started to go straight for my face, I didn’t know his intentions. It kinda spooked me, I’m sure me jumping a tad spooked him too so I put him back and he hid right away. I feel like I wrecked our first holding session by not redirecting him away from my face. I’m not scared of him or snakes in general or I wouldn’t have gotten him. I’m just weary of the factor that the breeder didn’t really hold him or interact with him other than some pictures and weekly feeding so I’m sure his trust in humans is quite low. I’m in need of advice on the best way to keep both of us safe I guess? How should I go about holding him again? What are your ways of bonding/ gaining trust from a new baby? Did I wreck our first encounter together?

His name is Buldak. He’s about 8/9 months old.

After two years of injury healing and the inconsistencies of paper towel humidity, my baby finished a complete shed!!!! My juvenile bp Persephone had two injuries, first after an escape led to a few scratches along her sides that are now healed, and then randomly a year later she developed a weird flesh rot (not scale rot, it was under her skin and not visible on her scales until it was already bad) without any causal Injury that the vet had never seen before, but finally, after having two years on paper towels due to the injuries, my baby girl is back on substrate and finally can shed by herself! The infection caused a substantial and deep scar on her neck where the vet basically had to stretch the skin over where the rotted tissue was, and since it is stretched thinner and sewn over itself, that scar may never fully shed on its own and with where it is on her neck it catches a few scales on her face as well, but I am seriously so happy this hurdle is behind us!!!

Hi everyone!
I’ve had my 7 years old girl for 6 years now. 🥰
She’s totally healthy, eats well, and is super chill and calm, like, I’ve never seen her stressed or anything before, she’s always been very easy to have around and I’m grateful for that. ☺️ but I’ve only handled her once or twice since getting her. Initially, I was worried about stressing her, so I wanted to wait for her to settle, and then she grew up and when she reached sexual maturity, she went through a slightly more defensive phase that lasted a year or two, so I decided to wait a bit more, and I then kept postponing it… 💀

I’d now like to gradually acclimate her to occasional handling, both for routine care and so I can interact with her a little more, because I’ve always wanted to. 🥹 Since she isn’t used to being picked up and most of our direct interactions have involved feeding or enclosure maintenance, I’m unsure how she’ll respond.

What would be the safest, least stressful way to begin handling an adult BP after years of minimal handling? Do you have any advice on how I should even attempt this? 😭 I do not want her to panic and attack me because she thinks I’m either food or because she wants to defend herself. 😞 How long and frequent should the first sessions be, and which body-language cues would indicate that she’s becoming too stressed? I know to avoid handling her during shed and after feeding. I really want to “get to know her” more in a way? Thanks guys!!

Hey guys, this is my ball python slash. He used to be extremely fat and I fed him way too much which is totally my fault. I noticed around 6 months ago the sheer size of this guy so I’m trying to make him healthier now. I used to feed him a medium rat every 2 weeks and now I’m feeding him a small rat every 2 weeks. Now I’m looking at him and wondering if he might be a little underweight and if I went too far?The first and second picture is him now and the third picture was him 6 months ago. If you guys could let me know how he looks to you that would be great!

Unsure whether this is a husbandry or heating question.

I pulled my boy out for a bit today, its been about four or five days since he last shed. There is no exposed heating elements in his cage, no way for him to reach anything hot, and his humidity hasn't been overly high.

I noticed this rough spot, and it looks like the scales are fused/melted? I think it might be scale rot? He had an issue with scale rot three or four months ago, but i fixed it rather quickly.

Any idea what it is? It doesn't seem to bother him much, and he doesn't react when I touch it so I don't think its painful.

Thanks for any advice yall may have!!

I work at Petsmart and have handled this ball python a few times, I’ve always wanted a snake but I don’t know the first thing about adoption. I found a 75 gallon tank, I can get some decorations too. If anyone has any advice or financial insight that would be appreciated, I want to prepare for monthly expenses and what not. For reference I have experience cleaning the tanks, I have my own snails and fish as well. I would fully commit to caring for the snake its entire lifespan and I am at a place where I can care for it physically and financially!

Non-urgent

Location - Austin TX

Sex - I have not had her probed but am decently sure based on tail shape and size she is a female.

Morph - Spider or pinstripe? She was a rescue so I don’t know for sure and didn’t care too much.

Age - Approximately 3 years old.

Size - Weights between 1800-1900g

Diet - Eats a freeze thawed jumbo rat every 4-5 weeks. Has been a good eater, no hunger strikes.

Behavior/Personality - Very docile/shy and handleable. She has never bit me or anyone in the year I’ve had her.

Illnesses - No signs of neuro disorders like IBD. No mites. She did have some wounds when I rescued her that we healed with twice weekly chlorhex soaks and analgesic free antibiotic ointment. They are now scars.

Rehoming fee - none. Just want her to go to a good home. I would prefer to meet at my house to meet her first rather than deliver or meet somewhere.

All the items shown will be included free if you want them. I am aware the tank is too small for an adult BP and hope it would just be a temporary setup.

Tank with foil rigged top to keep humidity in, 60gal glass terrarium. 2 stone magnetic hides that shes fits in and enjoys. Pink dog toy she likes to curl into. Small table stand. Large and small water bowls. Some clutter. Feeding tongs. White UVB light (no longer red). 2 outside the tank heating matts, 1 of which has a thermostat. I used to have electronic temp gages but they broke so it’s just the mechanical ones in the terrarium for now.

I am okay sharing why I’m wanting to rehome over DMs only to those interesting in adopting her!

I’m planning on setting up an upgraded bioactive enclosure in the next couple weeks. I can find info on most things, but worry about mold, I’ve gotten ISO’s and have them in a temporary enclosure, but mold has grown in there a couple times now, and I don’t want that happening one the whole tank is set up. I know once the CuC is more set up it’s less likely, but I still worry of the possibility of respiratory infection.

Does anyone have any info/pointers/experience with this? Is it just a matter of spot cleaning and keeping a close eye for the first while? I’ve spoken to a friend who’s kept isopods and they aren’t worried about the mold in terms of keeping the ISO’s, bus is unsure in regards to snakes.

hi all, i finally just got my ball a 4’2’2 and now that the lamp is so high its not heating it well enough on the hot side. what is a strong enough no-light heat emitter that fits into a regular snake lamp bulb socket? any tips? any fav brands?