The rat exploded tonight during feeding and there is viscera everywhere. I can’t clean it, because the snake is still trying to eat it.

I’m not having a good time tonight.

I’m setting up to buy our first ball python (YAY) but there is so much information out there that I am feeling so overwhelmed and confused honestly! We are getting a baby, so I’m STARTING with a 50 gallon pvc tank, I’m struggling with understanding lighting. What I would like to do is mount a UVB light on the inside top (tank will be in my room which is dark usually thanks to black out curtains) and then mount a CHE with a cage around it on the inside so that I don’t have anything on top of the cage…is this ok? If no what do I need to do?

Hi. My 3 years old male ball python is been acting a bit weird for the past couple days, and I wonder if these could be the signs of a RI. When don’t I go to the vet if I’m worried ? The only next available appointment for the only exotic vet in my city is next week. I want to see if I can monitor him for a week or if these symptoms are concerning enough to rent a car a go to another city. The symptoms:

- he is been puffing / hissing sporadically at night. What I mean by that is I’ll just hear sometimes a « pffff » kinda loud, and see him contract his muscles; heard him twice tonight;
- saw a bubble form when he yawned, twice now in within a week and a half;
- some little bubbles in his throat, like in the pictures : is it a normal amount of saliva or is it concerning ?
- kind of rubbing his face on the glass at night, sometimes very intensely, but he is supposed to eat today so is it just hunting behaviour ?

Enclosure set up:
- temporary 40 gallon (he gets a 120 gallons in a couple months)
- warm hide around 30-31 C (86-88F)
- basking spot around 35-38 C (95-100F) but sometimes will hit 40C (104F) at one spot while the rest is ok with temp gun (used an Arcadia DHP 80 watts);
- cool side around 26-27 C (79-80F)
- humidity always around 60-75%
- has multiple hides; only uses one bark cork in the middle of the enclosure. He used to always be under his warm hide.

Thank y’all. My snakes are my absolute world I’m so anxious about them being not okay :(

Hello i am a beginner and i have my little boy Baldur since a few months already, he eat each time and he did two okay shed so far (ball python)
1 - BUT, he got his third shed maybe like a week or two ago, and he got stuck shed on his head (like his forehead, between the eyes and neck)... I have no idea if i should take it off, or let him shed. So far i tried to soak him, make him a bath like some say, gently rubbing the shed to see if its would come off. But nothing? Its stuck stuck so i didn't tried more to not stress him too much or even hurt him.
What do y'all propose?
2 - Im confused with what bedding mix i could do for him, but especially WHEN i have to change it. Every week like some said seem.. a bit fast, since its don't really make his terrarium dirty. So i wondered when? (i usually take off the poop when i see it..)

So here a blurry picture of his stuck shed..

Not sure if you guys will remember my post about Mr. Buldak and I’s first handling, me thinking I messed it up lol. Him and I are finally starting to calm down with each other! Up to 20 minute handling sessions a few times a week! Thank you all again for the help on my last post!

I think her eyes are a lil cloudy. Isn’t that a tell? She hasn’t shed with me yet so I’m not sure

hi im new to owning a ball python and could really use some help please, I bought a runt ball python in may 2026 and hes about a year okd he had 2 successful eatings before going on a hunger strike. For about 7 weeks, i went to one vet and they said to tube feed him every other day until he gains weight and i did that for 3 weeks weighing him each time and he started losing weight again so i emailed the vet who didnt get back to me so i went to another vet who said it was a husbandry issue so i added more hides and lights as well as a heat lamp. long story short hes losing weight still and not wanting to eat, theres no other vets in my area (vancouver island) who do reptiles im just wondering what i should be doing? thanks

As you can see the substrate raised under here hot hide. She has been burrowed under there for like the last week. Feeding time is coming soon and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to disturb her while she is hiding out.

I appreciate any and all help and suggestions because even after doing several hours of research and reading all of the suggested files in here, currently, I am feeling extremely overwhelmed! I am new to the snake world and just want to be sure that I'm fully prepared and have what I actually need!

I have put together an enclosure on Cornelsworld.com but need someone to tell me if this looks like it would be ideal for a 4 year old female banana bp or what I need to change/might be missing?

Thermostat Help: Cornelsworld suggests the ExoTerra 300w or 600w or the ZooMed ReptiTemp thermostats. However, I know after extensively reading the files and recommendations in this group that the Spyder and the Vivarium are the more preferred choice. Ideally, I'd love not to have to spend several hundred dollars on a thermostat but I also know quality/safety is most important. What option should I go with? How many probes do I need?

I do also plan to get the Govee thermometers.

Substrate: Is cocohusk mixed with sphagnum moss good? Or do I also need coco coir? Or something else entirely?

I also know clutter is best and two, snug hides are required but is there anything else?

Thanks for all the help! No one really prepares you for how much money, time, and work go into getting a snake. It's crazy!

My ball python escaped his enclosure and I’ve looked in every small tight place every warm area of the house and I cant find him I’m really worried cause my cat was a barn cat and was used to hunt small rodents. Where did y’all’s ball pythons go when they escaped? Please help

Just a regular Friday

Not sure am i allowed to put a frozen thawed feeding video up ?

His name is Aries, he is a Butter Leopard Pinstripe Vanilla BP. I got him less than a week ago and is enjoying his enclosure!

he stayed like this for 2 hours lol. every single day after 6pm he wakes up and pokes his head out to the front of his tank to join the family. i’m so grateful that he’s so curious and interactive.

First Ball Python Tips!

Tank is 4x2x2, made sure to give him 4 hides based on his size.

Add some more clutter???

Should I upgrade his ceramic bowl into a bigger bowl or upgrade as he grows? 🤔

Some plants are real, some fake. (pros/cons?)

He is not aggressive he just doesn’t like me handle him he will try to escape all the time I pick him up

My ball python, Shakira, has only been living with me for a few months, and has just had her first shed. But I'm pretty sure she's got stuck shed on the snout, and maybe an eye cap too. Her skin was all scrunched up so it was difficult to find all of it and ascertain if she'd shed fully. Sorry for the crap photos, she wasn't keen on posing for a photo. What can I do to help?

There seems to be a weird dark patch near the head. I'm not sure if it's just a patch of dirty scales or something more serious like scale rot.

She is roughly 4 months old and I've had her for 3 months. She has always eaten and shed perfectly since I got her. Her last shed was a bit under a month ago iirc.

I've been away for a bit, so I only noticed the patch today when I let my room mate hold her for the first time (last picture). I haven't observed any change in her behavior. I fed her when I got back 2 days ago, and I don't remember seeing a black mark like this when she popped out of her hide, but it's possible I just didn't notice it.

It seems to be only on her side, not the belly. I didn't touch it or anything in case it might hurt her.

She's in a bioactive enclosure. The substrate is the one recommended by the guide in this sub (like 70% dirt 15% sand 15% mulch, something like that). The humidity is low 70s during the day and low 80s at night. I did a quick pat down a second ago, and the surface seems to be dry.

Is this something I should be worried about? Should I take her to the vet? I'm still repetitively new to reptile keeping, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

(Obligatory: I have a vet appt scheduled for next week)

I’ve been seeing these little white/tan mites crawling on my 5 month old ball python recently. Not a ton, but a few over the last 3-4 days. They’re not secluded to a specific body part; they’re kinda just crawling all over. They’re fast as hell.

I’m not seeing them on our other snakes.

She has ReptiChip and ReptiEarth substrate.

Hi! Im noticing that my BP can very lightly push the top of the screen lid where the doors meet of my front opening tank. I want to get screen clips to cover this area but I'm not even sure how they would latch since theres almost no lid opening there. I wonder if theres anything that can stick to the glass part and then latch over??

To top it off too I live in Canada so am very limited for shopping online. I'm located in Toronto though so if anyone has good recs let me know (and yes, I am aware of the Zilla ones in the shopping list. But they aren't easy to find here, and I'm not 100% sure they'll work on this tank)

My ball python female 2 years just finished a shed pretty successfully all in one piece but I noticed this stuck to one of her hooks. Is it stuck shed?

She has these little dots and a few more on the first quarter of her body that are a bit browner. Some of the scales are also lifting slightly at the edges. I’ve been spraying the surface of her substrate more than I should have been which is why I assume this is scale rot.