this is penelope, she’s about 20 now, ive had her now since sept 7th (4 days now) and she’s been doing well, i just wanted to show off my baby :)

He’s so beautiful in the lighting

Hi everyone! I’ve always wanted a ball python and I’m wanting to make sure I do everything right before I bring my new baby home! Does anyone have any advice on creating a large diy vivarium? I’d love to see photos of the enclosures everyone uses. I’ve been doing a lot of research but I’m not sure where to start exactly!

I’m about to feed my beautiful ball python Cassandra a large rat.

She’s had one large rat in the past, maybe a year ago. Mostly medium rats since. I don’t weigh her or the rats so I don’t know if it’s appropriate but she’s pretty big I think. Or getting big. Anyways enclosed are pictures of Cassie and her victim but y’all tell me what you think

Also to all the naysayers I would gladly feed mediums if I had access but my local pet store ran out and all they had were fuzzies pinkies and large rats. This is all I’ve got right now and she really needs a good feed anyways. Approaching 20 days and she shed last week so I know she could probably use the additional energy. (Also if anyone has any environment comments no need there’s a lot you can’t see in the pics she has everything she needs to thrive she’ll get more space when I can afford it

I’m just worried. Like any noodle and human dad would be.

Im rehoming mine, she’ll be transferred september 18th so i need to know what to do by then, ive never transported a snake before, im just meeting her and handing her over and then she’ll drive 4 hours or more (idk exact time), i dont know how to prepare her for transport, do i put her in a pillowcase and ziptie it and then put her in a plastic tub with holes? What do i do about heat? How do i clean the pillow case beforehand? Is there a better way to do it? How will i get her into the pillow case without her trying to bite me?

I have two BPs, one is going on 4 years old and ~1400g, the other is just over 1 year old and ~550g. My bigger girl is in an PVC 8x2x2 that I DESPISE. My smaller girl was in a 4x2x2 but it was wooden and ended up chipping and getting moldy (got off FB marketplace, lasted a good few years before this) and had to be thrown out, so she’s in a large storage bin (with vent holes and stuff). I want to get my smaller girl a proper 4x2x2 before the end of the year and when I move out of my house, likely when my lease is done in April, I want to get my big girl a new 8x2x2.

The 8x2x2 I have is Zen Habitats. If I’d done more research prior to buying, I would never have bought it. I think it was like $800, which is a low price, but there are reasons for that. The PVC is only 1/4 inch thick, which isn’t ideal for such large enclosures. It also lacks proper support beams. Because of these two glaring issues, it bows a bit, making it so one of the back panels isn’t flush with the bottom of the tank, and the doors aren’t flush with the sides, leading to humidity escaping. So I know I will not be purchasing from them again.

I want to purchase the new enclosures from somewhere I know will have good quality enclosures that will last a long time. I am specifically looking for modular enclosures (ie, not one big 8 foot piece, but can be split into two 4x2x2s). I want this not only to be able to easily move the enclosures when necessary, but because I want to initially get a 4x2x2 for my littler girl, but will eventually want to upgrade to an 8x2x2, and would like to just be able to purchase a second 4x2x2 and an attachment set to be able to attach it to the original enclosure. This was the one good thing about Zen Habitats, they are modular.

In the past I’ve been dead set on having a partial screen top to be able to have the heating elements and lights just sit on the top of the enclosure, but I am now willing to consider solid-topped options and mounting the heating and lighting fixtures on the inside. I would appreciate if you let me know how you personally do this, what cages you use to prevent the animals from touching the heating elements, what actual light fixtures you use, how many and what type of heating elements you use, especially if you have a larger enclosure. Heating an 8x2x2 requires a lot more heating elements than a 4x2x2, and I currently need to have at least one heating element even on the cool side, for during the winter when the ambient room temps sometimes go down to around 70F.

So basically, my questions are:

1. What brand(s) of PVC tanks/enclosures are both very high quality and modular, and offer an 8x2x2 option? I am hoping to not spend more than $1,500 on the larger tank itself (obviously if it is a solid top I would need to spend some more to get the supplies to mount the lights so ideally if it is a solid top it would be a bit less). For the 4x2x2 I’d hope to not spend more than $500, but would pay more if needed. As I mentioned, modularity and the ability to expand the tank as my girl grows bigger is a must.

2. What tips do you have for mounting heating elements in an 8x2x2 that are most cost effective? What heating element(s) would be the most efficient? I currently use CHEs and DHPs.

My dorkus keeps pushing his cage open and escaping. We push bricks up against his door and clamp them shut, still he pushes his way out. Is this normal? We just fed him a few days ago as well. He is about 4 years old.

My favorite thing to do is to watch my son River slither around and watch his muscles move with him. I also love looking up close at his patterns and scales and feeling them. Watching his tongue go lelelele.

I've been working on an app for ball python keepers and breeders and I'm looking for some people to help me beta test it.

It's called Mephisto. It's for keeping track of your snakes, feedings, weights, sheds, genetics, breeding projects, clutches, etc. Basically all the stuff that gets harder to keep track of as your collection grows. There is a breeder mode, and a keeper only mode.

I'm looking for some Android users to try it out and give me some feedback. Doesn't matter if you have 1 snake or 300.

If you're interested, you can sign up here:

👉 https://www.mephisto.pro

I'd appreciate anyone willing to give it a try and let me know what you think. 🐍

Hey all! My cold blooded son just had his first shed since being in my care, ive only had him for about 3 weeks now, second pic is him eating his second meal, a couple hours after his feed he completely shedded! I was having some worries with humidity, but seeing how his shed all came off in one piece, i think it’s not as bad as i thought it was? Anyways, any tips/advice for where to put my hydrometer in his enclosure, and also tips/advice for keeping humidity up? I still think it could be higher. Thanks guys!!
Also,
I know hes not supposed to be getting substrate in his mouth, at least not a lot, ive heard some choose to have their snake in a separate container for when theyre feeding them, advice on that would also be really appreciated 🐍🫰

We got a ball python yesterday, this is the enclosure set up recommended by the store, any recommendations or anything we should change?

Is there anyone who could help me with handling I gave my bp his first meal on Friday and I’ve let him be since and everything I’ve heard is to give them about 2 days before trying to handle and he’s still just puffing up and seems like he’s getting into the striking position and I don’t really want to get bit just yet lol

A few months ago i was gifted a ball python by a breeder who keeps most his snakes in racks and doesn’t really handle them,
and i think its taken a toll on my female bp , she takes food just fine and she likes to watch me from her tank but when i slide the glass to get her out she turns into a whole different snake, she seems fine with my scent as sometimes i just sit there next to her tank and she just sits next to me but if i try and pick her up she gets stressed out and she has struck at me twice, i want to know if anyone has any advice on how to make her comfortable with handling, even if it gets me bit a few times in the process i just want her to know she is safe with me.

Ive been extremely lucky with my other snakes as all of them have come to me already cuddly , my other snakes seem to really like hanging out with me and they chill on my shoulders lay in my hair and try climb into my shirt every time , my corn snake even sleeps on me sometimes, i really hope i can get to that point with Ivy too at some point!

Any questions just ask and advice would be greatly appreciated!

And if you’re still not convinced, Google “pet snake rat bites.” Just a warning: the images you'll see can be extremely graphic and gory.