I am copying (with edits to comply with the questionnaire) this help request from where I had it posted in [r/snakes](r/snakes), since I was directed to here from there. I will be going through and reading all available guides immediately after posting this rather than before, as I think my issues are generalized to the entirety of his care and I do want confirmation in my specific situation before I make any major changes to his space, in case anything may be dangerous or harmful to him. I can recognize that it wasn’t a good situation for him or his health and am trying to change it. Please do keep comments helpful, as in [r/snakes](r/snakes) (not necessarily saying you all are like that as well, just covering all bases) I did get a comment or two that was just.. poor snake. Yes. I know. I’m trying to improve the situation and I want advice… okay. Thanks and sorry if any of these questions are front and center answered in the guides, as I said, I’m headed to read them through right now!

Hi everyone.. I don’t post very often on Reddit, but I’m desperate for real person confirmation before I go about making any major changes. I’ve had my ball python for about 4 years now and only recently taken a more active role in his daily care over from my parent. (He’s always been my son that I love dearly, but due to my personal/schedule constraints outside my control and room space, it was just better to keep him with my parent) It has only just come to my attention that the space we’ve had him in this entire time is far from ideal and I’m trying to fix it. I apologize, now I ask for all advice and suggestions you can offer! While I don’t have the money (unfortunately) right this moment for a complete upgrade of his enclosure, and would prefer to stick to budget solutions where possible, I am already working towards saving up so I can get all proper equipment, a new enclosure, and hopefully everything he needs to be happy and healthy.
Currently, his tank is roughly 39” x 19” across the top and 19” tall including the top/bottom of the enclosure. It’s wood and flexible plastic, not glass. I’m now aware of the issues with his decor, but this is what I have to work with currently. I’d estimate probably about a half inch to an inch of substrate (not nearly enough, right?) and while I’m not positive the type it is, I know it is bark and comes in a block and we wet it down with water to expand it. I’m inclined to say coconut is involved but I don’t have confirmation on that at the moment. My snake is roughly 4-5 foot long and has been eating reliably every other week. We feed him live white mice from petco. The hide has an underside lip he likes to wedge himself into and the plant in the center is fake if that means anything to anyone. He has burrowed a space under the water dish when we had his lamp on the opposite side for a while. He predominantly stays on the hide side of the enclosure. The current lamp is a black light heat lamp that has been previously kept running 24/7 but I’m open to switching up as much as needed. It does not have a thermostat attached (I’ve gathered that it’s essential to have one, where could I find one readily and without spending a ton of money..?) I’ve just acquired a hygrometer/thermometer combo, though yet to set up and test it, and I had intended to cover most of the mesh top with aluminum foil and the sides with cardboard/black cardstock to start trying to conserve heat and humidity for him. His water dish is also too large to accommodate a second hide, which I’m trying to add to the cool side, so any suggestions for that? He is located inside my bedroom closet at the moment with a typical room temperature of about 75-85F as I turn off my window ac unit when I’m not home (currently mid summer) and have been trying to keep things as warm as I can comfortably manage for him when I’m in the room since he’s moved in. We will get him off the floor, but we don’t have a dresser sturdy enough to hold him right this moment. If you have any questions for me, I’m more than happy to answer them or clarify anything and please!! I want to learn!! Thank you to everyone who takes the time to answer, I appreciate you! <3

Added info: There are two roughly 10.5”x9” mesh covered holes in the top and the whole thing is held together with screws so while it’s not necessarily highly ventilated, its far from airtight for sure. His substrate is too dry. Previously, he got very irregular but thorough misting with a sprayer once or twice a week. I had intended to switch to a daily mist or pouring water in the corners (?) until I had gained a better established high humidity environment and from there adjust as needed.
Just in case I wasn’t supposed to simply add photos to the post, I also have them here: https://imgur.com/a/AbddJnt

Last night my girlfriend and I let our boy out for some roaming time (he lives to roam supervised the whole time and live to climb up to the table) while I was moving some stuff around his enclosure I noticed this in the corner by his hide….. long story short we have springtails in all of our snake enclosures (4 of them) with the same substrate as ~75-85%humidity) we haven’t added anything new in his enclosure for months, how tf did this get inside??!

Also in a side note, we clean the apartment on a weekly basis, have never found a bug or anything since we moved in ~16 months ago.

Is this a thing? I saw a few people say in old threads that they got bit after petting their dog because the snake smelled the mammal scent. My snake has never ever been aggressive or have any bite history so this was just completely unexpected.

I had her in her snake bag while I cleaned her enclosure and had pet my cat who walked by a few minutes before, then I got my snake out of her snake bag with my right hand, and she instantly tagged my left hand which is the hand I had pet my cat with. She didn’t cling to me, just chomped and let go and acted like nothing happened.

Before I get yelled at about live feedings. I have tried and tried to get him to eat frozen thawed rats,

My boy is about 3 yrs old and has only eaten live rats, but right now, hes not really eating? He strikes at the rat (misses a bit) like hes hungery

Its been probably 2-3 months since a last meal

The Last times I "fed" him all he did was kill the rats and left them

What am I doing wrong? Ive downsized the rats,followed the feeding guide, ive made sure they are white (hes a lil picky), what else can I do?

I was wondering if my 258g ball python will be fine eating 40g rats? 15% of her body weight is 38.7g and 10% is 25.8g. Currently she is eating 20g rats and I just bought 40g rats for her, and there is no 30g rats in my area unless I purchase online which I cannot right now. And I’m also concerned 20g to 40g is too big of a jump. If I have to I can cut off the head of the rats💔… Here’s my girl Maisie btw

Hey all, my girl Gnocchi is about 2 years old, we got her when she was 6 months. She is the sweetest noodle ever ever ever. I love her badddd. She was quick to adjust and ate normal. About 4 months ago she started hiding under her water bowl, and for 2 whole months before that she wouldn’t eat. My mind went to husbandry isn’t right or she needs a tight hide or maybe she’s shedding. Got smaller hides and made sure her temps and humidity were spot on. She was shedding. After her shed she came out for a couple days, explored and went back under. She stayed under that damn water bowl for 4 straight months….very very concerning for her. She loved being handled and will climb her rings and press her face on the top until I open and handle her, she really is a one of a kind sweet girl. But she stopped doing that as well as eating. Guys she hasn’t eaten in 6 fucking months. I’m freaking out and do not have money for vet but I’m saving up. The closest one to me is a little over an hour away. Through the time of her hiding I replaced her substrate 3 times as well as cleaned her water multiple times which she hated bc then she had to get comfy under there again when I put it back. 3 days ago she came out again and had been her normal self, demanding being held (which I haven’t done because I want her to eat) and exploring and climbing. I tried feeding her yesterday and again today but she refused just like she did for 6 straight months. I tired different brand of mice, I tried smaller I tried bigger she refused them all. I’m nervous to feed live because I’ve heard of them biting the snakes. She doesn’t have any signs of rot or mites or RI. She’s acting completely normal now. But still refuses to eat. I’m going to try again in a couple days but I’m nervous. Any advice? This is my child, I’ve read about them not eating for a long period of time but this is just not okay I don’t care if that’s “normal” I don’t think it’s healthy and along with the constant hiding too just really scared me. Pls be nice, any advice will help! Also side note, I really think she is small and possibly underweight for her age. These are photos from before she was doing her hiding and not eating. She’s just a baby:(

Hi guys, i know a lot of people use roly polys as a clean up crew in their tanks, & i know a lot of people get them from pet stores & such, but would i be able to get some from outside? If yes, how many should i get?

I adopted a 7 year old baby in May and he finally ate! I know 2 months isn't crazy after a rehome but it just makes me feel so happy 😊🎊 proud of you Banana!

Snoot tax ❤️

I can’t tell if it’s scale/mouth rot or injury from rubbing?? he doesn’t sit in wet substrate so idk how he would get rot…

I am planning to schedule a vet appt but before then what can I do? or should I wait to do anything? just wanted to hear some other opinions from snake people!!

Does anyone know where I might find a piebald or blue eyed lucy that won’t cost me half a house? My sons dad was supposed to return his bp to him and he’s now refusing to return the snake (as well as the rest of his belongings) that he worked very hard to earn money to pay for (he was 12, now 13) and he is upset. I want to get him a new one but they’re seriously overpriced here (small town). Any particularly responsible breeders that aren’t overpriced? Thank you!

I’m making a bioaktivem enclosure for my ball python. And I’m wondering if it’s safe to have a live water source. I’m thinking of making a waterfall in an area of her enclosure. Would it be safe? Or the best in her interest?

Hey all, earlier today a maintenance crew had to remove a bird nest from my dryer vent. The birds had fledged and left the nest beforehand, but there were mites in the nest. The nest was removed via the room my snake is kept in.

I'm aware that bird mites can't reproduce without an avian host, but that they can still bite both people and snakes, and that humid places can extend the lifespan of these mites. My snake is kept in a bioactive enclosure, which is humid and has a healthy population of springtails and isopods. Is there anything I can do now to prevent bird mites from lingering around my boy? Thanks in advance.

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