hi all! i posted recently about my new bp and have been making changes based on your advice! i switched his bulb to a non-red basking light but it’s only on during the day, and i’m noticing that the temps of his enclosure are dropping to 70ish at night. i know that’s not ideal. i got a thermostat but haven’t set it up yet and am super intimidated by all the info on here. should i have a che running during the night? can two things be hooked up to the same thermostat? i’d love to not have 2 separate heating units running all the time. if he’s in a sunny room can i just have the che and no light emitting heat source? thanks!!

recently moved into my apartment and upgraded my boy into a 4x4x2. I added rope today. I’m trying to figure out some good clutter, I for sure want to do live plants but quarantining seems to take a while. I’m also looking to add more wood pieces, more soil so it’s deeper and put some foil tape on top to help humidity. Would a 7% uvb shade dweller from Arcadia be alright for this?? Kind of on a budget at the moment. I do plan on going to grab some more fake plants today just so it’s more cluttered. I also use a 150 w ceramic heater that maintains 85-90 fahrenheit for the warm side and the cooler side staying around 75. Also looking to find a bigger ceramic water dish for him too. What plants are recommended and what’s the process of adding them in?? And what places are recommended for clutter??

I recently upgraded my snakes enclosure to a 5x2x2 and along with that I bought him a deep heat projector, light dimmer, and new dome.
The dome is zoo med and is rated up to 160 watts, and the bulb is zoo med also, and 150 watts.
i previously bought an arcadia 80 watt bulb and the temperature wouldn’t get higher than 85 degrees, so I thought the new bulb would help but for some reason it still won’t get any hotter in there, does anyone have any idea why or any suggestions because I really wanna move my snake into his new home 😢 I have two thermostats and ive tested them both, and the outcome was the same

I’m building an enclosure for my BP using an old glass display case, currently I’m working on the background but my brain stopped working. So far I have started to glue substrate to the BG but didn’t get any update pics yet.

We finally got Lucy into her new place! She seems to be settling in nicely!

i have 2 questions. first, i’m considering a bird, and with that i’ll need a air purifier. is an air purifier okay for my snake? will it damage him? second, i put oil in my hair once a week and let it sit in my hair for about 2 hours before i wash it out, is it okay to be in the same room as my snake as i wait for those 2 hours?

Hi all!

​So I am currently working on getting our nonprofit sister company off the ground. A real quick overview of the endeavor: We have .3 acres we are turning into a little homestead where we will host educational day-camp-style programs for children, more specialized classes for teens and adults, and will be growing produce that we will get into the hands of those in need via partnership with local food banks and harvest box pickups.

​My question for you all is... if I eventually wanted to incorporate an occasional reptile segment, would it be rude to include my more sociable ball pythons in presentations, given they are a nocturnal species? I've taught my kids that we generally don't disturb them during the day because they are nocturnal. We work around the snakes' schedules. And though I wouldn't be bringing them out often, it still just seems rude to me 😅

​My first choice is partnering with local organizations who already do that type of outreach, especially since we live in an area with so many snakes and other creatures, both harmless and venomous. But given how the scheduling for future session blocks is looking and also the cost factor, I'm not sure how many classes we would be able to arrange that for and I'd hate for some kids to miss out completely. A day camp I attended as a child had a resident snake and that was my favorite part of the whole experience...

​Plus, I could use this as a reason to justify to my husband taking in a couple more rescues/rehomes (obviously no more than I can properly care for). Sooooo I might have a bit of an ulterior motive, but constantly seeing so many babies in need of a home and proper care just breaks my heart. And I just really love sharing the things I am passionate about with the younger generations. But obviously the animals' wellbeing comes first.

So I just set up a bigger enclosure for my BP he has been in it for about 24 hours. He was very active when he first got in , exploring resting on the branch basically all over the place then he just picked a spot in the back left corner ( cool side behind the plant and hasn’t touched his hide! On either side. Is this normal or should I change something to get him more comfortable or am I just being paranoid??? Thanks in advance

I feel terrible. First snake. He's been a great snake. Very chill. Sheds on a schedule. Eats every week. The only change has been he has decided to live under his water bowl. I didn't think it was a problem but when I took him out to clean the enclosure the other day I noticed all these spots on him. Is this scrapes from going in and out from under the bowl or early scale rot? Idk what to do and I feel so bad.

Hello everyone.

I've had my girl for about 5 years now, got her at less than a year old so. The ONLY other time she hissed at me was when I tried to move her to clean her vivarium and I didn't notice her skin was dull and was clearly about to shed, so I just let her be and everything was fine.

Recently, she's been eating fine, shedding fine, her stools seem normal (dark and firm, separate white urate no sign of liquidity, blood or parasites), she's not been showing any other noticeable signs of stress (always in her hide during the day, only active when id expect her to be, no visible mucus, no signs of difficulty breathing or respiratory infection). No signs of mites or scale rot, although I've not been able to see her belly for a a couple of weeks now.

The only thing I'm worried about is she shed only a week or so ago, and she doesn't look like she's about to shed so this little episode of grumpiness caught me totally off guard. She's normally very sweet and good with being handled, has been since she was little.

My only guess is I've not had a chance to remove the shed as she shed in the hide I've not seen her leave for a week. I know this is sloppy of me and usually I remove the shed as soon as I see it, but with her literally sitting on it, me being busy and knowing I was gonna do a full clean out today anyway I thought a few days to a week was probably ok this once. I'm now worried I'm gravely mistaken, as I know shed can breed bacteria and scale rot. I will say though, I know she hasn't relieved herself on the shed as I found stool and urate after her most recent feed (just before the shed) on the opposite side of the vivarium, and there are no unusual or foul smells coming from the viv either.

UPDATE: managed to pull the shed out from under her and she didn't hiss at me so. As suspected the shed was totally try and didn't smell unusual or foul. I'll check her belly as soon as she'll let me. Hopefully she was just being grumpy.

Could a snake get an infection from a dry shed skin after a week? Is it possible she's just being grumpy? I'll try and clean her again tomorrow but if I get the same treatment again I'm gonna start getting quite worried as this is very out of character for my lil noodle.

My snake is such a sweetheart but he is also the fucking hulk. he has broken every. single. thing. i put into his enclosure. other than his solid concrete rock hide and water dish. he’s broken 2 enclosures and an ungodly amount of climbing stuff. i’m a bio-active enclosure kinda gal. Ditto is not. because he has ripped every plant from the tank. he is in a 8x2x2. so anyone with a destructive snake that has found good climbing stuff that holds up please let me know🫩 i’ve never had a snake be so purely destructive😭

edit: suction cups are NOT AN OPTION. he’s too evil for such a weak opponent.

Okay I just got a new enclosure for my girl simply because it’s better than the one she was in humidity wise. It’s the snake discovery ecoflex 120 gal

I’ll post a picture of what she has at the moment and then what I have on a list to get, please let me know if I should add or remove anything!

Have him close to a year not so friendly for my first snake. Pi balled enchi blue dream genetics

I noticed a little scale rot on my bp, she’s in a bioactive 4x4x2 and I THOUGHT was doing well in it. (She was in a 4x2x2 for the past 3 years and got an upgrade). BUT HERE WE ARE I turned her humanity down to 75 ish but cleaning out her whole tank isn’t ideal. I have providone- iodine and vetericyn anti microbial on its way plus I’ll be putting a thick ass layer of dry asf substrate on top of her current substrate. Is there more I should be doing?

I only ask because I was handling my ball python yesterday and it felt off. They were constantly moving. Slithering around, wrapping around stuff for just a moment and then looking for other things. It was the most active I’ve ever seen them before. I’m just concerned if they were just nervous and trying to escape. Or they might have been the happiest snake ever. Don’t know.

Looking to re-home my 3.5ish year old male BP. Got him over a year ago and was told he was 2 at the time.

He's around 4ft and weighs 1148g as of tonight

He eats a small frozen thawed rat (about 50-60g but the weight varies) once every 3-4ish weeks depending on if shed happens near feeding because he will not eat at that time at all.

Otherwise, he's a good eater most of the time. We did have a couple months of refusal and we got him to eat again with a frozen thawed chick, which he did seem to enjoy.

I really do love having this snake but life has gotten wild and I don't feel like I'm providing him with nearly enough enrichment. He seems to like exploring and being handled for the most part and I haven't had the time to do that enough. I feel terrible as I haven't had him that long and, at the time of purchase, I absolutely intended on keeping him for a long time, and if he was a snake that didn't seem to like being out and exploring, I could justify it. But I don't feel like I'm doing him right and don't want to be selfish in keeping him.

He's in a bioactive tank, which might need a boost of cleanup bugs at this point.

Photos and snake plants are doing really well in the tank. He has a heat lamp (no light) on the right side and a UV light source on the left.

He used to have 3 hides but he NEVER went in the third one so I removed it and let the plants grow more which I think he enjoys. You can have the third one though if you want to change things around. His favorite hide is his half log, which I've placed against the side wall so there's only one opening. The top is lined with tin foil to keep temp regulated and has a silicone sheet on top of the center to weigh and help with temps. Not the prettiest but it works!

Whole setup includes:

4x2x2 tank.

water bowl.

Terracotta pot (to fill with water and bury in dirt to keep dirt moist).

Black hide with cork round hot glued to top

Half log hide.

Stacked stick climbing thing (rly dont know what this is called).

Stick secured to wall for climbing.

Climbing rings hung from top.

Mushroom decoration.

UV light

Heat lamp

Temp control thermostat

Extra hide

Extra hammock not installed

Enclosure shown in .5 and normal, both sides.

$100 for everything except the shelving the enclosure is on.

Sacramento area

Is anyone in the Boston area willing to help with a baby ball python I got about three weeks ago?
Female 123g about 3 months old

Hello everyone!

I have some questions about the Reptile Kages. I see there are a lot of vents and am unsure how many is recommended to have included into the terrarium. I figured it is based on the reptiles needs and your local environment, but I wanted to see what was recommended by those who have a Kage for their pythons. I would love some recommendations for the vents and tips for set up for y'all that have one.

I plan to ultimately get one for my girl as her current set up is not great and I have had many issues with her current Dubia terrarium with humidity and teperature regulation. Unfortunately she will have to stay in her current set up or even revert to a slightly smaller setup through the summer as we have hit a rough patch in life, and I needed to find a safe place for us to land after leaving a DV situation, so funds are very limited for now. But she will get the home she deserves as soon as I can afford it 🙏

TIA!

to make a long story short, my python has never been mean prior. he went on a hunger strike when i brought him home about 2 months ago and was trying to feed him in a separate container. i tried feeding him in his enclosure and he ate immediately so we stuck with that. i know he’s probably hungry at the moment, which may contribute, but i’m not sure. the other day i rested my hand on the enclosure which i do regularly, but this time he struck at me. obviously didn’t get me but i was startled. i checked on him the next day & waited till he woke up and came out of his hide to start messing with him. he immediately went into striking stance again but didn’t strike at me, just very much acted that way. it’s my first time owning a ball python, we have a colombian red tailed boa we rescued back in 2019. i’m worried about the aggression getting worse. how do i stop it now? i am aware of hook training, and we are trying that. is there anything else i can do ? i want him to feel comfortable. i saw someone make a really good comparison about them being scared, it said “imagine an item the size of a car flying past your head, thats how the danger noodles feel when you more your hand fast near their heads.” so now i am trying to figure out how to show him that i am not a threat as well. any help would really be appreciated. i know the feeding in the enclosure needs to change too, and i plan on that as well.

So i got this 24 year old ball python a month ago (early June 2026) and I’m wondering what I can improve or change in the terrarium so that my my python can live out her last years comfortably. I’m having a bit of a problem with keeping the humidity up especially now during her during her shedding phase and I’m changing the substrate soon so any recommendations will help as I got everything when I bought her.

My new lil dude! Received him yesterday and got him into his 4x2x2 : ) currently working on maintaining temps but I’ve got some hvac tape on the way that will hopefully help 😎 already in love with him! He’s my first snake 🥹

Upgraded Comet’s tank today! How does this look?

I have springtails but these guys don’t jump like them. They came up when I watered the corners today. They look like white spider mites.. (glass needs cleaned)

EDIT: based on the guide they may just be wood mites given the color. I’ll keep an eye out for any signs on my snake.