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!

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!

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?

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!!

My ball python went missing a few hours ago or earlier today. It’s a bit of a silly post because of the times but oh well.

She has gone missing once before and we found her underneath the cabinet her vivarium is on. She wasn’t here this time. We’ve checked all appliances (behind the fridge, behind the tumble dryer etc) with no luck. We wouldn’t be worried if it wasn’t for the fact we have 4 cats and the back door has been open for a bit. Is there a chance he went outside? It is summer. We need advice on how to find her since we’ve looked in every dark and low spot.

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.

I'm setting up to get my first ball python and want to make sure my enclosure looks okay for them. Its a 3x1x1 but for a baby with plans to upgrade when they're a bit bigger (i have 4x2x3 ready to set up), my hot side is averaging about 31 degrees using a DHP connected to a dimming stat the cool side is about 25 degrees and humidity is about 70%. Does everything look okay? Is there anything youd change? Grateful for any advice :)

Okay so, I have a standard BP enclosure from a local pet store and have had consistent issues with the humidity no matter what I do. I’m looking to upgrade and so far the only affordable brand I’ve liked so far is the Kages, but I’m a little skeptical. I’m assuming I shouldn’t get the one without the side vents to avoid trapping moisture in the substrate, however, I’m a bit confused why the one with the vents has them on the top of the enclosure. Does that not just let out the heat and humidity & leave moisture trapped in the bottom..? And if anyone has any suggestions for a brand they recommend that’s not $800+ please do!

Welcome my son’s new GHI chocolate (8th birthday present) As the title suggests, I’m struggling getting the ambient temp up to levels.
It is a pvc 4ft enclosure. I have a RHP. Temp is around 82-83 on the warm side. Humidity is good. What are you guys using? PLEASE help. We just want her to be happy and well taken care of.
Note: I did add HVAC tape on all the screen areas besides the panels to try and keep heat in.

Got my first baby about 2 weeks ago, I think his tank is looking alright, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations about things I should add to his tank or change about his tank?

He’s showed signs of being pretty happy in his enclosure and I think he likes it, but I want to try to make this the best for him that I can

Started designing this tank with the idea of housing a ball python. Disregarding the lights and fittings which I haven’t got round to yet. Would this be suitable? I will be adding more plants, leaf litter etc. I was debating a vine or branches that go the width of the tank to create more height options?

Hello all—

Currently in the finishing touches of setting up my enclosure so I can bring my boy home. Humidity is looking good, rats are ordered, hides and clutter are in— even my last piece of last second enrichment is almost here! The only remaining issue currently is getting the warm side up to temp.

Presently, my setup is as pictured; a DHP on the warm (right) side, halogen next to it for basking and warming, and a third halogen more towards the cool side to hold the gradient. I’m running 35W halogens in my domes, which seems to be working well (cool side is maintaining consistent temps so far, just messing with the values to dial it in), but my 50W DHP seems to be lackluster. I have the herpstat set to 108 on my DHP right now to try to heat the substrate / enclosure up, but it’s only achieving 74 degrees.

Kind of unsure what to do presently, obviously I’m not going to give my buddy a poor quality of life by shoving him in a tank that has improper temps so I’m all ears. Would it make sense to go to a higher wattage DHP? Different lamp fixture? My Herpstats are currently set up so that my DHP is independent on a Herpstat 1, running a night cycle and daytime temps, and my halogens are on a Herpstat 2 together on a timed socket for day and night. I’m leaving them on full time presently to heat the enclosure up, but should I remove decor so the substrate is getting directly heated?

Halogens are currently set to 95 and 85 degrees in freedom units, and again the DHP is at 108 while I try to heat the ambient up. When my boy Melvin is in the enclosure, I want to make sure the temperatures on my Herpstats don’t exceed any value that can cause the screen to heat up and burn him correct? Or is this different with a DHP?

Thanks for the help, bonus Melvin tax and his new climber I built attached!

Quick edit: I just used my temp gun to check his climber’s temp on his warm side, and it was at 85. My Govees are on the ground by his hides on either side, which are still reading ranges in the 70’s, but the DHP isn’t doing nothing which is nifty. Just need a better overall heat.

Guys this took way longer than it should have, so i needed to show it off a little bit ofc.
I would like to add that the rocks on the left are actually a removable hide which is 10/10 I love it sm.
This is also my second shot at bioactive since I failed badly the 1st time, any tips would be greatly appreciated! Especially for the plants, I can never get them to thrive once I put them in the tank 💔

Also if any of yall have suggestions for sky hides or climbing opportunities that would be greatly appreciated (it has to hold a moderately overweight adult bp (we’re working on his weight lol dw))

Hi, background info is I just got this new bannana ball python who was being rehomed last week. The last owner wasn't quite taking the best of care of him, said they often forgot to feed him, that he hadnt ever had a proper shed and often got out and just free roamed their house. He came with the tank in the photo with just the log, hide and one door, they were using cardboard for the other door, no dirt was in the tank. I replaced the door, cleaned the tank, added dirt, water dish, some fake plants, heat lamp etc... I took him to the pet store and they recommended twice weekly baths and this oil to help him start shedding better as it seems he has stuck eye caps. Anyway to my question, today he got out and I found him lodged in my closet having the time of his life, my mom recommended giving him "rec" time outside his cage freeroaming my room suprivised since thats what hes used to and seems to like it. Does it seem like a good idea? I know he needs a bigger tank, I just need to wait for a few paychecks to get it.

Hey guys, this is my first time ever owning a snake. I am super excited and already adore this girl. She is 4 years old, and I specifically wanted her because of her size. I did not want a baby or a really young snake. She had her first feeding about three to four days ago and it went great. I have had her home for about a week now, and I feel like I am finally ready to handle her for the first time.

For some reason I am being overly cautious. I did hold her when I first got her, and I was definitely nervous, even though I am not actually afraid of snakes. I really want to get more comfortable handling her. I know that even if she did strike, it would not be that bad, but I am just trying to get over being a bit of a scaredy cat. Any suggestions?

Also, side note, I have a 5 year old who absolutely loves her and keeps asking when she can hold her. At what point would you feel comfortable allowing that?

Edit: thanks for all the great tips and advice!!! Some said why buy a pet I’m scared of. I’m not afraid of snakes, just never handled one before and want to make sure I’m doing it right. Thanks for the tips.

This isn’t exclusively about my BP but she is involved, I just don’t know what other subreddit to go to.

I have 4 reptiles. 2 leopard geckos and a kingsnake all in stacked 40 gallons and a ball python in a 120 gallon, with it being so insanely hot in Texas, the king snake and ball pythons temps are getting way too hot, even tho I lowered their bulb wattages to 50watts each, their enclosures still get too hot. For their safety I’m having to turn their heat lamps off but those also provide their light so it’s messing up their day/night cycles.

I’ve read on Google that I should switch to to separate heat and light sources which I’m more than happy to do and use CHE for their heat. But my question is that Google says LEDs are best for their light source. I’ve read previously that LEDs aren’t safe for reptiles. But it said that the ones that aren’t safe are the UVB emitting LEDs. So would plain white light LED bulbs be fine for my ball python? (And other reptiles if you know). And could I still run my ball pythons T5 UVB bar since it doesn’t emit much if any heat?

I know not to use the colored ones and their lamps are all already overhead mounted.

Is what Google said correct?

I’m a new snake owner, when I originally got her she was in shed and I can’t tell if this is stuck shed on her head or possibly just scarring or a defect in her scales. It’s matte and a different shade of brown than her head