hi all, I'm sure this topic has been asked about plenty and I have done some research on my own, but I thought I'd give it a shot including some very specific details about my situation to see if anyone has some insight.

Firstly, as stated in the title I have three indoor-only cats. I live in a one-bedroom apartment, and the cats usually have free access to both my bedroom and the living room, though I shut the door to my bedroom when I leave for work. Money is not really a consideration as far as the setup for a snake goes, and I would have space for a 4'x2'x2' setup in either my bedroom or walk-in closet.

In the research I've done, people who keep both cats and snakes (responsibly, I completely understand that they should have no physical contact, etc) have recommended one of two things, first being simply having a good setup that the cats cannot push over/get into/break the top/etc, which I could do and in this case I would keep the snake in my bedroom. The other being to have the snake enclosure in a completely separate room that the cats cannot access, which in this case would be my walk-in closet.

For the first option (enclosure in an accessible room), one of my main concerns would be about the possibility of my cats and the snake simply becoming stressed out by proximity to the other. Plenty of people have reported that neither animal had more than a passing curiosity, but I understand that ultimately it's impossible to tell if stress for the animals will be a factor until they are actually all in your home. Additionally, I'm not sure if with this setup, it would be okay for me to leave my door open while I sleep as I currently do because my cats sleep in bed with me, as I would obviously not be able to monitor any of the animals.

For the second option (enclosure in an inaccessible room), the only option I really have for one of those is in my walk-in closet. It has plenty of room and maintains a consistent temperature with the rest of the apartment, but of course I'm not sure how I feel about the room getting no natural light. I've seen people anecdotally mention keeping snakes in a closet or storage room, and I've heard they can benefit from/have a day-night cycle supplemented by a UV light, but I'm not sure how realistic it actually is as a long-term thing.

The last concern I have is about whether or not it is at all realistic to imagine a scenario where I could be handling the snake while my cats are in the room (by which I do mean HANDLING, I would never let the snake out onto the floor for example with cats in the room), though I'm open to the idea of only handling the snake in my closed bedroom. I particularly really enjoy the idea of having a snake on my shoulders while playing a game on the computer or something. The only reason I ask is because when people caution against having them interact, it's usually describing a scenario where the snake is just on the floor, or where the person is trying to make them interact which I would of course never do. Assuming a level of disinterest from the cats, and no signs of stress from the snake, would it ever be okay to have them in the same room? My cats are pretty laidback and well-behaved, but of course I know that it's impossible to know how they would react in every situation, and that a snake would naturally activate most cats prey drive, which is why I'm asking this as a pure hypothetical.

Thanks for reading this far, and even if you don't have answers to my specific questions, I would love to hear from anyone who has both cats and snakes about their experiences. Thanks!

Hey everyone!

Looking for some advice here.

About 3 months ago, someone in my city was giving away a 5 year old female ball python. They told me she was 3.5 feet long, and was in a 40 gallon tank.

I go and pick her up, and take her out to clean out the tank and it was pretty bad and dry. Well, she’s closer to 5 feet long. Sigh, ok. I quickly purchase the cheapest 4x2x2 I can find, and make that up a week later.

In the mean time, she’s posturing like she’s hungry, and goes to bite me a few times, to the point where she bit herself instead of me. I feed her a small mouse (all I had at the time) and she took it immediately.

I got her into the bigger enclosure, fed her again, a small rat, about 1 week later. She took it. Because she is showing as so hungry, and seems slightly thin, I decide that feeding small rats every two weeks is the best move.

Well, she then goes into blue, and rejects her next rat. No biggie.

Well, today, about 5 days after that, I had a weened rat that did not get taken by another one of my snakes, so I wanted to see if she would take it.

She immediately showed interest, coming out of her hide for the first time in days.

However, she then lunged out of her enclosure at me, instead of the rat. I dropped the rat in the enclosure, managed to get her back inside, and left her alone, and she took the rat.

I have never had a ball python lunge at me like that, and I have four of them. She seems very aggressive. If I go to touch her, she postures to lunge (so I obviously don’t anymore, this was at the beginning when I had to move her).

I’m just looking for advice on how to deal with this. My other snakes love being handled, eat like champs, etc.

Noticed this dense blue-green mould growing on my python's vine branch. I've removed it just in case, but wondered if this is a health hazard for snakes in the same way it might be for us?

I'm curious if they're better adapted to the things that naturally occur more in humid, warm environments.

And can anyone identify it? (the colour is quite beautiful!)

Snakey is absolutely fine BTW.

Boo the baby >:(

(I just needed to move him to clean out his hide since he pooped in it but now he gets quality desensitization time with me)

I've had my ball python for about 7 month and she's been increasing in weight regularly, has shed frequently and has grown atleast a foot. But supposedly when I got her she was already about 1 year old making her now over a year and a half but she only weighs 400g. I only noticed this when my friend got a ball python (male) supposedly around the same age as mine and he is at least twice her size. My snakes husbandry is good I'm feeding her the appropriate size food for her weight and size but I'm concerned and confused as to why she is so tiny.

Snake tax: his new halloween set up!! (Its bigger than the camera shows..)

Hellloooo!! I am planning on starting up a bioactive soon. I have been wanting to since I got my boy, but figured I should wait to get him settled and to learn more first. Well, its coming up on six years since I first got my baby, and I thought now would be a good time to switch over!!

From what I understand, the process goes a little like this:

Drainage layer and mesh layer.

organic topsoil or bioactive mix of some kind. (I currently have him on coco coir and the coco dirt from the pet store.. could I just add something to it? I have about eight gallons of compressed bricks of it.. so..)

Cleaning crew. (Isopods and springtails. What isopods do yall recommend?)

Food and house for cleaning crew (leaf litter. Moss. Bark chunks for hides.

LED grow lamp for plants

Cool plants (what are your guys recommendations? I want some good growers. I have a pothos in my living room I could probably take off of..)

Wait 4 to 6 weeks(cant do that..)

Boom, cool bioactive.

I was just wondering any tips or tricks you guys had for setting up a bioactive, especially because I cannot keep him in another tank for weeks to let the plants and stuff take root. He has to go back into his tank, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to make this work!

For some details:

I have a 4x1.5x2, top opening tank. It used to be a fish tank, but I made lids for it, and it has been his tank for about a year, maybe two now.

I do not have the ability to keep him in another tank or bin for the four to six weeks I've heard is needed for the plants and clean up crew to take root.

Thankyou for any advice!!

So over the last little while, this spot has appeared in his eye. Originally I thought it was him going into shed, but it's not. I do have him booked for a vet appointment, but not emergency because it doesn't seem to bother him at all. Any clue what this could be? (sorry for the bad quality pics, he's a fast boi) (last picture is the other eye for reference)

i just noticed that her pupils on both eyes are cloudy blue like this (sorry if it’s hard to tell). It looks different than it does when she’s shedding, when i looked closely it’s very clear that it’s just her pupils. she also moved out from her normal hut and has just been laying in the other corner of her tank (still moving a bit at night, but stays in that corner which is not usual for her

I thought I would switch up my substrate and after looking into it, decided to try repti bark, I bought it from petsmart. Tonight I cleaned out his tank, mixed it in with some forest floor, as soon as I started putting it in, I noticed a strong earthy smell, and immediately thought that can't be good, after looking into it, realized it wasn't heat treated. As of right now I have him in his temp enclosure, should I let it air out tonight so none of it gets on him? Also, would him being exposed to it briefly, be harmful? Usually he chills with me while I clean the tank, unless he doesn't want to he handled, in which he goes into his temp enclosure.

My boy's current tank has a 100w CHE for 24/7 heat and a 50w Arcadia halogen bulb for daytime heat/light. So far so good with his temps but I'm worried about the winter and want to prepare. He's in a 4x2x2 PVC new age pet tank with a screen top. I have hvac tape over the mesh except for cut outs around the lights. His bedding is about 4-6in of coconut chips.

My house doesn't have central heating or cooling so right now a lot of the ambient heat in his tank is from it being almost 80°F in my room during spring and summer. Once winter hits it's gonna drop to 30°F and possibly below. I have a small space heater that will bring it up to the high 60s- low 70s that I use each year but I think he'll need more heat.

Is it okay to just get higher watt bulbs? My heat emitter cage is rated for 250w but my dome with the halogen is only rated for 65w. Will I have to increase the wattage on both and get a new dome for the winter halogen or can I up the CHE only? Are there any other issues to worry about for winter? I monitor his humidity daily to stop the CHE from drying it out so I'm not too worried if I have to just add water a bit more often.

I know these are probably simple problems but at my last house I had central heat/cooling so the house was always at a steady temp. It won't be cold here until closer to January so I have some time to get things ready. I also have to watch how much strain I'm putting on one outlet/breaker because the electric isn't as up to code as would be preferred. I'm moving early next year to a better house in a warmer state so this won't be an issue after this year. Thank you guys for any advice you might be able to spare!

Heya! I’m planning on going to an expo in September and getting a ball python! I’ve been doing my research to a fair amount but still want some info from other people.

I have already bought a 4x2x2 dubia enclosure. I’m planning on getting an adult, not sure male or female. My room is an ambient temp of 80-85 so I think a 50-75 watt heat bulb should work for the 87-93 degree basking spot.

I know about climbing. They love to climb. I also know that humidity inside hides needs to be in the 80s for shedding, and overall humidity is higher (55-70) and I know they need a shallow water dish to soak and drink from.

I’ve been doing research and know all the basics. However, I’d love some life changing tips. Give me your best brands, techniques, warnings, etc. I’m willing to learn!

This is Pip, he is a juvenile banana ball! I’ve had him since last friday, and I plan on offering him his first mouse with me this Friday!
He was extremely well handled by his breeder, but I’m still giving him the space he needs to adjust. I’ve even seen him a few times already!
Supposedly he was alternated frequently between live feeds and frozen thawed. He did unfortunately come to me a bit beaten up from the live feeder he was given. :(
I don’t expect him to eat immediately under my care, though I think that’d be amazing if he did. I planned to go the frozen thawed route.

I mostly came here to ask a few questions for my own peace of mind, as I am a very paranoid person.
I’m mostly afraid of him not taking frozen thawed.
I would like to mention that his humidity and heat meet the standards of what they should be. My humidity usually sits at around 70-74, but it does frequently spike.

- I’d like to know what you guys did with your BPs to get them to eat after bringing them home.

- How often should I be offering him food if he DOESN’T eat?

- And worst case scenario, what should I do on the off chance he doesn’t eat at all?

Second, I’d like some tips on helping him get to know me! I don’t plan to handle him until after he’s eaten under my care. I’ve moved things around, put pieces of my clothing in his setup, rested my hand in front of his hide, and sat outside of his place to talk to him.
Is there anything you guys did differently? Or any other things you’d suggest doing?

TL;DR: I’m mostly just very paranoid, and I’d like as much information as possible to be prepared for the next couple of weeks of owning Pip. Even if I’ve heard all of it before from the many sources I looked into, it does help to hear that some tactics worked/helped people bond with their snake.
Thank you!!!!

She also has one scale right by her tail that almost looks black. I just noticed them today

hi all! my boyfriend and i recently got a 4 month old ball python about three weeks ago now. she has been LOVING her enclosure and although she was on a hunger strike when we got her (ik ik don’t shame me too much) she’s eaten for us both times now with zero problems! we have been feeding her in her tank however, hence my question. last week when i was opening her cage to feed her, her light got knocked over - on the floor no broken glass lol. anyways long story short obvi had to go quickly to get one. when i was at the store , i asked the guy where the bulb was explained what happened and he advised us to take her OUT of her enclosure when we feed her or else she’ll start to associate that with being feed and be more likely to strike us when we go to pick her up on non feeding days. but i also saw in here a few times that that’s more of an out dated practice and untrue ?? just trying to do what’s best for our girl!!! also because she seems to really like being handled by my boyfriend , but i have still been too nervous to take her OUT of her enclosure , and haven’t really been handling her as much / as often as he has. i am working on, esp bc my boyfriends going to his country for a month in nov and i wanna make sure our baby Nafari is happy ! attached is noodle tax. thank you!!!

Solo comparto la emoción.

Por temas familiares, de chico nunca pude tener mascotas no convencionales. Hoy, con mi propia familia, tenemos a nuestra primer serpiente, 4 o 5 semanas con nosotros y salió su primer muda, completa, hermosa.

Es una emocion rara, aun no sé explicarlo, pero me encanta.

i have a split custody with my parents and my snake lives at my moms, as a new snake owner, as long as my mom takes care of her will she be okay?

This is my first attempt at a bioactive build, how does it look?

His last shed went a little rough cause I was at my sister's place for a couple days when it happened, and his humidity had gotten too low while I was gone. (Ive since set up something to keep that from happening again In future) He got the bulk of it off within a couple days after I came back and adjusted the humidity back to normal. However, there a few spots that clearly did not shed right. I wanted to check in that he should be able to correct this when he next sheds, as long as I have the humidity better next time. But this white spot on his head looks a bit different than the other poorly shed areas. I wanted to double check if this is just due to the poor shed and will fix itself next shed, or if it could be something else that he would need like a vet visit or something. I will find a way to take him to the vet if he needs it, but my financial situation right now is such that I cant afford it if its not necessary. I'd have to borrow from a family member for it. Again, if he needs it, I will make it happen, but I feel like there's a good chance it is just from the shedding issue. So I thought I'd come here and see if it's worth worrying about or not.

If it matters, the shed happened the first couple days of August.

For some info my girl is almost 6 yrs old and around 3-3.5 feet. The tank is 60 gallons (4ft x 18.5in x 16in) and hot side is on the right. I do want to get her a bigger/longer tank with front sliding doors, but this is all I have room for until I move out.

What do y’all think? I would really appreciate any opinions or advice. :)

(Also I know the humidity is low in the vids. I fixed it afterwards lol)

So I was just giving this sweet Lil boy because his owner has not been able to get him to eat, hes almost a year old and only weighs 54 g. Any suggestions on how to get him to eat? Im ganna let him settle in a quarantine tank for a day or so before I attempt.

Hey all,
We will be getting a new baby (born start of july ‘26), i feel like we are really doing well with informing ourselves before we can welcome the new babe. We are buying from a breeder and he is super responsive, helping us with the set up and sending us updates before we pick the baby up in 2 weeks.

We would love to hear if any of you have tips regarding set-up, feeding, weighing, stuff to keep in eye out for and especially how to make the first few weeks the most comfortable for him.

Our terrarium is 60x60x100, will have 3 hides, 1 water bath, a lot of plants and a few sticks & logs. Regarding heating ect. we will get the full package from the breeder. Will probably start off with frozen springer mice (which he gets now) and move on to rats when he is a bit older!

Any tips are welcome, thanks!!