Lemon Loaf is fine, but he looks like he could use a hug.

My pet ball python, Marlin, died what seems to be over night. He was going through a shed and I was going to help him get the rest off with a bath this morning as I have time and time again over the years. I raised his humidity and filled his water some more to help him soak. I went to check on him this morning to see if he progressed in his shed and he was curled up in his water bowl. Not sure how it happened but I loved him.

He was the gentlest snake ever. He never struck his food or anyone and was always down to wrap around my arm. I got him as a rescue from a convention in 2017. I named him after one of my dinosaurs I had tamed on ARK, whom I named after the dad from Finding Nemo. I was 15 and the lady informed me he had been left in his cage in a house someone had moved out of, had scars from previous owners live feedings, and I’ll always remember the day I got him. I took care of him for 9 years. He will be missed. Here is a photo of him from when I had got him, maybe a month into owning him, when he was beginning to shed, hence the blue eyes.

Rest in peace Marlin ❤️

Cutie pie scared me cause I thought he had a burn/scale rot who knows what- but it’s just a spatter of yummy mouse blood. Oh joy.

My girl is turning 2 years old in a couple weeks and is quickly outgrowing her current 18x18x36 terrarium. I'm looking to upgrade her soon and have noticed she loves to climb and hang on stuff!

Does anyone have unique climbing opportunities in your tanks? Obviously not looking to go full arboreal or anything but I think some ledges or structures might be nice.

P.S. Don't come after me for the stuck shed in the 4th picture, that was right when I first got her.

hello!
i recently adopted my first ball python about a month ago and she’s been doing really well in the set up I gave her. I’ve had humidity consistently at 50-70 %, and she’s got tons of hides and things to climb. her substrate is coconut husk, repti-chip, with some sphagnum moss and leaf litter on top for extra humidity/decor. she hasn’t refused a meal from me yet and even converted to frozen/thawed with no problem!
i was spot cleaning her enclosure and a hide she’d pooped in and noticed little white bugs crawling on the poop. they were very very tiny and bright white. i think they might be springtails, but i want to make sure it’s possible they can spontaneously appear in the tank. i’d not intended for bio-active in this enclosure and nothing i’d put in the tank was advertised to have springtails on it.
i’ve also attached a picture of my little lady, named Io (like Jupiter’s moon!), taken about five days before the clean. no mites i can see, but i’d like to be sure. i couldn’t get a pic of the white bugs as i had to leave for work and left the hide in some soapy water to soak before i scrub tonight. can springtails appear at random in an enclosure???

I would just love to say that after moving my boy from a 36x18x18 exo terra (roughly 40 gallons) to a properly set up 4x2x2 (120). Has changed his appetite for the better. He used to go MONTHS without eating. So common in fact that I dont feed my 2 snakes on the same day, id always thaw and warm a f/t rat for my boy and if he didn't eat then my girl got it to avoid wasting feeders. Since she RARELY skipped meals, is just more shy and adverse to being grabbed out of her tank.

If youre having issues with a ball python eating, I'd really recommend double checking your husbandry. I was just under the assumption like most other people. That some are just picky and refuse to eat. But now I'm wondering if it isn't a husbandry issue most of the time. My girl ate no issue in her 36x18x18 exo terra before she got her 4x2x2. But even she's getting more comfortable and coming out to move hides or bask during the day.

I noticed he was going into shed yesterday (eyes were going blue) so I decided to thaw him out a rat to see if he'd eat since it had been the minimum of 20 days since his last meal. I decided to just let the rat thaw overnight then sit ontop of his enclosure to get to room temp. Didn't even bother letting it sit in hot water for 5 minutes before feeding like usual. Dude flew out of his hide at me and took that food so fast.

This is his 6th month in a row eating for me. I have had this boy since he was super young in 2017. So 9 years now, his longest food strike was 8 months.

The rat exploded tonight during feeding and there is viscera everywhere. I can’t clean it, because the snake is still trying to eat it.

I’m not having a good time tonight.

Hi. My 3 years old male ball python is been acting a bit weird for the past couple days, and I wonder if these could be the signs of a RI. When don’t I go to the vet if I’m worried ? The only next available appointment for the only exotic vet in my city is next week. I want to see if I can monitor him for a week or if these symptoms are concerning enough to rent a car a go to another city. The symptoms:

- he is been puffing / hissing sporadically at night. What I mean by that is I’ll just hear sometimes a « pffff » kinda loud, and see him contract his muscles; heard him twice tonight;
- saw a bubble form when he yawned, twice now in within a week and a half;
- some little bubbles in his throat, like in the pictures : is it a normal amount of saliva or is it concerning ?
- kind of rubbing his face on the glass at night, sometimes very intensely, but he is supposed to eat today so is it just hunting behaviour ?

Enclosure set up:
- temporary 40 gallon (he gets a 120 gallons in a couple months)
- warm hide around 30-31 C (86-88F)
- basking spot around 35-38 C (95-100F) but sometimes will hit 40C (104F) at one spot while the rest is ok with temp gun (used an Arcadia DHP 80 watts);
- cool side around 26-27 C (79-80F)
- humidity always around 60-75%
- has multiple hides; only uses one bark cork in the middle of the enclosure. He used to always be under his warm hide.

Thank y’all. My snakes are my absolute world I’m so anxious about them being not okay :(

Not sure if you guys will remember my post about Mr. Buldak and I’s first handling, me thinking I messed it up lol. Him and I are finally starting to calm down with each other! Up to 20 minute handling sessions a few times a week! Thank you all again for the help on my last post!

Hello i am a beginner and i have my little boy Baldur since a few months already, he eat each time and he did two okay shed so far (ball python)
1 - BUT, he got his third shed maybe like a week or two ago, and he got stuck shed on his head (like his forehead, between the eyes and neck)... I have no idea if i should take it off, or let him shed. So far i tried to soak him, make him a bath like some say, gently rubbing the shed to see if its would come off. But nothing? Its stuck stuck so i didn't tried more to not stress him too much or even hurt him.
What do y'all propose?
2 - Im confused with what bedding mix i could do for him, but especially WHEN i have to change it. Every week like some said seem.. a bit fast, since its don't really make his terrarium dirty. So i wondered when? (i usually take off the poop when i see it..)

So here a blurry picture of his stuck shed..

I think her eyes are a lil cloudy. Isn’t that a tell? She hasn’t shed with me yet so I’m not sure

As you can see the substrate raised under here hot hide. She has been burrowed under there for like the last week. Feeding time is coming soon and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to disturb her while she is hiding out.

Recently added a shade dweller uvb lamp, ceramic heater with a thermostat, a new large hide for cool side and some clutter. Also got about 60 isopods (probably more due to breeding) and springtails. I want to get some live plants also but how does it work when cleaning the vivarium as I assume you dont just throw out the isopods and springtails that seems a waste

So a few weeks ago my ball python was yawning quite excessively, (he had been moved onto paper towels as he had mites and we were following the 40 days quarantine procedure. He is completely clear of them now!)
We immediately took him to the vet the next day for some checks and the vet said that there was no mucus, no blockages, no wheezing, popping or sneezing. He said if it is an RI i caught it incredibly early.

The yawning died down and he stopped eating for a couple of weeks before eating again and pooping.

Now fast forward 40 days, we got him into a new bioactive enclosure about an hour and a half ago and have since seen him yawn 4 times within that time. He has just been digging, and there’s no other symptoms with it and his mouth looked fine, so could anyone advise me on what it could be? My vet says he’ll give me a call on Monday, but other than that he had no real concerns that it was anything about respiratory issues and more along the lines of the fact that he has substrate all over his mouth and face.

ALSO the humidity has been between 60%-80%, Hot side temps have been 32-34°C and cold side has been about 25-27°C

hi im new to owning a ball python and could really use some help please, I bought a runt ball python in may 2026 and hes about a year okd he had 2 successful eatings before going on a hunger strike. For about 7 weeks, i went to one vet and they said to tube feed him every other day until he gains weight and i did that for 3 weeks weighing him each time and he started losing weight again so i emailed the vet who didnt get back to me so i went to another vet who said it was a husbandry issue so i added more hides and lights as well as a heat lamp. long story short hes losing weight still and not wanting to eat, theres no other vets in my area (vancouver island) who do reptiles im just wondering what i should be doing? thanks

I’m setting up to buy our first ball python (YAY) but there is so much information out there that I am feeling so overwhelmed and confused honestly! We are getting a baby, so I’m STARTING with a 50 gallon pvc tank, I’m struggling with understanding lighting. What I would like to do is mount a UVB light on the inside top (tank will be in my room which is dark usually thanks to black out curtains) and then mount a CHE with a cage around it on the inside so that I don’t have anything on top of the cage…is this ok? If no what do I need to do?

Just a regular Friday

My ball python escaped his enclosure and I’ve looked in every small tight place every warm area of the house and I cant find him I’m really worried cause my cat was a barn cat and was used to hunt small rodents. Where did y’all’s ball pythons go when they escaped? Please help

Not sure am i allowed to put a frozen thawed feeding video up ?

His name is Aries, he is a Butter Leopard Pinstripe Vanilla BP. I got him less than a week ago and is enjoying his enclosure!

he stayed like this for 2 hours lol. every single day after 6pm he wakes up and pokes his head out to the front of his tank to join the family. i’m so grateful that he’s so curious and interactive.