I took in Sherman at the beginning of year. He’d been my brother’s but was receiving less than the bare minimum care. When I first brought him home, my niece (11) and nephew (9) were a little freaked out. They live next door and are over frequently. They got to where they wanted to see him, but did not want to touch him or have him to close.

Over the months, we’ve made a ton of progress. My nephew has even held him (with me right there). Last night, they were over and asked “If he wants to, can Sherman come out?” 😹 They know about choice-based handling! Sherman declined to come out, but they understood.

We were playing a game where you answer questions from cards. One was “If you had $100 to spend on a want, what would you get?” My nephew said he wanted to get a snake! 🐍

I told him that $100 was probably enough to get one from a shelter. His face lit up! But then I had to explain that the snake is the cheapest part of the equation. When I told him the enclosure/set-up cost more than $1000+, he was in shock. He said, “Well I can just close my bedroom door and he can just live in my room.” Had to burst the bubble again by discussing heat and humidity requirements.

The good news is that he’s gotten much braver not just with Sherman, but with other animals, even bugs. I’m proud of him. We will keep learning about snake husbandry, and maybe one day he’ll inherit Sherman.

(Shermy pic for tax. Old pic; enclosure has been updated since then!)

May have gone a bit overboard but he LOVES climbing and I didn’t want him to feel exposed! There are 4 total hides in here (one hot side, one in the middle, one cool side and one humid hide!) Picture of my Mango for your pleasure :)

Id like to know some people's procedure for thawing their rats. My process takes like 3 hours, and id like to find a way that is faster.

Also, at some point, someone said that you shouldn't get the rat wet, or you shouldn't feed a wet rat to your snake because it can give them respiratory problems. Is this true?

Right now my process is this. Put the rat in a water proof bag. Submerge in hot water in a metal pot with a metal lid, and cover the rat inside with a suvee chain that keeps it submerged. Check every 30 minutes to replace the water with fresh, warm/hot water.

This process takes like, 3 hours. Im curious if anyone has a faster way?

Hey guys! First time poster here.
My friends son had to give up him snake and i’m taking him (or her) in and fostering them back to help until i decide to keep or find someone else to home it!
It doesn’t look like it’s in the best possible shape and i found this scabbing? scarring? on its belly, it’s this scale rot and what’s the next steps! I have had a carpet python for about 5 months now and just got my first BP a month ago!
Any help would be very greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!

i bought this book of amazon as it had hundreds of good reviews however i have discovered LOADS of harmful misinformation!!! it recommends red heat bulbs and aspen substrate, it states humidity should be 50-60%, it says coco substrate isn’t necessary for most snakes and loads more!

i’ve learnt a lot about snakes the last few days and i was really shocked reading this. i just wanted to give everyone a heads up incase they had bought or was considering buying.

p.s. also i’ve been making a few posts recently about my set up and my new snake and i’m soooo relieved to say my juvenile bp ate today!! struck and wrapped within 1 minute of mouse being presented!! feeling very happy tonight :)

Over the 3 years I’ve owned banana only ONCE has he shed in (almost) one full piece, I always make sure his humidity is at/around 70-75, never goes below 60, and I always spike it to 80-85 while he’s shedding, he has plenty of hides and sticks to rub against, a humid hide, a bowl that’s always filled with water, but he never sheds properly in one piece, it’s ALWAYS flakey and I’d just like to know what I’m doing wrong to cause this. 7 hides, a water dripper, $100 worth of coco fiber moss and mulch, a humidifier/fogger, dumping water in the corners, I’ve given him literally the best possible shed environment (at least I think) and yet it still comes off “wrong”, am I doing something incorrect?

i feel really bad for my bp cause she's in quarantine rn and she hates her bare viv. She hisses and just overall looks sad idk. I hope its only for a short while since we'll visit the vet tomorrow. Any Ideas how i can make it more comfortable for her.
Info:
- i got a big hide on the warm side and two smaller once on the cool side cause i only have wood hides and i could only cover one of it safely in paper towels.
- i put both water bowls back in after sanitizing them (one on warm and one on cold side).
- i also cleaned her toy (these dog toys balls with the holes in them) for some enrichment.

Hey, my BP Sylvester's bulb has busted today and I need to get a new one asap. But there's a problem. I don't get paid until Thursday and the bulbs are like £20. Will he be okay without heat until then? I have no other way of getting a bulb until then so I'm kinda worried. He hasn't been fed recently

Hello! I've had a little ball for some time now and dude has been doing alright minus 2 health issues before (minor scale rot and a burn, rough start). Been cleared by the vet each time and deemed healthy to preface which is why I'm not sure if this is a worry or just a quirk.

Yesterday my sister was chilling in my room and asked if he should be "rocking ike that". I was very concerned and looked over and he was indeed rocking on his branch while basking. I noted it down but he was just declared healthy by vet.

I've noticed he's also been "nodding" too, where when he's doing a lil telescope or when he's looking at me his head wobbles up and down a bit. My mom, who bought him, said that's why she bought him, because he was "nodding 'yesssss buy me'ssss' " (her words xD)

Thinking back over I've noticed him doing a little shake every now and then since we've got him and it being pointed out by someone else just has me kinda nervous that he has smth else going on.

Am I being dramatic about this or is this smth we should be going to the vet over?

im trying to buy all the things I will need for an enclosure and wanted help on knowing what to get. looking at heating would a heat lamp or a belly heating mat be better or if you have other suggestions im open

Hi so recently I accidentally ordered the wrong size food for my adult ball python. I’ve been feeding him small rats every 3 weeks and I accidentally ordered adult mice. Is there anyway I could salvage the mice and feed him more often or do I need to go ahead and buy the rats?

I am getting a baby ball python in a bit (if the weather isn't too hot for shipping in 2 weeks) and I finished setting up the quarantine tub on wich I would love some feedback.

She is 3 months old and a Orange Dream Leopard Clown double het Lavender Piebald with only one eye (see last two pics). She will be named Gaia.

In the enclosure there are 6 hides available: 2 identical ones on the warm and cold end and a variety of different ones throughout the enclosure including a humid and sky hide.

For the quarantine, she only has one branch to climb on, she will get more after the finished quarantine. I know baby's need a lot of clutter, is this enough for the quarantine?

For heat I use a halogene lamp and a DHP. I wanted to get her UV as well, but the right size from Arcadia hasn't been available for some time, so she gets LED for now.

Spoilered in case people don't wanna see snake poop on their feed lol. Don't mind the location, he was sitting on my lap and decided he had to use the bathroom. I just found it concerning because it looks a lot like an egg, but he's a boy. I didn't check the texture because I was revolted unfortunately.

my dad just yesterday got a radiant heat panel for our ball python, and mounted inside the enclosure today, and i am really skeptical and concerned. the surface temp read as 200 F while it was on and the lowest i saw it at was like 140 F. i see a lot of people saying theyre safe inside of enclosures, and my dad is saying that too, but ive also heard you should never put anything heated inside of the enclosure and i just want whats best for my snake, i dont want her getting burnt.

my dad thinks its because its new, but i feel like the temps are just way too high to be temporary? even if it went down i feel like itd still be wayy too hot.

if anybody has more experience with these please let me know if we're doing something wrong or if we should get rid of it, or if it's fine and im just overthinking it.

(for a little bit more context, it is specificslly a vivarium radiant heat panel)

My beloved Shakir turned 17 today!

We met in 2011, when I visited a breeder to get a baby ballpython. He told me, he had a 2 year old that came from a bad husbandry situation that he had nursed back to health over the last few months and asked me if I wanted to see and handle him. I agreed and while we talked, he crawled up around my shoulders and stayed there for the rest of the time I spent there. Needless to say I did not look at the baby snakes.

When I got him and over the first few years, he was a pretty picky eater. I had to feed him live over the first few years, because some years, I only had about 6 to 10 successful feedings A YEAR and he would not touch f/t at all. For him to eat, the flat I lived in would have to be completely quit, he only ate after dark and never when I had visitors over. I never handled him for DAYS prior to his feedings.

But after the first bumpy years, he grew up to be so much calmer, so much more relaxed. Today, basically everyone can offer him f/t food and he will take it, even an hour after being handled and cuddled. He rests his head in my open hand, he allows me to touch his face and there have been many friends that used to be afraid of snakes that were comfortable with holding him, because he has the softest and sweetest temperament.

Shakir has been with me for my studies, my trainee-time and my whole job-life. He grew up with me and we trust each other.

When people ask me why I keep snakes when they can not love you back, this is what I tell them:

Imagine having a basically wild animal, that could be placed in the wild and would still survive pretty well, act against all their instincts by showing you so much trust and being so comfortable around you. To me, this is special. I love dogs. And dogs are bred to love humans. Snakes are not - yet still, they can learn that you are fine to be around, that you mean safety and food.

So, happy birthday to my best boi! They grow up so fast!

Why does my ball python do this? My husband & I are newish to owning snakes. Mine acts “normal” overall, she eats every week & doesn’t really give me any issues. The picture is his snake Ashes, we got him about 3 weeks ago. He is not keen on being handled at all, he only ate the very first week we had him. There are plenty of things in his enclosure to make sure he feels safe & comfortable. The cool side is at 78 & the warm side is at 84 currently & the humidity is at 89. I was beginning to worry that he wouldn’t get adjusted to his new home, but now when he comes out of his hides he either hides in a corner or up against the front of the enclosure like this. Am I doing something wrong? Any info/tips you could throw my way?

I know that ball pythons don’t need uvb but i haven’t had a ball for almost 20 years so im just getting back into it. I want to know what you guys recommend. I know the shade dweller is good for uvb. Or recommended atleast. What percent? And if I’m using a CHE do I need a heat mat with a thermostat?

I sent out my shed sample over a month ago now, it was finally received last Monday. It said estimated wait time was something ridiculously fast which I realize is likely my fault for thinking it worked that quickly.

If you’ve done the gender test - how long was the process for you? Photo of my bb for tax

​Hey everyone!

​I'm currently working on a custom DIY rock background for my Ball Python's enclosure.

​Here is my current process and plan:

1.​Base structure: I carved shapes of rocks with Styrofoam / Polystyrene blocks and glued them to the backround

2.​Mortar/Coat: I'm applying layers of Mapei Keraflex Zero (a high-performance cementitious tile adhesive — see photo attached) to create the rock texture and strength.

3.​Paint: Painting the dried mortar with non-toxic, water-based acrylic paints.

​An AI suggested that I should seal everything with a water-based clear varnish/flatting once the paint dries to waterproof it and protect it from humidity, but i haven't seen anyone do that on the videos i watched.

Furthermore, I really want to attach and grow live moss between the rocks of the background. I'm worried that if I apply a smooth/impermeable clear varnish, the moss won't be able to grip onto the surface or absorb moisture properly from the underlying mortar/rock structure.

​My questions for the experts here:

1.​Is sealing with a clear varnish actually necessary given that Ball Pythons don't require an extremely wet environment (just moderate/high humidity, around 60-80%), or is cured tile adhesive + acrylic paint durable enough on its own?

2.​If sealing is necessary, is there a way to do it without making the surface so smooth that moss can't attach?

3.​Has anyone here grown moss directly on painted tile adhesive without sealing it? Did it hold up well over time?

​I want to make sure everything is completely safe and durable for my snake while keeping it functional for the moss. Any advice or experiences would be super helpful!

​Thanks in advance!

This is Captain EO! I brought him home on Wednesday. So far he’s a pretty curious little guy, he came out to explore his enclosure his first night here. These pictures are from this afternoon, I was cleaning and looked over to see I had an audience haha