I’m a new owner to a ball python along with my boyfriend. He’s owned a ball python in the past, as well as anoles & tree frogs. I’ve only ever had dogs, cats, fish, and hamsters. I want to educate myself without bombarding him with questions, so I figured I’d ask here.

Do ball pythons need yearly check ups like dogs and cats do? I know they don’t need vaccinations, which is typically the main reason for yearly visits in other animals, but are there any health issues to keep an eye out for?

One of my ball pythons, a rescue we named Hurt as ee got him prom Petco with the side of his neck open about a year ago as they had him in a tank of about 3-4 other ball pythons, recently had a lump appear infront of his right eye. My wife and I do a thorough check on our animal room atleast twice a day. Bringing that up because it seemingly appeared out of nowhere about 4-5 days ago. This morning, my wife sent me this picture of him pointing out how it's gotten worse and is starting to cause his lips(?) to separate. Currently both of us have bad credit so care credit isn't unfortunately an option for a vet visit and we can't currently afford one, so I was curious on if anyone as any potential thoughts on diagnosis and treatment?After im off work today i planned on trying to find the money but im stressed about my noodle 🙃

since I've moved him from the 10G to 40G tank, he's been hiding a lot more despite a significant increase in hiding spaces. Back then he'd hide in the warm hide a lot, and with the old aspen substrate I had really high humidity on the warm side (70%) such that I had condensation and some mold. Now with the new coconut husk and cypress, humidity is at the same percentage, but without all the condensation and stuff and he's been hiding on the cold side a lot more (80% humidity).

Temps in the tank are still 90 warm and 80 hot ambient as before, but I'm questioning if the surface temps are too low now (it was at 90° before for surface and now about 80-85)

Trying to figure out if this is cus of hiding spaces, him being unfamiliar with the increase in enclosure size, humidity, or temp.

Hi everyone! We currently have a 500g male, 800g male, and we are getting a 1500g female and a 2000g female. What are your favorite water dishes for large ball pythons?

Before I get my Ball Python in 6 months what's some knowledge I should know? I've looked into a good substrate. I've looked into what to feed her. I've looked at good temperatures, good humidities. And I've started to looking into a bioactive enclosure

hello i have been going back and forth for literal years on a snake and have finally decided to move twords getting a little noodle i love ball pythons and the size of the especially but the term python and then being a constricter makes me a bit anxious. does anyone here know how likely it is for them to constrict around you, if they are the safest big snake and just any other pieces of advice or tips i might need to know. ive begun my research and probably won’t get one for another 6mo-year but want to start now so once i get the little fella im completely prepared! thank you

edit: big snake as in bigger than a corn snake. that was the other snake i was between and i wanted someone with a bit more heft!

I have a 6 year old BEL python and I’ve noticed he’s a tad more skittish with other people handling him. He will usually just hide his face, or slither his way back into my arms.

In my arms he is very open and active and is constantly moving. With other people he won’t move, just lays in there hands pretty still.

Just curious is that’s a trait anyone else has noticed with their snakes

EDIT: I got him as an adult in May of last year from a reptile expo, he's the newest but not brand new

Hello everyone. I have a 3-tub rack with belly heat, hooked up to a thermostat. I have 2 juveniles in the top 2 tubs and had an adult in the bottom tub. Thermostat is set to 98F.

I recently had to move everything out of our bedroom so repairs could be done a week before Christmas and I put the rack in the kitchen and hooked it all back up. I KNOW everything was plugged in properly because I took pictures in case I doubted myself. I fed all 3 BPs two to three weeks ago (usually more often but we're having to move and it's been stressful and very busy. )

I've checked on them a couple times since the last feeding, and checked on them again two days ago and the thermostat was still plugged in, but their rack was unplugged from the thermostat. Thermostat read 63F because we use kerosene and space heaters to warm the house and it stays cool more often than not. I have no idea exactly how long they went without heat. I checked on them again this morning to make sure everything was fine and smelled something rotting. It was the adult in the bottom tub! But the two juveniles in the top 2 are alive and well.

He was curled up in a tight ball when he passed. I'm not sure if he was dead when I plugged their heat source back in and the heat just sped up the natural processes, or if he warmed up too fast and that did it. I have no idea about anything, I don't know how their heat was unplugged or who did it as my landlord has been in the house along with my boyfriend and his teenage son. I'm not even 100% sure if their heat source was on last time I fed them because I saw the thermostat was on, but didn't look to see what the temp read. I don't know how long he's been dead or anything and I'm devastated and I feel like such a bad noodle mom for not paying more attention. But if hypothermia was the cause, wouldn't the two juveniles who are much younger and much smaller have been affected before the much larger adult? If they didnt have heat during the last feeding, could that have caused this? Please be kind, I know this is my fault for not checking more often and not paying more attention. Thanks in advance for any insight.

My snake Monty shed a few days ago and it came off in about 3 pieces but she has this little patch on her head that won’t come off. I know soaking is bad and so is trying to rub it off her so I’m kind of at a loss of what to do, advice is appreciated

Just realized I never introduced reddit to this wonderful guy when I got him a while ago

Her tank is ~20ft away from my instruments, I know their sense of hearing is very limited but still, I dont want to ruin her day. I usually dont play super loud becuse I live in an appartment, but I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or info on this?

I've read as much as I could find, but I wanted to run this info past you guys and see what your thoughts are. I've had my snake for 3 years now, and I've never seen him do more than move through the water bowl. If he ever stayed in there, I wasn't around to see it.

Two nights ago, he spent the whole night in the water bowl and only moved when I started adding wet coir piles, thinking the humidity was low (it's been freezing here the last few weeks, so the electric heat might have dried things out?). Last night, he went right back to the water and is still there, well past his bedtime.

Without significant humidity changes, and with me never seeing him do this before, it almost has to be mites, right? I'm just about to order some predatory mites. I appreciate any thoughts you have on this.

Hi, my friends! I’m back again with more news about Flick. I know everyone was waiting to hear some updates.

Firstly, we finally got the blood panel results back. Flick is NEGATIVE for any infectious diseases, including IBD and Nidovirus. This is a huge relief, especially considering my other reptiles. His fecal exam also came back with nothing concerning to note, so this is good news, too.

He’s been getting his medication as instructed, boosted humidity in his tank, and after discussing it with our vet, I’ve also been giving him daily sauna treatments to try and help relieve his symptoms. Hearing him click and sneeze breaks my heart, so I’m trying to help him in any way I can. Naturally, he’s been living on the hot side of his tank… He’s trying his best to fight it, too.

I do believe he’s starting to show some improvements, but it’s still early on in the treatment phase, so I’m hoping it’ll be more noticeable as time goes on. He has a follow-up appointment on the 13th of this month to check on his progress.

I’m going to try and feed him this week, though honestly, I’m not expecting him to take anything until he starts to feel significantly better. The poor little guy is a fighter, though, so I still have high hopes. Just gotta take it one day at a time.

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Hello! Today is the day I should feed my python (it eats 15% of its body weight once a week and weighs 200g). Yesterday, I moved him to a larger enclousure. Should I feed it today or should I wait?

Hello,

We bought my daughter a ball python for her birthday. I was setting up the tank last night, which comes with a heating pad. I have a few questions regarding this and am looking for some help.

The tank is on a wooden surface & is flat. I assume it’s not safe to have a heating pad under a tank that lays flat because there would be no air flow.

How do I go about making this safe? Is there something I can buy to make the tank higher? What should I put between the heating pad and the wood so that the wood isn’t ruined?

Any help would be appreciated!

I’d love to give my girl more things to climb on, but I’m not sure how to achieve this. I also want to make the space feel more ‘rural,’ especially on the platform in the top left. However, it’s difficult because she always knocks everything off. Any tips are welcome!

I just recently got a new BP but she won't eat the f/t mice I give her. I offered her two different sizes, but she just didn't seem interested. I'm wondering if the way I'm thawing them has something to do with this, since the BP my friend got won't eat the f/t mice either. We both thaw them by putting the bodies in a ziploc bag submerged in hot water for about 10 minutes. Is there any other ways that I could try thawing that may be more effective? Or is there a way to take the internal temperature of the mouse to see if it's warm enough? I just have a feeling there's an issue we've made when thawing their food. Thank you for any advice!

Hello :) I've been researching and reading everything about ball pythons and their husbandry for the past year (more intensely for 2 months) and i'm still confused about some parts especially heating..
I don't have a bp yet, but i'm thinking on going bioactive right away :) for now i have these equipments noted (i already have a few such as the enclosure, temp gun and branches, will get the rest and ofc the bp later when everything's well established) :

- OSB enclosure (120x60x60 or 4x2x2)

- substrate for bioactive setups (don't have a definitive mix yet but i got this noted : drainage layer with clay balls + geotextile, then a mix of charcoal, sphagnum moss, reptisoil, sand, some sort of bark and leaf litter for the CuC)

- temp gun

- UVB tube (Arcadia Pro T5 UVB 6% 39W 87cm (or smaller, not sure), LumenIZE, i've seen conflicted reviews about luminize but it seems nice anyway)

- Deep Heat Projector (Arcadia's 80W one)

- LED tube (Arcadia Jungle Dawn Connecter LED 57cm 35W, LumenIZE, for the plants)

- dimming thermostat with day/night cycles (HabiStat)

- thermometer / hygrometer (i believe the brand is Govee)

- long tweezers and maybe a hook

- veterinarian disinfectant for cleaning

- big water dish

- hides (hot side, cold side and maybe a humid one)

- plants, branches and other stuff to decorate/create clutter

now i've seen people using both DHP and Halogen, but they also seem to have some lights that look to be uvb tubes but is it necessary to have these three together ? or is it "overkill" ?
as a note i'm in the south of France but it does get pretty cold during winter, don't know if this an help decide
i also would like to know if i should have a meshed top or keep the top closed ? having an OSB and it being not yet "finished", i'd like to know if i modify it or just screw everything in place inside (light/heat wise)

Thanks a lot to anyone helping me out on this :) ♥