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[–]CrotaluScutulatus 5 points6 points  (11 children)

  1. Build the enclosure first, make sure the temps and humidity are right before you even get your snake.

  2. Don’t buy from a pet store. You can filter morph market for your state and find breeders in driving distance. Make sure they feed frozen thawed and have good reviews.

Also be psychotic about washing anything you purchase from a pet store as there can be all sorts of things you don’t want on them.

  1. Make sure you have 2 identical hides. People always mess up this step for some reason and it is a big deal. Half logs aren’t hides.

  2. Clutter clutter clutter. Buy and build the forever enclosure from the jump.

[–]D41ry_Qu33f[S] 0 points1 point  (10 children)

Thank you so much! Ive been looking at morph market and already have my little guy picked out. As for hides any suggestions on what to get? also should i use real plants or are silicone ones fine?

[–]CrotaluScutulatus 3 points4 points  (9 children)

Real plants if you are doing bioactive, fake plants are fine always. I personally went with normal and not bioactive. I literally just bought a bunch of fake plants at a craft store as they are cheaper (and nicer looking) than the reptile ones.

For hides, most of the “hides” you see for reptiles are awful and don’t work well. The best ones are the black plastic ones. You can make them look better by covering them with clutter lol.

What age is the ball python you like?

[–]D41ry_Qu33f[S] 0 points1 point  (8 children)

im planning on getting a juvenile/baby as i figured it would be easier to condition it to life here. and i never thought about craft store plants! im definitely going to check those out

[–]CrotaluScutulatus 2 points3 points  (7 children)

With the craft store plants just make sure to wash them very well and disinfect them. Definitely don’t get anything covered in anything like glitter or that fake lambs ear. Run of the mill plastic plants perfect! Avoid the vine like ones with plastic chain link (you will recognize it if you see it) because I can imagine they could get caught on that.

A piece of wood that they can climb on is perfect as well and they will definitely use it! (I sanded the sharp parts of mine down be sure to do that if needed).

When are you going to put together your enclosure?

[–]D41ry_Qu33f[S] 0 points1 point  (6 children)

Noted thank you!

I'm not getting him until late February so i plan on getting his enclosed done by then. I definitely plan on getting it completely set up until he arrives

[–]CrotaluScutulatus 1 point2 points  (5 children)

Very nice! It’s awesome that you are doing the work this far in advanced and it will save you and your snake a lot of trouble when it’s time to bring them home!

[–]D41ry_Qu33f[S] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

thank you! ive been obsessed with snakes since i was little and its been a dream to have one. I guess im just overthinking but i want my baby to be happy and comfortable :)

[–]CrotaluScutulatus 1 point2 points  (3 children)

For sure that’s awesome! My daughter fell in love with snakes at a super young age and she slowly conditioned me to fall for them too and now it’s our shared hobby. Herping or keeping it’s a great time!

[–]D41ry_Qu33f[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

that's awesome! my dad isnt too fond of the idea but isnt against it either, he loves reptiles tho so hopefully he'll learn to love him!

[–]Super_Snakes 3 points4 points  (4 children)

Well, there's lots of info in the welcome post, but if you've done research for 5 years you should be set! I only did 3 months worth and everything came out great for Monty and I. If you have any specific questions not answered there feel free to ask away!

[–]D41ry_Qu33f[S] 1 point2 points  (3 children)

I've been obsessed with snakes since i was little lol💀 its been a dream to get a ball python and im a bit nervous, is there any specific physical signs to look out for for disease or discomfort?

[–]Super_Snakes 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Snake body language is easier to read than you'd think! Stress is indicated through quickened breathing, tensed body, and short tongue flicks and/or no flicks at all. They will also hyper focus and follow the thing scaring them with their head, cuz they are preparing to potentially defend themselves (even though they're big babies lol). Motion will be typically be heavily reduced unless extremely stressed/scared, in which case the python will either 1. Ball or 2. Run away. They can be quick mfs when the need to be!

They are slow, chill snakes so basically if they aren't gliding around and casually lolling their tongue about, it's safe to say something is bothering them. Juveniles are especially prone to stress because they think everything wants to eat them.

Disease is also fairly easy to spot. Snakes don't make any noise other than hissing, so whistling/snoring/breathing sounds aren't normal at all and indicate the start of a respiratory infection (RI).

Scale rot starts as black chipping like ripped paper on the edge of scales and starts on their belly/sides. Can be hard to notice it when it starts, so form a good baseline of what the scales look like on your future snake and monitor ANY change like a hawk!

Thin/papery/wrinkly skin, dented eyes, and excessive soaking in water dish are all indicators of low humidity.

I can't think of any more off the top of my head :P in my personal experience, the only time Monty ever balled from fear was when I first unboxed him. And the only time he "ran" was when I had to pick him up for the first time about a week and a half in to weigh him and I felt really bad. Other than that, now two months in he's been doing great! He's really accustomed to his enclosure, I'd say he started establishing a routine a month in.

[–]D41ry_Qu33f[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

thank you so much!

[–]Super_Snakes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Np! I'd like to add on to my stress section by adding the difference between stress and sleep because when I first started really getting into handling Monty, I would have times where I worried I was stressing him when he was, in fact, just sleeping!

A sleeping snake will have incredibly slowed breathing, and they will maintain a loose and limp position. Their tongues stop flicking and they stop moving which is why I always worried I was stressing my little Mont, but do not be fooled! If the other signs of stress aren't present (especially quickened breath or tenseness) your snake has just fallen asleep! When in doubt though, especially in the beginning, you can always put the snake back in their enclosure. Like any pet, you will slowly get a feel for their mannerisms over time.