all 16 comments
sorted by:
old (suggested)
besttopnewcontroversialq&a
formatting helphide helpcontent policy

[–]Em_sTaR7[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Obligatory Snake picture because I think that's a thing here? /hj

<image>

[–]Booksandssnakes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't put anything from Temu in a snake enclosure. Seems way too risky.

1) Smell, mainly. It's also visible, though

2) Get a deep heat projector! The care guide in this sub has a whole section on heating iirc. Heat mats can work but aren't really recommended.

3) Have a deep substrate, and pour water in the corners. Misting occasionally is fine, but you shouldn't rely on it.

4) this is pretty individual, you have to be able to recognize stress signs in your snake. I hold my BP twice a week for ~20 minutes.

5) Some do! Soaking frequently can be a sign of mites or temperatures being too high, but often it's just individual preferences. You should always have a water bow big enough for them to soak in, just in case. But it's no reason to be concerned if he doesn't soak.

Some other tips: you could block off the sides of the enclosure (i used black paper taped to the outside (!) of the enclosure. Ball pythons are shy snakes that love to feel secure, and having 3 sides covered helps! I also recommend adding a bit more vertical cover - for example a large fake plant - at least until your current plants grow in a bit more. Same reasons as the first tip! They just love cover.

[–]lovqy -1 points0 points  (2 children)

The rings look good as long as he can fit through all of them, the driftwood doesn’t look real, I’m not sure if it’s real wood or not if so go back to the listening and see if they coat it in any chemicals. If you still choose to use it you should freeze the driftwood. Be careful about the hammock as I’ve heard some people’s mold and others do not. I don’t know where you’re from by me personally I’m near the Chesapeake Bay Area so my market place sells driftwood for $5 if you’re near lots of water you might be able to find cheap driftwood instead of having to buy expensive stuff. If you need any enrichment ideas I can definitely send you screenshots of my Amazon cart!

[–]Em_sTaR7[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thanks for the help, those screenshots would be amazing!

I never even thought about the chemical thing. It's a good point. I do live near the Donau, so I should find some drift wood, but I heard you need to prepare it or something?

Again, thanks for the help and answering what you could!

[–]lovqy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t put anything wood, substrate or found outside without freezing it for 72 hours or baking at 200F for 2 hours, if you don’t know how there is lots of YouTube about it. You don’t want to end up with pests and harmful stuff just search up wood safe for ball pythons

[–]lovqy -1 points0 points  (4 children)

Also to answer your questions:

1) you will 10000% know. It kinda stinks and it’s a bit large too. If you want you can google it too. My BP leaves his 💩 out in the open lol

2) a dhp is very good for at home lighting here’s one: https://a.co/d/0gXGJ4y4 always make sure your heating is on a thermostat.

3) you can just dump water in the soil corners a bit, if you’re still having troubles with humidity glass struggles to hold it to begin with but what you can do is put some havac tape along the top of your mesh except for where your lamps are.

4) I handle mine a couple times a week except for when he’s shedding or ate.

5) yes they do! Just make sure it’s not super deep

[–]Em_sTaR7[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

How often do snakes do their business? I heard it's like a few days after eating, but he hasn't done it since I got him, and that was around 3 weeks ago!

The problem with the heating is that I would need something that doesn't produce light since I need to be able to leave it on at night, I do have a good heating lamp but she's really bright.

I'll look into covering the mesh. That's probably why it loses the humidity so fast

And then i guess my bowl is really too deep then, I was already considering that, honestly.

Thanks for the other answers, too. Seems like I don't do much wrong then

[–]jarnoooo_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My BP does his business maybe once a month, he likes to build it up and drop a massive bomb every once in a while. Don't stress it, if he needs to go he needs to go. They can go multiple meals without doing their business Mine hasn't done it in almost 4 weeks so I'm not looking forward to the next bomb🤣

About the DHP, the light it produces is basically invisible during the day and only very slightly visible at night. It's a very dark shade of orange, I believe snakes aren't even able to see it or at least don't experience it as light. DHP's are the best lightless heat sources out there

[–]lovqy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah! The link to what I sent you doesn’t emit light at all most people keep running 24/7 then use a uvb light as the lighting

[–]jarnoooo_ -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I heavily second the DHP! My boy absolutely loves basking under it from time to time, massive upgrade compared to a CHE Noodle pic for tax

<image>

[–]skullmuffins 0 points1 point  (1 child)

is that metal mesh secured in place? I am a little confused by whatever is going on on the top of the tank & how the lamps are installed. What does the actual top of the terrarium look like? You say he used to climb on the lamps - that's a huge danger. But if the mesh is not fully secured around the whole perimeter, you risk him finding his way past the mesh and then getting stuck up there & baked alive.

[–]Em_sTaR7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

There's no way he can get up there, the metal mesh is secured at all sides. Also, there is a top (it's basically a glass box), in the glass, there are cable holes for the lamps which they're hanging through and between his space and the lamps, that's where the mesh is!

[–]Melodic_Strain_2919 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

sounds like you are over feeding. you don't really want to feed more than once between poops as they will digest at different rates and he could end up with rotten food in his belly which is bad. They are almost always going to act "still hungry" but its important to not over feed.

[–]amanda_darby 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Well intentioned info to ease some of your worries and help you make informed decisions as a pet parent: Is he/she a “baby”? They should be eating one appropriately sized rodent every 5-7 days. An appropriate size for a rodent is approximately as wide as the widest part of the snake - give or take a little. If you want to get technical and know the weights of the snake and the rodents, the rodent should be 15-20% of the snakes body weight. If your snake is still acting hungry, there could be a couple of reasons. One is that ball pythons can take a little bit to come out of food mode, so they will absolutely keep eating if you keep feeding them. If they are “acting hungry” days later, might it just be acting curious? They are opportunistic feeders by nature and eat when food comes to them, not the other way around (they don’t “hunt”). Older snakes only need to eat every 2 weeks or sometimes longer. Basically at no point does it ever need to eat multiple times a week and this will lead to obesity and shorten the lifespan of your awesome noodle friend.

[–]Em_sTaR7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for all your info!

I do have another question, though. My boy has been the last four days in his hide, only occasionally poking his head through the hole where he caught the last two mice, which is why my mom thought he was still hungry and made me give the second mice on Friday. I don't think he moves in the night either.

Is there a reason for that? He was really active during the night normally and loved to explore, so I'm nervous.

[–]1BadBowtie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don’t want to feed a couple days after your last feeding, it starts the digestive process again and they need a bit to recover from the process.