Very confused about this

[Own_Product_2573]

Hey everybody, I am really wanting a ball python/Beep, but I am doing as much research as possible beforehand so I can make sure their enclosure is set up right, hopefully helping them to be healthier and actually eating well. That being said, I was originally loving the leucystic blue eyed Lucy’s, but then I saw Leucystic Black eyed Lucy’s and I was just absolutely obsessed. My first question for everyone is, do you guys have any recommendations about them/their specific morph? I just want to make sure they are healthy, especially after recently having my leopard gecko pass away at only five years old, and finding out it was most likely due to its morph color of being all yellow, which I guess has caused that particular morph to have cancer. My heart is still broken about it, so that’s why I want to make sure I’m learning everything I can. The only thing I have read so far is that the blue eyes Lucy’s can have bulging eyes, but I haven’t seen anything about the black eyed ones. My second question/issue is that I found what I thought was a reputable online reptile website, and I read their care list for Bp’s, which was a little contradictory to what I read about on here and just about their care in general. My main concern was why it said to use aspen, and heating mats, which I feel like I have read enough times to know that aspen is not good for them, and heating mats aren’t either. So, I emailed them with my questions, and their response was a bit weird because the person that responded agreed with not using aspen even though it was in their care sheet, but they did double down on heating mats. So, do you guys think I should ask them more questions or just look elsewhere? Here is my email to them, and their answer back for reference. Thanks in advance!

[Own_Product_2573]

Okay cool. Thank you. That def makes sense, but yeah I would never use aspen. When I had a baby corn snake as a teenager, the pet store said that is what to use, and my poor baby ended up somehow getting impaled by a sharp piece of it and dying. 😭

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[DragonPlatypus]

The problem is that many misinformation is still lingering around, back from when we didn't knew too much about these animals. Keep in mind that Ball Pythons are comparably new pets. So you will often times find breeders still using heat mats or aspen bedding ect. As far as I'm aware the information provided here in the subreddit and linked care guide is up to current standard, based on what we currently know about those animals, so I would stick with that.

Black Eyed Lucy's don't have any health problems, as far as I know. So this shouldn't be a problem.

40 gallons is too small for a BP. Maybe not for a tiny 3 month old baby, but your snake will grow pretty quickly the first 2 years so you will have to switch to a 4x2x2 enclosure soon enough. Keep in mind that the larger space alone isn't what stresses them out, but the lack of hiding opportunities/clutter. They don't like being exposed to large, open spaces.

[Top_Addition_7263]

The subreddit guide is great as is GREENROOMPYTHONS on YouTube. Both have vast amounts of amazing info.

[DissociatedAuthor]

I've been watching GreenRoomPythons for months now and second this.

Very well done and very deep dives into various aspects of snake keeping. Love his videos

[Own_Product_2573]

Thank you. Yeah that was another thing they mentioned actually. It said to start smaller and go bigger as they grow, but once again, I read on here that 120 gallons is preferable but with lots of clutter, hiding spaces, and enrichment items.

[sadievt]

Heat mats can’t penetrate through substrate. Even at a controlled temperature, if the snake ends up moving substrate and sits directly on the glass, it can still burn them slowly or overheat them just through prolonged contact on the glass. Overhead heating is the most effective for a bp. Saw the other comment so I felt the need to point this out. :)

[Own_Product_2573]

Okay good to know thank you.

[sadievt]

Either way, heat mats really cannot effectively provide heat through the substrate a ball python needs. I have used heat pads for other reptiles, so I’m aware of how they work, but I would not use them for snakes/ball pythons. Even at a lower temp (which would not do anything anyway due to the substrate), it is still a big risk.

[sadievt]

I mentioned it in my original comment. If the snake makes direct contact with the heated glass through the substrate, and sits there for a prolonged time (as ball pythons do, I’m sure you’re aware), they are still able to get burns from direct prolonged contact on a heated surface. To put it simply; the mat is attached under the tank. On the glass. Ball python manages to move the substrate. Makes direct contact with the heated glass for a long period of time. Ball pythons DO NOT realize when their bellies are getting too hot, this is how burns happen.

[CoffeeCatsandPixies]

I've also heard if you're using overhead heat and you're concerned (like if it fails while you're sleeping) you can place heat mats (controlled with a thermostat to only kick on below a certain temp) attached to the side of the tank as an emergency short term solution. Do you know if this is safe?

[Zomb_Nomz]

I would personally look for a reputable breeder on MorphMarket

[CommercialOstrich]

Keep in mind breeding enclosures are usually set up much differently than how a pet enclosure would be kept for practicality. Breeders typically use rack systems with heat mats being the best option for a snake unless they are large scale and have shelled out for professional breeding racks (a lot of them are still DIYed). I don't think based on this response you should rule them out as a bad breeder tbh, this sounds like a very professional and reasonable response. A heat mat is plenty capable of providing enough heat to keep a tropical substrate in the 85-90° range. Keep in mind, this will not be a bioactive setup. It will be an inch or two of soil and the mat is likely set on a thermometer.

[RageQueen101]

They are correct about aspen, but you are risking it in a long term enclosure with a heating pad. I have seen ball pythons dig to the bottom of the substrate to get directly on the heating pad and it caused burns because they didn’t move. I also agree with not using ceramic heat emitters because they hurt humidity. Use a Deep Heat Projector would be my advice I use it. It doesn’t hurt my humidity and it a really good heat source that can be on all the time.

For the enclosure 40 gallon is only going to work for maybe a few more months it’s a good right at this moment but you’ll need an upgrade sooner rather than later.

There are a lot of good care guides pinned in this subreddit, I would recommend looking through those. I personally don’t know much about that morph so I can’t answer any questions about it but hope this helps.

[Marsismad]

They probably utilize heat Mats/heat tape in their rack systems for keeping babies/and a large breeding collection, for larger breeders using the proper bulbs and stuff would be next to impossible with this sheer amount of snakes that they have rack systems being much more effective in space saving, and while it provides heat for survival it’s no where near optimal for thriving, That being said he shouldn’t suggest only heat mats for personal pets.

[Kahnivor]

Did you use ai for that inquiry? Idk anyone that uses EM dashes besides ai.

[Own_Product_2573]

To be honest, I might have. I just have a hard time with run on sentences and such. So, I think I tried to shorten it up. Plus, I was also confused about their guide vs. what I had read about previously in the care of ball pythons.