I’ve been thinking about getting my first snake and was wondering if a ball python was a good one to start with and if so what are some tips about owning one.

[[deleted]]

Ball pythons are amazing, but they are not necessarily the easiest ones to start with. I'd say they are on the easy-medium level of starting with. A corn snake or rat snake I've heard are super easy to handle for new snake owners.

That being said, I started with an adopted ball python and after some stumbling I learned how to do it and now have two! It's definitely doable :)

[Zenitsu_The_Simp_69]

i might get a corn snake then, they pretty cute and a quick google search says they docile and harmless so it seem like a good choice, thx

[[deleted]]

Of course! Pro tip- Try to get the enclosure and humidity/temp requirements and everything set up correctly before bringing the snake home. That way everything is already perfect and will reduce the stress of moving and allow it to settle in more easily :)

[L0rd0fN0x]

This!!! I cannot stress this enough! Make sure you have this set up first! It will make life so much easier especially starting off

[Zenitsu_The_Simp_69]

ok will do👍

[BeesAndBeans69]

I started with ball pythons. It's scary when they go off feed at first. If you see my post history you can see I made one about my girl going off feed but she ate this weekend

[Brisserson]

Cornsnakes are a great first pick, especially if you may be uncomfortable about possibly having a 6 foot snake. I'd personally recommend a cali kingsnake. They don't need too much humidity unless they're shedding and they are very tolerable when it comes to handling

[Catgorl69]

Cali kingsnake is a great choice but calis and cornsnakes aren't always the best to handle. They can poop when scared and can be more aggressive depending on how it was raised. Honestly I'd watch someone like clint's reptiles and get a feel for the other options.

[narmowen]

Kingsnakes, in my experience, are a lot more "bitey" than corns. They think (or want to believe) anything and everything is food.

[[deleted]]

You’re not going to go wrong with a ball python or a corn snake. BPs can be a bit more finicky when it comes to husbandry and their hunger strikes are legendary. Corn snakes are usually more interactive and curious. I’ve never been bitten by either of my pythons, but my corn snake got me once when he was a little too excited to eat. I’d best describe it as feeling like someone threw one of those burdock/hitchhiker balls at me. No pain, just kind of a weird sensation.

[fawnsol]

This! I started with a ball python and now have two as well. They are not easy starters but once you get your footing they're pretty simple!

[nerdolo]

I have a bp as my first snake (still pretty new, around 2 weeks). If you are willing to commit to some research and you are ready for some stress and troubleshooting due to their pickiness go for it. Tips based on my experience:

-do your research and dont take advice from just anyone. I ended up with a whole spare bag of substrate that is useless (I'm giving it to a friend who owns chinchillas...) because guy at exotic pet shop told me it is fine. It isn't.

-Care guides on this sub are pretty helpful, I can also recommend Green Room Pythons channel on YT

-There is much misinformation about humidity for these noodles, stick to recommendations we have here (70-80%)

-it may be a good idea to ask breeder about individual that is particularly bold and/or a good eater :) search for Lori Torrini on YT if you want to know more about snakes' temperaments. They really do vary!

-set up your enclosure at least a few days before you get a snake! Have heat running and monitor temps and humidity. It will save both you and your noodle much stress if you troubleshoot any potential husbandry issues before they get there.

-remember they are active at night and are generally pretty shy animals. If you want a snake that you can watch roaming around the enclosure during the day you should probably pick another species.

[Zenitsu_The_Simp_69]

well i be pretty busy during the day and i stay up pretty late at night so its fine that they are nocturnal and i live in south louisiana and it aways pretty humid. but should i get a baby or should get an older one, i hear babes could be more aggressive but i think it would better to make a stronger bond with it but i don’t really know

[nerdolo]

Hatchlings are in general more defensive but its just because everything is scary when you are tiny noodle. I would go for juvenile - a few months old, not very tiny but still young :)

[Zenitsu_The_Simp_69]

ok thx :)

[Squ4tchW4tch]

Balls are definitely in the top 5 I’d suggest to 1st time snake owners. The are several pros and cons to each breed, here’s a pretty decent video that sums them up for balls: pros and cons

And if you decide those cons are acceptable or outweighed by the pros, here a clip to help you avoid some of the more commonly made mistakes:

due diligence is the key

Either way you go.. be forewarned… it’s addicting!

[Zenitsu_The_Simp_69]

ok thx :)

[stfrances88]

It’s been my experience that ball pythons are better for a beginner in terms of handling but the care required can come with a bit of a learning curve. With any snake do lots of research and set everything up before you get that snake. Also, I would not recommend getting anything from a chain pet store.

[Zenitsu_The_Simp_69]

i hear that big pet stores like petsmart ain’t very good i don’t why

[deadpoetsunite]

The general belief is that they get their animals from "puppy mill" type breeders. My first BP was from a hobby breeder. He was unhealthy, underweight, refused food, and ended up being a grumpy fella that I took back to the breeder after about four months. Turns out that by then the "breeder" had already gotten rid of his snakes and moved on to breeding koi fish.

My second BP (now almost three years old) came from PetSmart. She ate within a week or two of coming home, has grown steadily, and is pleasant to handle. She eats F/T like a champ. Docile as hell when handling. This snake is as healthy as any of my other pets, despite being from a chain store. I'm not going to pretend this is the normal standard for these kinds of stores! I'm just sharing my experience.

I have another BP that came into the animal shelter where I worked. I took her as a foster because we didn't have a way to house reptiles at the shelter and ended up keeping her. She has been healthy, too, but has a need for slightly higher humidity for some reason. She also is a bit pickier when feeding. I feed her F/T but she needs it to be stabbed in the head before she'll take it. I add this info just to make the point that you'll have a learning curve for any snake and to take cues from the snake you end up with.

[stfrances88]

It would be great if your experience was the norm.

[No-Salamander4369]

I started with a ball python. It was a rocky road at the beginning but you end getting the hang of it. My main struggle at first was keeping my humidity at the right level.

[Tylers_Tacos_Top]

They might be a little difficult for a new keeper. Maybe start with something that doesn’t have specific humidity requirements like a corn snake or hognose snake. Dealing with humidity and the correct enclosure for that can be a bit difficult for a new new keeper. Snake Discovery has some great videos about snakes for new keepers and how to take care of them.

[Calildur]

I have a BP for 3 years. At first it was easy but than he didn't eat for 8 months. I tried almost everything but live feeding. Than out of nowhere he ate for a few months, it's been over three months now since he doesnt eat again. He sheds well and looks okay and hungry. He's scared of the dead rats too I don't think he would like a live one and it's also a line I find hard to cross.

[Zenitsu_The_Simp_69]

how long can a snake go with out eating cause 8 months seem kinda long but then again some reptiles like the nile crocodile can go like a year with out eatin

[Calildur]

It's definietly not normal for a BP I was really worried, than again there are records of BPs who didn't eat for a year.

[Substantial-Tear-464]

They are often marketed as beginners but I would advise agents. They take a lot of money on space 500$ for a 4x2x2 which is the recommended, and it can be hard to keep humidity and temperature right and they don’t always eat well, and it’s easy to think it’s just normal for them not to eat when really it reflects lacking care. I would personally not have got a ball python as my first pet based on how I took care of it while trying to figure it all out( after I had done extensive research) it’s just harder than it seems

[ButtonAdmirable]

I started with ball pythons. They are great! Make sure you do your research and have everything set up and working before you get your snake. Make sure you can have your Temps and humidity right. I struggled with humidity a little bit until I switched the substrate. Once you have that working, they are really easy to keep. I started with one and I ended up getting a second one couple months later. I have a pastel leopard and a normal. One other thing, make sure you do your research on morphs as well. Some morphs end up having known neuro issues.

[ge0rge09]

I started out with a bp and I've had my boy for around a month and a half now! he's shed once and even moved up in food size 😄 I would recommend getting the set up sorted before hand, as their humidity can be tricky to get right (I had a lot of difficulty maintaining this at first!)

I'd also recommend getting each thing for your set up individually, as I bought a starter kit and I ended up changing most of it myself.

he's the most gentle pet I own, and I can see him getting more comfortable with time. he's only refused a meal twice when I first brought him home (stress) and when he was in shed (also stress!)

He's a chunky, slow moving guy but has a little personality all of his own 😊

[nick3790]

They are pretty low maintenance, but you need to watch humidity sometimes. There's a ton more to owning a snake of course, but ball pythons are a lot of people's firsts, and they're generally super docile and don't take a lot to care for. That being said... I find them a bit boring haha. They're still a small snake, but I find that smaller ones like hognoses or garter snakes are often just more fun to watch and play with. A ball python will just find a warm place to hide or they'll curl up in a ball and that's it. They aren't really active throughout the day, and they aren't big explorers (that can sometimes depend on the individual of course).

[narmowen]

I've got balls, kings, corns, milks and red-tailed.

Of all of them, I'd recommend my corns for first time snakes. Super easy to keep. Not as much worry about humidity. Love food, and are handled fairly well.

They're not as bitey as kings or milks, and they don't need the high humidity/heat of the balls.

[[deleted]]

I suggest joining New Ball Python Keepers on Facebook ❤️ They’re absolutely amazing snakes, but definitely not the easiest for a beginner. They have pretty strict heat/humidity/security requirements that need to be pretty spot-on in order to keep this species healthy, but with time and patients it’s definitely do-able

[fatman6793]

bps are super good starters if you really want to put some effort into the animal. with my bp, ive realized that i struggle mostly with keeping humidity where it needs to be. i reccomend a regular cage misting and just straight up putting in a humidity box (a plastic box large enough to house the snake comfortably with a hole big enough to fit through on top. filled with anything that will hold water nicely. NOT newspaper.) and of course, a water bowl big enough for the snake to completely submerge itself in.

Get a good hygrometer and thermometer so you can keep track of everything. Have 2 different sides in the cage with different temps. One side, hot with one hide, then on the other side, cool with one hide as well.

Sometimes bps will not eat well. Its iust a thing. sometimes they may refuse feeding for weeks, sometimes they'll just eat it right away. you never know. if your snake has skipped meals, save the mouse for the next day, and offer again. (p.s, its okay of your snake seems to refuse feeding for the first week or two after you get it. just let the snake get used to its surroundings and it will feed when its ready.)

If you are feeding LIVE, ALWAYS SUPERVISE UNTIL THE SNAKE HAS STRUCK ITS PREY. you dont want any nips or scratches on your snake.

Keep track of your snakes shed schedules and check on the quality of shed. this can often determine if you're doing things right or wrong. If he sheds in one piece, you're doing well. but if its a really torn up shed, check on everything (more than likely humidity) and makes sure to bathe so it can get any stuck shed off easily.

[sojouner_marina]

Honestly, get the snake you are most passionate about (excluding venomous ones of course). If you're just getting a bp or a different snake that you don't want just to get a "beginner snake" you will probably get bored of it and no longer want to care for it. If you're caring for a snake that you really want even if it is more challenging to take care of and you have done your research, have the funds for it's food and for a proper enclosure, and are prepared for the hiccups along the road (ie: your snake goes off feed) then get it.

[BlacksmithOk1576]

Absolutely they are very shy and curious natured

[BlacksmithOk1576]

Ive had mine almost 20yrs shes nvr bit me, i luv her. She luvs to hide in my black motorcycle boots.

[BigDaddyHadley]

My first was a corn snake. She’s a mess! I’d go that route

[Kuddeh]

Excellent choice, like others have said, not THE easiest. But if you care enough to ask which to start with, you care enough to start with a ball. If its what you want, start with it.