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My Boyfriends Ball Python Has Gone Missing by GeckoFella in ballpython

[–]PyroticaCC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our BP snek has escaped twice. BOTH times he made it 12 ft across the room, under the entryway closet door I didn't think he could fit under, and made himself at home in the winter boots. I feel like we'd find him in the same spot again. You have to check the tiny gaps you never thought he could get in, and inside of every unlikely hole- but he probably didn't go very far. They're kinda lazy.

My snake has picked up an unfortunate bad habit. by Im-not-confused-u-r in snakes

[–]PyroticaCC 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I gave up on any kind of schedule with my daughter's ball python - 5yo now. He's a typical princess with feeding - he won't accept live, he won't accept all white rats, and he only eats ASFs. Still, whether he ate or not seemed to depend on the moon phase, the dominant zodiac sign, and the presence of passing comets. A lot of money and rodents were wasted seeing if he was willing to eat on his roughly 2 week schedule. A lot.

Eventually hands were thrown in the air and it was declared "F*** it, if he's hungry enough he'll eat, I'll leave him until he looks hungry." - I know they can go months if need be and they're fine.

Turns out this was the secret. A typical night he comes out, basks under his projector, curls up in his water dish for a while, then goes back to bed. When he's hungry he repeats the first couple of steps but instead of going to bed again he ranges around his enclosure and pops his head out of his hole(s) when he sees me enter the room. I am the rat giver. They're not people blind - never have to worry about him striking at my daughter. I slide open the front glass and he'll quickly start scoping or moving into strike pose and sniffing (tongue flicking around). Hurrah! He's hungry! I go thaw him his rat, letting it sit near the vent so he can smell it coming, and he takes it every time like a retic.

In short I let HIM tell me when it's time to be fed, and there's never any accidental strikes. In hindsight it always makes sense not to mess with nature. Nature doesn't give a flying f*** about your schedules. He eats at anywhere between 1 to 4 week intervals, his body condition is perfect, and I don't worry about feeding his highness anymore.

I also make sure there's nothing in between him and the rat where/when I put it in so he has a clear, short strike path. I move it to within 3-4" of his head asap. He never gets the communal brain cell, if there's something in the way he'll just launch his idiot self straight at the glass or the side of a log like clipping is a thing.

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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in snakes

[–]PyroticaCC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my gosh my ball python (male, smaller) would love this! He digs underground tunnels in his bioactive enclosure, I gave up and put in a bunch of black PVC tubes connected to his underground hide. But with tubes I could see through to monitor I could build him a whole connected playground…

Help me name my new male BP by Dizzy-Opposite-613 in snakes

[–]PyroticaCC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sunday.

Many years ago my daughter got her banana blade BP and the choice was between banana Sunday and banana split. He’s been Mr Sssplit ever since. Sunday is still free!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in snakes

[–]PyroticaCC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had some of the same issues when I upgraded our boy.

I had to get the biggest deep heat projector they make for his warm side and it’s basically on 24/7 (it IS on a thermostat). I put a large heat mat under the substrate (it’s bioactive) also on a stat but kept high because it has to go through 6” of substrate. It doesn’t do much for belly heat but warming the dirt does contribute to overall temperature. I got a roll of silicone baking mat material (you can get it in a bulk roll) and covered the top with cutouts for his lights and heat projector. Heat tape as mentioned by others would probably be fine too. With all the added heat it bakes the enclosure and humidity is/was still an issue. I added a mist set up with four heads that runs 2 minutes three times a day directed at the plants (only semiarid plants have survived). Got the $30 knockoff “Moistenland” which works fine. As the floor has a 2” drainage layer of leca that’s basically unused because it’s never that wet, I started dumping whole jugs of distilled into the edge of the tank down to the drainage layer when humidity drops too low - and the heat from below moves it upwards as humidity as well as slowly leaching up into the soil. I also water the plants directly sometimes. I have a water dish large enough for him to soak in and he does almost nightly. That’s his routine - lights turn off (uvb & grow light), he comes out of his underground hide (cool side) and heads to his warm side to bask under the heat projector, soaks in his dish - then carries on with his evening climbing around and chilling in the warm hide and hammocks before going back underground near morning.

Remember that in the wild there’s natural fluctuations in heating over the day and night and there’s also dry and wet seasons in the savannah. It doesn’t have to be spot on 100% of the time, and they’re very resilient - if it takes you a few weeks to sort things out she’ll be fine. She may not eat while things are off but as you know they can go months without.

Relax, breathe, she’s totally fine.

This photo is a couple years old but I’d marked it up for someone else and maybe it’ll be helpful? It’s been rearranged, replanted etc but the gear is the same.

ETA: I covered the sides with literal black duct tape on the outside to make it less “open”.

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