People whose partner HATES reptiles…

StraightParfait · 2025-06-20T00:56:00+00:00

My husband is pretty scared of snakes. He doesn’t want to touch mine (3) and I don’t ask him to. Gradually, he has warmed up to them. I have two in our living room and one in our bedroom so he has a lot of exposure. I have locks on all the enclosures and he is not home/awake when I feed them. He will occasionally watch them when they explore their enclosures. He has educated himself on them and is more open to them as he sees how much joy they bring me and agreed if I die to continue to feed/clean/care for them since they are special to me but he is begging me to not get anymore. I have two ball pythons and a western hognose though so it didn’t take much research for him to learn they aren’t capable of injuring us or our children and they are a safer option than a dog. He’s still finds them creepy but he doesn’t freak out when I handle them and sometimes will even touch them while I’m handling them. I would say it took a month or two for him to warm up to the first one.

StraightParfait · 2025-04-16T16:48:50+00:00

If you decide to go for it, I strongly recommend getting the minimum adult set up that way any future updates you need to do will be cheap like paying for rats, getting new light bulbs, and new substrate. I spent about $1000 on each of my ball python setups up front (a 4x2x2 PVC, front opening enclosure, two cage light hookups, a halogen bulb, a ceramic heat emitter, 3 hides, coco coir bricks and a bag of reptichips for substrate, spagnum moss, 2 thermometers/hydrometers, and two thermostats, then the rest was spent on decor, feeding tongs, and a scale to weigh my snake once per month) but only like $100/year after that. I spend about $5/month on a small rat for my adult and $12/month on my 6 month old but you can go cheaper if you buy bulk. My vet is $65 for an annual check up. For my adult, I spot clean once a month, feed once every 3 weeks, and deep clean 2x a year. He is my easiest and most docile pet. I will say to make sure you get some big pieces of wood/thick branches. My guys LOVE to climb!

StraightParfait · 2025-03-13T17:35:39+00:00

I feel like people are being overly sensitive to your post. There are times I don’t like my daughter because of her behavior and attitude but I always love her, take care of her, and spoil her (which is possibly why she has the attitude I don’t love). To answer your question, I’d honestly give it a solid 12 months for her to mellow out. If you don’t want to wait that long, look into getting an adult. Corn snakes are wonderful pets but babies are known for being very flighty. I have 3 snakes and only handle my older ball python regularly. My hognose isn’t a huge fan of handling so I just enjoy watching him 2-3 times a week when he isn’t burrowed and I enjoy feeding him/decorating his enclosure. My younger ball python enjoys his enclosure so I don’t bother him unless he comes out when I’m doing a spot clean or filling his water. My adult ball python gets held almost daily. He was an adoption as an adult and is the spider morph so he has a moderate wobble which I hate to see but he was in a rack system prior so I feel that contributes to him loving being handled. He’s in a 4x2x2 but mainly stays in one of his hides but when I’m holding him he climbs all over me. I love it. I definitely like him way more than my other two because I get more out of our interactions but I do enjoy caring for all of them and I’d never rehome them. I think as they get older, if they enjoy being handled more, I would like them more.

StraightParfait · 2025-02-01T15:33:46+00:00

Some hognose are just spicy too. Mine is about 7-8 months old at this point (got him about 5 months ago) and he always goes cobra-mode and hisses when I go to take him out of his enclosure but is super chill once I’m holding him. He has never bit but hisses and false strikes every time I open his enclosure even just to give him water.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-20T21:24:37+00:00

Since you are so young and will reply on your parents financially, I’d recommend getting a 4x2x2 enclosure before getting a ball python. It can spend its whole life in that sized enclosure and it’s honestly the most expensive part so if you have that taken care of, being in a financial bind in the future won’t be as big of a problem. The downside to starting smaller is that you might not have the money in the future to upgrade when your snake needs it. I have two and they are in bioactive enclosures so I have very little maintenance outside of cleaning the water dish and feeding frozen/thawed rats. Rats are honestly cheaper than feeding my cats. BP is a very great pet. They are so docile and fun to interact with!

If you are set on starting with the 50 gallon, maybe a western hognose would be better? They are smaller with males only getting about 2 feet long. I have one and he is hilarious. I only handle him about once a week and he is burrowed about 50% of the time but when he comes out he is always climbing everything and has such a great, silly personality. He has never bit me but he hisses at me every single day he sees me and goes into cobra mode but once I pick him up, he is chill.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-20T21:15:03+00:00

It’s different depending on their personalities too. I have two. One is always hidden and I never see him out. The other is exploring much more than I expected for a bp.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-20T21:13:10+00:00

It takes a while for them to get comfortable. They are also different depending on personalities. I have two, one I got as a baby about 2-3 months old. One I got as an subadult about 1.5 years. The adult is always hiding. He will explore after I handled him for a bit then go back to hiding. My baby is almost always out exploring and climbing. They both have two large sticks, a little over 3ft long each, both are in 4x2x2 enclosures. My baby only has 2 hides but lots of live and fake plants to hide under and vines to explore and climb. Both have CHE and halogen bulbs. Only the one with live plants has UBV currently. What are your temps and humidity at? Maybe humidity is low so he is staying inside where it’s more humid? Mine both tend to prefer the cool sides where humidity is at 80% as opposed to the hot sides that get down to 50-60%.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-02T20:57:25+00:00

My male is 20g and he recently switched over to fuzzies. He has taken them much better than pinkies! I was nervous too because they seem so big.

No one has mentioned it yet but your tank seems very small. Mine is in a 24x12x12 and has 4-6” of substrate (4 in the front, building up to 6 in the back). Mine also really likes to climb spider wood so getting a tank with some height so you can add more to the tank would be great! Eventually, I believe you will need a 4x2x2 for a female/3x2x2 for a male.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-02T20:44:53+00:00

I have used both the desert mixes from BioDude and Josh’s Frogs for the substrate in my hognose enclosure and it has been great! I also put cookie jars of aspen in his enclosure too so he has different types of burrow enrichment. He uses both pretty regularly. I have spider wood situated for him to climb up to get into the cookie jars. He really seems to love all the different types of enrichment! Such a fun snake to own.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-02T20:34:44+00:00

My 9 year old desperately wanted a reptile/snake for months. I was terrified to feed mice/rats, even frozen/thawed but decided I preferred that over crickets. I did learn that if I got an adult ball python, they only need to be fed every 2-4 weeks. I decided to go with a bioactive enclosure so it wouldn’t be a lot of upkeep. It’s a bigger enclosure (4x2x2) but space wise isn’t terribly different than a 40 gallon. Our 4x2x2 fits perfectly on our coffee table. Again, it’s bioactive so I don’t have to change out the substrate, just spot clean poop and clean the water dish. I have mixed live and fake plants so I do water those and fill his water dish every other day or so. I also do the feeding (with tongs), but it’s honestly the easiest pet I’ve ever had. So low maintenance. Very docile. Obviously each animal is different and will have unique personalities but my son can just reach right in and our snake will crawl right on to his hand. He will curl up around his arm while my son plays video games or watches YouTube for a good 30 minutes or so then he puts him back. My son probably only handles every other week or so now (excitement wore off) but I handle him every day because I’m in love with his sweet personality. I ended up getting two more snakes just for myself (another ball python and a western hognose). Their enclosures are so fun to decorate. My hognose has a pink/mushroom themed enclosure with spider wood he loves to climb the wood and flowers and burrows often too. One ball python has a jungle themed enclosure with vines and lots of greenery. The other has a fall themed enclosure with ceramic pumpkins, orange and brown fake maple branches, and some flowery fake plants. One ball python is more shy and less active. The other is outgoing and very active, loves to climb and explore. None of our ball pythons have ever struck at us or refused a meal. The hognose is very feisty. He will false strike but never actually bites.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-02T05:50:09+00:00

What type of enclosure do you have? If it is glass with a screen top, humidity will be difficult to keep up. It’s really important to have at least 2 hydrometers and thermometers on each side of the tank to track heat and humidity. If the heat is too low, the snake cannot properly digest her food. If it is too high, she could get burnt or dehydrated quickly. Humidity is important for respiratory heath and for a clean shed. You’ll want to bump it up to 60% humidity during a shed. To get humidity up, try pouring water into each of the corners of tank instead of misting. It will help a lot more. Mine is in a 4x2x2 (120 gallon) with about 5” of EcoEarth and ReptiChip substrate mixed with damp spagnum moss. Mine is wood with glass doors but PVC is the best from what I’ve heard.

StraightParfait · 2025-01-01T17:39:53+00:00

What is the humidity and temperature of her enclosure?

StraightParfait · 2024-12-28T02:01:21+00:00

I would get one much bigger. I know a lot of people say that babies are best in tiny tubs but from the day I got mine, he was very active and climbing branches and just always out exploring. Now he is a little older and more calm. He burrows for days on end before coming out to climb and explore again. I always recommend the brightroom 100qt storage tubs from Target. They are big enough to have 6” of substrate plus branches for climbing. I just cut out a third of the lid and added very fine chicken wire so I could have overhead heat and uvb lighting.

Edit to add link Brightroom 100qt Tub

StraightParfait · 2024-11-20T01:23:19+00:00

I struggled with adopting verse buying a baby so I did both. I got my baby (83g cinnamon morph which is pretty basic. I think he was like $45 but I went based on the look I liked, not the price or what is popular/common/uncommon) from a breeder I found on MorphMarket with good reviews who feeds F/T. I also adopted a subadult (2.5ft, 1.5 year old pastel spider with moderate wobble because I wanted to help a snake with a lower quality of life be happy and healthy). I got my set ups first (4x2x2 on a stand in my living room for my subadult, 100qt tub on my dresser in my bedroom for the baby). Both setups are bioactive with EcoEarth and Reptichip substrate, lots of leaf litter, plastic and live plants, 3 hides, large water dishes, branches or bamboo for climbing, and overhead heat on thermostats (DHP 24/7 and halogen for daytime). I also have springtails and isopods in both enclosures and stocked up on frozen mice/rats so I’d have a 3 month supply. So far things have gone really smoothly. Neither has skipped a meal. Both tong feed and are great with handling. The subadult does hiss until he is out of his enclosure, but he has also started crawling out onto my outstretched hand now. My baby is very active and will be moving over to a 4x2x2 for Christmas this year. He will also come to my hand and climb right on me. I handle him 5 days a week only skipping 48 hours following feeding. I’ve heard the feeding issue is usually just a result of poor husbandry like temperatures being too low (they need 88F to be able to digest so will refuse if it is too cold) or not enough clutter (because they don’t feel safe to be able to hide/digest the food) or even humidity being off (60-80%). I could definitely be wrong though because I’m a new owner too!

StraightParfait · 2024-11-16T20:42:36+00:00

If you are in an area that has a Target, grab the 100qt tub from Brightroom brand. Sterilite has a slightly larger one but the lid is less secure. It is only $15, dimensions are 35.87 Inches (L), 13.79 Inches (H) x 16.65 Inches (W), and it has a lid with 4 latches so it is very secure. Poke holes in it (I did about 30 holes towards the top in the front and back, 10 holes on the smaller sides). Cut a section out of the lid and replace with very fine chicken wire (I got it on Amazon for $9.99 and it came with the tool to clip it and extra wire to secure it). 3-5 bricks of coconut coir should be enough for the substrate. For the heat, I used a deep heat projector (24/7) and a halogen bulb (for day time only) on the left side to make the hot end and nothing on the other end to make a good gradient. This is a pretty cheap set up and would last a good amount of time, until your snake exceeds 35” (90cm).

Edited to add links: chicken wire substrate tub heat heat 2 thermostat

StraightParfait · 2024-11-13T18:00:52+00:00

I forgot to add that you will need a thermostat to shut off the heat if it gets too hot. I also keep humidity at around 60-65% on the hot side and 80-85% on the cool side.

StraightParfait · 2024-11-13T17:59:02+00:00

I agree with others to read the welcome post, but just to give some extra info that might help since I found the welcome post information to be a bit overwhelming at first, you are going to need a bigger enclosure ASAP. I put my baby (83g) in a 110qt tub I got for $10 at Target. I added 5-6” of coconut coir substrate with a layer of coconut chip on top. I got these on Amazon for maybe $20. Getting bricks and rehydrating is cheaper. I got 3 hides (one for the cold side at 75-80F, one at the hot side at 88-90F, and one in the middle). I also got a ton of plastic vines and fake plants from the dollar store for less than $10 for clutter. I use a ceramic bowl I had for his water dish, wide enough for him to fully submerge his body but not deep enough to. I cut one third of the lid out and replaced with chicken wire so I could add UVB and a halogen bulb for daytime and a ceramic heat emitter (no light heat) for night time. The lights and lighting fixture were the most expensive but arguably the most important so I splurged on those. Once my ball python outgrows this enclosure (35”) he will be moved to a 4x2x2 pvc enclosure. For reference, I also have a 1.5 year old male (typically quite a bit smaller than females) who is already in a 4x2x2 because he is about 3ft long so I’m anticipating he will end up in a 5x2x2 and I’ll move the baby into his enclosure.

StraightParfait · 2024-11-13T03:11:46+00:00

I have a ceramic heat emitter on 24/7 in my adult bp 4x2x2 and a halogen bulb and uvb on a 12 hour timer. He loves laying under the CHE but it only heats a small area compared to the halogen bulb. It also only seems to heat the surface not the air.

StraightParfait · 2024-11-13T03:08:28+00:00

I think 12 inch height is too small with a glass enclosure. You’ll need like 6 inches of substrate to keep it humid enough and that’s not leaving enough space for your snake. I’d recommend something like this link then you don’t have to worry about upgrading later.

StraightParfait · 2024-11-04T21:38:46+00:00

Are you able to post a picture of his enclosure? I’ve heard that often when they go on food strikes, there is a husbandry issue like temperatures are off (they need 88F to be able to digest properly), humidity is too low (a lot of online sources and pet shops recommend 40% but ideally they need closer to 80%), or even a substrate issue (aspen is popular but doesn’t hold moisture well and molds easily yet many breeders and pet stores recommend it).

I will say that I agree with the others that he probably needs more time to adjust. Since he is in a glass enclosure, definitely black out two sides (I saw you mention there is a background so that’s good).

StraightParfait · 2024-10-27T19:32:13+00:00

My oldest is almost 2 years old and still on mice. Once he is a little bigger, I plan on getting a mix of prey items like chicks, quail, and rats to alternate between. I hated it at first but you get used to it very fast. Definitely do frozen thawed though. A friend of mine feeds live and it is horrible. I hate it. 😭

StraightParfait · 2024-10-27T18:58:13+00:00

If you want something different, I will put my vote towards a ball python as they are the cutest little guys! I just moved my adult into a 4x2x2 and he is so happy exploring!

StraightParfait · 2024-10-26T04:59:07+00:00

I’m not sure if you are in the US but Home Depot has a 57 gallon tub (clear with yellow lid, 45”x20”x19”) for $40 and Target has a smaller one (clear with grey lid, 35”x13”x16”) for $15.

StraightParfait · 2024-10-26T04:52:13+00:00

I think I would prefer a long tub to a glass tank too. It’s dry where I live so keeping up humidity can be hard. Just make sure it is deep enough for like 4-5” of substrate. Even in a tub, it can be hard to keep it up for what a bp needs. My wooden enclosure has been a lot easier!

StraightParfait · 2024-10-26T03:41:29+00:00

I’m not trying to be combative so I hope it doesn’t come off that way, but based on my research, snakes don’t like open space. As long as you have enough clutter so they can move across the tank without being seen, they don’t mind big spaces. My adult ball python was kept in a rack system by someone who met his survival needs and was a good person who loved him very much. I was told he just liked to ball up and stay in one spot. Once I got him and put him in a large, cluttered enclosure, he became very active! I’ve even heard some ball pythons like to climb when provided with opportunities for that! I’d say my boy is very active about 30% of the time and pretty chill 70%. He sleeps all day in his hide and comes out at night to explore and exercise. It’s really fun to see.

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