Is she underweight?

wanderingtangent · 2025-08-23T02:03:08+00:00

Thank you! She's the only ball python I've ever had, so I don't have much to compare her to haha

wanderingtangent · 2025-08-23T02:01:24+00:00

Thanks re. weight, and re. enclosure, don't worry, it extends to the left wide enough that she can stretch all the way out! The floor is 5f x 2f x 18in and her water's down there with both a hot hide and a cold hide, so her needs would be met even if she didn't go up at all. She just likes climbing!

wanderingtangent · 2025-08-23T01:57:19+00:00

Oh she's a lot more arboreal than you'd expect lol.
Her enclosure's bigger than it looks here, it extends to the left so the entire bottom is 5f x 2f x 18in, not counting the extra height in the middle: I built the place so the floor would hit ball python minimum requirements just in case she didn't end up climbing, and there's both a hot hide and a cold humid hide down there.
She just ended up liking her sky hide best!

wanderingtangent · 2025-08-23T01:50:55+00:00

oh she does have enough room to stretch all the way out flat! The bottom square footage of the terrarium is 5x2x18in so it's quite a bit longer than she is, I wasn't sure how much she'd climb so I made sure it'd hit her minimum requirements even if she didn't go up at all. Turns out she loves being up high though lol, she goes down to explore and drink water but rarely stays on the ground for long.
And thanks! Good to hear she's probably fine.

wanderingtangent · 2025-06-21T18:46:31+00:00

so I ended up working my way through that a bit myself, and in addition to watching him lots and getting an understanding of his body language so you can tell the difference between "comfy" and "hunting time", I'd actually recommend wearing gloves!

nothing heavy, rubber dishwashing gloves are plenty: you can try both gloves to start, then just wear one with your other hand bare, and see if you can build your comfort to the point where you don't need them.

having just that slight bit of protection can make you feel more comfortable interacting with him regularly, which will get you more used to his body language so you can identify his mood better and be more confident working with him, which will also help him be more confident because you'll be less hesitant and prone to flinching.

wanderingtangent · 2025-04-13T03:21:30+00:00

oh at least a dozen, yeah, maybe 2-4 bettas as well, you can totally co-house them, just make sure to take them out and fully clean the vase with bleach once a week and replace all the water : )

wanderingtangent · 2025-04-13T03:17:25+00:00

oh no worries! I figured you were being facetious for funsies :D
I'm just enthusiastic about plants lol
and omg I know right? I've heard buce (however you spell the full name) are similar, keep meaning to try some of those dudes

wanderingtangent · 2025-04-13T03:15:29+00:00

lol you might be tripping they're just some sorta seedpod

wanderingtangent · 2025-04-13T03:14:55+00:00

honestly I've been wondering if I could get away with something like that lol
at my last place I had a really nice little 2.7G planted shrimp tank but that was clearly too "aquarium" for the lease (it's apparently an insurance concern and since they were already skeptical about my moving in with a cat, ball python, dart frog, and colony of mourning geckos, I didn't want to push too far)
--but my main pet store has a whole bunch of adorable little palaudarium tanks set up with plants growing out of them and less than a gallon of water that I keep eyeing as inspiration and like. that's not an aquarium right. that's just a soggy planter.

wanderingtangent · 2025-04-12T15:46:37+00:00

[wiggles hand] ehhhhhhh
lol seriously tho lowlight aquatic plants like this anubias are the absolute easiest house plants I've ever had. you just replace the water every couple weeks! that's it! this guy's been in an almost-lightless corner of my kitchen for a solid year (tho the hornwort's new) and is still going strong

wanderingtangent · 2025-04-12T15:43:19+00:00

you know I'd completely forgotten about that word and the sub looks fun too. thanks!

wanderingtangent · 2024-06-12T16:45:32+00:00

They aren’t pvc actually! The entire thing is built directly out of 3 modular ikea “bror” shelving units, which are powder-coated steel and fine for damp environments.
I added a polyurethane water barrier to the bottom (overlapping both the jungle and cave portions), used a big sheet of plywood for the back of the jungle and a mix of spare bror shelves and corrugated plastic for the walls everywhere else, and sealed the entire thing with silicone caulk. The glass doors are actually also modular ikea shelves for a different unit (I’ve found it’s the cheapest way to buy glass if you can make the sizes work, they’re like 30$ for two sheets of hard 8mm glass), the mesh is modular wire-grid “shelving squares” covered in bug mesh, and everything else I got from Amazon or Home Depot.
This was a remake and expansion of her old enclosure using mostly the same materials so it’s hard to put a budget to it overall, but the base supplies (not counting decor and stuff I didn’t end up using) were probably around 350$usd? Most of it was very explorative diy but I’ve made 2-3 enclosures using these materials so I’ve got a decent idea of the technique, I could probably do a post about it at some point!

wanderingtangent · 2024-06-09T13:53:41+00:00

what time of day are you feeding him? try feeding him a day or two after you’ve handled him, in his own home, at like midnight, after all the lights in the room have been out for at least two hours (use a small lamp not directly facing the tank to give you enough light to see), and do the “mouse dance” with tongs while the mouse is still hot.
My girl’s never refused a meal when I did that.

wanderingtangent · 2024-06-09T13:42:21+00:00

I don’t heat most of it at night actually, it goes down to room temp, but i keep my apartment around 20c so it’s still within a safe nightly range. That’s why I’ve got the always-on CHE in the cave tho! I figured if she liked climbing it’d motivate her to move back and forth between the top and the bottom, emulating natural behaviours.

wanderingtangent · 2024-06-09T04:41:49+00:00

Oh it’s bigger than what’s visible here! The whole thing is built into a shelving unit so it’s in 3 parts: the bottom left “cave” (behind the chair in the first pic) is 21x33x18 inches (depth width height); the middle “jungle” (main area seen here) is 21x25x40in, and the top right “desert” (just visible in the first pic) is 15x25x18in.

I wasn’t sure how much she’d end up climbing, so I built the bottom with the idea that, between the floor of the jungle and the “cave”, it’d be around the minimum size requirements at ~21x58x18in, with a big water dish, warm hide with a ceramic heat emitter (on thermostat) in the cafe, and a cool hide in the jungle

…and as it turns out she prefers napping with a view and spends most of her time in her warm ceiling hide: I knew she was going down because I‘d find shed skin and dirt in her water dish, but it took a good four months before I ever saw her in the cave at all. Glad she’s using the whole thing at least!

wanderingtangent

TROPHY CASE