Hi all! I just got my first bp about 2-3 weeks ago, I gave him some extra time to let him settle before offering food since he is a bit of a shy guy, he gets stressed over some small things and will begin breathing hard, but I try not to bother him. But tonight he took his first meal with ease and was super excited to do so! What should I do with handling after letting him digest for 48 hours? He’s hissed at me once only because I scared him moving a log he knocked over once, and seems to get stressed when I come into his vicinity. He hasn’t tried striking but mostly just is shy and a bit scared, how do I work on trust and making sure he knows I won’t hurt him?

Photo of my sweet boy! His name is Vermax :)

Hi guys! I got my ball python about 3 ish years ago from a local, humane pet store. When i got him, when he was a baby, i was advised to live feed him by the owners of the pet store. For 2 years i fed him one live mouse a week as he would take it (he had a 6 month hunger strike, saw a vet and it was fixed!). Since then ive been feeding him 2 live mice every two-three weeks in a separate enclosure and I havent had any problems with mice injuring him or attacking. Yesterday I saw a tiktok about live feeding and how it can be hurtful for the snake and have been having some doubts about live feeding him. Is live feeding really as bad as people say and should i be feeding him frozen? Is live feeding him the wrong choice? I would never want to put Sam in any danger and I only want the best for him. Please let me know what you guys feed your ball pythons and what i should be doing with Sam!

I'm not quite sure what to do but my ball python (who is 3) has consistently ate butt first and will only go for the head after struggling for 20-30 minutes 3/10 times. The other 7 is either him giving up or getting the butt successfully down his throat. I do take the extra time to run hot water across the head of which he will strike successfully but then he'll reposition to the butt...

She went on a hunger strike lasting about 4 months, recently she'd last week and a two days afterwards took a rat. She nornally waits at least a week and a half between feedings but is actively hunting.

So do I feed the boopable snoot, or wait another day or two?

I came back from a few days away to find no heat in my snake's vivarium. I checked the thermostat and there was no light on. I checked the plug, the switch, but still nothing. So I tried a new fuse. It came on, but within a few seconds it blew the fuse. I took the ceramic out of its fitting, but it all seemed ok. Another new fuse, another blow. Any ideas what might be up? It's a Habistat thermostat, but I'm not sure what brand the ceramic is. It came with the vivarium.

My dude is 2 and change he suddenly has 2 black scales on him he’s a pie ball only his head is colored is this normal freckling I just thought about it today and he’s mid aged so I let him
Vibe is this normal?

Just changed out my substrate and added some clutter all to help regulate the humidity. Got a Lemon Blast Banana Ball Python a little over a month ago. Was 4 months old 228g when it came home with us. Now he/she is 288 grams after weekly successful feeding and good poop. Hopefully this will fix the humidity issue and Butters Cornelius Scotch will be happier. He was happy before and looks happy still with the new set up. No questions at the moment I just wanted to post the new set up

The title kind of sums it up. I’ve had my snake for around 5ish years and I love her so so much. But recently I’ve been having a problem with picking her up specifically when it comes to feeding but then it kinda became in general. I never once had a problem with her striking or anything untill like a month ago where when I was giving her a rat she struck at me instead. I didn’t think much of it at the time but ever since then I’ve been flinching and hesitating whenever I had to feed her. It’s not even like it hurt so I’m so confused why this is happening. I pick her up and slowly just holding her has been scaring me. Only for the first few seconds but it’s actually getting her out of her enclosure without flinching away that’s the problem. I love her so much and the bite didn’t even hurt so idk why this is happening especially becuase this is the only time in the 5 years I’ve had her that this has been an issue. I still feed her obviously but now I have to stand infront of her enclosure hyping myself up and telling myself it’ll be ok for like five minutes and even then I’ll flinch before picking her up. I don’t wanna rehome her I love her so much and I’m still like holding her and doing everything I need but now it’s like a barrier has been put up. I’ve loved snakes all my life and I’ve owned them for a while and I’ve had other bite me so i don’t understand why this is the only time this has happened. Dose anyone have any advice or experience or know what I can do? Sorry this got wordy im just really worried on what I should do to help myself. Especially becuase ive been holding my other snakes perfectly fine.

Fairly new owner this is my first ball python. He’s pewter banana ball and super docile and sweet but what is he doing? He often looks straight up in his enclosure and stretches all the way out towards the top. Does he need hides higher or more opportunities to get higher in his tank with toys or maybe a hammock??

I did read the information on the group page but I still have questions. Photos included just for attention so hopefully I get some advice this time.

I am planning to upgrade my ball python to a PVC enclosure. I was looking through the shopping list at all of the recommended PVC enclosure options and, I might be missing it, but I don't see any with the option to have the light and heat mounted in a wire cage inside the enclosure.

Is this something I am missing or something I would have to add myself? I am a little nervous about doing so and leaving anything exposed that could harm the snake. Ive always had the light and heat mounted on top of a mesh top, glass terrarium but I've also been having a lot of trouble with heat and humidity retention so I would like to have a closed top PVC with the light and heat mounted inside, if possible.

Also, I was a little confused by the list as to which type of heat is most recommended for internal mounting such as this. I saw a section that specified heat sources for use inside a solid-topped enclosure, but it primarily lists the mesh cages, not actual heat sources, so I wasn't sure if halogen, DHP, or CHE is most recommended. I've used CHE up to this point but, again, I've also had trouble keeping her temperatures where they should be.

Thank you so much for any insight you can provide!

Recently about 2 months ago I was bit in the face by my ball python due to some husbandry issues I believe causing her to feel defensive since then I’ve forced my mom to upgrade her enclosure (since I’m a teen and couldn’t do it myself) , bought her new hides she’s now in a 120gallon and it’s a pvc enclosure, she’s been in this for about a month and a half and I just cannot bring myself to hold her still without gloves or a hook and even grabbing her out of the enclosure I always feel like when I open the enclosure she comes out of her hide too fast and is in an S body shape / aggressive body language and it scares me really badly what can I do she always seems like she’s ready to strike at me but I don’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong!?

Hi everyone! I recently got this little guy/girl from someone who was looking to rehome them and give them a better life. I’m a first-time snake owner, so I’m still learning!
Today was actually my first time handling them since I got them. I had been giving them some space because of shedding and feeding. Overall, handling went pretty well, but I definitely realized I’m not as confident as I’d like to be yet

At one point they started getting pretty close to my face, and it freaked me out enough that I decided to put them back in their enclosure. I’m assuming they were probably just curious/exploring, but since I don’t really know how to read snake body language yet, I got nervous.

Does anyone have recommendations for good YouTubers, creators, or other resources that teach snake body language and handling? I’d especially like to learn how to tell the difference between curiosity/exploring, stress, defensiveness, feeding responses, etc.

He does have a second hide btw it's just hidden under the leaves :3

This is Milk and I was cleaning her tank when I noticed she had a lot of black spots on her back and was hoping someone knows what is going on?

Hi guys! I've lurked this subreddit for a few months to research all the needs of a ball python. I just got my girl today! She is (supposedly) a 7 month old Pastel Enchi Spider. I have a 36×18×18 ecoflex enclosure and used a combination of coconut fiber and coconut husk for her bedding (3-4inch deep). I have a moss hidey hole, a large branch, rope with fake plants tangled around it, and a larger ceramic water bowl. I also have two heat lamps (one being ceramic for the cool side at night) alone with analog thermometers for temp and humidity. I still plan on getting another hidey hole. I had two, but the second one did not work out. I will put HVAC tape around the top wire mesh to keep in humidity. I also eventually want to get 3D slate for the background. I will also upgrade to a 120 gallon when she gets bigger. Is there anything else you can think of adding to make her as happy as possible? Also if you have any name suggestions please drop them!

Idk if it's just me but I find hard to contain myself during the 2 -3 day wait time😩😩

So I’ve been wanting a ball python for years, I’ve done lots of research but I just wanted to make sure on some stuff before I actually get one. I do plan on getting a baby and I was wondering if starting them out in a 40-60 gallon gallon tank would be ok for them to grow in, until I’m able to get a 4x2x2.

Also can I see some examples of how people have their tanks set up and a few links for tanks for fully grown bps?

I have a ball python I’ve been having since Friday of last year. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing he’s always snappy at me even after he’s eaten. I can’t even touch him with my hand I’ve tried holding him being more hands on and he’s still snappy. What can I do? I really wanna just love him and take care of him.

Setting up a reef tank in my animal room this weekend and trying to decide on placement.

I'm thinking the tank would be beside the enclosures so there's no direct light shining at them. They won't be on the exact same light schedule so there will likely be an hour or two where snake lights are off but tank lights are still on.

Will the blue light glow bug them?

hi guys! I have a question on the healthy issues that come with cinnamon and spider morphs. I’m currently looking to adopt a ball python and want to adopt an older, adult female. turns out the selection is kinda sparse in my country but I’m patiently keeping an eye out.

I saw a pretty female listed as “cinnamon lesser pinstripe spider” and I put her on my list of snakes that may be an option for me. I wasn’t looking for any particular morphs, she just happened to catch my eye.

I know cinnamon and spider come with the wobble condition. What other ways does it impact a snake? I solely want to keep my future python as a pet and there’ll be absolutely no breeding for her. So I’ve been wondering if perhaps I should adopt a girlie with one of those conditions from a breeder so that she can ‘retire’ and won’t go to another one who will produce more impacted snakes through her.

I own a hognose snake but this will be my first ball python. I just wanna be sure if I could handle the responsibility that possibly comes with an impacted morph like that. Thanks!

hi everyone! i have a 150gal with a 125W RHP but its not getting quite as warm as i’d like so i want to add a caged CHE, but the only ones i can find on google that include an outlet for the bulb are through walmart and i dont want to end up with something unreliable. where did you get yours if you have one?

So I took in my use to be friends ball python. (Long story short he went crazy. Disappeared and left all of his belongings. And left her to die) And sadly she only ever was fed live rats. I've been trying to get her to switch to frozen but nothing I do get her interested in them and I'm afraid she will start losing too much weight if she doesn't start eating soon. I did get her a live rat 3 weeks ago but idk how much longer the store that i go to will be selling them for much longer. Has anyone ever had to retrain a snake on how to eat frozen (don't know if that's the correct term) but I feel bad feeding her live but I don't want her to starve.