General Housing and Tank/Tub Requirements

For those of you who are thinking of owning or already own a ball python and want to know some pretty basic facts on the housing, temps and just some general info on them then this is where you will find it. Ok let me begin by saying that this is in no way the exact and only way to keep ball pythons this is just what I know first hand and what I have read and been told along the way!!

With that said, Ball Pythons are a medium sized species of snake that require moderately high temps and medium humidity to thrive in their environment. The best way to keep a single or even a few ball pythons is in tanks with 2 hide boxes, one over the heat source and the other on the cool (without heat) side. A water dish large enough that if they wanna soak, it will allow it. though they very rarely soak if they are healthy and mite/parasite free. A heat source, the most commonly used are UTH's (Under Tank Heaters) for tanks. For rack systems flexwatt AKA heat tape is almost always used with a few exceptions. But the way to heat your tank or tubs is within the owner whichever he/she feels more comfortable with. Depending on the size of the ball python whether a hatchling, adult or anywhere in between the tank/tub size will vary. Recommendations for a tank/tub are as follows:

Hatchlings- a 10 gallon tank or a 6-12qt tub
Juveniles- a 10-20 gallon tank or a 12-15qt tub (up to 800 grams in weight)
Sub Adults & Adults- 30 gallon tank or a 32-40qt tub.

Heat Sources

There are a few ways of determining how to heat your tank/tub. The best and for most for a tank is a UTH and Heat tape for tubs. Now with that being said, that is in my personal opinion. There are a few different ways to use heat tape and whichever way back or belly heat is totally at the owners discretion on which he/she prefers. There are a few other options to choose from. One is a heat rope another would be a heat lamp. HEAT ROCKS ARE NEVER RECOMMENDED AS THEY CAN GIVE YOUR SNAKE(S) BURNS AND OR KILL THEM!!! When you have a heat source picked and are comfortable with the way it heats you must have a way to control the heat output either with a thermostat or a dimmer.

Temps and Humidity

Optimal operating temperature's for a ball python are a hot spot of 90-95(above heat source) and a cool spot or ambient temp(not over heat source) of 80-85 degrees with a gradient of about 10 degrees in between the hot and cold spots. For example if your hot spot is 90 degrees then the cool spot should be around 80. This gives them the option of temp so they can thermoregulate as needed. Humidity should be around 50-60% and raising to 70% during shed cycles seems to work best for me to help with a "perfect" or non-stuck shed. Raising humidity is accomplished a few different ways and again is at the owners discretion of which way to do it. I personally mist them with a water bottle 2-3 times a day to try and ensure a "perfect shed". But a few other ways are using a humid hide while they are in shed by wetting some sphagnum moss and putting it under the hot side hide or by putting the water dish directly over the heat source. The best way to keep track of the temperatures of the hot side and cool side is with temp gun or with two(2) digital temp gauges with probes. There are also gauges to keep track of humidity and they do have the temp and humidity built into one digital gauge.

Substrates

Substrates are what you want to use in the tank/tubs. There are a few substrates not to use so you must be careful with which substrate you choose. The most popular is aspen shavings and cypress bark. BE SURE TO NEVER USE CEDAR OR PINE SHAVINGS AS THIS IS TOXIC TO BALL PYTHONS!! If you are gonna use any type aspen be sure to give the snake time to compress the shavings before feeding. This will lower the chance of the snake getting a mouth full of shavings while feeding. If using a tub system unprinted newspaper or papertowels are more commonly used. I prefer to use papertowels for my babies and juvenile bp's and packing paper for my sub adults and adults. It makes clean up much faster and if you own more than a few as I do. Time is of the essence.

Handeling

It is recommended not to handle a newly acquired Ball Python at least for a week to give it time to acclimate to its new surroundings. Once you have the snake feeding on a regular basis it is best to do small sessions untill it is used to being handled and continues to feed regularly. NEVER HANDLE A RECENTLY FED BALL PYTHON FOR ATLEAST 48 HOURS AFTER A FEEDING!!! As this may cause a regurgitation to occur! Which is very un healthy for your snake if it occurs often! Most Ball Pythons are very docile and shy. There are exceptions to this of course and it depends on the temperment and personality of each snake.

Feeding

When feeding your Ball Python there are many methods to this and a few that are controversial but never the less they must be fed! The first and most preferred is frozen thawed. To feed frozen thawed also known as f/t you must dethaw completely and warm up using either hot water, heat lamp, hair dryer are all ways I have heard and have tried myself. Live feeding is used but can possibly injure your snake if it has a bad strike and the rat/mouse can bite or scratch. Live but stunned is another method but is one that is a controversial method and is at the discretion of the owner. All feeding methods are at the discretion and comfortablility of the owner. Assist feeding is never recommended except for as a last resort but should be done by a vet. Many Ball Python owners will tell you that they are very picky eaters. Some will only ever eat mice and others will eat whatever you put in front of them. Also some will prefer different food types over others or a certain variation of a color of a food item. And some will wait weeks or months in between feedings. It just depends on the Ball Python itself. The general rule of thumb is to feed a prey item that is no larger than the biggest(roundest) part of your snake. Ball Pythons can be fed anywhere from 5-10 days. I personally feed once every 7 days. It is recommended that you use a pair of hemostats or tongs to feed. Remember that Ball Pythons tend to have different feeding responses and may need some coaxing to get the feeding stimuli flowing like movement, scent and heat.

Shedding

Ball Pythons shed several times a year as the grow. Babies and juveniles shed more often then adults. Babies and juveniles grow at a rapid pace and as they reach adult hood they slow down. A shedding period or cycle as i call it can last up to two weeks but can be as short as a week. The tell tale signs of a Ball Python in a shed cycle is a pink hue to the belly area or milky looking opaque eyes. They tend to darken in color as the go into the shed cycle and are very bright and clean after shedding. Once the shedding has occurred you want to inspect the snake for any retained eye caps or stuck sheds. If you have eye caps or stuck sheds there are a few different methods to taking care of this. One is to wet a lightly threaded pillow case and put the snake in it and let it crawl around this works most of the time. Other options are to let it soak in a nuke warm bath for 20-30 minutes to soften the dead skin and let it try and work it off on its own. If it still doesn't seen to come off there is the assist shed method. With this you want to be sure you are wetting the skin frequently or let the snake soak for 20-30 minutes before assisting. You assist by rubbing firmly over the snakes stuck shed or letting it crawl through your hands and tighten your grasp as they slither through. If trying to "peel" the skin off be sure that you are going the way the snake sheds or from head to tail!!! If done the opposite this can make the scales stick up and get caught on things later.