hey guys im thinking of getting a ball python. someone is giving it away free. how much of a difference is their care from a corn snake? from what ive been reading it seems they require a little higher temp. i know most everyone here keeps many snakes so i figure id ask. thanks
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corn care vs ball python care
- Thread starter skelator
- Start date
beautifullywild77
Go Penguins!!!
Ball pythons humidity and temps need to be stable at all times. If they aren't stable they can be more prone to hunger strikes, and RI. We have a rescue bp we took in and my husband is constantly keeping track of her viv. She is right next to his side of the bed. Little ones require small tanks to feel secure, too much room can cause undo stress. Research as much as you can. ballpythons.net is a great source of information.
ShenziSixaxis
Sticking To The Ceiling
The way I see it, corns always eat, BPs never eat.
BPs are ridiculously picky and just aren't starter snakes. I'd pass it up.
BPs are ridiculously picky and just aren't starter snakes. I'd pass it up.
beautifullywild77
Go Penguins!!!
I wouldn't say all bp never eat. You do sometimes get lucky and get them to eat everytime. You can run into them being very picky. There are numerous factors that are involved when taking care of bp's. I wouldn't recommend them to be a starter snake tho.
Basicly it comes down to if you want to take the time with them and are able to give them the care they need. And willing to take the grey hair they will probably give you over their life time LOL
Basicly it comes down to if you want to take the time with them and are able to give them the care they need. And willing to take the grey hair they will probably give you over their life time LOL
SquamishSerpents
Katia
I have a numerous amount of ball pythons (hah, not actually sure of the #)
They ALL eat. Their hunger strikes are generally blown way out of proportion. We have 2 picky ball pythons, who will ONLY eat live. Yes, we have tried everything from scenting with different rodent bedding, washing with soap, soaking in tuna, soaking in chicken, I even tried scenting with a bunch of shed anole skin, to no avail. So they are live-feeders. SOMETIMES they will take a small f/t prey if they have already eaten a small live prey, and are "in feasting mode" but that's pretty much it.
We do have BPs that go on wintertime feeding strikes, but that's no different than some corns.
There is also the 1000g wall, that some ball pythons hit and they sort of just stop growing, and slow down on eating. It picks back up again pretty quickly, just requires some patience. It's really not that big of a deal if they stop eating, unless it's been an excessive amount of time and they start losing weight.
Their humidity requirements also aren't that hard to meet, though I highly recommend a tub/rack set-up as opposed to a glass tank. Glass tanks can be pulled off with BPs, just takes a bit of extra work. Sometimes you might have to mist, or cover up half of the cage with cling wrap to keep in the humidity. I honestly have never had a problem with humidity with our BPs. They just need a big enough bowl.
As for heating, all of our balls have back heat or belly heat; same with pretty much every breeder of balls. I don't fuss with air temp, or ambient temp. And like I said they're all eating, pooping, sexing (bow chicka bow wow!) and thriving. As long as they're kept in the right setup, you're good to go.
So if you can handle a sometimes sporadic feeder, and the chance of having to feed live, I highly encourage BPs as pets. In fact I like their temperament much better than corns.
HOWEVER
If somebody is just giving away a BP, and you don't know the person or the snakes history, you should probably pass it up. It could be sick, have mites, etc. Usually when people give away their snakes there is a good reason.
They ALL eat. Their hunger strikes are generally blown way out of proportion. We have 2 picky ball pythons, who will ONLY eat live. Yes, we have tried everything from scenting with different rodent bedding, washing with soap, soaking in tuna, soaking in chicken, I even tried scenting with a bunch of shed anole skin, to no avail. So they are live-feeders. SOMETIMES they will take a small f/t prey if they have already eaten a small live prey, and are "in feasting mode" but that's pretty much it.
We do have BPs that go on wintertime feeding strikes, but that's no different than some corns.
There is also the 1000g wall, that some ball pythons hit and they sort of just stop growing, and slow down on eating. It picks back up again pretty quickly, just requires some patience. It's really not that big of a deal if they stop eating, unless it's been an excessive amount of time and they start losing weight.
Their humidity requirements also aren't that hard to meet, though I highly recommend a tub/rack set-up as opposed to a glass tank. Glass tanks can be pulled off with BPs, just takes a bit of extra work. Sometimes you might have to mist, or cover up half of the cage with cling wrap to keep in the humidity. I honestly have never had a problem with humidity with our BPs. They just need a big enough bowl.
As for heating, all of our balls have back heat or belly heat; same with pretty much every breeder of balls. I don't fuss with air temp, or ambient temp. And like I said they're all eating, pooping, sexing (bow chicka bow wow!) and thriving. As long as they're kept in the right setup, you're good to go.
So if you can handle a sometimes sporadic feeder, and the chance of having to feed live, I highly encourage BPs as pets. In fact I like their temperament much better than corns.
HOWEVER
If somebody is just giving away a BP, and you don't know the person or the snakes history, you should probably pass it up. It could be sick, have mites, etc. Usually when people give away their snakes there is a good reason.
thank you all for the advise. ive been thinking about it all day and i dont know the guy and chances are if its free theres a reason for it.
i have been eye balling the ball pythons at petco for sometime i will admit. i like using tanks so i can actually see the reptile while i sit in my living room. my corn usually so 60-70% humidity with my setup so id imagine the same humidity would be present in a replica opf that setup. without getting into a fight on here with anyone i feed my corn live so thats not an issue with me.
i might be attending a reptile show in manchester nh next weekend. so maybe something will catch my eye. i was also thinking of buying some frozen mice to see how that works out.
SquamishSerpents how would you describe their temperments vs corns?
i have been eye balling the ball pythons at petco for sometime i will admit. i like using tanks so i can actually see the reptile while i sit in my living room. my corn usually so 60-70% humidity with my setup so id imagine the same humidity would be present in a replica opf that setup. without getting into a fight on here with anyone i feed my corn live so thats not an issue with me.
i might be attending a reptile show in manchester nh next weekend. so maybe something will catch my eye. i was also thinking of buying some frozen mice to see how that works out.
SquamishSerpents how would you describe their temperments vs corns?
AliCat37
Michelle's Candied Corns!
I love my ball python to death, but he is the only snake I seriously reconsider owning. If he was not the only one left of my original three snakes that started it all.. I'd sell him. He almost never eats, and he never has a good shed, despite his uth set at 90, his ambient temps at 82, and his humidity at 60. I've talked to those on the ball python forum and I am going to, very much against my wishes, down size his cage and put him in a rack. He just can't be in the big display vivs like my other snakes are, and it's very frustrating for me, since I eventually want all my snakes in Showcase cages. He hasn't eaten since mid-october, and that's even with ASFs. He originally had stopped eating rats over summer, so I made the switch just to get him eating, but he's stopped again. All I can attribute it to is stress, unfortunately.
As for the temperaments, they are very active at night, and they are docile like the corns. Mine moves around just as much as my corns if I have him out, but it takes him about 10 mins to get moving. I haven't really handled him since October though, since he's not eating, and I don't want to cause more stress. He's a very frustrating snake.
He has almost put me off of pythons completely. Some people have great success with balls, but I'll stick to my colubrids and my boa.
As for the temperaments, they are very active at night, and they are docile like the corns. Mine moves around just as much as my corns if I have him out, but it takes him about 10 mins to get moving. I haven't really handled him since October though, since he's not eating, and I don't want to cause more stress. He's a very frustrating snake.
He has almost put me off of pythons completely. Some people have great success with balls, but I'll stick to my colubrids and my boa.
SquamishSerpents
Katia
AliCat37, they're right, they do much better in smaller spaces and in tubs.
There are ways to make display vivs work, though you have to provide LOTS of hides. If you're having a humidity issue, I suggest you do what I said and put cling wrap covering most of the top of the tank. Leave enough room to get your hand & spray bottle in there, and mist when you notice him going into shed. Also provide a humid hide, these can lessen the headache of bad sheds GREATLY.
OP, as for their temperament, Balls are generally more docile than corns, and they squirm around a lot less. I have some balls that will just sit on me while I watch TV. All of my corns immediately try to dive between the couch cushions. Also balls have a higher tendency of being "head shy" as in, they don't like their heads being touched. They don't scurry away when you touch their tails, though, like corns usually do.
There are ways to make display vivs work, though you have to provide LOTS of hides. If you're having a humidity issue, I suggest you do what I said and put cling wrap covering most of the top of the tank. Leave enough room to get your hand & spray bottle in there, and mist when you notice him going into shed. Also provide a humid hide, these can lessen the headache of bad sheds GREATLY.
OP, as for their temperament, Balls are generally more docile than corns, and they squirm around a lot less. I have some balls that will just sit on me while I watch TV. All of my corns immediately try to dive between the couch cushions. Also balls have a higher tendency of being "head shy" as in, they don't like their heads being touched. They don't scurry away when you touch their tails, though, like corns usually do.
Lol you shouldnt wanna sell a snake that goes on hunger strikes anyway you dont want another problem just to be passed to someone else..
beautifullywild77
Go Penguins!!!
My hubby and son just came home with an adult female ball python rescue. She looks in good shape, a little skinny. So I have another pet project in getting her settled in and up to a good weight.
AliCat37
Michelle's Candied Corns!
It's not just the hunger strikes. It's the fact that he has to be housed in a rack, and I am not a fan at all of racks. I want to move all my snakes into showcase cages in the future, as that is what I house 4 of my other snakes in, but due to the single ball, I will always have to have a rack set up somewhere. Trust me, I am more than okay with hunger strikes. Less money that I have to spend on rats.
beautifullywild77
Go Penguins!!!
We maintain our humidity levels very well for our bp in a glass viv along with the spotted pythons. It stays between 50-60%. However, we do spray down the tank 2x a day and have half of the top if its not glass its had a towel we keep damp 3x a day. Its a routine we have gonne into. Harley has never had a bad shed and neither has Serj the spotty. We live in a very very dry state.
SquamishSerpents
Katia
Yeah see, it IS doable to keep BPs in tanks, I know so because I've done it, with a few of them. It's just a bit more work!
beautifullywild77
Go Penguins!!!
My husbands bp hatchling is on his nightstand right next to his bed. She is his pride and joy. She pops out of her hide as soon as she hears his voice.