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Any Ball Python Owners?

A

AshWolFF

New member
I have been, after the three times my Corn Snake escaped, doing pretty well taking care of him so after having lots of fun with him I'd love to get another snake!

My house has a lovely guest bedroom which I now want to use for a snake room instead. :D

The next beginner snake on the line was the Ball Python. I really, really liked these guys but decided to go with a corn snake instead because I understand that they can get big in diameter and I didn't want to freak out my kid.

Now that my kiddo is cool with the corn snake and it's not the bloody thirsty terror in his dreams he agrees he wants another one too.

I've been trying to do good research on BP's but the problem is my library doesn't have anything on them AND there's a lot of BS websites that I looked at.

Several sites said that males and females would be fine in 10-20 gallon tanks! Some in 40 gallon breeders! I may be wrong but I think that's a terrible size for such a large, semi-arboreal snake.

Right now my local fish store is selling 75 gallon tanks for cheap and the Petco 1 dollar per gallon sale is coming up. Would a 75g be a good idea for a full grown BP?

Any other tips would be great.
 
75g would be fine for a full grown BP, it'll just be hard to keep heat/humidity. I'm having an awful time in a 40B ._.

DO NOT put a baby in a 75g without there being multiple hides and extreme clutter. BPs are more skittish and less tolerant to open spaces than corn snakes in my experience.


Ball pythons aren't arboreal at all. Most won't climb if you give them branches and vines. A 40B is the most recommended size for BPs, they don't get that big :)
Who ever said 10-20g though, must be really dumb. Dovah is only like 10 months old there is no way I could get him to fit in a 10 gallon, and I recently upgraded to a 40B because I felt he wanted more floor space.

Also, you can try ball-pythons.net along with the link chip posted.
Its a great forum for BP info :3


Just be prepared for an extremely stubborn snake for the first few months if you get a baby :p

Also, if they're not, get them started on rats ASAP!
 
I think 75G is a little bit too big but you can manage it with a lot of hides, 40 Gallon tank sounds about right for an adult ball python.
 
I would think it would depend upon whether or not you get a female or a male. The females being larger than the males. I would think that at least a 40 gl. for an adult although if you had a larger adult the 75 would be good. I'd keep a baby in something very much smaller. Make sure you get one from a reputable breeder who has gotten it feeding on frozen/thawed. I would want to see full feed/shed records to make sure they are. Be ready for a snake that will often not eat...they are notorious for it...one of the reasons I dislike them. Some only take live food which is why it's important to find a breeder that gets them going on f/t.
 
In my personal experience in keeping bps in tanks, a 75 gallon tank is kind of overkill. Very rarely did I ever see my bps roaming the tank unless they were shedding, pooing, drinking water or trying to get my attention because they were hungry. We kept ours in 20 longs and they did just fine, even full grown. I'm trying to remember the size tub that someone suggested I purchase for a rack made for bps. I believe they said 48 qt tubs which basically has the same floor space as a 28 qt tub but is higher because they do tend to scale the walls when they are looking for food. They don't climb branches pretty much ever. I can't remember one time seeing mine in the branches. They do however like going over things like logs on the ground to help them shed.

It really depends on your taste honestly. But that's my 2 cents.
 
world of ball pythons is a good website for information and guidance. as well as ball-pythons.net

I agree with everyone here that you don't want to keep small pythons in something too big. they like to feel secure in a small tight space. whenever mine get lost I always find them squeezed between the wall and a piece of furniture.
 
I would think that a 20 gl would be a bit cramped for a 4.5 ft robust snake....I didn't even keep my larger corns in 20's but moved them into a 40.....they liked the space to move around. Babies though are another story...they stress easily on the whole although of course, each snake is an individual and some seem to do fine in more space and others like to stay in smaller digs....
 
I have one ball python :) he's still new to me. He's only a couple of months old, and actually does very much utilize his branches (and therm probe wires...)! He climbs every night. However, I bet as he gains weight he won't be able to hoist himself up so high and will probably stop ;)
I have him in a 15gal right now, and I know he's going to outgrow that within the year. I think a 75gal may be more useful for a larger species of snake, but if you'd really like to get it you can always try cutting it down in size with plexiglas. Females do seem to get much larger, from what I have seen.

I too go on www.ball-pythons.net forum, however in my opinion the community is quite large... I find it a bit uncomfortable at times, with more people being very egotistical, compared to this forum anyways.

I did by one book on balls, but truthfully there is so much information out there... I just kind of forgot about it and only half-finished it. Even with competing ideas, the forums seem to have some great information. If you look around a lot you will begin to notice common themes, which are usually (although maybe not always) the more accurate information.
 
I wouldnt want to keep one in a 20 gallon, but I also think 75 is too big. When mine was in a 2x2 cage he stopped eating, lost weight, and was so stressed out, when he shed it came off in a bunch of pieces, even though his husbandry was correct. I moved him to a tub in a dark rack and now I don't have any issues.
 
NH93 said:
I too go on www.ball-pythons.net forum, however in my opinion the community is quite large... I find it a bit uncomfortable at times, with more people being very egotistical, compared to this forum anyways.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that. I have noticed a few stereotypes about the different reptile communities. I don't know why, but there just seems to be a different culture among keepers of different herps.
 
75g would be mostly useless space. A ball python usually stays in one hide most of the day and in another the rest of the day lol
 
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