Ball pythons???? ?

Question

from an experienced ownerwhat information can u give meto further my education in owning one

Answer 1

http://repticzone.com/caresheets/1596.ht... There's all the info you should need to know. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Go onto: http://repticzone.com/caresheets/1596.ht... They're Really helpful there, also try going into a reptile shop and ask for a book on ball pythong(I have one as in a python and the book lol)

Charlotte x

ADD lollooks like the guy above beat me to it!

Answer 3

Well here is some info you would probably need to know...I''ll try to cover as much as possible.....

Some info on ball pythons: They are "docile" but would never recommend to be near children w/out someone watching because ball pythons or get head shy. Any quick movements can scare them so if a child is holding it, please be careful. Ball pythons tend to stay quite small(4-5 feet) so that's why they are considered as beginner snakes. But I'm just going to tell you that they aren't the bestest eaters in the world. Actually they are quite picky(i know i know it sounds bad but snakes can live up to a year without eating) So if there is something in the cage that don't like they probably won't eat. Or if they don't like the way you're feeding them. But they don't tend to bite or strike as often though which is good =] So in summary, The pros- stay pretty small and they are more docile then some others so don't need to be handle daily. Cons- They are head-shy and for the most part horrible eaters.

Care- They usually range from $15-90 depending on where you buy them at. If you buy them at Petsmart or Petco(NOT recommended) then they are about $80-90 but please don't buy them there because most of their ball pythons(well most of their snakes) suffers from respiratory infection. So buying from a local pet store would be your best bet. Or you could buy them from craigslist and usually people on craigslist sells everything(tanks and accessories) for around $100. Lastly if there is a reptile expo near you...you could buy the pythons there too. The cages alone would be around $50-100 depending on where you buy them. Craigslist is your best bet on this one. Food usually cost about $2-3 dollars a week depending on the size of your snake. If it is a baby ball python then maybe just $1 a week. I would also recommend you buying the feeders at a local pet store(it is way cheaper) or at a expo(cheapest) CAGE/TANK- Your best bet would getting a 55 gallon for when they are bigger but if they are a baby then a 20 gallon would do just fine.

http://www.reptilerescueca.org/Ball.html

Also, feeders.... do NOT feed live! Here are a few reasons why:

1: The mice could bit your snake and hurt it.

2: You snake might be to terrify to eat another mouse because it might be scare that it would get hurt again

3: The mouse could carry some diseases and then it could be pass on to the snake when the BP swallows it.

4: Eating live MIGHT make your snake more aggressive because it has to hunt for it's food.

And the list goes on.

Cost per week on frozen/thawed feeders(reminder)-

Baby- $1 on fuzzies

Teens- $1-1.20 on medium mice

Adults- $ 2-4 on large mice or a small to medium rat.

*You should feed them once a week. No more, no less.*

Shedding- Their eyes get cloudy(blue-ish) and their belly turns a pink-ish color. I would recommend soaking them in warm water for about an hour until they can shed whole. During the shedding process, don't try to pick them up because they would probably mistake your finger as food and they would probably bite you. When they are shedding, most likely they won't eat so it's nothing to really worry about. Just feed them a week after. You should put a medium to large rock in the cage so they can rub against it to shed.

If they don't eat, nothing to worry about, they can go up to a year without eating. I think that is everything, I can think of at this moment...

Hope this could help!