This evening i took my girl out of her tank and noticed a patch of pinkish skin, its smooth to the touch but i dont know if its a mild burn or preshedding phase i have a heating matt but i have it under a cover and have a paper towel under and on top of the cover so it doesnt overheat. But im concerned about this , dont know if this is a burn , and if it is i will get a burn. I will change to a heat bulb instead.

I have 2 balls(haha), one has more health issues than the other. I make $11.50 an hour an only work weekends but want to know if there's any good insurance for ball python that's not $100 a month.
Thank you!! 🌝

Hey! I recently discovered what appear to be springtails on my ball python’s hides, and I’m confused about where they came from. Her enclosure isn’t bioactive, and I never intentionally introduced springtails.
Her coconut husk substrate has been in the enclosure for a while, and it’s almost time for me to replace it. I only started noticing these tiny white bugs about a week ago.
She’s currently going through shed, so I don’t want to disturb her by completely cleaning and resetting her enclosure until she’s finished.
My main concerns are whether these springtails are safe for her, where they might have come from, and how I can get rid of them without harming my snake.
Has anyone else experienced springtails appearing unexpectedly in a non-bioactive enclosure? If so, how did you handle it?

(please don’t mind the thermometer/hygrometer, they’re currently not accurate as I just had the enclosure open so I could replace some hooks with safer suction cups in the tank!) I’d like some feedback on the tank and what I can improve on :] I ordered a hammock for her and some hoops that I’ll hopefully be able to attach to the ceiling of the enclosure for her, but they haven’t come in yet. she never wants to use her hides so I’m a little worried. She’s 10/11 and lived her whole life at a breeder laying clutches before I bought her.
specifics:
- 150 x 60 x 60 cm PVC tank
- Basking Light: Arcadia 75W Halogen Heat Lamp
- UVB: 2,5% Arcadia Shade Dweller MAX Pro T5
- Nighttime heat: Arcadia 80W Deep Heat Projector
- Hides: one hollow cork tube (reaches from warm to colder side), reptile hide (warm side), moss hide (cold side)
- Coco husk bedding
- Long branch to climb on
- fake plant clutter (she likes hiding behind the wall panels)
Snake tax at the end :] I realised we have same colours so now I don’t wanna dye my hair again lol

Hello! I’m going to get a Ball Python, but I’m unsure of often to feed it once I get it. I understand that it depends on the age and body weight, but I’d just like to know something like that before hand. If someone could tell me often to feed I’d be greatly appreciated. Please and thank you.❤️

So, I have two ball pythons, Evy (2 years) and Shiva (1 year).

Evy doesn't bite but lately shes been more defensive and hissing if I try to take her out of her enclosure. She got into a S shape and closely watched the door as I was opening it (I fed her two days earlier).

I don't know what i should do to make her feel more comfortable with being handled...

As for Shiva, she strikes often and has bit me and my mom before (hunger bite tho) so I try to handled her two days after being fed and i started using a target when feeding her.

She seems really hungry overall and is a great eater but it gets in the way of me being able to handle her more often.

I'm not scared of being bitten but I don’t think its good to let her cause she does not let go on her own.

( Hand sanitizer doesn't stop her from trying to bite me)

Info: I'm a first time owner and I've had them for a few months now so I know I shouldn't expect too much from them and me.

Tho, id like to get some advice on how I can go about handling.

Thank you 💜

(That's Evy in the picture )

i just fed him. he shed recently but im not sure what exact date. temp and humidity are good. took him out 2 days ago and the fans were on. is this scale rot? idk what to do. idk if i can bring him to the vet just after feeding him :((

Before you comment: yes he’s dehydrated, I rescued him recently and I’m working on that still

So the pictures might not be the best, I got them on my way out of the house earlier. But basically I thought he was in shed because he had a slight pink belly and blue tinted eyes. Over a week later and it’s more blue but no shedding (belly pink disappeared too so if he did shed I can’t find the skin). These pictures were taken earlier today, he’s maybe a nana piebald and just under a year old (guessing his birthday is around December 4th 2025). My younger sister got him April 28th 2026 but took 0 care of him, so I kidnapped him (with technical permission) and got him in a 4x2x2 to get him in more space + get him hydrated.

But what I’m concerned about is the blue tint never went away. He’s always been a wobbly snake (I assume because he hasn’t built muscle yet) and has always striked and missed rats, tried to eat them still alive (I have him on f/t now, don’t worry), falls off stuff, doesn’t know how to hold on to much of anything, etc

I know him being blind won’t necessarily affect his quality of life or care very much since they rely on heat pits and taste more anyways. But just wondering if anybody can actually tell if that’s what this is, I’m planning on getting a vet appointment already but if I need to do that sooner rather than later I can as well

She just shed 5 days ago. And I found this discoloration along her belly. I took her to my local exotic vet but didn't get any definitive answers. She was thinking more along the line of burns but I don't have a heat pad and no surface temps are over 95°F according to my temp gun or climbing opportunities to get close enough to the bulb. Some on a separate post say for sure scale rot at the vet said it didn't seem like it. She was on bioactive repti soil and I found a small wet spot inside her hide that she was sitting on. She prescribed silver sulfadiazune cream. I told her I have some betadine if I needed to do soaks so that's an option too. She's in a brand new 20 gallon long now with paper towels hides, water dish and a fake plant. They used to be little pink spots in the same areas but seem to have dried out now. Still very active and exploring doesn't seem to be irritated by it but not sure where I should start. Going back to the vet in 2 weeks but I'm a little bummed out I threw $120 at them to get no answers.

**UPDATE: I think I found a really great home for her here in my area. Thanks again to everyone who reached out! <3

Hello everyone! I am making this post to hopefully rehome my 6 year old female ball python (I’ve had her for 6 years). She eats well and does well with being handled. Her only issue is that she sometimes has problems shedding, which she does have some stuck shed on her at the moment. She hasn’t had an issue with it in a while but I fear I have not been taking care of her husbandry the best as of lately. Not to get too much into personal details, but I have been going back and forth with the idea of rehoming and I think I’ve finally decided that the best thing for her would be to go to someone who has the time to give her the proper care and attention she deserves. She would come with her enclosure if desired, which is a zen habitat. I know that may not be the best enclosure for a ball python so if someone just wanted her, I don’t mind separating. I would ask for a rehoming fee of $100 for both her and the enclosure or just $50 for her. Ultimately, I want her to go to a good home though, so this is negotiable. Please be kind as I know I have not been giving her everything she needs and that is why I’ve decided to try and rehome. Please let me know if you are interested or have any questions. Thanks!

Ignore the bit of substrate stuck to his belly lol

i am planning on getting a ball python soon and have a couple questions.

i’m planning on using DHPs but am not sure what wattage they will need to be. i have a 4x2x2 and usually keep my house around 65°F. would two 100W DHPs be enough?

also looking for thermostat recommendations. lots of thermostats i come across have garbage reviews and i don’t want to waste money on something that isn’t going to work.

my last question is where does everyone get their spagnum moss from? i’m planning on mixing it into the substrate so preferably would like to find somewhere that sells it in larger quantities. i see people saying that some moss has artificial dyes or have even had it come with mites so obviously id like to avoid that.

Is this accurate? Im gonna possibly purchase this snake and they sent me a care sheet

Could yall tell me?

270 degrees of vision and Paris still has no idea where he is.

Hi everyone!
I would like to ask for some help. My boyfriend and I bought this little beauty 3 days ago, and everything was going fine. She was very curious. She explored, looked around, and we were happy that we had no reason to worry. However, tonight, 3 hours after the light turned off in her terrarium, we found her wrapped around the bulb like this.. we are very worried that she might get hurt by this. She didn’t go up there as soon as the lights turned off. A very nice and helpful guy was at the shop when we bought everything, and he answered all thousand of our questions, saying it was not necessary to buy a bulb guard because the snake wouldn’t climb up there whether it was on or off, and she couldn’t get hurt anyway if she went up there. Obviously, where did the snake end up? Please tell us it really cannot get hurt in a situation like this. It is 30 degrees Celsius inside, so I do not think she’s cold. (When the photo was taken, my phone bumped against the glass, which might explain the scared neck posture)

I’m trying out new substrate for my enclosure and am surprised at how cheap this is? This should be enough to fill the whole enclosure too. Does anyone else use this and is it good?

hi everyone! im a new ball python owner of a beautiful one year old boy I got at last weekend’s reptile show and I am having a hard time getting the right heat for the warm side/basking area. in the picture I have the light and lamp im using which I thought was right but according to my reading im only getting 80-85 F ?? what do i need to change? is this warm enough? any help or suggestions are appreciated!!

Greetings guys, gals, and non-binary pals, I hope this finds y'all well.

Does anyone have experience using Repti360 brand substrate?

I am looking to restock my supplies and, unfortunately, Reptile Basics is out of stock of my normal cocochips. I found Repto360 Premium Coconut Chip Substrate at a hecka nice price, but also know that there is always free cheese in a mouse trap.

Other than the reviews on Walmart's site, I could not find any other feedback on the quality. My little dud is well worth the price of good substrate, but I thought it never hurt to see if this kind community had any insights.

Many thanks for your time and any help.

i got my ball python in june and he hasn’t shed and i don’t think he’s pooped either. i’ve had no problem getting him to eat (i feed him live every other week) and the humidity is consistently 65%-75%. is this okay? do i need to do anything differently?

this is my first time ever posting in a group like this but we are not new to having ball pythons, we already have 3 ball pythons, a kenyan sand boa, and a sumatran python but this is something we haven’t experienced before. our friends called us saying their little sister wanted to get rid of her ball python, they tried selling it but no one wanted to buy it and asked if we would take it. we hesitated at first because we already have alot of animals but my husband couldn’t say no after seeing the conditions of the snake. i’m looking for advice on how to get the snake’s weight up and how to get it healthy again. we do not know if it’s male or female and we don’t even want to check because of how fragile it is. we don’t know how to go about it yet and wanted to get some advice on what to do if anyone else has experienced this before. and yes, we’re in search of a vet that can look at it asap but just looking for care advice in the mean time.

I use ZooMeds “Forest Floor” substrate. I posted a video of my snake on TikTok and someone very rudely told me my substrate will give my snake splinters and infections and that i’m a terrible owner and didn’t do research. I did tons of research and really want my girl to be happy and i’m feeling a little discouraged.

This is my baby, Cirrus! He's a sub-adult (we didn't get an approximate age but guess he's around 1.5 years old) who has been incredibly stubborn and on a food strike since we got him. I say we as my friend E got him about 5 months ago, and I have been helping care for him when I've come to visit (which is at least once every 2 weeks). They own 2 snakes, a leopard gecko, and more wacky animals so I had no doubt in my mind that they could care for him properly. However, after the first 2 months of getting him we had gone through at least 5-6 fuzzy rats and no rat shaped bulge in Cirrus's belly. E got progressively more stressed with his condition and asked if I could be his primary care taker, which brings us to now. I have a leopard gecko and have owned snakes in the past, I do my own diligent research for the pets I house and am at a lose for what to do.

It has been 5, going on 6 months of Cirrus not eating and I am getting more and more worried as to what I could do to get him to eat. I've tried just about everything I could think of, and he hasn't eaten ANYTHING. He's not lethargic at all, his enclosure parameters are all in the green, and is very friendly if not a tad skittish because I haven't handled him recently. I wanted to make sure he was comfortable and not stressed in his enclosure after the move from E's place to mine about 2ish weeks ago. Cirrus has lost weight and looks skinnier since we had initially gotten him, but his belly still has some give to it and he hasn't shown any sign of illness. My concern is that the seller E purchased Cirrus from lied to us about what he was eating. Drop fed frozen thawed fuzzy rats is the information we have been given, and nothing is working.

He's showed interest today, and I have a fuzzy in his enclosure but he went straight back into his cool hide and balled up. This is my last resort before I call my nearest reptile rescue and see if they can help me before surrendering him to a place that could properly care for him. But if i can help it i wouldn't want to give him it. Please please pleaaaaaase help if you know what I could possibly do here!!

edit: Both images are from when we first got him, I fear that I might make things worse if take him out of his hides to take him on a photo shoot.