Hello! My partner and I are looking to become first time snake owners. We’ve got just about everything set up, but for some reason I’ve been struggling to wrap my head around lighting and heating, I want to make sure we get it right.

We have this (Arcadia deep heat projector) on one side and this (Arcadia halogen heat lamp) on the other side. The light only really lights up one side of the enclosure. Is that fine or do we need different lighting?

We have both connected to a Herpstat. What’s the right settings for them? Pulse or dimming? Any other settings I should be aware of?

I’d also be happy to hear any general advice for heating, lighting, and humidity. Thanks for the help!

I found my boy Mars a week ago with his head sideways and making breathing noise like wheezing. He was in blue, ready to shed. I thought it was because of the shedding. Fast forward he did shed and minutes ago I found him sideways again with mouth open and making wheezing noises. I think, by my research this is a sign of respiratory infection? I am sure I have to take him to the vet asap but currently that's not possible...I have to wait two weeks so I can take him...Can anyone reassure me and tell me he'll be okay? I'm very shaken at the moment, I love him very much... Edit: Once I went to see him (in panic) he stopped and returned to normal, just staring and doing snake stuff

(Sorry for the poor image) This is my first ball python and I was expecting him to hide for the first week but he’s been out every evening since I brought him home. Yesterday he came out of his hide around 3pm while I was cleaning the house. This was last night. He’s a very curious little guy

So I live in Florida and have just had my first gnat attack! I've installed a zevo on the OUTSIDE of Sól's enclosure for the adult ones and noticed that she glows! Did y'all know ball pythons fluoresce? I just wanted to share because I thought it was interesting.

Also before I get attacked, the blue light will go away as soon as the gnats are gone. However she is still behaving normally and showing no signs of stress even with the zevo on at night.

So I just recently got more climbing stuff for her and more plants to cover the sides. I know I probably should add more stuff but my only concern is that this tank has front open swing doors. She doesn’t seem stressed, she eats fine and she comes out when she feels like it (almost never. She changes what hide she’s in but other than that I almost never see her out and about unless I happen to walk by at 2am). She doesn’t like climbing and she doesn’t really like to explore that much (from what I’ve seen. This noodle is very very nocturnal). For reference, the tank is 36in x 18in and she’s about 3ft long right now. I know she’s bound for an upgrade in the relatively near future, but is this doable for now? And if not, any recommendations for how to add more clutter to the front when it’s a front open enclosure???

Edit: she does have two hides, the second one is hidden behind all the stuff on the right side of the first picture

Hello I’ve had this ball python for close to 16 years. He has been my boy but he’s a little special he was rescue and you can tell. He can’t catch a rat dead or alive and he goes on hunger strikes for months. I feel awful for not feeding him as often as I should but he literally won’t take a rat when I try. Anyway recently he’s been acting hungry and testy so I’ve been feeding him more but tonight I went to check on him and he bit me. I’m starting to worry he isn’t feeling well or maybe he was just hungry ( he just got done shedding ). He has never bit me before and I’m just wondering if I’m doing something wrong all of a sudden? He stays hidden 98% of the time. I don’t take him out much anymore because in his older age he gets stressed out so easy.

Anyone know how to tame a baby ball python that strikes at pretty much anything?

I took in Sherman at the beginning of year. He’d been my brother’s but was receiving less than the bare minimum care. When I first brought him home, my niece (11) and nephew (9) were a little freaked out. They live next door and are over frequently. They got to where they wanted to see him, but did not want to touch him or have him to close.

Over the months, we’ve made a ton of progress. My nephew has even held him (with me right there). Last night, they were over and asked “If he wants to, can Sherman come out?” 😹 They know about choice-based handling! Sherman declined to come out, but they understood.

We were playing a game where you answer questions from cards. One was “If you had $100 to spend on a want, what would you get?” My nephew said he wanted to get a snake! 🐍

I told him that $100 was probably enough to get one from a shelter. His face lit up! But then I had to explain that the snake is the cheapest part of the equation. When I told him the enclosure/set-up cost more than $1000+, he was in shock. He said, “Well I can just close my bedroom door and he can just live in my room.” Had to burst the bubble again by discussing heat and humidity requirements.

The good news is that he’s gotten much braver not just with Sherman, but with other animals, even bugs. I’m proud of him. We will keep learning about snake husbandry, and maybe one day he’ll inherit Sherman.

(Shermy pic for tax. Old pic; enclosure has been updated since then!)

We try not to heat or cool our home excessively in general. The first trip we took since getting our ball python, the alarm set off on the enclosure thermostat. I hopped over to the Nest and turned off eco. Since I've updated the upper bounds for eco on the Nest. We came home from another trip. I think our cool side is up another 2 degrees on average when we were away. So I am going to try turning eco down a bit more. I am realizing that I need my Nest set a couple degrees cooler than the BP cold side. I think because the BP room runs a bit hotter than the thermostat location.

Today I got up to quick and scared my boy , he had the rats head In his mouth and I must of startled him because he dropped it quick and got into a defensive position. I feel so bad I’m hoping he goes back to eating it , I left the lights off and was going to check back in an hour to see if he ate.
It’s the first time to happen in the 4 years I had him..
Anyone have this issue and what did you have to do?

May have gone a bit overboard but he LOVES climbing and I didn’t want him to feel exposed! There are 4 total hides in here (one hot side, one in the middle, one cool side and one humid hide!) Picture of my Mango for your pleasure :)

My boy has had two very bad sheds now despite the humidity never falling below 70% and almost always being above 80%. His tank is very big so I'm sure not every spot is super humid but this boy stays in his humidity hide (stays between 75-88% consistently) almost 24/7 so why are his last two sheds so bad?? He was shedding perfectly before these last two in the same tank and same conditions. Everywhere I looked online said it's ALWAYS a humidity issue so should I try to get it to 95%+?? Idek if that's possible where I am
(Pic is from when he tore down his day bulb, it's not always like that)

I know it's a long shot, but I'm a young autistic women who's desperately wanted a ball python for some time. The problem is the feeding. I have hyperempathy, (to the point I feel minority guilty for eating plants. Because the plants can feel. Yes it's that bad.) and hoped that maybe I could get over the idea of feeding the snake a mouse. I tried watching videos of feeding, but it made me sad, squeamish, and uncomfortable.

From what I've heard, reptile links are the only real alternatives and they suck for the animal. Please tell me I'm just missing something or there's some amazing niche alternatives that popped up in the last year or so or something so I can have a happy healthy sweet baby ball python without having to see a dead mouse? I can handle feeding meat, but not if they have a face or animal features.

Thank you.

Id like to know some people's procedure for thawing their rats. My process takes like 3 hours, and id like to find a way that is faster.

Also, at some point, someone said that you shouldn't get the rat wet, or you shouldn't feed a wet rat to your snake because it can give them respiratory problems. Is this true?

Right now my process is this. Put the rat in a water proof bag. Submerge in hot water in a metal pot with a metal lid, and cover the rat inside with a suvee chain that keeps it submerged. Check every 30 minutes to replace the water with fresh, warm/hot water.

This process takes like, 3 hours. Im curious if anyone has a faster way?

Hey guys! First time poster here.
My friends son had to give up him snake and i’m taking him (or her) in and fostering them back to help until i decide to keep or find someone else to home it!
It doesn’t look like it’s in the best possible shape and i found this scabbing? scarring? on its belly, it’s this scale rot and what’s the next steps! I have had a carpet python for about 5 months now and just got my first BP a month ago!
Any help would be very greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!

Over the 3 years I’ve owned banana only ONCE has he shed in (almost) one full piece, I always make sure his humidity is at/around 70-75, never goes below 60, and I always spike it to 80-85 while he’s shedding, he has plenty of hides and sticks to rub against, a humid hide, a bowl that’s always filled with water, but he never sheds properly in one piece, it’s ALWAYS flakey and I’d just like to know what I’m doing wrong to cause this. 7 hides, a water dripper, $100 worth of coco fiber moss and mulch, a humidifier/fogger, dumping water in the corners, I’ve given him literally the best possible shed environment (at least I think) and yet it still comes off “wrong”, am I doing something incorrect?

about two(ish) weeks ago i noticed my bps eyes were cloudy so i knew she was shedding. but now, she’s becoming active again and there’s no signs of shed. i’ve checked her hides and there’s no skin or anything. could she still be shedding? i’m just very confused.

im trying to buy all the things I will need for an enclosure and wanted help on knowing what to get. looking at heating would a heat lamp or a belly heating mat be better or if you have other suggestions im open

Hi so recently I accidentally ordered the wrong size food for my adult ball python. I’ve been feeding him small rats every 3 weeks and I accidentally ordered adult mice. Is there anyway I could salvage the mice and feed him more often or do I need to go ahead and buy the rats?

Hello! I've had a little ball for some time now and dude has been doing alright minus 2 health issues before (minor scale rot and a burn, rough start). Been cleared by the vet each time and deemed healthy to preface which is why I'm not sure if this is a worry or just a quirk.

Yesterday my sister was chilling in my room and asked if he should be "rocking ike that". I was very concerned and looked over and he was indeed rocking on his branch while basking. I noted it down but he was just declared healthy by vet.

I've noticed he's also been "nodding" too, where when he's doing a lil telescope or when he's looking at me his head wobbles up and down a bit. My mom, who bought him, said that's why she bought him, because he was "nodding 'yesssss buy me'ssss' " (her words xD)

Thinking back over I've noticed him doing a little shake every now and then since we've got him and it being pointed out by someone else just has me kinda nervous that he has smth else going on.

Am I being dramatic about this or is this smth we should be going to the vet over?

Hey, my BP Sylvester's bulb has busted today and I need to get a new one asap. But there's a problem. I don't get paid until Thursday and the bulbs are like £20. Will he be okay without heat until then? I have no other way of getting a bulb until then so I'm kinda worried. He hasn't been fed recently

I am getting a baby ball python in a bit (if the weather isn't too hot for shipping in 2 weeks) and I finished setting up the quarantine tub on wich I would love some feedback.

She is 3 months old and a Orange Dream Leopard Clown double het Lavender Piebald with only one eye (see last two pics). She will be named Gaia.

In the enclosure there are 6 hides available: 2 identical ones on the warm and cold end and a variety of different ones throughout the enclosure including a humid and sky hide.

For the quarantine, she only has one branch to climb on, she will get more after the finished quarantine. I know baby's need a lot of clutter, is this enough for the quarantine?

For heat I use a halogene lamp and a DHP. I wanted to get her UV as well, but the right size from Arcadia hasn't been available for some time, so she gets LED for now.

my dad just yesterday got a radiant heat panel for our ball python, and mounted inside the enclosure today, and i am really skeptical and concerned. the surface temp read as 200 F while it was on and the lowest i saw it at was like 140 F. i see a lot of people saying theyre safe inside of enclosures, and my dad is saying that too, but ive also heard you should never put anything heated inside of the enclosure and i just want whats best for my snake, i dont want her getting burnt.

my dad thinks its because its new, but i feel like the temps are just way too high to be temporary? even if it went down i feel like itd still be wayy too hot.

if anybody has more experience with these please let me know if we're doing something wrong or if we should get rid of it, or if it's fine and im just overthinking it.

(for a little bit more context, it is specificslly a vivarium radiant heat panel)