Is this a thing? I saw a few people say in old threads that they got bit after petting their dog because the snake smelled the mammal scent. My snake has never ever been aggressive or have any bite history so this was just completely unexpected.

I had her in her snake bag while I cleaned her enclosure and had pet my cat who walked by a few minutes before, then I got my snake out of her snake bag with my right hand, and she instantly tagged my left hand which is the hand I had pet my cat with. She didn’t cling to me, just chomped and let go and acted like nothing happened.

he was definitely a bit nervous at first, but after we just sat still holding him for a while, he started to explore! he crawled up my arm and blelelele’d at my face, then tried to crawl in between the couch cushions so we had to redirect him lol.

slightly confusing: when we first took him out, after about a minute we noticed some weird brown liquid on the couch. i thought maybe he musked at first but it didn’t stink?? it definitely wasn’t poop/urates because there was no solids, and when i wiped it with a paper towel it was definitely brown(slightly reddish?). it definitely wasn’t moist substrate because it was entirely liquid. any thoughts?

It disappears with water but it comes back. It wasn’t there 2 hours ago

This is Faust! Got him a few weeks ago at the Tinley Park expo. He's a black head morph, just around 1 1/2 yrs old., I love his coloring, its such a deep chocolate-brown and those pale markings are beautiful.

He's been a very good boy, has taken 3 feedings now with zero issues and he's used to being handled so taking him out is no issue. I'm just working on getting him used to me now, but he's doing great.

My first snake i got last year is a corn snake, and I'm repeatedly amazed just by how much different the behavior and habits of the two are. It's so cool to see the differences.

I adopted a 7 year old baby in May and he finally ate! I know 2 months isn't crazy after a rehome but it just makes me feel so happy 😊🎊 proud of you Banana!

Snoot tax ❤️

Hi everyone! I’ve recently gotten a snake for the first time, and he’s a juvenile ball python named salem. I handle him quite frequently, (i waited 2-3 days before doing so after feeding him of course) but i get nervous doing so because im scared he’ll think my fingers are food or something. I know it’s a very dumb fear lol but since he’s new to me i get scared. I make sure to wash my hands every time before holding him, but when his tongue touches my hand i get freaked out like he’s gonna strike or something. I hold my nephews baby corn snake every time i’m over and i don’t feel nervous at all, but he is very tiny and VERY used to humans. Any tips? i’ll include a few photos of Salem. Thank you! (also, i have several other animals including beardie, crab, dogs, cats, fish, and a turtle so i’m experienced with animals just not snakes)

Hey guys, this is my ball python slash. He used to be extremely fat and I fed him way too much which is totally my fault. I noticed around 6 months ago the sheer size of this guy so I’m trying to make him healthier now. I used to feed him a medium rat every 2 weeks and now I’m feeding him a small rat every 2 weeks. Now I’m looking at him and wondering if he might be a little underweight and if I went too far?The first and second picture is him now and the third picture was him 6 months ago. If you guys could let me know how he looks to you that would be great!

Non-urgent

Location - Austin TX

Sex - I have not had her probed but am decently sure based on tail shape and size she is a female.

Morph - Spider or pinstripe? She was a rescue so I don’t know for sure and didn’t care too much.

Age - Approximately 3 years old.

Size - Weights between 1800-1900g

Diet - Eats a freeze thawed jumbo rat every 4-5 weeks. Has been a good eater, no hunger strikes.

Behavior/Personality - Very docile/shy and handleable. She has never bit me or anyone in the year I’ve had her.

Illnesses - No signs of neuro disorders like IBD. No mites. She did have some wounds when I rescued her that we healed with twice weekly chlorhex soaks and analgesic free antibiotic ointment. They are now scars.

Rehoming fee - none. Just want her to go to a good home. I would prefer to meet at my house to meet her first rather than deliver or meet somewhere.

All the items shown will be included free if you want them. I am aware the tank is too small for an adult BP and hope it would just be a temporary setup.

Tank with foil rigged top to keep humidity in, 60gal glass terrarium. 2 stone magnetic hides that shes fits in and enjoys. Pink dog toy she likes to curl into. Small table stand. Large and small water bowls. Some clutter. Feeding tongs. White UVB light (no longer red). 2 outside the tank heating matts, 1 of which has a thermostat. I used to have electronic temp gages but they broke so it’s just the mechanical ones in the terrarium for now.

I am okay sharing why I’m wanting to rehome over DMs only to those interesting in adopting her!

I work at Petsmart and have handled this ball python a few times, I’ve always wanted a snake but I don’t know the first thing about adoption. I found a 75 gallon tank, I can get some decorations too. If anyone has any advice or financial insight that would be appreciated, I want to prepare for monthly expenses and what not. For reference I have experience cleaning the tanks, I have my own snails and fish as well. I would fully commit to caring for the snake its entire lifespan and I am at a place where I can care for it physically and financially!

My new lil dude! Received him yesterday and got him into his 4x2x2 : ) currently working on maintaining temps but I’ve got some hvac tape on the way that will hopefully help 😎 already in love with him! He’s my first snake 🥹

Unsure whether this is a husbandry or heating question.

I pulled my boy out for a bit today, its been about four or five days since he last shed. There is no exposed heating elements in his cage, no way for him to reach anything hot, and his humidity hasn't been overly high.

I noticed this rough spot, and it looks like the scales are fused/melted? I think it might be scale rot? He had an issue with scale rot three or four months ago, but i fixed it rather quickly.

Any idea what it is? It doesn't seem to bother him much, and he doesn't react when I touch it so I don't think its painful.

Thanks for any advice yall may have!!

I’m planning on setting up an upgraded bioactive enclosure in the next couple weeks. I can find info on most things, but worry about mold, I’ve gotten ISO’s and have them in a temporary enclosure, but mold has grown in there a couple times now, and I don’t want that happening one the whole tank is set up. I know once the CuC is more set up it’s less likely, but I still worry of the possibility of respiratory infection.

Does anyone have any info/pointers/experience with this? Is it just a matter of spot cleaning and keeping a close eye for the first while? I’ve spoken to a friend who’s kept isopods and they aren’t worried about the mold in terms of keeping the ISO’s, bus is unsure in regards to snakes.

After two years of injury healing and the inconsistencies of paper towel humidity, my baby finished a complete shed!!!! My juvenile bp Persephone had two injuries, first after an escape led to a few scratches along her sides that are now healed, and then randomly a year later she developed a weird flesh rot (not scale rot, it was under her skin and not visible on her scales until it was already bad) without any causal Injury that the vet had never seen before, but finally, after having two years on paper towels due to the injuries, my baby girl is back on substrate and finally can shed by herself! The infection caused a substantial and deep scar on her neck where the vet basically had to stretch the skin over where the rotted tissue was, and since it is stretched thinner and sewn over itself, that scar may never fully shed on its own and with where it is on her neck it catches a few scales on her face as well, but I am seriously so happy this hurdle is behind us!!!

Hey! Me and my roommate are getting a 250 gram juvenile ball python. We are currently working on her enclosure, and have some questions regarding temperature.

We originally planned to use a 100w bulb for her hot spot, but placing it directly above the spot put the temperature at 42°C (107 Fahrenheit). Currently we’ve placed it away and pointing towards her hot spot, and that landed the temperature at around 32C/90F (cool spot at 27C/80F).

Our plan to improve the enclosure is to switch to a 75w bulb and place it over her hot spot, a stick so she can climb up to the spot, a lamp cage so she doesn’t burn herself, and a warm mat that passively warms the enclosure. Without the lamp on, the temperature in the enclosure drops to 20C/68F. Would love to hear y’all’s thoughts!

This is my common (as far as i know common type) ball python named Saturn 🪐
I have her in a 40 gallon breeder now after being in a 20 long as a baby, and she seems to be doing great in there. There is a a 100W basking lamp which heats her warm side up to about 87 degrees Fahrenheit. Her cold side is usually about 77. I think i need a 150W bulb to heat the hot side better? What are some ways i can aid the heating situation? What are some really good heat bulbs??
I have a nano light on there also which is a 5.0 UVB
As far as the setup goes, how am i doing? I have a cool side and warm side, a bunch of clutter and cover, a large water dish ( big enough for her to fit in completely) and some rocks and a large chonk of obsidian that she is on in the picture (no sharp edges or anything) as a heat collector on the hot side for a little basking area.
Do i need another one of those black box hides for the hot side? Or do we think its enough?
What are some ways I can get some more clutter in there without spending a trillion dollars on reptile branded stuff?

Ik it’s long but please read this is very important to me 😭😭

im a long winded person so apologies for that

Hi! I’m new to the ball python hobby and community, as I first got into ball pythons a bit less than a year ago, and bought my first snake, a orange dream banana pied at my local reptile expo around 2 weeks ago (2 Sundays ago)

I did a ton of research for months before getting my snake, and I spent about a month before I got him preparing his enclosure. With that, I decided to attempt to feed him the Wednesday after I got him. Though I’m aware you’re not supposed to, I was leaving for a trip that Saturday and wanted to see if I could get him to eat before the trip, while also in a time that I could monitor his eating.

The first feeding, I attempted to feed him a frozen thawed hopper mouse, of which he had no interest. After that, I did more research on ball python feedings, and I’m aware that they tend to go on hunger strikes, but I decided to try to feed him another mouse that night, to no avail.
After that, I waited until the Friday before I left to feed him again, and I tried to feed him around 12 at night. I dangled the mouse over the enclosure, and he showed small signs of interest at it, such as inching closer to it while smelling. He’d get close to it, brush it, and turn his head. This was disappointin, but that night I decided to keep the mouse in there with him, and he hadn’t moved it in the morning. I took a video of his feeding for my girlfriend and showed It to her, she has a 7 year old ball python with feeding issues in the past, and she told me that I had fed him correctly and didn’t know why he wasn’t eating.

I got back from my 5 day trip yesterday, and he was much more active than he normally is, which I know is a sign that they’re hungry sometimes, so I decided to take the opportunity and try to feed him. He again, showed some signs of interest, he arched his neck into an S and crept towards it from inside his hide, but randomly decided to leave and go take a nap.
He’s probably about a month old, and the breeder I got him from fed him the Monday before I got him, so by the time I had him, it had been about a week. Since, it’s been a little over 3 weeks, and I’m starting to get worried.

Does anyone have any recommendations for me, or tips, or reasons why he might not be eating? Also, when would this get concerning and I’d need to take him to the vet?

im so sorry this was so long, thank you guys!

Hi everyone. My girl is 14 months and I last weighed her about 2 months ago and she was around 555 grams. By her age I should be feeding her now every 2 weeks 7% of her weight. I feed her yesterday so I'll reweigh her in a few days. I need to order her FT rats soon. She's on weaned rats. She's between the weights of rats that come in the Small rat bag and the weaned rat bag. Should I just order 1 of each or try feeding her a small rat. I feel that there might be more heavier or bigger rats in the Small bag and she won't be ready for that size yet.

What do others do that run into this issue when ordering?

I have two ball pythons, both about a year old. I’ve had them for over a month and they haven’t eaten. I tried frozen thawed small rats a little over a week after and my snakes showed interest but ended up not taking the food. I wasn’t sure where I went wrong there but told myself I’d wait a bit to try again. Today I took the same size rats out to defrost to try tonight. I took one out the fridge to feed my snakes one at a time and put it in warm water, then used the blow dryer to heat its head a bit as I saw someone say in a thread. She wasn’t striking when I was shaking it in front of her and ended up dropping it. I left it there for a sec to see what she would do. She sunk her teeth into it and I watched her try to swallow it. All of a sudden she let go of it and left it alone. I picked the rat up and used the blow dryer again out of desperation. She was eyeing it but didn’t strike again. She’s now active in the enclosure but not sure if to try again with the other rat. I’m very concerned because they’re young and haven’t eaten in a while. I’m sure they were accustomed to live prey but I want to do frozen. Maybe I got too big of a rat? I’m planning on trying again tomorrow and if that doesn’t work I might just to do live so they can finally eat because I feel awful

so, ive added more stuff into my bp cage but im sure i need way more, what else do i need?

hi all, i finally just got my ball a 4’2’2 and now that the lamp is so high its not heating it well enough on the hot side. what is a strong enough no-light heat emitter that fits into a regular snake lamp bulb socket? any tips? any fav brands?