Ball Pythons

[Geordie]

Hey guys.


I'm seriously considering buying a ball python snake as a pet. I was wondering if anybody has one, or would like to share any knowledge information they have if they do. Thanks alot. Heres a link of what they look like. http://captivebredpythons.com/images/balls/carmel/HetCarmelMale.jpg

[Johnny SixPack]

I've owned two of them, and they are great snakes. 

Very docile, and mine very much enjoyed being handled.

Sly (the smaller of the two - about 2.5') loved to curl around your arm and soak in the heat.

Monty (the larger one @ 5') would go straight for the neck. 

Not for any evil purpose, but simply because you put out a lot of heat from your neck.

Just make sure to have a lockable cage which ever route you go.

Trust me on that. 

Only reason I gave them up was the constant feeding of live food.

Mine were both raised on gerbils, and the picking the poor bastards out for death got to be a bit much.

I've heard that you can train them to take regular meat, but I don't know how much validity there is to that statement.

[Geordie]

Thanks Formula 440. So you reccomend them, that's great. I was reading on the internet and it said that you can feed them already-dead mice and gerbil. That would most likely be the route I would take. Thanks for the info!

[Johnny SixPack]

Definitely recommend them.

Especially as a introduction into constrictors.

Always wanted to move up to a Columbian Red Tail Boa, but never took the plunge due to the feeding schedule. 

That's great that you can indeed go the dead food route.

Kind makes me think about getting a constrictor again.

On a side note, if you've never owned snakes, you just have to be extra attentive during the snake's shedding process.

Sly wouldn't eat during it, but Monty would.

The only time Monty ever attempted to strike at me was when he was shedding.

And that's due to the fact that he was essentially blind, and the smell of the food was on me.

Along the line of shedding, both my Ball Pythons enjoyed a good soak to promote shedding.

I'd just fill the tub with lukewarm water, and let 'em go crazy.

If you do let them soak, you'll end up with a 'present' more than likely, but being in the water really helps them loosen their eye scales and other tough to shed areas.

Hope this helps!

[Wakko]

I had one and he was also very docile.  They're notorious escape artists and if there's ANY way out, they'll find it.  The problem with them is that they get big...and it doesn't take long.  After a couple years you end up with a five or six foot snake that eats rabbits and other large critters that get EXPENSIVE.  Then what do you do with the snake?  Down here people release them into the everglades and we all saw that Burmese Python vs. alligator pic, right?  

I ended up getting rid of mine while he was still under two feet long.