Ball Pythons 101

Hey folks, I just got my first ball python.... not deliberately, but being teachers My husband and I are always having students bringing us animals they either caught, or just plain don't want anymore. This student brought the ball python with the words "He doesn't do anything" and also mentioned that it would be "pretty hungry" as the student didn't really have the money to feed it. It's in my husband's classroom, and I haven't seen it. So suddenly we have a ball python. It came complete with cage, heat rock, water dish, and rock (not sure if there is a hide). I plan on reading up on Ball Pythons when I get home from work today, but in the meantime wondered if anyone would give me the "Ball Python 101" course here. I'm sure it's a normal. I haven't actually seen it.

Some important things:

Heat Rock... won't he burn himself on that?
Humidity? How much?
Food? Rats or Mice? I just started raising rats, but have many more mice to feed than rats.
Gender... how do I tell if it's a boy python or a girl python?
Optimal substrate? Temperatures? Feeding cycle? Cage size?
brumation... do they?

Thanks in advance. I know that all of this information is available online, and I will do my research, but thought i would get the ball rolling. (no pun intended).

Wow, that's a lot of questions, let me write you a book. In the meantime,
Heat rock; no. Bad idea. UTH or Heat Tape.
Humidity: 60% always.
Food: Rats. Mice suck.
Sexing: No way to tell for sure. Have it probed by a pro.
Feeeding: 1000g or less, appropriate-sized rat every 5 days, over 1000g, once a week-10 days.
Substrate: I use unprinted newsprint, works good for me.
Temps: 90-95 hot side (belly temp.) cool side at least 75.
Good luck.

Thanks for your reply. I got to see him and I was surprised at how personable he is. Just something about Pythons I guess!

He doesn't have a hide, but we'll bring one in to school for him. Poor thing. Until we can get a more appropriate heat source, we might lift the cage up on pieces of wood and place the heat rock beneath the aquarium to provide some heat. We'll also mist the cage daily to keep the humidity up. (This IS Arizona... humid 2 months of the year, bone dry the rest)

I don't have a scale to weigh him. His head is about half the size of a normal playing card (king of hearts?). so he's got the biggest head of any of our snakes (so far... I bet my Jungle Carpet will get bigger though).

I plan on giving him one of my mice that is too large for any of my snakes to begin with. Then we'll go from there. He's a beautiful animal. I don't think he's a full adult. Perhaps 1 to 2 years old. He's been "starved" because the kid who had him got bit when he was feeding him, and so he's been punishing him.

Sexing: No way to tell for sure. Have it probed by a pro.

Popping works too. (by a pro as well.)

If he was being "punished" by not being fed the kid may have been to scared to go into the cage at all .... you may want to consider giving him a dish of pedialyte as well, just to cover any dehydration that may have occured.... just a thought.