• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

tank set up

D

didio88

New member
Joined
Jun 7, 2010
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
tomkins cove,ny
hye guys im new to the caring of ball pythons... i use to take care and breed trantulas. want sum pointers if u can.... im picking mine up on friday so i was wandering if neone got pixs of their tank set ups so i have a visual of wat ishould do..
 
I keep mine in racks, and tubs so pics wouldn't do you much good, but with balls keep it simple and don't give them too much space.

They need security so the biggest thing in my opinion is hide boxes. For my hatchlings and juvies I cut a plastic folgers coffee container in half with a "mouse hole" in the front. This allows them to curl up tight inside. Offer a hide box on the hot, and warm end of the tank.

Also just my opinion don't waist your money with cage furniture. They'd rather a nice size water bowl and hide boxes.

As for temps I give mine a basking spot of 1/3 their tub at 92 degrees and the cool end of their cage gets down to about 80 to 82 degrees.

Hope this helps.
 
Sorry, I forgot to mention for substrate with my hatchlings and juvies ( under 500 grams ) I use paper towels to line their cage. My sub adult, and adult males get regular pine shavings from wal-mart, and my adult females get sani-chips which are just pine chips rather than shavings. They're easier to spot clean since my big girls like to make a mess by curling up in their water bowls during breeding.
 
for housing, i personally use a rack... considering i have so many. for the hatchling to juvies, i use a finely shredded aspen. for the subadult to adult, especially during the time of breeding, i use newspaper due to the possibility of getting substrate stuck in the vent or reproductive organs and harming my males. as far as water bowls are concerned.... i use those plastic molded bowls from wal-mart in the pets section that come in small to large sizes and determine the size based on the enclosure size, generally giving a large enough size for the snake to submerge in. not only that, but i like the fact that they make them in grey and pink and choose the color based on the snake's sex. on the snakes i use hides on, i just buy the most appropriate sized pvc slip-on cap from lowes or home depot and use a hole-saw to make the entrance/exit hole...

here are pictures of the hide, as well as the bowl... just in case you'd like a visual.
 

Attachments

  • piedhide.jpg
    piedhide.jpg
    40.5 KB · Views: 53
  • fbee52510.jpg
    fbee52510.jpg
    310.8 KB · Views: 51
  • 09femalealbino1.jpg
    09femalealbino1.jpg
    207.5 KB · Views: 50
thanks alot for the tips guys. also just wanted to know how fast these guys grow up cuz i got mine right after hatching
 
Anywhere from 500 to 1000 grams in their first year. Kind of hard to say there's a set growth rate. Also depends what you feed them. Rats, and ASF's will cause quicker growth than mice.
 
didio88 said:
thanks alot for the tips guys. also just wanted to know how fast these guys grow up cuz i got mine right after hatching
Click to expand...

that's hard to peg. it really depends on what size of rodent you're feeding, and the frequency. sometimes they don't always eat... so don't freak out. i've had them grow from 150-200g to 800g in 6 months. that's feeding an appropriately sized rodent every 5 days. i've got some that i bought at 700g a few months ago and they've barely gained 150g. it just depends.

as far as enclosure goes... if you decide with the tub setup... i use the 15 quart sterilite tub from hatchling up to 750-800g and from that ... i go to the 34 quart tub.... and anything over 2000g or so... i'd recommend a 41 quart tub.
 
asf's? dont knw wat that is im new to this stuff so im not use to da lingo lmao srry... also should it be a good idea to breed my own snake feed like mice and stuff and wat shuld i feed da new guys since their tiny.
 
If you have one snake then no it's better to buy rats. If you have a choice don't feed your ball python mice. Feed rats. Asf means african soft fur. It's the ball pythons native prey item.

I breed my own rats, and asf's because I over 100 snakes, and it would be a huge food bill to buy food weekly.
 
didio88 said:
asf's? dont knw wat that is im new to this stuff so im not use to da lingo lmao srry... also should it be a good idea to breed my own snake feed like mice and stuff and wat shuld i feed da new guys since their tiny.
Click to expand...

he's referring to an african soft fur rat. it's what they eat in their native land. i've personally never fed them... so i can't say. to me, that's a last resort if they won't eat regular rats or mice considering they're harder to come by unless you know of a reliable source. for a larger hatchling... i'd go with rat crawlers or small mouse hoppers. some snakes if continually fed on mice.. are harder to switch over to rats once they get bigger. rat crawlers being the rat that is still nursing and isn't weaned from the mother yet. basically it's what is easiest for you to obtain.

also, about breeding your own... that's up to you. i wouldn't consider it if you've only got one snake seeing as how they produce much faster than you'll be able to use them. i personally don't even breed my own, but it has a lot to do with i've got a reliable breeder that i get my rodents from whenever i want and whatever quantity i want.... frozen or live, dirt cheap.
 
alright dats kool yea i was asking only cuz i was planing on getting more cuz i wanna start breeding snakes. alot of people are always asking around for ball pythons around here and their always out of stock at pet stores and theirs like no breeders around here.
 
Back
Top