I have a ball python and am seeing a lot of different opinions on substrate! I’m currently using cocoa chips but it doesn’t seem to be good for humidity, the water just seems to sit at the bottom of the vivarium. I’ve seen some people who recommend a mix of top soil, cocoa chips, play sand and sphagnum moss. I want to know if that would require a clean up crew and drainage layer and if it would help with humidity.

I'm looking to buy a ball python at some point in the future. What tips do I have to keep in mind when caring for a ball python?

reclaimed bricks and slabs were about as much as id spend on a medium resin hide.

gonna boil em probably get all of the life off it make sure theres no mites living in the crevaces

Snake tax^^ Yesterday I had a scare. I left for about an hour and came back to the probe having fallen off the basking spot and the tank at 100F warm side and 86F in the cool spots. Was so scared my boy was cooking :( I know tape or any adhesive shouldnt be used in an enclosure, so how should I secure the probe to make sure this doesn’t happen again? He pulls all suction cups off the walls by climbing. I have to leave my boy for two days for the first time this weekend and this incident has me stressed. Basking spot is on top of a flat-roofed hide

I try to change my snakes water every few days and if I don't do it my parents change it but I've been noticing a thin layer of I don't even know what floating on top, any ideas what it is?

Both running a 150 watt che, basking spot is 31c, warm ambient high 20s, gradient down to mid 20s on cool side - both running a 6% Forest UVB, humidity around 80%!

Both tanks are on a mix of coco chips, fibre and biolofe tropical soil mix!

Taken last night, just added water bowls on the warm end and a hide (have more stuff I’m adding to the tanks but they’re at a different house and will be moving last of the decor over with the snakes on the weekend!

I had just handled my 11-year-old ball python ( new to me; I've had her about 3 weeks now ), and 20 minutes after, I came up to her enclosure, didn't open it at all, just came and looked at her. She saw me and jolted super hard back into her hide. I feel terrible about it. Did I just damage the trust I have been building with her?

I’ve noticed that these past weeks he’s not once went back inside his hides. Even if I handle him for a bit and let him back inside, he immediately goes to the back of the tank where he’s hidden(his hides hide him from all sides besides the entrance and cover a lot). Before this behavior he ONLY hid in his cold hide and wouldn’t leave. But after I picked him up and discovered he had mites(currently trying to treat soon), and gave him a little bath. But after that he didn’t keep his usual habits and started hanging in the back of the tank in the open.

I’m worried something’s wrong! Could it be the mites that are causing this? (Is there anything I should look on him for, weird coloring or anything).
He lives in a glass tank, 40 gallon, I try to keep the temp at 88-89.

I took a lot of y’all’s advice for keeping the humidity in Vegas ! I did a aprox 50/50 of soaked coco chip and repti soil with moss scattered around in the soil. Added WAY more substrate so there’s more humidity being held in the soil. Put leaf litter over top so he’s not sitting on just wet soil .Added the hvac tape to the top. Humidity is already on the rise in his enclosure and I’m sure it’ll still be a constant battle but this is the first step. Also another update for anyone who read the last post, he ate on Monday ! Didn’t have to do any tap dancing or anything the SECOND I presented the f/t mouse in his enclosure he took it! Very happy about that . Again thanks to everyone for the tips

Hi all! I’d love some advice on handling this little guy. I’ve had him 3 weeks now and he’s eating, so I’ve been trying to start some handling.

I’m struggling on understanding when I’m pushing his boundaries too far, and when I’m doing it just enough to get him out of his comfort zone. So far, he hasn’t struck at me, but he definitely isn’t happy with handling. He will start balled up and breathing really heavy. Then he’ll usually poke his head out, but continue heavy breathing and stay frozen aside from tracking me with his head. He jerks away from any touch on his body, especially near the head.

Obviously I don’t want to get bit, but I’m not sure if I’m just being too cautious and reading too much into his body language. I don’t want to stress him out too much. Any tips on handling and body language are appreciated!

Photo is of him tracking me after I accidentally disturbed his sleep while going to check on the dampness in his humid hide. He had never gone in there before, so I think we were both surprised to see each other lol

Hey, back with another question. Our thermostat is in, but we can't figure out to mount the probe. Genuinely, how do people get their Probes in? We're using a pvc enclosure with 2 mesh squares for heat and our Probes don't fit through the vents.

Everyone please say hello to Butterscotch

This is my first time owning a reptile, i am going shopping for my ball python tomorrow. Wondering what i should get him(or her) and I'm having trouble getting the temp to what i need

Any recommendations? I put hvac tape on top and using ceramic heat emitter and deep heat projector atm

My Ball Python Cookie is definitely going through a shed cycle but on the side of her body a few days ago I noticed a pink looks like raw skin like wound. Today I noticed the area got darker I can't tell if it's a healing wound, scale rot or something else. She is super white but right now she looks pink with a brownish tint I'm thinking because of the shed cycle. I did setup a vet appointment but it's a week from today and I'm concerned that's a long wait to get this checked out.

Back story I did make a rookie mistake by putting black duct tape to hold a shirt I was wearing to get her use to my scent I did remove it because it smeared all over her I used olive oil and I was able to get most of it off and that's when I noticed a pink patch now turned brown.

Attached pictures when I first noticed the pink spot and pictures now when it's brownish. Please any help I would really appreciate it. My 7 years old daughter is freaking out worried about her.

She is not showing any bad signs not lethargic, she is acting normal and hydrated. I did buy povidoneiodine solution to bath her in it in case it's an infection but didn't go through with it because I noticed her eyes blued and I didn't want to stress her out.

This is my girl ash, she is 4 months old and I love her. I have had her for going on 6 weeks and I know about not handling for the first week or 2 but I did add some decor as those 2 weeks went by. She had her first shed with me on 9/12/26. I am starting to worry because at week 2 I offered her a mouse and she dropped it almost immediately and has been showing no interest in food at all. She hasn’t really lost any weight but the breeder I bought her from told me she was eating without a problem. Am I worried for a good reason or am I just worried for no reason?

Vogue ate another meal last night on the first try. Ive decided to feed him every 6 days as everything Ive read recommends feeding youngins every 5-7 days. When can I start trying to handle him? He's eaten 2 meals back to back without refusing, should I wait a little longer until he's more established? I've had him for almost 3 weeks now. I got him on the 1st.

This is my first time posting in here but I am so confused on if this is regurgitation or poop? The picture is kind of bad but it just look sort of like poop with fur I just noticed today and she got fed monday. Is there anything specific I should do or does this look okay?

First time BP owner here. I’ve had my girl Janie for a few months now and shes doing great aside from being quite introverted. One thing I’ve noticed though is that when she gets defensive in the “S” shape, she has a very very slight wobble. I mean maybe no more than maybe 3-5 mm slowly side to side only from the neck onwards. I know extreme wobbles can mean neurological issues but shes a red stripe morph and comes from good husbandry, she also only wobbled when defensive. I don’t know if the intensity of the wobbling is decided by the intensity of the neurological issues but I don’t think theres many ways she could have issues if I’m being honest. Is it something else, normal, or does my girl just have a very small amount of the ‘tism in her?

I’ve done quite a bit of research but ofc there is a ton of conflicting info so I require y’all’s opinions.

I just brought my new noodle home yesterday and she’s my first snake. She is roughly a year old and weighs 323 grams
The thing is, I was told she is fed every 7 days. And was last fed on Wednesday the 7th. But they have only been giving her fuzzies?!

I thought she needed a feeder 10% of her weight which is 32.3 grams, and fuzzies are definitely not enough.

But I also heard she is fussy and they have to brain the mouse to make sure she eats.
So I want to increase the prey size and eventually switch her to rats, but I don’t want her to turn away her meal after having to wait an extra 5 days to settle.

So should I feed her a fuzzy first, and then increase the size of the mouse, and then switch to rats over time? Or should I just go straight to rats of appropriate size and hope?

Idk I’m just worried for my noodle

After an unfortunate and upsetting short life corn snake (he had a birth defect died after a few days 🥲🥲) I got my boy Monty from the Expo! He’s been home a week and a half!

My pookie girl arrived today!!!! She went straight to her hide after this pic but I’m sure she was traumatized from her shipment. I love her so much!! Meet Fig 💚🤎 born on July 25, 2026