Beginners Guide to Ball Pythons

Heyyy, so this is going to be a very detailed guide on how to setup a ball python enclosure and their husbandry needs. I hope this helps and makes things a little simpler for you! I remember when I was a beginner and I was getting so many pieces of advice from so many other experienced keepers, and sometimes it was a case of being given too many options which made it impossible to make a decision, and just made the whole thing too complicated. My goal is to make this as simple and as straight forward as I can for you if you're a total beginner planning to bring home your very first ball python! 

First things first, the setup. 

Enclosure: 

There are three main options you can choose for your enclosure. For a male ball python you'll want a tub that is atleast 3ft, and 4ft for an adult female, you'll want to start smaller for juveniles or you can start with the full size enclosure to avoid upgrades and just clutter it up to make it more secure for the baby - you basically want the enclosure to be big enough for the snake to stretch out fully on one side, or atleast be able to stretch out along the longest side and a little on the shorter side - if that makes sense? 

• Wooden vivariums - If you're from the UK (like me) these are the most readily available types of enclosures that you'll find. They are great for ball pythons as they hold humidity well, they're customisable, and they're nice and sturdy and secure. It's also a great option if you want a pretty display enclosure and they already come with the sides and back "blacked out", which is great for your ball python as it'll make the snake feel more secure.
• Glass tanks - These are a little less easy to find in the UK, but I know they are very commonly used in the US. I'm not totally sure on these as I've never used one, but they make the best enclosures for displays. Humidity can be a little tricky with these, but nothing a bit of foil tape won't fix. However, I have issues with ones that have screen tops rather than the ones that open from the sides, as this is the perfect recipe for defensive strikes and bites. It's a very predatory thing for you to reach in from above to pick up your snake, and they may become defensive - it is always advised to pick up a snake from below to avoid these defensive behaviours. 
• Plastic tubs - Honestly, my favourites because they hold humidity the best (in my opinion) and they save on so much space. If you're planning on breeding or owning multiple snakes, get yourself a rack system set up - this is just basically a shelf with plastic tubs. You can buy rack systems already assembled and decked out with heat mats attached already - but these can be a little expensive. However, tubs are the cheapest option as far as enclosures go. You can get them for under £10 at places like Amazon, B&M Bargains, Ebay etc. 

For the glass and plastic tub options, make sure you black out the backs and sides to help your ball python feel more secure. 

Temperature 

You want your warm side temperature to be at around 90F and the cool side about 80F to create an ambient temperature that allows your snake to be able to thermoregulate. You want the heat source to be on one side of the enclosure, not in the middle. 

• Heat mat - I recommend heat mats for ball pythons, because they are a nocturnal species. Using heat sources such as heat lamps/bulbs might encourage unnatural behaviours in your snake, because for them to be able to get to the heat spot, they will have to come out and bask under the lamp, and this isn't natural for them. They're not natural baskers, and they don't come out during the day. Heat mats provide belly heat from below, which can be placed underneath their hides so that they can stay hidden and stay warm during the day, which is way more natural for this species. 
• Thermostat - NEVER USE A HEAT MAT WITHOUT A THERMOSTAT. Heat mats can overheat easily and burn your snake, therefore you must always use a thermostat with a heat mat so that it can regulate the temperature you set it at using the thermostat. I recommend the brand Habistat.
• Temperature gun - Basically a digital thermometer that uses an infrared laser to give you the most accurate temperature reading of a specific area that you target. Not too expensive on amazon or ebay. 

Humidity 

Humidity should be about 60-70% at all times, it shouldn't exceed 75% unless your snake is in shed, then it should be about 75-80%. Try to keep it below 80% to avoid scale rot issues and respiratory infections (RI's). 

• Substrate - there are a ton to choose from. From my experience, I think that the best substrate to use for a ball python is cypress mulch. It holds humidity the best, and is just easier to cleanup than substrates such as coco husk/fibres, ecoearth, aspen etc. However, you can use aspen, ecoearch, coco husk, paper towels etc. If you can make them work, then it's fine. Only a warning about coco husk, it's been known to get stuck in the snakes thermal sensory pits (the adorable little holes in their faces). I've never had this issue when I used coco husk/fibres myself, but I thought it was worth a mention as I know others who have encountered this issue. I would recommend using paper towels for the first month of having your snake (the quarantine period), so that you can monitor their droppings and urine for health monitoring purposes. 
• Humidity box - I 100% recommend using one of these. I use one, I know many other keepers who swear by them, I am one of those people. I have never had shedding issues with my snake, and I attribute this to providing a humidity box. To make one, you just need a plastic tub (like a leftover, cleaned out takeaway tub or tupperwear tub), fill it just under halfway with damp (never wet) sphagnum moss, only damp water should never collect at the bottom, and cut a hole in the lid big enough for your snake to enter and exit from the box safely. Also, use a box big enough for your snake to comfortably curl up in. It provides a spot that is a constant 75-80% humidity level, which your snake will seek out when it's in shed. This way, you don't have to worry as much about raising the humidity level during shed, as this can be tricky. 

• Water bowl - you need a large water bowl, something big enough for your snake to curl up in comfortably. This will also help with humidity levels. Replace the water daily, and fill it more than half but less than totally full if that makes sense. 

• Hygrometer - Use a digital hygrometer. These are super cheap to buy on amazon, and they're the most accurate readings of humidity you can get. Place it inside of the enclosure. Never use the analogue stick-on hygrometers or thermometers, these are dangerous to your snake. If your snake climbs on them, or they unstick somehow and get stuck to your snake, it can tear the skin and cause sometimes critical injuries. Not worth the risk for the sake of a £3 digital hygrometer that will give you a more accurate reading. 

Lighting 

You don't need lighting to be honest, I don't know why some keepers use them. Indirect window light is more than enough for your ball python to tell when it's day time. Putting lights in, even red lights, can irritate and stress out the snake because if you leave them on at night, they can become confused and think that it's still daytime, so they will sleep longer and their whole body clock will become confused. 

• If you have your setup in a place that is void of any windows or natural lighting, then of course you should use a light during the day to give your snake a sense of what time of day it is. If you use a light, keep it on for about 12 hours a day, and turn it off at night. LED lighting is just fine for this purpose. 
• Red lights - Don't use these. These lights are often sold and advertised as "night lights", but I'm sorry to tell you that it's complete bullshit, because ball pythons can still see the light. So this means they are seeing lighting at night time, which will confuse them into thinking it's still daytime. They don't need it, don't waste your money.

Decor

• Hides - You need atleast two hides. One for the warm side, preferable over the heat mat, and one for the cool side. This gives the snake places to securely hide whilst they thermoregulate. Your snake is gonna spend most of its life hiding, they aren't the most active species of snake you can get which has earned them the nickname "pet rock". They're mostly active during the night, so don't worry if your snake never comes out of hiding, as the saying goes "a happy ball python is a hiding ball python". The hides should be totally covered with only one entrance/exit point - I always see beginners using these stupid log decorations as hides, and they aren't suitable. They're too open, and the snake won't feel as secure as they need to feel using them as hides. They're great as enrichment though. You can buy the fancy resin hides or the cheaper but just as effective plastic hides. You can even make them out of vegetable containers, just cut an entrance hole in, and bam. They don't gotta be fancy to do the job, but make sure they are opaque/blacked out. These are my favourites to use. 

• Branches - These are great for helping your snake through the shedding process. As your snake sheds its skin, it will rub against rougher surfaces to help get the old skin off, so a branch is a perfect thing to add for both enrichment and a shedding tool. If your snake is like mine, he'll like climbing on the branches too, Sylvester likes to pretend he's arboreal sometimes. 
• Fake plants - I mean, if you wanted to be extra you could use real plants. But, lets be honest, fake is easier and it does the same job: hiding your ball python. You wanna clutter up the enclosure with fake vine plants, this just gives more cover so that your snake will feel more comfortable moving around its enclosure. Open spaces should be avoided. 

Feeding 

This is just my opinion, but only feed frozen thawed if you can. It's safer for your snake, and more ethical for the prey. Live prey can injure your snake, so really it's just an unnecessary risk you don't need to take if your snake has no problem eating f/t. 

• Rats - some people feed mice, however, rats are more nutritionally valuable for your ball python. So, I would recommend feeding rats as it's a complete diet for your snake. 
• Size - Usually the breeder you get your snake from will give you advice on the size of the prey you should be feeding your ball python, and the how often. The rule of thumb is you should feed a rat that is the same size or slightly bigger than the thickest part of your snakes body. Anything bigger, the snake won't be able to swallow it or digest it, any smaller and it's probably too small to maintain a healthy weight on your snake. I feed my snake one small weaner rat once a week, and so far it's maintaining his health just fine, however, go by what your breeder recommends. 
• Feed inside the enclosure - another controversial topic in the community, but in my opinion, PLEASE DON'T MOVE TO FEED. There is an old myth in the snake keeping community that feeding your snake inside the enclosure causes them to become cage territorial. This isn't true unless you are only interacting with your snake inside the enclosure for feeding. Lets say you never handle your snake, you only ever go in to feed it and that's the only interaction with you that your snake gets. If that's the case, yes, the snake will go into food mode every time you open the cage because he's learned that something coming into the enclosure = food. As long as you consistently handle your snake as well as feeding it inside the enclosure, the snake will not associate you coming in with food and go to bite you. You should never handle your snake after it eats as it risks them regurgitating (throwing up) their meal, and because their stomach acid is so damn strong, it can cause thermal burns on the insides of their throat and mouth. This is why moving to feed is dangerous, because you have to pick the snake up to put it back into the enclosure right after it eats, and again, it's just another unnecessary risk you don't need to take. Leave your snake alone for 48 hours after it eats to give it time to digest. 

Preparing the rat 

Some tips on how to prepare the rat from my experience. My snake has only ever refused one meal with me in his life, and that was because he was deep in blue. This could also be because he's a greedy pig. 

• Put the rat in a plastic ziplock bag, make sure no water gets on the rat as it can dull the scent. Some rats will take a wet rat, but to give you the best chances I'd keep it dry for now.
• Thaw the rat in the warmest tap water you can get for 30 minutes. Before you start the timer, boil some water in the kettle and wait 30 minutes for it to cool slightly. 
• Replace the water with the cooled kettle water and wait another 30 minutes. This heats the rat up enough so that the snake will be able to sense the thermal radiation from the rat, thus, tricking it into thinking the rat is alive. 
• Take your feeding tons (always use feeding tongs) and pick up the rat from the tail. Hold the rat infront of the snake. If the snake is interested, he'll be tongue flicking as he picks up the scent of the rat, he'll follow it as you move it around slightly, and boom. It'll strike it. It's easier for the snake to swallow the rat head first, which is why I say to hold the rat by the tail. If it gets the back end, it'll still try to swallow it and he'll be okay, if he has trouble he'll just turn it around himself so it's going in head first. 
• Pro tip for a beginner: Sit down. They have a quick strike that comes suddenly outta nowhere, and it can be intimidating. It will probably make you jump, so sit down. I've fed my snake a ton of times now, and his strike still makes me jump sometimes because it's so fast. Don't worry, it's a natural response. 

Maintenance 

So here I'm gonna talk about enclosure maintenance. This bit is easy, as these snakes are very low maintenance species to keep - which is why a lazy person like me loves them. 

• Spot checks. Go in daily and spot clean, just if you find any poops or wet spots, just simply remove them and replace substrate in that area if you need to. I would also disinfect the area with a very very VERY diluted bleach solution, or you can get brand reptile enclosure cleaner. That's all you gotta do, easy peasy. 
• Monthly deep cleans. So, every month I do a deep clean. This means I remove Sylvester from his vivarium, I put him into a little storage tote or I just let him chill around my neck and shoulders, and I'll remove all decor and hides and spray them with that diluted bleach solution, pop them in the sink and let them soak to disinfect whilst I clean out the rest of the vivarium. I will then get rid of all the substrate, then I'll use the diluted bleach and a paper towel, and just wipe down the insides and the glass of the viv. Make sure it's completely dry, then I will put in my fresh substrate, then go back to the sink where the decor, hides and the water dish are, rinse them with tap water and then use a paper towel to dry them completely. Then, I put everything back. Done. Repeat this monthly, and you should be good. 
• I also check my thermostat and heat pad daily, as well as humidity & temp levels just to make sure everything is working properly.

More people skip the deep cleans than you'd think, but I think it's good husbandry practise to do a deep clean of the entire setup, disinfect the stuff inside and everything atleast once a month. It doesn't take a lot of effort, it usually takes me 20 minutes at most. 

Handling 

When you first bring your ball python home, handle it before you put it in the enclosure for the firs time just to perform some checks. You wanna check for mites and for signs of a respiratory infection. It's very unlikely that a reputable breeder would have sold you a snake with either of these, but it's always good practise to just check. If you find signs of mites of an RI, contact the breeder immediately. For mites, check under the chin and towards the tail, and for an RI check for excess saliva and puffing noises - a good way to check for RI's is to open the snakes mouth with a card so that you can look inside. Be gentle, and if you aren't confident in doing this, either get a friend who may have experience in keeping snakes to do it for you, or just check as closely as you can for any drooling or excess saliva, and just keep an eye on them for the first month or so. 

After you perform the health checks, put your snake into its new home and leave it completely alone - no touching or handling - for an entire week. 

This will be the hardest week of your life, but it's very needed for the snakes development. Your snake needs this alone time to get used to and acclimate to the new environmet its been put in. After the week is done, try offering it some food, if it eats - amazing! It's a good sign if your snake is eating a week after you got it, if it doesn't eat, give it a little more time alone and offer a meal again a few days later. If it eats, don't handle it for 48 hours. 

• Handling - To tame down a snake, you just gotta handle it and be consistent. Every snake is different, and every snake will tolerant handling at its own level. You just need to understand that snakes only tolerate handling, they don't particularly enjoy it like a dog or a cat would enjoy a cuddle, but each snake is different, some tolerate it much more than others. Just be slow in your movements, be chill and confident, pick your snake up from below away from the head, never above. Your snake may hiss at first, or even strike at you, just pick it up anyway. It's what we call the "confident grab technique" just be confident and sure in your action, and once the snake is in your hands, it'll chill out because by that point you're only a perch to them, and they aren't going to attack what they're sitting on. 
• Handle daily aside from feeding day and 2 days after eating. At first, keep the sessions short and sweet - 10-15 minutes a day consistently and you will see a change in the snake as it becomes more used to you and your scent, it will realise over time that you're not a predator and you're not going to eat it. Also, as the snake grows and gets a bit bigger it will become more confident and less flighty. You can also run your thumb gently over the snakes back and sides to desensitise them to touch.Some people touch their heads, I personally don't see the need to do that to be honest, unless it's going to be an animal you use in educational programs and it needs to be used to being handled by clumsy children who wanna pet the snake like a dog - not recommended btw. But a few weeks of consistent handling and the hissing and striking should stop. 

Listen, some keepers will tell you that 3-4 days of handling is too much and it will stress the snake out, some will tell you that it's perfectly fine, but at the end of the day only you know your snake. You have to read your snakes mood, if your snake is becoming stressed from the handling sessions, shorten them. If the snake is fine with it, it's eating fine and shedding fine, doesn't show any signs of stress, then you're good. Just go by what your snake is telling you. 

Last thing to do... 

Enjoy your snake!