I want a Ball but need to know more

[Phantom_]

I have been wanting a snake for quite some time now. I have been looking into alot of types of snakes. I was looking at red tail boas and other types of pythons but they all get too big. I one of the forums I was talking in, they recommended to me ball pythons. They said that they max out at 4-5 feet. I don't know a whole lot about them but from what I have heard (which isn't a WHOLE lot) they sound perfect for me. I was wondering how easy are they to take care of as opposed to something like a Red tail? How are their temperament? I want something that is very docile.

[qiksilver]

any time you take a wild animal into your home, you never know if it will be 'tame' or not. Yes as a rule ball pythons are docile, but then again, some are mean as anything and will kill you if given the chance. Same thing with any snake. They're notoriously picky eaters, especially depending on where you get them from.
Go read some caresheets, they're all over everywhere, and if you have more specific questions after that, everyone would love to answer them for you.

[brownsfan222]

There temperaments are usually very calm and shy. The best thing I can advise you to do is go look at the caresheets on this site because there are some good ones on some snakes that interest you and see if you can provide adequate care and go from there.

[TheBoaGuy]

Only bad thing i can say about getting a ball especially as a first snake is that they tend to go off feed. This can be quite nerve racking even for the most experienced keeper let alone someone just getting into snakes. So I would suggest really doing your research and buy from a reputable breeder with good healthy stock. As far as size goes ball pythons to tend to stay or the shorter size about 5-7ft as adults.

[morti]

Care sheet:
New England Reptile Distributors, designer Ball Pythons, Reticulated Pythons, and much more!

And I highly recommend one of these books:
Available Animals - The Complete Ball Python Book w/shipping (USA) - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds
Available Animals - "Ball Pythons In Captivity" by Kevin McCurley (U.S. Orders!) - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds

Obviously "The Complete Ball Python" is better and more detailed than "Ball Python's in Captivity", but the $65 price tag may put some people off the book.

A quality, captive bred Ball from a reliable breeder can be a a very rewarding animal to keep.

Good luck!
-Morti

[ChadRamsey]

BAlls make GREAT first snakes! And i just MIGHT know someone that has a few for sale!

[LukaTisus]

Originally Posted by TheBoaGuy

As far as size goes ball pythons to tend to stay or the shorter size about 5-7ft as adults.

XD Holy eff, if you have any bp's this big I think ya ought to inquire what they're feeding to the rats they're ingesting!

Average size is probably about 4.5-5 ft, they do go off feed as it was mentioned.. but it's less likely to happen in an animal that's been Captive Bred. They're good snakes, I've got three of them and I love them to death, each one has it's own little personality and my favorite girl's the most outgoing, loving little thing ever. She's a bit snooty when it comes to dinner I find.. having a little trouble weaning her off of mice and getting her to accept thawed rat pups, but she's getting there.

Another good starter snake that'd probably have a lot less hair-wrenching would be a corn snake. They get long, 5ft+, but stay relatively slender and tend to be heartier eaters and are pretty hardy and simple to take care of, at least give you a good idea on the basics of husbandry before getting into something that could produce a bit of stress by deciding it doesn't want to eat for three or more months at a time.

Again, check out the caresheets, make sure you're prepared.. and there's plenty of good breeders around here who you could probably talk to to find out more as well.

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

[brownsfan222]

i have seen a 6 foot long ball python before that was huge but it wasnt out of control or unable to be handled. so over 5 foot is not impossible but who knows what they fed it and if it was powerfed. anyways when i had ball pythons when i was younger they never went off feed. and I had about 6-8 of them at one time. my best feeders were of course the cbb babies but i had some ltc adults that never went off feed too.

	long term captive Long term captive

[LukaTisus]

Lol a 6-7 ft ball python would seem monsterous to me! That's as big as my boa, and they'd probably be twice as thick, too. XD