my rabbit died yesterday and my husband and i were talking about getting a snake when he died.
my husband wants to get me a baby corn snake or maybe a baby python as a gift so i was wondering what kind of care goes into a snake? what things do you need for them, what do you feed them? How big can they get, etc....
Lori
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Corn snakes and Ball pythons are great beginner snakes. :) Corn snakes are easier to care for out of the two, but they both make great pets if you do the reseach and care for them correctly.
Ball python males reach 2 to 3 feet. Females get larger reaching 3 to 5 feet. They are very short and stubby. :)
Corn snakes reach 3 to 5 feet in general. Some have reached 6 feet, but that is VERY rare. They are long and skinny.
Ball pythons eat anywhere from fuzzies to rats. It just depends on the size (circumferance of the biggest part of his/her body).
Corn snakes start out eating pinkies and slowly grow in size. They usually eat pinkies to adult mice.
Ball pythons will need a 40 gallon aquarium when full grown. They start out in about a 20 gallon. I would not go to big as a baby, because the size could stress them out. They like small spaces. They will need 2 hideouts (one on cool side and one on hot side). One side needs an under tank heater fit for the tank. You will need a water bowl filled with about an inch of water (enough to submerge in). You can use newspaper, papertowls or commercial reptile substrate for bedding. Add leaves and branches for climbing. You will also need a thermometer on both sides and a hydrometer. Make sure you have a screen lid and locks.
Corn snakes can start out in 10 gallon long aquariums and once adults, they can live in 20 to 30 gallon long aquariums and make sure you have a screen top and locks. They will need a water bowl and a thermometer on both sides. Add branches and logs for climbing. You need an under tank heater on one side fit for tank size.
I hope I helped :) Email for more info! :P
Anonymous
Well I can tell you it's a lot easier to start with a juvenile or adult then a baby snake, pythons are usually mellower and easier to handle ( but not always especially Reticulateds which get HUGE, longest snake in the World ! ) then many boa's which are usually more slender and faster ! A good site to learn all you need , the care ... beings reptile care is more specialized then regular pets like dogs, rabbits or cats is eastbayvivarium.com they're reptile experts with everything you ever wanted to learn or know about having reptiles as pets ! Take Care
n.lynn
Ball pythons get to be somewhere around 3-4 ft long, and sometimes you'll see some reach to about 5ft. The females will be larger than the males, and the females will be more expensive if you buy from a breeder (which you should do).
They can be housed in a 20-30 gallon for their entire lives. They don't need any bigger, they like to be in small/tight spaces. If you feel it needs to be any bigger, then I wouldn't get anything bigger than a 40 gallon.
For substrate, I prefer Aspen bedding, it needs to be "spot" checked daily, which just means looking for any poo or soiled spots and cleaning it out. And change out the bedding at least once a month and put new stuff in.
Should have a basking bulb and a night red inferred bulb. I would also recommend using a under tank heater for the warm side as well.
Basking spot needs to be at 90*F. And cool side needs to be at about 80-85*F. You should have at least 2 hides, one for the cool side and one for the warm side.
Humidity needs to be at about 60% on a daily basis. During shedding it needs to be at about 80% to help your ball python shed the skin off. You'll probably need to mist down the cage a little to get your humidity to the correct levels. I mist mine lightly once a day and it gets the job done. But everyone's situation is different, I've heard of some people having to mist theirs about 3-4 times a day just to keep humidity up.
You feed them fuzzy's (no pinkies- they have no nutritional value) when they're hatchlings/small babies. And as they grow you up the size to small mice and keep going up.
They can be picky eaters. They should eat frozen/thawed prey, live can be very dangerous for them.
Juvi's eat once every 7-10 days. Adults eat once every 10-14 days. Give them 24-48 hours after they've been fed to be alone. Don't hold them till after that time period.
They may not eat during shedding time which is normal. You can feed them in their enclosure or you can feed them in a separate tub, it's whatever you prefer. Everyone has their reasons why they feed them in separate tubs or not. It's personal preference so don't let anyone tell you that you have to do it a certain way because it works best differently for everyone.
I keep my ball python in a tub in a snake rack system. I don't have any bulbs, I just use an under tub heat source. You can use Flex Watt, found online. You can use a under tank heater. I started off with spiraling heat rope. I have one hide and a water dish and aspen. It's simple, easy and it holds humidity in way better than my glass tanks can. Breeders house their snakes like this in snake racks. I made mine really cheap just out of ply wood and cinderblocks for about $20.
Sounds like a lot, but generally, they're super easy to care for really. You just need to hold them daily and make sure they're fed, spot check the tank and make sure their humidity and temp levels are correct daily and such. Generally speaking...they're even great pets for the lazy people, that's how easy they are to care for haha. Sorry for such a long answer. If you have any questions or need me to elaborate more on some of the things I've said, then feel free to email me.
Oh and sorry I don't know anything about the corn snakes, I think their care is a bit different, but I just don't like them because they get longer than ball pythons and they're really skinny which I don't like for handling purposes.
You can also get some really pretty morph colors of ball pythons :).