Let the snake stay in the container or warm water for approximately 30 minutes. If your Ball Python has retained skin after shedding you can place the snake in a plastic container lined with warm, wet paper towels with the container lid on or soak the snake in warm water. If unshed skin is not removed promptly serious health issues can form. You need to check your snake after it has shed to make sure it was able to peel all the skin off, especially around the eyes. Use moistened Big Apple Imported Premium Grade Sphagnum Moss or Zoo Med Forest Floor Cypress inside your snake’s hide. Providing a moist shelter is another way to ensure necessary humidity during shedding. This is especially true around shedding time. For this reason, it is important to maintain a decent amount of humidity in the cage by misting a couple times a day. Snakes normally shed their skin easily but sometimes they have issues if they do not have the proper humidity while shedding. You'll note shedding time when your snake's eyes turn a shade of blue and become cloudy. Babies shed more often than adults because as babies they outgrow their skin faster. Like all reptiles and amphibians, Ball Pythons shed their entire skin all at once. If you choose to make a hiding place yourself, please make sure it is sturdy enough that there is no potential for collapsing and crushing your snake. It is always a good idea to have one shelter on the warm side and one on the cool side. The shelter can be anything from a Big Apple Basic Reptile Hide Box to a decorative reptile shelter, hiding hut or cave. It is essential to the well-being of your Ball Pythons to have hiding places in their enclosure. Do not allow the temperature to go above 88° F as this could be detrimental to your snake's health. If you choose to add a basking bulb to add more light to your cage make sure that you maintain proper heat levels. We recommend controlling the ceramic emitter with a thermostat, such as the BAH-500 or BAH-1000DC, and monitoring the temperatures with a thermometer.īall Pythons, like all snakes do not require a light or UV bulb. The heat mat and ceramic heat emitter should be on one side while the other side should not have any heat source. We recommend the Intellitemp Heat Mat and Big Apple Black Heat Infrared Ceramic Heat Emitter. The best way to heat your Ball Python's enclosure is with a combination of heat mat and ceramic heat emitter. Whichever you decide to use, stick to well-known products designed for use with reptiles and be careful of some commercial aspen brands as they may contain high amounts of dust or other contaminants that that can be harmful to your pet.Īs with all reptiles, Ball Pythons need a thermal gradient consisting of a warm side (86° F) and a cool side (78° F). Baby Ball Pythons can also be kept on paper towels or similar product until they become juveniles. Reptile keepers also use Zoo Med Repti Bark, Zoo Med Forest Floor Cypress Bedding or Zoo Med Eco Earth. Zoo Med Aspen Snake Bedding is generally the best substrate for Ball Pythons. Since like most snakes, Ball Pythons are escape artists, a secure screen top is absolutely critical to keep your snake from escaping the enclosure. There is no such thing as a cage too big for a Ball Python! Larger is always better especially if you provide some climbing room since Ball Pythons typically love to climb. We'll be happy to set you up with the correct cage, heating, lighting and accessories for your new pet.īaby and juvenile Ball Pythons can be set up in an enclosure as small as a 20 gallon (30" x 12" x 12"H) but adults should be housed in a larger enclosure of 30 to 70 gallons (36" x 18" x 25"H) depending on your design needs. In addition, most imported snakes tend to have health issues like parasites, etc. every year and have put major strains on the native populations. We caution against buying wild caught Ball Pythons as more than 60,000 Ball Pythons are imported into the U.S. At Big Apple Pet Supply, we carry only Captive Bred Ball Pythons to maintain strict quality control. Captive Bred Ball Pythons - as opposed to wild caught - have superb temperaments. They generally reach adult size of 4 to 5 feet in approximately 36 months. Ball Pythons originate from the forests of central and western Africa. They are attractive snakes and if cared for properly have very long lives – more than 30 years in captivity. Ball Pythons are like many species of pythons in that they are shy and gentle snakes.
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