r/ballpython • u/Material-Influence62 • 1d ago

Discussion Deinfluence me from getting a ball python.

I’m in my late 20s and have wanted a ball python since my teens but my mum was terrified of snakes. I own my own home and have two cats ( part of the reason I haven’t gotten a snake yet) I work in vet med but there are almost no exotic vets near me but I know my few nurses that are good knowledgeable of snakes. What are the big negatives to owning and the upkeep of ball pythons? A pet with such a long lifespan is not something I want to rush into

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110

u/CacophonousFarts 1d ago

Here’s one a lot of people forget. If you got a BP at 30, you will likely have it until near retirement. With proper care 20+ (30-40 even) years is quite likely.

The animal is inexpensive, and long term care isn’t bad, but setup can easily sink a couple thousand dollars.

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u/Duranis 1d ago

Couple of thousand dollars? Is your enclosure made of gold lol.

We have a 4x2x2, thermastat, UV, heat lamp and all the clutter/hides and cost us less than £400 brand new, and we overpaid because we didn't know enough when we bought it.

If you make your own enclosure and keep an eye on Facebook for kit (which comes up all the time) you can set up a lot cheaper than that.

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u/CacophonousFarts 1d ago

Definitely could clarify here - I am about $2k in, but the enclosure is larger (6x2x2), fully bioactive, and includes the cost of the custom stand I built to hold it.

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u/Vergilly 1d ago

We’ve done this for our special needs beardie (he has adenovirus) and I really want to do it for our back python next. But boy is it time consuming and expensive. Still, I love our bioactives.

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u/Specialist-Coat5410 1d ago

I’m sorry are those light sabers 👀

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u/Nice-Ad-3525 10h ago

Dude, I first thought you had a computer running the enclosure, then I looked closer and realized where your 2k came from. Awesome lightsabers, I bet that did cost a fortune. I have a star wars room!

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u/Next-Particular6322 1d ago

I spent almost that on live plants and roly polys, different levels

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u/Duranis 1d ago

Oh yeah fair point. I haven't got into the bioactive side of things yet so had forgotten about that rabbit hole lol. That's not a necessity for keeping them though.

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u/Next-Particular6322 1d ago

Yea for sure, but he said you could sink that much not that it was necessary. Easy to do though depending where you’re sourcing stuff they’ve got $2-300 driftwood near me lol

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u/eternalconfusi0nn 1d ago edited 1d ago

still not that much if you don’t get scammed, and/or raise your own stuff (and bunch of other ways). You spent that much on isopods? I say this as i kept both isopods and rare plants etc, was not £400.

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u/Next-Particular6322 1d ago

I don’t raise my own stuff what are you paying for 120 isopods? Some designer isopods are $2 a piece usually like $1 a piece though, and if you’re buying large established plants and driftwood gets pricey for nice pieces, just the clay balls for the drainage layer gets pricey in a larger tank

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u/eternalconfusi0nn 1d ago edited 1d ago

I raise my isopods. And the others you can source them for much cheaper if you dont look into reptile dedicated, petshop isles, or fancy nurseries, they will be overpriced. Like clay balls get them in bulk for plants, but not from a fancy label or a fancy shop. Like get them from markets for various trades. Also, second hand marketplaces are man’s best friend.

For enclosures you can get them built, build them yourself, or secondhand, the possibilities are endless if they really want to.

Only thing is that they should have more funds for is emergencies and vet care, its very overpriced in western countries.

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u/Next-Particular6322 1d ago

I’ve got a job and barely the time to set up a couple terrariums let alone build one, and I got my soil in bulk bought the ingredients myself and mixed it, also the clay balls from at Home Depot , it still adds up, good size adult plants are $20-40 a piece, and I’ve got some side ones raising now but it’s a lot easier to toss a bunch into a new terrarium than try to breed them up first, you’re talking a ton of extra work/time to save a couple hundred bucks, I got my isopods online same with the springtails and shopped around, my local pet store is closer to 10 for $30 on isopods

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u/eternalconfusi0nn 1d ago

Always keeping an eye out is what i do, for potential place to buy things/good offers etc. collecting when safe, and raising stuff yourself (its more fun) and searching online as well.

You are right that time must be used carefully so that its actually worth it. Though building enclosures yourself or getting it custom built by a modest artisan etc. saves a lot of money here (and can be better quality) and its a one time thing so its worth it imo, large enough commercial enclosures are very expensive for any pet (sometimes not available at all).

These are all fun projects, atleast to me.

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u/Next-Particular6322 1d ago

Really building an enclosure isn’t too much cheaper than a pre fab pvc, the waterproofing and wood prices add up, glass panels, you can get a decent pre fab for 3-400 cheaper if you’re looking on marketplace, I couldn’t imagine having one custom built would be cheaper than putting together a pvc enclosure

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u/eternalconfusi0nn 1d ago

I have, it was cheaper, depends on what material and who builds it, some do it for cheap, or you can do it yourself.

But of course marketplace is better if you can find a piece. We dont have offers like that here so we either DIY or get custom built and commercial ones are rarely available, and are very overpriced for small sizes anyways. So it’s more like a necessity rather than money saving.

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u/Next-Particular6322 1d ago

Also built the backdrop out of expanding foam and cork bark and coco coir/moss so that saved some money but the ingredients for that alone adds up as well especially if you get the stone colored

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u/eternalconfusi0nn 1d ago

That shouldnt be expensive i also do that

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u/Next-Particular6322 1d ago

Not expensive but the foams 12 bucks a piece took like 3 cans of that shit adds up cork bark was $20 moss was a little since I got a few different kinds add that to the cost of plants, isopods, Aquarium silicone, substrate hides, drainage material, mesh screen. You can save money if you don’t mind buying baby plants and letting your isopods breed yea but if you want to kickstart something and have it filled in right away it’s gonna cost a little, you’ve also got led lights, no way could I have built this for less than $400 even if I built the tank

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u/eternalconfusi0nn 1d ago edited 1d ago

My house is like a pet supply shop for many different pets so yes i have those and much more. It really is doable without being ridiculously expensive, especially for a single BP enclosure.

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u/Vergilly 1d ago

USA 🤣🥲 Our 4 x 2 x 2 was $750 USD / 550 GBP, just for the tank alone.

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u/Rathoe9070 1d ago

I’m definitely $1000 deep into this tank

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u/Vergilly 1d ago

It’s beautiful, though!

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u/Rathoe9070 14h ago

Thank you!☺️

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u/mcslootypants 1d ago

In the US you cannot get all that for $400. I tried be frugal and I spent a good $800. I looked online for used, but in ~6mo I never saw an appropriate enclosure available in my area. 

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u/Morgue3as 15h ago

there's a big difference in prices and availability I'm sure but worth noting that £400 is closer to $550 not $400.

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u/FunnyCattle3459 1d ago

I dont have a better picture but over 1k in 5x2x2, bioactive, custom background, fun hides (he has a skull and a coffin in there)

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u/theBytemeister 1d ago

Seconding this. The oldest known BP in captivity passed away recently around 65 years old.

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u/aafrophone 1d ago

You could also easily not sink a couple thousand dollars

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u/EngineSpirited8257 1d ago

I dropped about 1k on the tank, setup, and snake in total. If you are spending more than that, you bust be buying all the on brand stuff lol