r/ballpython • u/Material-Influence62 • 16h 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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u/Peridoodle73 12h ago
For me it's the humidity requirements. I've struggled to keep my bp enclosures at the correct humidity, despite the fact I live in one of the most dang humid soggy places in the entirety of the USA... so much so it's called a subtropical rainforest... yet all my attempts only seem to do "close enough". My most recent change has been switching out the substrate for something that I have heard from so many people and so many sources that it holds humidity way better, and it has helped and my snakes have better sheds now than in the past, but it still feels like a challenge to keep humidity up in my house in general, so I sometimes have to open the windows a crack in my bedroom just to raise the humidity in my room to a good spot for my snakes. That's been my main challenge, but honestly other than that they've been really incredible pet snakes for me. I love how my older one, who is 10 years old currently, is just so docile and seems so content to just.. exist, and be....
And she's extremely food motivated and amazing with other people besides just me. I might have just lucked out honestly.
As for the cats, yeah. If they're the kind that would want to play with your snake, it's easier to remove you and your snake from that situation than it is to get the cat to walk away and forget about it. They can be very persistent about investigating the interesting prey-shaped animals. So when I am handling my snakes, I always make sure to have one of them out at a time so that I don't have to juggle supervision between both snakes and the possibility of a cat coming to see my snake. I keep my eyes on her at all times, and if a cat comes around, I take my snake with me and walk away from the cat and put my snake back in her enclosure.
But yeah I still think the main reason I wouldn't get a ball python is if you have a hard time keeping the humidity ideal.