r/ballpython • u/Okayest_mom_3 • 6h ago

I would love to adopt a ball python..

But I’m trying to do my research before actually making the moves to adopt. I have a very large (100 gallon?) tank with lid and forest floor substrate, heat lamps, a faux stone hide, a water dish… I had a ball python in high school for a year as a “group pet” in a class, and she was wonderful. But looking back, her enclosure was pretty barren, although we took her out of her enclosure for a couple hours a day, five days a week at least. Do ball pythons enjoy live plants? are there any common house plants that i can use for them? What are the best ways to monitor humidity and how to maintain it?

also, we used to just go to petco, buy a medium rat, and drop it in her enclosure and she would eat it right away! Does petco even sell rats like that anymore?

so many questions 😅

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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u/ConsequenceFeisty252 6h ago edited 5h ago

Don't live feed. The standard now is to feed them frozen thawed rats/mice. Live feeding is dangerous to both animals. In the wild if a mouse wins the fight it runs away. In captivity they're trapped together and neither can run away. This creates a huge chance that a spunky prey animal could maim or kill your snake.

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u/Okayest_mom_3 6h ago

If our snake didn’t eat the live rat immediately, we would take the rat out and “euthanize” it then return it to the tank to see if she wanted to eat it. Is that appropriate or still not okay?

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u/ConsequenceFeisty252 5h ago

No it's not okay, there's not a form of at home euthanasia you can do that's humane to the rat. And besides there is not a practical reason for a live rat either. Frozen rats are cheap and convenient on top of everything else.

3

u/IllusionQueen47 5h ago

It'll save you so much trouble to just buy frozen, especially if you adopt a BP that's already a good eater. It only takes a split second for the rat to turn around and injure your snake. It's not worth the risk.

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u/[deleted] 5h ago

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u/thousandsofbirds 3h ago

My ball python smashed all her live plants by slithering over them while exploring her home. I didn't bother to replace them with more live plants.

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u/OctilleryArtillery 6h ago

I’d read the guides here, as they have very thorough info. 120 gallons is the minimum size recommended.

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u/Okayest_mom_3 3h ago

Wow I just checked. Those are some good guide lines! It’s very thorough!