ball python care

A:Here are three good websites: http://www.anapsid.org/ball.html http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/snakes/ball-python.php http://www.coloherp.org/careshts/snakes/ballpyth.php Live mice are unnecessary and can be a danger to your snake. I've already seen two questions today about snakes being injured by their "food". Pre-killed, frozen mice (or rats depending on the size of the snake) are much safer. Put the mouse in a plastic ziploc bag and thoroughly thaw them in hot water so they are warm (not hot) to the touch. Use feeding forceps (availble in pet stores) to "jiggle" the food near your snake. They will sometimes go past the food and strike at it from the side, so use the forceps straight up-and-down to protect your hand. I also make "scratching" noises (like little rodents scurrying) outside the tank to let my snake know when it's feeding time. He comes out of the hide and watches to where I dangle the mouse. And if there's no scratching noise, he knows I'm cleaning or picking him up, but no food. I've used this method with ball pythons and red-tailed boas.

A:Don't use betadine please. Those could be mites. Are they like really small, about the size of a period? If you see your snake rubbing on the glass or on the decor then it's probably mites. Go to the pet shop and get a product called Reptile Relief, then go to the wal-mart pharmacy area and get their lice bedding spray. Go home and take everything out of the tank and throw away the bedding and bleach everything in the tank, then spray it and all the decor with the lice spray. Take your snake and let it soak in warm water for about 20 minutes, then spray it all over, except the head, with the reptile relief and take a paper towel with the reptile relief on it and wipe its head off. Do this 2 - 3 days in a row and all the mites should be gone.

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A:Hello..am not sure where you are to know the costs & don't think cheap but healthy - if you think cheap only, you're not ready for a pet or snake...they can run about $100 bucks in reptile stores..initial set up is what's costly..( they don't cuddle either, he balls up in their laps cuz it's warm & they aren't active snakes ) but they are pretty good temper wise...tho anything wild can bite..they rarely do unless they are shedding moody, hungry or messed with till ya make them mad & their habitat needs to be very secure as snakes are quite the Houdini's/escapers & very strong, they need warmth bout 90 degrees & some humidity, daily mistings..so when using a tank, make sure there is NO Standing water, other then the water dish, hard part is making the top secure so they can't escape..can't agree that raising the food is cheaper by they time you buy their food..etc..& DEAD food is best for captive reptiles, as you never know when a snake feels like eating & often the snake becomes the food cuz they can't get away & ball pythons can go off foods @ times for months..so we feed dead only - freshly thumped or frozen/thawed is the best way ..wild caught foods are too dangerous, you never know where they've been or if they've gotten into poisions..many don't die from eating poision...but it can poision your snake !! Take Care

A:Hi. I use vinegar in my balls tank for disinfecting followed by a HOT rinse. A lot of people do use diluted bleach and that is OK. It will not react with the "ammonia in the snake's urine" as snakes don't urinate per say, rather, they pass a white turd looking solid which is called a urate. This would be disposed of with whatever substrate you are using well before the diluted bleach touches the tank. Also I wouldn't use Clorox wipes either. There are other chemicals in them as well and they could be harmful. Happy disinfecting!