I've just fallen head over heels in love with a baby ball python! It's so tiny, and so docile, it just sat in the palm of my hand with it's little tail wrapped around my thumb. It's tongue was flicking in and out interestedly but SOOO MELLOW and such pretty markings!!
I know I've only had my Brazilian Rainbow Boa girl Talyn for 2 months. She's an adult and already full grown... she's becoming more tame with careful handling and enough food and I think she's amazing...
Is it too early for me to be thinking about getting another snake? I don't want it to seem like I enjoy Talyn any less, but I'd love to have a baby snake that I could tame from the beginning...
I know that Ball (or Royal) pythons don't get very long: is 3-6ft correct? (Talyn is already over 6ft) But BPs do seem to get rather thick in the middle... is that natural the result of over feeding?
How fast will she grow? At the moment, she's small enough to have enough space in a sweater box... Could I expect her to need a large enclosure in 6 months?
My husband thinks I'm rushing into this... I probably shouldn't have asked to hold the little guy... WAAAAAAH, I want it!! (Will anyone here believe I'm turning 38 soon.... waaaaaahh, I want, I want....!!)

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Andrea

Ahhh another member failing the 12 step program !!!!! Go get him,,,,,,today !!!!
they will get @4 ft. and are quite thick

http://www.herpcenter.com/article.php?a=42
and that's all you need to know

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Definitely go get him...its not an addiction..its love, I was the same way when I go mine 4 yrs ago. I could not wait to get home everyday to hold it.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Sounds like a match made in Herp Heaven to me!
I say go get him!
He will be fine in a 20 long tank for his whole life (depending how much he grows of course).

Have you thought of a name yet? lol

i also say go for it! lol I thought I could stop with just my snow corn but now I have three snakes and am hoping to get a few more by the end of the school year.

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yes i am a she ^_^

~My Babies~

1 Rosy Boa (male) Chaos
1 Snow Corn (male) Blizzard
1 Anertherystic Corn (male) Bullet
1 Senegal Parrot (male) Shadow
2 dogs (male) Spot and Bear

No doubt - go for it!! It's true love!!!
(At least that's what Joe and I convinced ourselves 26 snakes ago )

Your little ball python will live for a while in a sweater box (what kind of size is the box?).. in fact very often a smaller enclosure is better for a ball python. A large enclosure will freak it out and may cause so much stress that it will stop feeding.

Ball pythons are thicker around the middle, although not vastly so, and they are still not classed as large snakes. They will usually stop growing at 4ft as Ken said, but you are correct in thinking that some will be smaller at 3 ft and some monsters can reach 6ft. We have two male adults, who are both around 3.5ft, and sexually mature. They each have their own enclosure that are almost 2ft x almost 2.5ft, they are plastic boxes, and hold humidity well, are private which the royals love, and there is still plenty of room for them to move about.. not that royals move about too much

We also have a young female, who right now is in a very small plastic enclosure. Now that we have had her for a couple of months we will increase her home to a larger plastic box, as the initial home was just to get her settled and not freaked too much.

Royals will often go off their food during winter, as they reach maturity and throughout adulthood. This is my only warning to you as the first time it happens it can really freak you out, but it is perfectly normal and not harmful to them at all - just harmful to us slaves of the serpents, who stress out!!

Go get your little royal, we want to see pictures!!!!!

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

go get the little guy, I was the same, i started off about 15 months ago with just one little garter snake, now I have another nine snakes, that includes a ball python to my collection lol, i say go get him too

You sound like me when I first saw a Jackson chameleon.
Go get him, but research him before you do. BP's can be very nice with children, and if held enough, he can hang out with you everywhere. (As long as it aint cold) Me and my BP go skateboarding together

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Sorry i wont be on for awhile. Yang died and i'm in a low morale state. PM if you want more info, but be patient for me to anwser you. In case you didnt know, Yang was my young jackson chameleon, i wish he was still here.

My husband is not sure I've asked a non-biased public here for an opinion!!

He doesn't mind really one way or the other if I get the little guy or not: he's just a bit concerned where I'll put him when he starts to get bigger! I can build a nice enclosure for him: I think I've got time.

Bitis: There are various sweater boxes that I've seen as a temporary home. The feeding box I use for my Brazilian Rainbow Boa is 21"x15"x8.5" (53cm x 38cmx21cm). Maybe that's already too big for the little guy: I think he can't be much more than 15-20" long (max 40cm?) I can get something half that size or even smaller, as needed. The tank he's in now is maybe just a bit bigger than that, but he's sharing it with 3 or 4 others. The boxes for your adult BPs don't seem too gigantic: Talyn's terrarium is 5ft long by 2.5ft deep by 4ft high. I thought the BP would need one that big as well or maybe since Talyn doesn't seem interested in climbing, that eventually I could move her into one of the same floor dimensions, but not as high and move my BP into this one. I don't know if BPs like to climb when they are older but this little guy was up on a branch with another one when I saw him...

The pet shop is closed now. I'm going to go to bed and if I'm not meant to get him, I'd better have a VERY telling dream!!!

I've read a few care sheets including the great one Rich wrote here. Part of me thinks I should wait until I know more about BPs, but I'd hate to miss getting the one I held today: so gentle and gorgeous!!!

Jem_Scout: I've been thinking of names since I walked out of the shop! -- I think I might have one or two, but I'll wait to share when I get him!

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Andrea

Erm, Bill, that could be a little dangerous??

BlackJack, you wouldn't want a tank so big for an adult ball, it would get freaked out!! An adult would be happy in something 3' x 2' floor space as a maximum, imo. They can like to climb, if given the opportunity, but it isn't neccessary, and some may not. Tigger, our other adult male is very very lazy!!

Seeing that your Brazilian Rainbow Boa was your first snake this time, a ball shouldn't be a problem, apart from the not eating during winter, although many snakes will do this. Ball pythons are probably the favourites for first time snakes, second to corns, and are easy to care for if you care for them right, as any other snake.

Any questions, just ask. But if you feel you really want the little guy you held I would go for it - you will regret it so much if you don't! Remember to quarantine though. Our newest BP had mites, and we have had them before so we know how to easily get rid of them, but one infestation of mites can quickly catch on to all your other collection and can become a big pest!

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004