r/ballpython • • May 10 '26

I shouldn't have to make this announcement, but stop taking (and losing) your ball pythons in the car

1.1k Upvotes

After seeing a new "Help, I lost my ball python in the car" post pretty much every day for the past month when I log on, I think it's time for a little reminder

STOP TAKING YOUR BALL PYTHONS IN THE CAR UNNECESSARILY.

They don't want to go get coffee. They don't want to go get pizza. Or go to work with you. Or drop the kids off at school. Or go look at the other ball pythons at petsmart. These are not enjoyable or beneficial experiences for them, and each and every time you do this, you're causing an unnecessary risk.

Cars are full of dark, hard to reach and cozy crevices for them to slip into, places they would much rather be hiding in then sitting on your lap or in a bin. It only takes seconds for them to slip out of sight and out of reach, and being able to find them is not a given. Certainly nobody plans on losing their snake in the car, but the amount of times it somehow keeps happening should demonstrate why it's a terrible idea.

Part of being a good pet owner is being aware of the species you have and their habits and preferences so as not to put them in risky situations for your own enjoyment. A dog may enjoy going for a quick ride, not so much for a ball python who would rather be in their warm and cozy hide.

In the event you need to take your snake somewhere (such as moving or the vet), put it in a tied pillowcase in a locking bin (two layers of containment).


r/ballpython • • 4d ago

show us your BPs!

12 Upvotes

Have a cute photo you want to show off? Post it below! We'd love to see everyone's royal friends!

Please remember to keep the thread on topic and only post your ball pythons. Photos of other species/animals will be removed. We also ask that you refrain from spamming the thread - a couple of photos is fine, a couple dozen is not.


r/ballpython • • 8h ago

My favorite photo of my danger noodle!

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356 Upvotes

r/ballpython • • 5h ago

His head got stuck in a leaf 😂

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90 Upvotes

It was so funny seeing him trying to periscope with the leaf around his head. He managed to get it off about 20 seconds later.


r/ballpython • • 10h ago

Chillin’ Like A Villain

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107 Upvotes

Frank looked pretty comfortable last night while waiting for his dinner.


r/ballpython • • 4h ago

New ball Python

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34 Upvotes

Hi everyone I’m a first time snake parent and this is my ghost girl Eleanor (Nora) we got her Friday and she’s formally starting to venture out ! If anyone could leave any tips on handling feeding anything really it would be greatly appreciated, her current hot side temp is 92 and the cool side is 78 her humidity is at about66-67 .


r/ballpython • • 33m ago

Discussion BP identifies as semi arboreal

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• Upvotes

Idk about yall. But my BP identifies as semi arboreal. F the terrestrial life he says. (For those who may be concerned- he has 5 hides. He chooses the climbing life. And- who can blame him??)


r/ballpython • • 7h ago

Question Could he have gotten out of this?

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30 Upvotes

Hey guys! I was hanging out with my sweet angel Vic on the couch the other day and he decided to go through one of the holes in a crochet blanket. I wasn’t too worried at first cause I figured if his head fit through the hole, the rest of his body would too. Well, I ended up cutting the blanket to get him out. But I can’t stop wondering if he could have gotten out of it. Thoughts?


r/ballpython • • 4h ago

Question - Health i fear this might be a burn…

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13 Upvotes

I thought it was just staining at first, so I tried rubbing him a little bit with a wet paper towel and a tiny bit of yellow came off so I thought oh surely this is just substrate staining! Yay, that’s easy to fix. But then it just stopped coming off at some point and it just stayed there. So what do I do now?


r/ballpython • • 2h ago

Phantom is doing much better!

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8 Upvotes

After 4-5 months with me, Phantom's burns are gone. Any trace of stuck shed is gone aswell.


r/ballpython • • 11h ago

Grr I just love him so much!!

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34 Upvotes

Got him out again, we had some company and I wanted to show off my new baby! Nobody else held him, just looked. He's opening up a lot now, and has been so silly lately

He also ate his third meal last night, Im so proud of him! We ordered a 2×2×18 tank for him while we save for his final. Did not realize how quickly he was gonna grow..


r/ballpython • • 21h ago

Cuddles?

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207 Upvotes

So he never comes to me willingly! I laid down and he laid his head on me! Does it count as cuddling? Know what! I’m gonna stay in denial! I do remember falling asleep and waking up to him crawling around me one night!


r/ballpython • • 17h ago

Bro had to go to the vet but he’s half dog so he decided to just cuddle the vet tech for most of the appointment, and me the rest of the time

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68 Upvotes

r/ballpython • • 10h ago

If Frikell fits...

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19 Upvotes

He sits I guess 🤣


r/ballpython • • 8h ago

Messed up feeding schedule?

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12 Upvotes

Okay so I know my girl is in a growth spurt but last week I think I definitely overfed her. The last pic was the day I got her at Aquashella. She looked healthy and hydrated and I don’t think that picture does justice to how tiny she really was. She easily fit in my palm. Breeder said she was eating pinky rat pups so that’s what I gave her the first few weeks. However after she ate she was really sniffing around so I’d run back to get her a hopper too to make sure she was good. She’d take it every time and instead of (what appeared to me as) looking for more, she’d laze out or hide which indicated to me that she was satisfied. 3 weeks ago she was 90 g, then I moved on from the rat/mouse combo to two rat pups which she seemed to appreciate. I know they can’t talk but she genuinely seemed happier when she had that meal. I re weighed later that week and she hit 140g. I kept her at the two rat pups until last weekend I gave her two and she still looked hungry so I gave her a hopper too. She was interested but took the hopper suuuper slow so I worried that the hopper was too much even though she took it. Acted normal after eating. I know I need to reweigh her to really see where we’re at with feeding and that she should only be getting 10-15% body weight until she hits 500g.

I guess my overall question her is, should I stretch out her feeding since I know I overfed her last week? She consistently eats every Saturday so I was worried it’ll stress her if I stretch her out until Tuesday I was thinking? Planning to reweigh before feeding again either way. She is my first snake so I like to think I understand her but advice from more experienced owners is always helpful and appreciated.


r/ballpython • • 1h ago

Question - Health What is this?

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• Upvotes

We got our first ball python 4 weeks ago. He's had these spots along his spine since then. What could they be? They feel rougher to the touch but haven't gotten worse or better?


r/ballpython • • 7h ago

Discussion Lotr

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9 Upvotes

Pippen guard of the citadel


r/ballpython • • 18h ago

How many of you have never had a ball python escape?

55 Upvotes

Other groups have warriors in the comments insisting that BPs are uncontainable and will 100% escape regardless of whether you snake proof a tank or watch your snake when he roams. I wanna know how many of you have had BPs for years and they never escaped because you do steps to prevent it :)


r/ballpython • • 5h ago

Question - Heating/Temperatures How would you recommend lighting?

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5 Upvotes

So I read the guide and all that but I still can’t process on the lighting and heating

The picture is wat the enclosure looks like


r/ballpython • • 4h ago

Enclosure Critique/Advice New Ball Python enlosure set up!

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3 Upvotes

Hi Everyone!

My ball Python is about 5 years old at this point and I think its time he gets a bigger (And better!) tank to call home. I am currently thinking about getting a 4' x 2' x 2' PVC terrarium from Kages. Linked here.

I am then considering switching to radiant heat, opposed to heat pads and / or a heat lamp. That said, I would still like to get light in the tank so I am thinking about adding the 35" x 4" mesh option on the top of the tank so I can have an LED light illuminating the tank.

My first question is between the 80 watt (linked here) and 120 watt (linked here) radiant heat emitter. Will 80 watt be enough to keep the tank warm or is the 120 watt one warranted? Additionally, regardless, the emitters are between 22.5" long and 32.5" long. How do I regulate a warm / cool side of the enclosure since these both will pretty much span the length?

Additionally, if the 80 watt heat emitter is adequate, I could switch to having a 9" x 9" square mesh on the left / right side of the top of the tank and then place the 22.5" 80 watt heat emitter on the opposite side to maintain a hot and cool side of the tank.

Then just for clarity, this is the thermostat I would use with the heat emitter. Linked here.

I would probably create my own background for the tank out of silicon, foam, cork bark, moss, and coco fibers. My second quesion would be, will this work on this enclosure? Or should I just leave it blank / do something else?

Thoughts, comments, or concerns with the setup pictured in the post would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.


r/ballpython • • 8h ago

Question - Health Is my ball python too skinny, or is he a healthy weight?

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6 Upvotes

r/ballpython • • 5h ago

Question - Health Scale rot or thermal burn

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3 Upvotes

Hi I’m new to owning a BP and is there an easy way to tell between the two ? I had to take her to the vet and they said they couldn’t say 100% which it was but treated her for scale rot. I ended up getting ssd cream as well just in case cause I want her to be okay. But I’d love to be confident in the future. Also any advice for giving my bp her shots ? I hate doing it.


r/ballpython • • 1d ago

Perfection

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263 Upvotes

r/ballpython • • 20h ago

Boop or not to boop!

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42 Upvotes

That is the question


r/ballpython • • 5m ago

Question Questions about backup heat source

• Upvotes

Live in the PNW so cold weather isn’t a HUGE concern but I am a bit paranoid of my wife leaving a window open on a trip, or something like that.

I have a setup in mind but want to check with yall for safety concerns before finishing buying everything.

I envision 2 combo hoods, hood 1 (warm side) has a halogen bulb for IR and visible light in the daytime and a deep heat emitter for the night set to a few degrees below daytime heat.

Hood 2 (cold side) has a nighttime DHE as well set at minimal temperature as a backup in case of unexpected cold. Hood 2 also a daytime visible lightbulb.

The DHEs will be setup to a thermostat but not a timer so they can always serve as a backup, the visible lightbulb would be set to a timer, and the halogen bulb would be set to both a timer (daytime) and a thermostat.

Any reasons that this might not be safe? Thanks everyone :)