Food: Depending on size, your snake will eat a mouse or rat once a week. Baby bp’s can eat a full grown mouse until they get a bit thicker. Then just switch them to rats that equal the same thickness of the snakes thickest part. As they get older, like 2 or 3 years old, they can be fed once every 10 days. Try to feed frozen thawed mice or rats. Avoid feeding live rodents at all cost. They can kill or injure your snake easily.

Handling: When you first get your snake, don’t handle or feed it for a week atleast. Just let it sit in its new tank and get used to things. Then after a week, try to feed it. If it takes it, wait a few days for it to digest the meal, then you can begin bonding with short handling sessions. As time goes on, you can hold it for longer times. Just make sure you notice the signs when the snake gets tired of handling and wants back in its cage. It’ll get squirmy and won’t sit still, or it’ll ball up and hiss.

Taking outside: I avoid it. That’s how they can get mites or ticks, which aren’t good. I don’t see any reason for them to go outside really. Maybe if you are holding it and its warm outside. It might like the fresh air. But I don’t let my snakes slither outside on the ground or anything.

Basically, if you really want a ball python, and you’re sure you can handle it, I say read read read. Read ALL the CARESHEETS you can find. Pick up the ball python manual. It’s a good book for beginners to Advanced keepers. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into. They aren’t a difficult snake to keep at all. But it can be bad for the snake if the keeper doesn’t know what they’re doing. Knowledge is the best way to avoid problems.

I did alot of research before I got my Chinese Water Dragon (or so i thought) ...When in reality i knew almost nothing!

When someone casualy walks into a pet store, and asks about a pet, and the store says "thats about all you need" .. you think you know enough. Why flip out on people because they didn’t research the interent, when they are told they don’t need too, and that they know enough to take care of an animal.

Instead, you should be saying welcome aboarded ... glad you came to this site, and asked ... read some of the posts as there is endless information, and ask some spesific questions!

I was just writing out a long complicated metiphore, to put this into context for you. But i realised it may be a waste of time, because to me it seems you are the one lacking "common sense".

Why do i think this? Because of how insensitive and simply stupid your comment is. When someone is told they don’t need to do something, "Common Sense" would say that this is true, and that you don’t need to know more. Why? Because you are asking a "so thought" expert (the pet store) for help.

If anything common sense would dictate, not to waste your time looking for additional information, and spend more time with your new pet.

"... and they tell you less then the basic’s. How are you sapose to know other wise."

When the store gives you less than, not then, the basics, a little voice in your head kicks in saying.... "Hmmmm this sounds too easy to be true, let me check the net"..... and that is EXACTLY what he did, if youd go back and read the original post youd realize that!

To be honest, my dear mensa member, I cant find one place in any of his posts where he talks about being told anything by the pet store. All it says that he "really wanted him when he went into the pet store". If you read futher, I think one or two other people said they went out and did research after being told garbage, my "common sense" post was not meant for them but it seems that they proved my point by saying they did plenty of research BEFORE walking into the pet store and even after.
LMAO, youve based youre entire post on utter bunk that youve randomly pulled out of your crack. Go back and read his first post, Id love to know where you got the ’idea’ that the pet store told him anything, as that was what I replied to. You are a work of art my friend. I esp. love the BS statistics you made up about exotic pet owners.
Look, this is just silly and it gives me a slight headache. Let’s drop it...? I have an appointment in an hour with a bar stool, some ice cold beer, and a lady who would make your head spin like a top.

On a side note, since you brought up your job, what do you do? Im just curious, in a nice way.

When using a quote, you should use the entire quote, so that you do not take my statement out of context. Does that make sense? ... common sense?

Here is the quote in its origial context ...
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"[When someone] ask[s] a pet store ... ’What is everything i will need to properly house a Snake, lizard etc.?’ ... and they tell you less th*a*n the basic’s, How are you sapose to know other wise?"
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In reply to the above statement, you said that ...
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"When the store gives you less than, not then, the basics, a little voice in your head kicks in saying.... ’Hmmmm this sounds too easy to be true, let me check the net’..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, for starters, explain to me how someone that has no experience with owning a pet, and after asking for all the information required to house and take care of a pet, would think they need to know more then what the pet store tells them. At most, this voice you speak of would say to maybe ask the pet store more questions. Why would someone think they needed more information, when they are told thats all they need to know?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...and that is EXACTLY what he did, if youd go back and read the original post youd realize that."
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Umm where exactly did i say anything in my last post, in relation to this "he" you are talking about? I am only talking about new pet owners in general and how they are taken advantage by some pet stores. I think the reason why you are assuming that I am making a direct statement about the poster of this thread is that you have sevearly over analysed my post. This can easly been seen in your overly sarcastic, and un-need personal attacks.

And as for your so thought, superior common sense, it seems that there are many others in this forum, including myslef, that share it, as I, and many others, have found this site and researched. You are right i did pull those stats out of my "crack" ... but you are naive to think that all people have the ablitly to realise that Pet Stores are not telling the whole truth. When these Pet Stores (the so thought experts to the novice window shoping pet owner)tell the person everything the need to know .... how is the novice window shoping, shopper sapose to know otherwise ... they have no reason to think otherwise ...

Anyways ... all i am saying, is that your comment about common sense not being that common, is wrong! It has nothing to do with thier sensibility, but rather thier un-educated belief in pet stores. This "un-educated belief", if you think about it, can be easily justified ... as stated above, why would anyone think other wise of what a pet store is telling them?

Ya, its "fun" .. thinkin about going back to school next year tho ... doing something in music .. i duno ...

Anyways glad things went good ...

I play the sax ... i am in a jazz/sing bad right now, bunch of old guys and me(21yrs old) but i think i wanna teach music, and maybe minor in math or something ... i duno ...

What kinda music do you play/sing?

Cheers.