She (Ball Python) is getting home

I was really looking forward to finally bring our snake home … a half a year old, female normal, Ball Python. It happened in November 2007. Everything was ready … even my wife and the rest of the family 😀 were somehow ready to meet her.

That day I finished my job a little bit earlier. I even skipped lunch … all for being in the pet shop as soon as possible, picking up my Girl and taking her home, to her brand new, built with love, terrarium. I remember in the pet shop they packed the snake in a similar box like nowadays Thai food for take away is packed. I was really excited, how the two girls will accept each other (meaning my wife and 🐍). The good thing I believe it was, that the drying machine was already at home (so she could not reject the hospitality to the 🐍). If you don’t know what drying machine I am talking about, you have to read my previous blog.

Finally I arrived home. Nobody was waiting for two of us outside … hm. Nobody was excited like I was? WTF? Well it looked like they were a bit scared and they have been observing the moment I brought the snake from a little bit bigger distance.

I brought the snake in, unboxed her and introduced her the new home. She was like all baby snakes that I got latter: naive, adventures … she started exploring her terrarium from right to left, from bottom to top. In the first few hours she was able to pull of the light tube, and do some other mess as well. She wasn’t even spending much time in her hide out. I kept coming back to the terrarium every 10 minutes I believe. Addicted!

What about my wife and the rest of the family? Well, slowly day by day they were getting closer to the glass end even they became addicted. I just don’t know addicted to what: to the snake or to the checking the lock of the doors if they are surely and securely closed. I think from the beginning it was more the second stuff.

The time has passed and the first problems with the snake appear! Mites. OMG in the water dish I noticed round small black spots. I started checking the snake under her scales and finally I found them there too. What’s next? How to get rid of them? There was not so much troubleshooting manuals by that time. So I decided I will take care about that things manually.

First I put the snake in a PVC tube. I completely cleaned the glass terrarium, exchanged all the substrate and cooked (yes you are reading right, I cooked) all the rest of the equipment. About the snake: every day in the evening hours I was checking the complete skin carefully and removed all the mites – several times. After few days, they stop appearing. So I waited few more days, then I returned the snake to the terrarium. Luckily, mites didn’t appear since then never again.

Dry skin was a clear sign her husbandry is not OK!

Shortly after that new problem raised. The snake’s skin looked completely dry! Snake was soaking … something was definitely wrong. Humidity problems!

The enclosure was too big, too tall, too much ventilated. First I removed the big and wide openings at the back and replaced them with solid PVC and I just drilled some holes in it. To the substrate (forest floor) I added some peat (let me say 10-20%) and I started to spray with water inside from time to time, until the humidity stabilized. Her skin became nice and shiny … and most important snake looked healthy!!!  💪👍😍

Next time I will be writing about our first lizard that I coughed in our backyard.

Thanks for reading and see you soon … 👋
TJ