Husbandry
| Rack System | We use Vision rack systems, which we LOVE! They are fantastic. They are lightweight, easy to assemble, and can easily roll through doors when they need to be moved. They are also very reasonably priced. We own six racks now and will soon be purchasing a ball python hatchling rack. |
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| Cages | Like many breeders, we use the 32 quart Sterilite bins for ball python adults and the 12 quart bins for hatchlings. Both sizes fit into our Vision rack systems. No more need to drill ventilation holes in the bins--the Vision system design takes care of that problem! |
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| Substrate | We tried several substrates before we settled on chipped aspen, which our ball pythons seem to like best. We purchase compressed chipped aspen bedding in 4 cubic ft. bags from our local pet store for a very reasonable price. One bag goes a long way. We treat our substrate with Provent-A-Mite every time we change the bedding in the cages. |
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| Water Dishes | Pam had a dozen or so 16 oz. glass lab culture dishes left over from her biology lab days, so we started off using these as water dishes. They are the perfect size. We decided we like glass very much--it is easy to clean and disinfect. So, we bought a supply of 16 oz. Pyrex glass dishes very similar in size and shape to the culture dishes. Water dishes are filled about half full. Once in awhile one of our larger snakes will tip over its water dish, but for the most part, we are very pleased with these glass water dishes. |
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| Hide Boxes | We have tried everything imaginable for hide boxes for our ball pythons and are only reasonably happy with the results. Now we use mainly plastic planter bottoms of various sizes. We even found some plastic tortilla warming dishes at the dollar store that we use! We use a sharp utility knife to cut the holes, then burn the edges with a lighter to smooth then out. We know there are more expensive hide boxes out there, but these seem to work just fine |
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| Heat | For the hotspot at the back of the cages, we use heat cable on the shelves of our Vision racks controlled by a Helix proportional thermostat with a solar cell night drop installed (we LOVE the Helix!). To control the room temperature we use an oil-filled space heater and a small fan pointed toward the ceiling to circulate the air. |
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| Humidity | We live in the high desert region of the Great Basin where the humidity runs in the low 20s most of the time. We have cold and snowy winters and hot summers, so managing the humidity in our cages can be problematic. We found that small kitchen sponges (from the dollar store!) work exceptionally well to provide just the right amount of humidity. We dampen them once or twice a day. The snakes seem to enjoy them a lot. We have inexpensive hygrometers in several of our cages to monitor the humidity.
Update January 2007: We recently purchased a humidifier and have now removed the sponges--they got to be a pain to keep clean. |
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| Temperature | There are nearly as many cage temperature recommendations out there as there are breeders in the business! We have finally settled on the following temperatures and so far, they are working just fine:
We use an infrared temp gun for measuring cage and animal temperatures. |
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| Daily Routine | Animals are checked every morning and evening and cages are spot-cleaned, and the water is replenished as necessary. Temperatures (ambient, hot spot, and animal) are taken in random cages with an infrared temp gun to monitor accuracy of our setup. Ambient temperatures are measured on the front end floor of the cage, and the hot spot temperatures are measured on the back end floor of the cage. In other words, we measure ground temperatures at the front and back of the cage. |
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| Weekly Routine | Every Saturday morning a subset of our animals are weighed and the data are recorded on their individual cards. Hide boxes and bins are washed and disinfected and replaced. Clean water dishes are provided with fresh water and the soiled water dishes are washed in hot soapy water and are then disinfected. We use a 5% cholorx solution in a spray bottle to disinfect everything inside and out. |
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| Monthly Rotation | The rotation of our Saturday routine is such that on a monthly basis, every cage is completely cleaned. We discard the substrate in every cage and thoroughly wash the cages with hot, soapy water and disinfect them with a 5% Chlorox solution. Fresh substrate that has been treated with Provent-A-Mite is then placed in the cage and a clean water dish and hide box are provided. |
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| Feeding | We have waffled between feeding our colony on frozen thawed rats and live rats. Advice from other breeders is mixed as well. We finally found a rat man who lives nearby and he provides us with healthy, well-fed, live rats. Once we converted over to feeding live, we will never go back! It is so much faster and cleaner. Feeding time has been reduced to 1/3 of what it used to be and the snakes are thriving. We have yet to have a rodent bite one of our snakes. |
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| Record Keeping | We have modified our record keeping as our ball python colony has increased in size. We continue to maintain data on permanent records as described below, but we have backed way off of recording the temperatues in each cage twice daily. However, if you are just starting and have only a few snakes, you might want to track the temperatures for awhile. Here is an overview of what we are currently doing:
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