First Feeding

Wow so I uh fed Marbles a full grown frozen adult mouse the other day...

Disclaimer: If you're easily grossed out (even though this is super cool) just keep scrolling.

She's Here!

I am over the moon!

Two days ago, I received my first ball python! She's about a year old and is a normal morph. Her name is Marbles and I love her with all my heart!

Ball Python Setup #3

So now that the background is complete, I added some begonias that I bought from the local hardware and garden store and one Pothos plant I bought from Josh's Frogs. I also added some spring tails from there as well so they can be the decomposers of the environment.

It looked beautiful!... for about a week. For some reason the begonias didn't like it and decided to die which was very rude but honestly it's okay because I thought they were ugly. I only bought them because I did not know what I was doing.

Okay take two. I went to a different store that had a much wider variety of plants and chose some that were better suited for higher temperature and higher humidity (the names escape me). But so far they've flourished in the enclosure. I water them twice a day and they seem fine.

(also added this light the guy at the expo I bought it from was kinda mean though)

Ball Python Background #2

 Onto carving! So this was by far the most tedious and time consuming part of the entire process. I had a mini angled hand saw, a carpet cutter, a utility knife, and a scraper.

Cut off the top layer of the foam. Basically any shiny part of the foam needs to be cut off because the silicone won't stick to it.














*Four hours later*

 So, I picked up some caulk and rubber gloves (this stuff will get everywhere I promise) from the hardware store and loaded that in a caulk gun.

Squeeze some caulk in generous amounts and then rub it in every crack and crevice. I'd start at the back because those spots are harder to reach.

Afterwards take a cup full of Zoo Med Eco Earth Coconut Substrate and pour more than you think you will need onto the silicone and let it sit.

In the end, you should end up with something that looks like this!

Make sure you get every part of the foam covered with silicone! I had to go back and redo a couple spots because I missed them.

Ball Python Enclosure Background Part #1

Today I started the make the background for my snake's enclosure. I have seen a couple of methods for this but I decided to go with the expanding foam method.

*Please keep in mind this is just a journal of how I am doing things not a how-to*

1.  I put my 20 gallon long on its side after taking off the lid and locking clips. The face its resting on will be the back wall.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. I got my two pieces of cork bark and cut them down to sizes that would fit my tank and my design.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. I then arranged the pieces to make a background. I figured that the large round piece wouldn't fit so I decided it'd serve better as a hide.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. 
   I cleaned the glass with rubbing alcohol. I put my rubber gloves on and got to work with Great Stuff expanding foam that I got from the local hardware store.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. About 10 minutes later, I was done. I foamed all the areas around the cork bark and all the glass. I have to wait 8 hours for it to cure before I can continue.

Next steps:

• Carving the foam
• Painting the foam with silicone
• Added Zoo Med Eco Earth substrate to the silicone.

Petco Cork Flat Story

I am getting my snake in less than a month! I am almost done collecting the things I need for her enclosure.

Supplies Left

• Thermometer (temperature)
• Hydrometer (humidity)
• Food
• Bioactive kit
• Microorganisms

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Petco Cork Flat Story

All of the local pet supplies stores near me did not have any cork flats- only cork rounds. I need the cork flats for a specific project coming up soon so I decided I'd have to order them. I ordered two large flats from Petco Online. I paid extra for two day shipping so they'd be here within a few days. The next day when I tried to track them online, I saw that one was going to arrive until the original day and the other would arrive a few days later (even though I had ordered them at the same time).

To figure out why, I decided I'd call Petco. Well the number they have posted on their website doesn't work. So after jumping through some more hoops, I managed to reach Petco HQ. After being on the phone for twenty minutes, I explained my situation to a representative. Apparently, one warehouse ran out of the cork flats and it had to be shipped in from a different location. The representative was extremely nice and refunded me half of my shipping cost since one item was arriving late.

Overall it was a tedious experience but I was very happy with the representative that helped me!

Bioactive Enclosures

There are two types of terrarium enclosures I have seen: bioactive (also called a vivarium) and  nonbioactive. These can be used with reptiles other than just ball pythons.They each have their pros and cons to them.

Bioactive

This terrarium is a mini ecosystem that includes:

• Live plants
• Microorganisms
• Different types of soils and substrates mixed together

The goal of a bioactive vivarium is to have the enclosure become self cleaning and almost totally independent with the exception of low maintenance cleaning (wiping the fogged glass, replacing water, etc.) and maintaining the critter's water and food.

Pros

• Aesthetically pleasing to the eye
• Provides more naturalistic environment for the inhabitant
• Provides more enrichment
• Ecologically efficient

Cons

• Initially more expensive
• Maintenance of plants- not just the critter in it

I am choosing to make my terrarium bioactive because of its aesthetics, low maintenance cost over time, and its going to be enriching to my snake. 

I am going to be using The Bio Dude's Ball Python Snake Bioactive Kit. It'll include tropical plants, cork flats, LED, Terra Firma™ (his substrate), sphagnum moss, leaf litter, and BioShot ™ (plant nutrients). I think I'll have to buy the microorganism separately but I am not sure. It was recommended to me by a multitude of experienced reptile owners so I'll keep you updated on that.