So I have a really weird question. Now I’ve generally owned Saltwater Fish, Freshwater Fish, Dogs, Cats, Rats etc. And generally, when I owned any of them I always made sure BEFORE HAND of buying them that they had what they needed. Bedding, Food, Water, Toys or things in their tanks to make it more unique to their habitat or home, etc.
But for snakes, Boa’s in par, before buying one - would it be best for me to set up the ecosystem in their Terra’s? IE Tank - Bedding layer - Water bowl - Hot and Cool side and things like hideaways or trees branches? Or should I get just the minimal first and get to know my lil snooter first and just obtain the tank - heating pad or light fixture and a hidden way with a pool or water source first and then, later on, go all out for his/her tank?
Sorry if this is obvious to answer - I just wanna make sure I do things correct for my future snake friend. Since I know having 40 gal fish tanks I had to have the ecosystem previously set up for them before they dived in.
You can have an elaborate setup even bioactive setup however at first with many species you want to start small, something adequate for their size that will provide them with the necessary security needed if you get a young animal. It will be very important to get the animal feeding and soon track for you.
Something simplistic for using un-printed newspaper or paper towel at first will also help you monitor the animal’s health looking for mites, making sure you are dealing with healthy bowel movement etc.
After that you will adjust the living space as the animal grows and you will also be able to get a more elaborated setup with plants etc.
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Thank you so much for replying back to me!
So if the snake is about I wanna say, 8 inches long - would it be okay for me to use a 10 gallon tank for them? Also how do I find out about the sex? I want to obtain a male as I am not looking for a large female later on in life (i heard they get to be quite large). And if the sex can not be found at a certain age - what are the common ways I can found out about the sex?
And got it! Towel or newspaper.
And would you recommend using a Heat Slip UNDER the tank? Or a Tank lighting warmer?
Housing and sexing will depends on the species and sub species specifics, obviously a BCI and a sand boas would not be house or sex the same way, but both can be sex at birth by either popping or probing or visually for sand boas. At 8 inches I am assuming you are looking at Rosy and Sand boas?
In that case I would suggest a 5 gallons or even better a small shoe box which would be better suited for an hatchling and with sand boas you will want a substrate that allows them to burrow, not ideal to monitor for mites but essential.
As far as heating goes UTH are usually the most efficient way to maintain heat with a minimal heat loss of course a reliable thermostat will also be needed.
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Awesome! I went to my local Petco and they actually had UTH heaters where our PetSmart did not, they just had the bulbs. 
Also It was actually a normal Ball Point as they did not have any Sand Boa’s in stock. The Ballpoint that they had on their terrarium was a Piebald Pastel female.
I got a 10 Gallon just in case because they weren’t sure by friday which snake would still be in stock. But they had 2 gen Ball points, 1 Piebald and a few other non Ball snakes.
And ooo okay, I’ll have to ask them to see if they had found out the sex for the piebald and the other pastel baby that they had.
I would love to point you to some good species specific information, but I’m not sure I know what animal you ended up with? You originally mentioned Boas, but ended up with a Ball Python it sounds like? If you aren’t sure, a picture of it (and your setup for it) might be helpful.
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I’ve personally only used two sizes for snakes when it comes to tubs. Tubs are inexpensive and so to buy a baby tub and then a juvenile/adult tub when they are eating great and using up two full sides of the first tub is easy. Tanks are a bit more expensive, and space consuming, so I get one that will fit the adult and if putting in a baby provide tons of hiding places and fake plants along the ground for coverage. Currently have corns in tubs (one is in his adult tub already) then in tanks are my ball, my sand boa, and my kingsnake. I honesty can’t say that “to big a space” has effected any of them being in 40 gallons or bigger from the moment I got them.
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Yea I wanted a boa originally but my store didnt carry them, they only had ball points and sands but were out of sands. Someone said for me to do a milksnake but I have kids and I didnt wanna have to chase the snake around as a first time owner for them. Thats when my friend told me about the ball points and how they dont try to run run from you like corn and milks.
I go back this Friday after dhe calls me Tuesday on,what comes in as she ordered 2 normal balls and 1 pastel and 1 Piebald.
And tubs ? Lol like tubs for clothes and christmas stuff or, are you meaning tubs meant for snakes? Sorry this is a first of me hearing putting them in that other than for Expos.
I know what we bought was
This tank for the ball point. I wanted to get the one with sliding front doors with the locks but my stores want 200+$ and we couldnt do that one right away. So I’ll have to save up for a nice terrarium like that one day. Lol.
Ive been looking at snakes on here for ball points but im scared shipping them from 7 states away. Our mail carries are not responcible and were always loosing or never getting our mail correctly.
Sounds like you are talking about a Ball Python. Since you are just getting started I would go off basic care sheet, such as this one: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Snakes/Ball-Python/ Good luck!
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Here is something I put together based on the last 13 years of helping people troubleshoot some of the most common issues they encounter as new owner https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5uAw6UHVVmKNlcxeEZpTHk2N1k/view?usp=drivesdk
As far as shipping is concerned I live down south and have had babies shipped to me all the way from Michigan no problem even in late winter/early spring. All the breeders I worked with are super concious about weather and have only mailed to me overnight FedEx when appropriate.
And tubs meaning 2 gallon Tupperware casserole containers with latching lids for my baby corns and 10 gallon Tupperware tubs (like for blankets and sweaters) for their juvenile/adult tubs. Drill adequate holes for venelation and setup like you would a full sized tank. Easy to heat, maintain, and doesn’t take up a bunch of space if you are wanting more than a couple of snakes.
I personally don’t like switching from tub to tank and visa versa. Think it causes stress and though I don’t have experience have heard Balls can be stressed and go off feed. So in my opinion get what you are comfortable with first (tub or tank) get the setup ready then worry about getting the snake. Otherwise you could be scrambling with a new baby that doesn’t start off on a good solid structure/schedule.
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