u/pbizz

I'm a fairly new keeper. About a week ago my snake shed for the first time in my care. She is an adult though. Shed was perfect. On the run up to shedding she did soak a lot.

Now she's shed she is soaking again. Is this anything to be worried about.? I can't see stuck shed or mites or anything. Basking spot is 31c, cold side about 27c in the day, cooler at night. Humidity is about 68% right now but gets higher at different times of the day.

I've had my BP for 3 weeks now. I got her as an adult rescue and the rescue thankfully had some of the exact food she had been eating (rats) that the owner handed over when they surrendered her.

She is super confident - no fear at all, if I let her she would come out exploring every evening. She comes up to the glass about 8pm and if I open the door she just comes out exploring. I can pick her up and she only stiffens for a few seconds then shes chill and will climb all over me. She sometimes sits in the open in her enclosure too. I was hoping this meant meant she is settled but she hasnt eaten yet. I tried once after 1 week and again today after another week - so weeks 2 and 3.

First I want to make sure im literally not doing it wrong. I have researched. I get the rat out the night before, let it defrost in the fridge. About an hour before feeding i put it out in the kitchen to warm up a bit then right before feeding put it in a ziplock on warm water. I use a temp gun to check and get it around 33c. Then I have tried both tong feeding and just leaving it there. She sniffs it but wont take it.

More generally her basking spot is about 30c (86f) and at the moment the cool side is about 25c (77f) - I'd prefer the cool side be slightly cooler but theres a heatwave here at the moment and ambient temp in the room is only just below that. I have UVB and a CHE for night but its not on at all at the moment as ambient temps in the room are high enough. Substrate wise a mix of zoomed forest floor (cyprus mulch) and a bit of coco coir mixed in. Humidity is up between 70-85% most of the time without much work as ambient humidity in my house is about 60% here in the UK. Lights are on at 9am and off about 8:30pm at the moment.

Is she likely just settling in or is something i'm doing here not right. Handling wise, its been a couple of times a week but ive never had to take her out only open the door and she comes out. With her being this new I wouldnt be reaching in and grabbing her while she settles but shes a curious one.

I made another post about whether I handled my rescue girl too soon which people were very helpful on. You can check that one but the tldr was she was right at the glass at night time so I opened it and she came out on her own, wandered around the room including climbing over me all while I just stayed still. I eventually steered her back in.

Since then I did this once more. The problem is every night about 9-10pm she is there at the glass looking. Not glass surfing up and down, slowly flicking and looking out with her face right there. If I open it I know she will come out and go exploring again. Is this ok? I have only let her out twice like this.

This is day 6 of having her, she's a large adult and seems to have no fear whatsoever. While she's exploring I can redirect her or carefully pick her up. She will stop moving a few seconds if I pick her up then start climbing all over me and exploring again. I won't get her out every day regardless but if she wants out to explore 3-4 times a week is it ok?

One theory I have is she's just hungry. I wanted to wait a week before feeding which would make feed day tomorrow but I don't know when she was last fed. Whether she takes food or not should at least be a measure of if she is stressed.

He behaviour is fun but I was expecting a shy snake at least at first. Whoever had her before she ended up in a rescue must have socialised her a lot.

I've saved the day normally before but am thinking about a 1.2 play through with randomised nodes. I normally built lots of smaller factories for different resources but it might be fun to just build a massive mega tower in grassy field if I can get and game resources there. Or maybe rocky desert for water availability.

Think it's possible? I guess the challenge will be things like oil and coal for lower if there aren't a cluster of nodes

Im thinking of getting my first snake. I have been thinking about it for a couple of years on and off and doing lots of research. For some further context I'm adult, I have a young crested gecko and quite a few inverts. I've been keeping inverts for a number of years, I also have aquariums. Generally, I'm an animal person and have been keeping exotic pets for a long time - just not snakes. I also really enjoy learning about creatures in detail.

One more detail - I live in the UK - the humidity in my office where it would go is between 40-60% ambient all the time so keeping humidity fairly high is not difficult. I have no problems with my cresty shedding and getting his humidity up to 80% for periods in the evening. It only takes a light misting.

Ball Pythons really appeal to me. I like they way they look, particularly the more natural looking morphs. I like that they are docile and slow moving since despite lots of research I'm new to snakes and I feel this will be easier to interact with should the snake be tolerant of that. I know they are most active in the evening/night which is fine as I work full time - albeit from home.

However - the internet tells me don't get one because they have tricky parameters. Part of me wonders if this is because those in the US often either live in drier climates for have AC which naturally pulls humidity down. Also because of the food strikes. I started looking at kingsnakes and they are interesting to me - particularly MBK but my heart is telling me get a BP. Are they really that tricky to keep optimally for a beginner? When people say beginner are they more thinking of someone whose never had exotic pets and not interested in research?

Lots of waffle here but I guess I'm looking for a more nuanced oppinion than dont get one as a beginner.

Thanks

I put some banana in for them and just counted 21 beetles swarming it!

The enclosure is a decent size - 45cm cubed (18 inches).

I've had them a few years now, great that they are thriving but not sure at which point it becomes an issue.