I have ball pythons and boas. I also have a cornsnake, rat snake and kingsnake. I specialize in ball pythons though. Breed them in fact. I got one on eggs right now actually. Hatched a clutch last year and still have two of the babies.
Ball pythons are one of the easiest snake to care for. Yes they can go on a hunger strike but that's just them and not all of them do it. It's mostly due to breeding season. Most of mine go off when it's breeding season then they go back on food. It's typical. Doesn't really have much to do with temps as all of mine are on the same temps and humidity levels.
With ball pythons, you'll want to look for temperament. I have some that you just can't really handle because they will squirm like mad. But I have plenty that are super chill. Look for the chill ones, the ones that will just sit without and won't snap at everything that moves.
There's also food aggression. Yes, that does happen in snakes. I have one that's food aggressive even though he's well fed. Food aggression happens when the snakes either doesn't get enough food and then suddenly it has food and now it's wanting more every time you come near it. It also happens when you feed it too often and now whenever you come near it it thinks it will get food. This will prompt the snake to strike at anything and everything that moves and you do not want that.
Young and baby snakes. They need consistent food to grow and be healthy. Babies need food every 5 days till they reach a certain size then they can move to every 7 days. The food has to be a proper size, nothing bigger than the largest part of their body. But this applies to bulky bodies snakes like ball pythons and boas. Colubrids like corns and kings are a bit different.
Ball pythons NEED humidity. Not only for their health but for shedding. And with that, DO NOT use aspen or cypress mulch for bedding. It molds. Badly. I have personal experience with this. The best bedding to use is is Reptichip. Reptichip is a brand designed by a breeder(he actually recently lost a lot of animals in a house fire, I know him personally). Reptichip is coconut husk. It absorbs and holds water which makes putting humidity into the environment easy and it doesn't mold. The only time I've ever seen it mold is because there was poop somewhere. It's the best stuff you can get and a block of it lasts forever.
As far as enclosures go, it depends on the size of the snake. I keep mine in racks. Racks are stackable tub systems with heat tape built in so all you add is a thermostat and you're set. It's what's recommended. Think about where ball pythons naturally live. They spend most of their time in a hole somewhere so being in a tub is no different. Mine are all healthy and they even breed just fine in them. I recommend getting a fully equipped enclosure. Wilbanks has them(though it comes with aspen, don't use it) for a really good price. However, it's more for adult ball pythons. If you get a baby, a 10 gallon tank is recommended. A large space when they are babies will actually stress the animal out and make them not want to eat. However, some snakes are just aggressive eaters(not the same as being food aggressive) and will eat regardless. It's recommended to get a digital gram scale so you can see the progress of growth. Once they are between 500 and 1000 grams, you need to start considering upgrading into a bigger enclosure because at that point, they are getting bigger food and growing faster.
Speaking of thermostats. Ball pythons should be kept between 85 and 92 degrees on the hot side and about 70 on the cool side. I keep all of mine at 89 and lower them to 85 when breeding. THe temp drop doesn't do anything really I don't think but I do it anyway. Mostly for the boys. Guess it stimulates them or something? I don't know. They need belly heat, not over head heat. Belly heat helps them to digest their food and they thermo regulate easier. They don't bask in the sun like lizards do. They can't outrun predators as easily so they find a low lying warm spot late in the evening or early morning and soak up the heat from underneath then crawl back into their hide spot.
Aggressive eating. Lets talk about that. I have snakes that will hit anything you throw at them. Live, frozen/thawed, rat, mouse, big, small. They will eat anything and everything. That's aggressive eating. They're hungry and they want food but they won't just attack the side of their tub just because they saw a shadow. Well, not all the time anyway.
Following me so far?
It may seem complicated but its easier than it looks. Some say ball pythons need more care than other snakes but they are actually one of the easier snakes to take care of. I may have missed stuff but then again, I'm new to teaching people about these things. But I gotta get used to it if I'm going to be running a snake breeding business. Huzzah. If you, or anyone really have any questions, please ask. I'm more than happy to answer them. I've got 9 years of ball python experience under my muffin top....er....belt.......*cough*.......so fire away. I'll do what I can to get help out.
It wasn’t a huge step after that to convince her to buy the little tiny pink corn snake. Not long after she was helping me pick out snakes.
And old world rat snakes are asses when it comes to food or anything really. Complete asses....complete...