New owner! Couldn't be happier but need some help

[CrocodileFace]

Hey guys, I got my first ball 2 days ago at Petco. I have him all set up with the essentials... Hot/cold hide, some plastic plants, water on the cold side and a heat lamp. I am loving my new guy...or girl.

But One thing I am really struggling with is keeping the humidity up for him. It dips as low at 30-40% (how bad IS this for the snake, life threatening?) when I don't spray (I have to spray about 5-6 times a day). Until night times comes when I turn off his heat lamp and the humidity jumps to 60%.

So I am guessing it's safe to assume the lamp is drying it out for him. I have heard balls don't need the lamp, an under the tank heater is just fine. But then I hear they need a basking bulb as well, which is it?

Basically I need a little help, and any other words of advice will be great. I feed him sunday. I can't wait!

EDIT: BTW I cover abt 3/4 the tank with a dry hand towel and it's still so dry in there.

[JLC]

Welcome aboard!

BP's do very well with just an undertank heater....IF the overall ambient temps in the enclosure remain around 80 degrees. An undertank heater alone will not raise the ambient temps if the room is cold. That is usually when overhead supplemental heat is recommended.

And yes...that overhead heat can dry out the air. A dry towel over the top of the tank probably won't help much. A damp towel (changed daily) might help better. Getting a sheet of clear plastic cut to size, with some corner spaces cut out for ventilation and a hole cut for the lamp...use that to cover the screen...that can help, too.

One more thing...they don't really need (or want) a drop in temps at night. It's important that their overall ambient temps stay around 80F. Constant fluctuations in temps can put them off their food. If your heat lamp is a white light, you'll want to switch it out for a red or blue one...or a ceramic heat emitter (which looks like a bulb, but just puts out heat and no light).

OR...make sure the room temps stay warm and just go with an undertank heater....OR switch to a shallow plastic tub, which makes maintaining a proper environment much simpler in the long run.

[JLC]

Oops...wanted to answer one more question you asked... about if low humidity is a life-threatening issue. In the short run...no, it's not. A few days of low humidity shouldn't have any harmful affects. Longer stints will likely cause very difficult sheds...which can be a bit of a pain to deal with sometimes. It can also cause their eyecaps to dent or wrinkle. But once you get your humidity issues in check, the shedding process and eyes should return to normal.

In the long run...I have heard that a constant dry environment can cause respiratory issues which can lead to serious illness and eventually death if untreated, but I don't have a specific scientific article I could point to.

[CrocodileFace]

Wow, Perfect... Thanks for all the help. I am switching to a damp towel today. I read about it as well as the plastic wrap. I would switch to a plastic tub but I wanna give my guy a bunch of space to roam! I have a red bulb as well as the regular heat lamp so I guess I should start putting the red one on? In the day the hot side is abt 90ish with the regular one... When I turn it off the temp drops to like 75ish... The Red bulb keeps it up arnd 80-85 but that dries him out too... Is that okay??

[CrocodileFace]

aslo I heard I should be putting him in a different enclosure come feeding time, is this true?

[anatess]

Wow, Perfect... Thanks for all the help. I am switching to a damp towel today. I read about it as well as the plastic wrap. I would switch to a plastic tub but I wanna give my guy a bunch of space to roam! I have a red bulb as well as the regular heat lamp so I guess I should start putting the red one on? In the day the hot side is abt 90ish with the regular one... When I turn it off the temp drops to like 75ish... The Red bulb keeps it up arnd 80-85 but that dries him out too... Is that okay??

Happy bp's stay in their hides all day long. And all night long even. Really boring snakes. LOL. If they're roaming a lot - they're either wanting to get outta there (they're not happy with their enclosure) or they're starving.

So, yeah, they would probably be happier in the plastic tub than in the tank.

I have mine in tanks because I got this "Out of Africa" theme going on in the room. They're a pain in the buns to maintain proper temps and humidity - and I live in Florida!

So, yeah, there are some tricks to raise humidity in a tank - #1 of which is a giant size water bowl placed half-way on the undertank heater or right under the heat lamp. Put foil or something to cover the top of the tank, wrap 3 sides of the tank with cloth/cork for insulation. Use cypress for substrate, etc. So, use the red bulb to get air temperature in the tank at 80'ish and the undertank heater on one side of the tank should give a warm spot on the ground of 90'ish. You should be good to go.

[johnsnhu]

aslo I heard I should be putting him in a different enclosure come feeding time, is this true?

There are mixed opinions on this. Some recommend removing them from their enclosure and moving to another for feeding, others will feed right in the enclosure. I think it's a personal preference.

[ballpythonluvr]

There is no need to move the snake to a separate container for feeding. The snake will not become aggressive if you feed it in the home enclosure. Moving the snake for feeding can be very stressful and will actually increase your chances of possibly being bitten. As was stated though, it is entirely up to you to choose the method of how you want to feed your snake.

[Up2Late]

You will find various opinions on a feeding. Some will tell you that you will have a greater chance of getting bitten if you feed in there living quarters as they associate the opening of the cage with feeding time. But if you handle your BP on a regular basis as I do this usually wont happen. I personally feed them in there same habitat. For humidity I went and got this 13.00 humidifier that fits in the palm of your hand and it last 9 hours before refill. Keeps Humidity at 60. Last two sheds were perfect, they lasted about 24 hours and it was over.

[anatess]

I feed on a separate bin. There are just too many things in the tank that the rat can wedge himself into that the snake can't get to. Plus, rat pee/poop is not allowed in my tanks!

So, I put the snake in a separate container, drop the rat in, wait a few minutes, then when the snake has completely swallowed and realigned its jaw, I move him back to his tank and he usually goes jetting to his warm hide. Easy does it.