I would like this communities opinion on my bp's tank set up (pics included)

[Trey Yeoman]

I have one UTH pad, that was intended for a 10 gallon tank.. that is now at the bottom of my 30 gallon... for my large ball python... she is about 3 foot... and the UTH pad is parallel with the hide on the warm side... that is.. that it is in the same direction and general shape of the hide... so it basically is directly under the hide... giving her hide a direct heated temp... I have a 100w Basking Spot Lamp at the cool end... to make up for the lack of heating pads... and to keep the ambient air temp of the tank decent... I have a random branch I got from petco for her to climb on (which she hasn't yet...) but she is not even a week old into my home... so... shes still acclimating... I was just wanting to know if hwo I have everything set up is okay...
I use Eco-Earth as a substrate... but I was thinking of switching to shredded newspaper?
I am constantly worried about her because I am afraid that I am doing something wrong.. but she just had her first meal... ate it wonderfully... and she is active when I hold her.. for short periods at a time... and she loves to hide and (sleep?) away most of the day under her log...
my biggest concern is humidty... i dont know if I am doing that right... I live in florida... so it is humid here in the first place... but... hm... ill post pictures soo let me know what you guys think


Another issue is that I have two possible water bowls... both ceramic... one is at least 3 times the size of the little blue one I have and she could fit her whole body in it... but i feel like it is "too" big so I put in a smaller blue one (that is in there now)... do u think its decent sized?

[smoffler]

Get rid of the log hide and use just one big water bowl and use two hides one on the hot side and one on the cold.

sent by two homing pigeons!!

[Trey Yeoman]

Get rid of the log hide and use just one big water bowl and use two hides one on the hot side and one on the cold.

sent by two homing pigeons!!

hehe what do you mean? like... the log is as big as she is... what woudl i use as a hide? is the log bad?

[LOSTCOAST_BALLZ]

leave the log and add some 99 cent store vines in the cold side. my snakes love playing in vines and plants in far side. i like your current hide just fine.. but thats just my oppinion

[smoffler]

Well it isn't completely concealed ill post a pic of the ones I use for my hatchings and a pic of my 29 gal setup for ya to kinda get an idea off of

sent by two homing pigeons!!

[jfreels]

If she's already secure in the hide then I'd say keep it, but get another for the other side and black out three sides of your tank. At least black out the sides where the log hides are open to make it more secure.

Ditch the branches. If she climbs, she'll probably just fall.

[Trey Yeoman]

If she's already secure in the hide then I'd say keep it, but get another for the other side and black out three sides of your tank. At least black out the sides where the log hides are open to make it more secure.

Ditch the branches. If she climbs, she'll probably just fall.

well if thats the case... getting the same size log as the one on the warm side... and ditching the branch... there would not be much "movement" room in the cage... cause.. well the hide logs are big.. and shes pretty big and a bigger bowl would just complete it... is that a problem? or they dont really need "leg room"

[Trey Yeoman]

Well it isn't completely concealed ill post a pic of the ones I use for my hatchings and a pic of my 29 gal setup for ya to kinda get an idea off of

sent by two homing pigeons!!

I would appreciate it

[smoffler]

Okay here are the pics







Enjoy

P.s. don't think I keep em on the porch I moved em out there to bug bomb the house dang tobacco mouths from the rabbits food...grrr

sent by two homing pigeons!!

[OhhWatALoser]

how many hides to use depends on the snake, I have snakes that do just fine with no hides and some that need one. so use your best judgement on that one. the community suggests 1 on each end tho.

if your worried about humidity, cover up your screen top cept the part where the lightbulb is, can use just about anything but since you got a hot light, id use aluminium foil or something that won't melt or burn. bigger water bowl will also help. You can also use a spray bottle to spray water into the cage to up the humidity (usually do this when their shedding)

id take the stick out personally, i dont think the ball python would use it much, i think a shelf type of structure would be more suited for them if you really want to give them vertical room. but its really not needed.

the temp dial is way too high vertically, depend on what you have going on the temp can be 5 degree difference from middle of a glass tank to the bottom. measure temps at the ball python's level for more accuracy. and most of us will tell you the dial kind like that are junk anyways. I suggest a IR temp gun, you can get desent ones pretty cheap nowadays. you can also get a digital with probes.

Now most of the community will not agree with me on the humidity gauges, i say throw the stupid things away and just look at the cage. I mean i just look to see if its high med low or bone dry and adjust. looking at the walls of the cage and the substrate you can tell, heck you can tell by feeling the air when you first open the cage. but most will tell you get a humidity gauge, so don't listen to me lol.