rescued ball python

[Sheila]

Hello All! I am the herp fancier in the neighborhood and was given a ball tonight. The family that had it found it in an abandoned house and had it for a week. They did not want it anymore so I took it in. She/he is 2-3 feet and looks to be a normal pattern. She has rough scales on her belly. It doesn't look like she has had a bad shed but I don't really know her history other than that. her spine does show but she has some muscle to her.
I have her in a 20 gallon long on aspen. I have overhead heat with a 90 watt bulb for now. I am going to get more bulbs tomorrow. She has one hide on the warm side and a water bowl.
I am unable to get an undertank heater until payday in a few weeks. Will the heat lamp be enough?
I know she will need a period of adjustment before she feeds. I also want to give her time to acclimate but want to take care of the shed problem soon.
She does not appear to have any mites and her fecal area was clean that I saw.
Any advice what i can do for her is greatly appreciated. I have owned a bearded dragon for twelve years but this lovely girl is new to me!

Sheila

[Gabe Rienzo]

hey, well not to bring you down but rescuing an animal you are not familiar with is not the best idea...

bps get there main source of heat from their belly's, DO NOT COOK THE SNAKE! what are your temperatures? don't go and buy more bulbs, all it will be is a lamp... get a UTH asap.

aslong as he/she has a way of getting away from the heat as needed he/she wont be happy, but he/she will be ok untill u get a uth

whens the last time she fed?

[meowmeowkazoo]

Edit: never mind, you said she DIDN'T have a bad shed.

Make sure you have a way to measure temps, otherwise you will not know if the heat lamp is enough or too much. She should have 80 degree ambient temperature with a 90 degree hot spot. Get an undertank heater ASAP and a thermostat to control it.

Offer food once she is settled in. Or you could wait a week. Some people believe it is of utmost importance to leave the snake alone for 7 days. I prefer to go on a case by case basis.

Regardless of what you do, make sure she has fresh water at all times and has plenty of boxes or containers to hide in within her cage.

[llovelace]

Welcome Sheila

Read the BP care sheets, most of your answers can be found there