First Snake!!!!!!

[brobertson]

First of all, hello to all of you on the forum. I just now registered, but you guys(and girls) have already helped me out so much. I have kept a few species of lizards with great success(see signature), and I have finally persuaded my Mom(Yes, I'm 14) to get my first snake, a ball python. I have set up a 10 gallon tank with cypress mulch bedding, a zoo med undertank heater hooked up to a zoo med 500r thermostat that covers roughly 1/3 of the bottom of the tank, a 50 watt exo terra infrared heat bulb on the same side as the pad, and a screen top that I will be stackng books on to prevent escape. My cage furniture is a small commercial hide on the hot side, a large water bowl in the middle, and a lightbulb box (small cardboard hide) from the bulb I bought on the cool side. I also have a few exo terra plants. 3 of the 4 sides are covered in dark paper.

here are all of my temps( in Fahrenheit):
Belly heat warm side: 85
Ambient warm side: 81
Belly heat cool side: 72
Ambient cool side: 71
Worried that it might be too cold.

I am planning on buying a baby male pastel from Garrick Demeyer on royal constrictor designs.com, is this good?

Planning on feeding rat pinkies or fuzzies to start(separate box or not separate box?)

All in all, how am I doing and what should I change?
Any tips?

(sorry for such a long post)

Benek

[Daybreaker]

Congrats on your future new addition!

Some suggestions:

I would bump up your warm side temps to ~89-92, that's what my ranges are for my BPs.

Your cold side should be okay, sometimes my tubs get as low as 75 degrees ambient (from the cooler winter temps) and everyone is healthy and fine as long as they have the appropriate warm side temps.

I would get two identical hides for the warm and cold side.

I would get some tank lid clips for the lid instead of using books. Much more sturdy. Also cover most of the lid with tin foil to keep in temps and humidity since your bulb will suck all humidity.

I would feed in the tank and 10-15% of your snake's body weight. Pick up a digital scale from Walmart or similar stores.

How are you measuring temps?

[brobertson]

currently measuring temps with a zoo med digital thermometer with probe

[brobertson]

and thanks

[Redneck_Crow]

You can cover part of the screen on top of the tank to keep heat in. Stacking the books might cover enough area to keep some heat in--have you checked the temps with the books stacked on top like you're going to when you use it? I'd go for some clips on the screen too.

If you haven't gotten the snake yet, consider getting a female. Most of us who have ball pythons eventually get bitten by the breeding bug. Having a nice sized female raised up when it happens is a big plus.

Everyone has their opinion on whether or not to feed in a separate box. I don't because 1) I'm lazy, and 2) because they eat just fine in the box they live in.

[brobertson]

thank you redneck, holding in those extra few degrees will give me peace of mind.

For anybody else posting, I'm about to hit the hay (first day back in school tomorrow), so I will respond to any more posts tomorrow morning. Please don't let this discourage you from posting