questions about hides.

[itchmynipple]

alright so i aquired a couple month old ball python a week ago.

unfortunately the fella must of been alot of stress for a long time having only 1 hide box in the store and it being shared by three other ball pythons.. btw, im guessing thats completely terrible.

anyways, i initially had him in 70cm x 40cm x 20cm bin, but after more research i realized maybe that was a little toooo big.


now i have him in a 4gallon. he is maybe a foot and a half long full length.. just a guess.

im using cypress mulch and spraying once in awhile, the humidity and temperature seems to be fine, its about 60percent humidity during the day, doesnt drop below 50 usually, an over 75 degrees but 85 or under throughout the day.


the hides im using now are both white plastic circle containers that you would normally get from a chinese food place. IMO they are similiar to alot of other peoples hides but there white and not black or colored.

before coming to this sight, i was given bad information, as i was given from every single reptile store ive ever been too. ive had a tegu, couple iguanas, and currently also, two small green anoles.

color-wise i havent come across anything on the hides. is white a bad choice and maybe the reason why my python isnt chilling inside of it? its been a couple days but most of the time he lays in the middle or next to one of the hides. hes been seen on the cool side hide a couple times but his head was sticking out. im pretty sure he CAN fit completely into these hides and it was be a goodish fit, maybe slightly loose or slightly tight actually, but regardless, i just dont see what the problem really is and why hes being like this!

also, does any1 recommend i pick up a 10 gallon instead when i can?



i have everything listed in the care sheet for ball pythons.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Can you give us more info on what you are using to heat the cage? A lot of the time "hide issues" end up being cage heating issues.

Incase you haven't seen them checkout these 2 threads. They cover all of the basics and have been confirmed to have good information

care: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Cage Heating: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

[itchmynipple]

im using a reptitherm uth, connected with a thermometer/probe. its a large one, much larger than then bin, so most of it isn't under the bin but is just laying there. i stick the probe on the outside of the bin right on the UTH itself. i figured that would be a better way to be sure of the temperature.

also, i have a ceramic heat emitter to control the rooms ambient temperature, it doesnt have a temperature gauge so i just use the digital thermometer and it seems to be working out pretty fine. btw, the digital thermometer i have shows the highs and lows.

after seeing him curled up next to the small plastic circular container im starting to think maybe its actually slightly too big. and a smaller one would probably be better. but im sure my heat preparations could use a little adjusting.

most of the time its about 79 degrees ambient.

[The Serpent Merchant]

UTH's must be regulated with a thermostat. Without one they can and will get 130+ degrees (it only takes 108 degrees to give a BP brain damage) The second link I posted in my first post has thermostat recommendations at all price points.

Your hides might be part of the problem. A lot of people have had suscess with these hides (including myself) they are cheap and super durable. I highly recommend them.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

[itchmynipple]

too add on, currently im using a on/off style thermometer im assuming, its from zilla. and i got it for 50 dollars which im a little bummed out about. i can't find the receipt and im pretty sure the store only does 'store credit'

-.- i wanna walk in there and just yell at all of the workers there that claim to know vast knowledge in the area and then sell bogus tank materials

[The Serpent Merchant]

too add on, currently im using a on/off style thermometer im assuming, its from zilla. and i got it for 50 dollars which im a little bummed out about. i can't find the receipt and im pretty sure the store only does 'store credit'

-.- i wanna walk in there and just yell at all of the workers there that claim to know vast knowledge in the area and then sell bogus tank materials

thermometer? or thermostat?

a thermometer just measures temperature, while a thermostat uses a temperature probe to control a heat source

[itchmynipple]

yes my bad, i meant thermostat with a probe.

is that fine for the time being?

also, now you've got me extra scared about giving my snake brain damage ( which i guess is a good thing lol)

[itchmynipple]

also, im ordering those two hides. the small sized ones. so much cheaper this way!

[The Serpent Merchant]

While the zilla thermostat (which is an on/off style thermostat) isn't the best, it should get the job done. I wouldn't be too worried, but in the future I would look into getting something like the herpstat intro + or herpstat 1 for a safer/more accurate system.

http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

[itchmynipple]

yes, i plan on picking one of those ones up specifically asap, thanks