Advice needed

[wwright12401]

Hi, my son and I are new to this forum. My son wanted a ball python for Christmas, so we found him a Pastel Yellow het Ghost that someone had to get rid of. He is 10 months old. We are currently housing him in a 20 gallon tank setup with a UTH and a red night heat lamp. We are wanting to move him to a larger display enclosure after the first of the year. I know that most people prefer to keep them in sterlite tubs, however, my wife would like something that is able to display him to be seen. Can you guys recommend a nice and ideal setup for him that would be both good for display and good for his health as well? Is there a benefit to some of the reptile enclosures above say a 55 gallon tank? Also looking for specifics as far as some good equipment needed. Thermostat, UTH, heat lamp, etc would be appreciated. Thanks so much. We are new to the ball python world, but have had many other critters along the way. I have raised Iguana's, many species of fish, birds, dogs, cats, hedgehogs, and so many others along the way. We currently have a 125 gallon African Cichlid tank, a 55 Gallon tank with a breeding pair of Red Jewel Cichlids, a 10 gallon saltwater nano tank, an Albino Pygmy Hedgehog, and three dogs along with our new addition of Mitch the Ball Python. Thanks for any help in advance.

William and Alex

[C2tcardin]

Is the 20gal tank working out ok? If so it seems to me that is would be sufficient for a while for a 10 month old BP, especially a male. I have had 2 BP's in a 75gal tank that I divided in half and they were perfectly happy in there. The main challenges to a tank is heat and humidity which is a bit easier to control in a tub rack but once you get it set up they are just as easy to maintain. I only recently moved the 2 BP's out of the tank when I picked up another 5 tub rack and a male Pied. We liked having them on display but now we have a pair of crested geckos on one side and a 3 stripe skink on the other.
As for equipment a UTH and a thermostat are a must to provide a hot side location/hide for the snake. Depending on your budget there are thermostats that range from just $35 (Zoo Med ReptiTherm) to $400 for a top of the line Herpstat 4. If you're planning on only having the one BP then I would suggest perhaps the Vivarium Electronics 100 which will cost $100 but will be more reliable than the Zoo Med. If you think the addiction may bite you, as it usually does, then going with a Herpstat is the way to go, you won't regret it believe me.
As for ambient heat, how are the temps in your house? I have my snakes in the 3rd floor room of my house which means it stays a fairly consistent 77 to 78 degrees so I don't worry too much about the ambient temps but have a small portable ceramic heater just in case it drops any further. The nice thing about an enclosed tub rack is ambient heat stays in so even when the room is 76 degrees the tubs tend to stay around 80/81. A tank will likely reflect the ambient temps of your room more closely, at least thats what I experienced with my 75gal tank. If so you may need to continue using the heat lamp. Lastly make sure to have a cool side and hot side hide box, I suggest the ones from Reptile Basics. Do not get the round log hides from Petco or Petsmart as BP's like more seclusion.

[dakski]

I like Showcase Cages. I have had good luck with them (have one for my ball python Shayna, one for my Bearded Dragon, one for my leopard geckos, and will be getting one for my corn snake when he is big enough). Closed on threes sides, but open glass sliding front. Vision Cages are similar, but I don't have any.

I like these type of "display cases" because they keep heat and humidity in and are easy to clean. Glass tanks are generally not good for keeping heat and humidity in. Of note, ball pythons are not great display animals though. They hide 95% of the time.

These types of tanks are expensive though (relative to a glass tank) and you would probably want to get one that Mitch can live in forever. So, if you get it soon, make sure there are many hiding places for him so he doesn't get overwhelmed and stop eating.

Also, at least with the Showcase Cages, there is a lip on the front top, just above the sliding doors, that a small snake could crawl into. When I put Shayna (my Albino Spider Ball) into it, she was about a year or so old and I pushed newspaper up into that hole (which runs the length of the enclosure) so she couldn't climb in. Now she is too big anyway at 2+ years and 1100G.

Depending on the size tank you get, I would recommend an undertank heater that runs the depth of the tank - Showcase has a indent for one - on one side. I would also use a red light (low wattage) for light so you can see him at night, but not for heat. If the tank is big enough (I have a 4FTX2FT deep Showcase Cage for Shayna), you might want to use a radiant heat panel as well. Shayna has a radiant heat panel on the back right side (keeping it about 87 degrees below it), a UTH on the left side (keeping it about 88-91 degrees on top), and it is about 80 in the middle of the tank and 77-80 at the front.

MAKE SURE TO USE A DIMMER SWITCH WITH THE UTH and a thermostat for the Radiant heat panel (one specifically designed for that - I use helix controls). I use a Home Depot lamp dimmer - $10 - and good to 300W. I have found reptile type dimmers not as effective or precise. They tend to get the UTH too hot even on the lowest settings.

I also use a reptifogger with a humidistat to keep the humidity 58-62% or so, with up to 70% when she is going to shed.

I hope this is helpful and good luck.

David