2 New BP's

[Hotwire]

So my wife was born 24 years ago tomorrow. And she has been aching for a dog.... But being in the pet shop se spied some BP's. She is completely new to snakes. Iv been exposed to snakes of all kinds my entire life. Just never had any of my own. Being a soldier, these are a little too temperamental for all of the moves. Now were in the last place I will be posted to, or at least thats my plan

We have 2 18" BP's, I have not been able to really identify their pattern. We have them in a 20 gal tank. that is 12" x 12" x 40"-ish. Its got aspen substrate, water dish, UTH, fake plant, and a little cave. We have had them a little over 18 hours now, and they seem happy and active. No striking, no "S" shape pose, and will slither up onto my hand. I had to add a heat lamp as the mat just wasn't cutting it last night. I life in Victoria BC, so its a fairly warm compared to the rest of Canada.

Is there anything that I should have covered??

[Stormy]

So my wife was born 24 years ago tomorrow. And she has been aching for a dog.... But being in the pet shop se spied some BP's. She is completely new to snakes. Iv been exposed to snakes of all kinds my entire life. Just never had any of my own. Being a soldier, these are a little too temperamental for all of the moves. Now were in the last place I will be posted to, or at least thats my plan

We have 2 18" BP's, I have not been able to really identify their pattern. We have them in a 20 gal tank. that is 12" x 12" x 40"-ish. Its got aspen substrate, water dish, UTH, fake plant, and a little cave. We have had them a little over 18 hours now, and they seem happy and active. No striking, no "S" shape pose, and will slither up onto my hand. I had to add a heat lamp as the mat just wasn't cutting it last night. I life in Victoria BC, so its a fairly warm compared to the rest of Canada.

Is there anything that I should have covered??

Theres several things. The two most important ones are do you have a thermostat on the UTH? If not turn it off until you get one; it can get too hot and your snakes will get burned Second, each snake should have its own enclosure with two hides; one on the cool side of the tank, the other on the warm side. How are you measuring humidity?

[Hotwire]

First off, thanks.

Second of all, when I bought the two snakes I was told that keeping them together during the transition time will help with the stress. I do have a second tank, and I will use it. As for the UTH, no I don't have a thermostat on it, I have a thermostat inside of the tank, one on each end and a Hygrometer in the centre. Like I said earlier, the UTH is unsatisfactory when it comes to its heating of the tank. I had to buy a heat lamp just to get it up to 80c. I understand the glass will be hot, as will the aspen over top of it. I visited a number of places today searching for the reptile carpet to put down to keep the snakes off of the glass, all of the stores told me they have never sold it. Use news paper.

[gameonpython]

Snakes are solitary animals, so being separated wouldn't cause them any stress in fact it would probably reduce stress. But, it's good that you have a second tank prepared correction- you have a thermometer in the tank. This measures temperature, while a thermostat controls the temperature. Even a lamp dimmer will work, if you want something more cost effective. 80 Celsius or Fahrenheit? 80 Celsius is extremely hot and will burn your snakes. The glass and substrate should not be hot, it should be slightly warm to the touch. You want the glass temp at around 90 f. These are just some of the basics, I will let the more experienced members go into detail. Good luck!


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[Stormy]

First off, thanks.

Second of all, when I bought the two snakes I was told that keeping them together during the transition time will help with the stress. I do have a second tank, and I will use it. As for the UTH, no I don't have a thermostat on it, I have a thermostat inside of the tank, one on each end and a Hygrometer in the centre. Like I said earlier, the UTH is unsatisfactory when it comes to its heating of the tank. I had to buy a heat lamp just to get it up to 80c. I understand the glass will be hot, as will the aspen over top of it. I visited a number of places today searching for the reptile carpet to put down to keep the snakes off of the glass, all of the stores told me they have never sold it. Use news paper.

The glass shouldn't be hot; please turn the UTH off until it is regulated by a thermostat, you are risking your snakes life. The UTH will not heat the tank; it only provides a hot spot for the snake. Your snakes will burrow to get to the glass no matter what you use for substrate and they will get burned. It sounds like you have thermometers on each end; not the same as a thermostat as they only monitor temps not control them.

[Hotwire]

Yes Its 80f. The tank glass is only 80f. Iv measured it with a laser thermometer, the one I use for my parkerizing, and powder coating. Im looking forward to giving these a very happy home. And Im glad there is a place like this for me to get all the information I can. I do have to say though, I believe half of what I hear and less of what I read. I have read much of these same comments, but I have read much of the opposite as well. Like BP's are happy in pairs, and UTH will heat the tank to as much as you need. Claims like, its an UTH.... but you need to have it stuck to the side. I will take everyones advice, and apply it accordingly. Tonight I will take pictures of what I have so I can get more critique.

thank you again everyone.

[Lynchman18]

Congrats on your new BP's do you have any pictures of them?

[Stormy]

Yes Its 80f. The tank glass is only 80f. Iv measured it with a laser thermometer, the one I use for my parkerizing, and powder coating. Im looking forward to giving these a very happy home. And Im glad there is a place like this for me to get all the information I can. I do have to say though, I believe half of what I hear and less of what I read. I have read much of these same comments, but I have read much of the opposite as well. Like BP's are happy in pairs, and UTH will heat the tank to as much as you need. Claims like, its an UTH.... but you need to have it stuck to the side. I will take everyones advice, and apply it accordingly. Tonight I will take pictures of what I have so I can get more critique.

thank you again everyone.

You are reading information from people who keep the same snakes as you but you don't believe what you read? Unregulated UTH burns are real; do a Google search for images, I wouldn't recommend doing it while eating as some of the pics are hard to look at.

I'm using UTH for now until my T10's show up; then I'll be switching to RHP only and no UTH. This information comes from the wonderful people on this site who have been raising balls a lot longer then I have.

So read what you want; believe what you want. There's a recent thread about one ball python eating another ball python while the owner was cleaning their enclosure and put them together for a short time. So it does happen.

Can you keep two snakes together; sure. Would I recommend it; no.

[Hotwire]

You are reading information from people who keep the same snakes as you but you don't believe what you read? Unregulated UTH burns are real; do a Google search for images, I wouldn't recommend doing it while eating as some of the pics are hard to look at.

I'm using UTH for now until my T10's show up; then I'll be switching to RHP only and no UTH. This information comes from the wonderful people on this site who have been raising balls a lot longer then I have.

So read what you want; believe what you want. There's a recent thread about one ball python eating another ball python while the owner was cleaning their enclosure and put them together for a short time. So it does happen.

Can you keep two snakes together; sure. Would I recommend it; no.

I am not saying I distrust anyone here, nor am I saying I know any better. Im saying that I gather the information, and sort out the most common and most sensible information and use it. Im new here, but Im not an idiot. This is going to be a learning process, and I completely accept that. No need to get hostile if I don't JUMP to your input and demands.

I will upload some pictures from my Camera this evening. Thank you everyone again!

[Stormy]

I am not saying I distrust anyone here, nor am I saying I know any better. Im saying that I gather the information, and sort out the most common and most sensible information and use it. Im new here, but Im not an idiot. This is going to be a learning process, and I completely accept that. No need to get hostile if I don't JUMP to your input and demands.

I will upload some pictures from my Camera this evening. Thank you everyone again!

I not getting hostile; just don't want to you to toast your snakes and pointing out the danger of housing two snakes together.

Check out the stickies in the BP Husbandry section; there's a thread dedicated to setting up a tank correctly.