New Snake Owner - Advice Needed

[Luvit73]

Hi all , I'm a new Ball Python owner , and new here as well . Tigergenesis sent me over here - thought you guys might be able to give me some advice . I want to give my boy the best possible care , so any advice is welcome/appreciated .
Let me tell you what his short history/setup is first .
I got him 11 days ago today . He's (I think it's a he anyway) a 3 month old baby , he was 18 inches long when I got him , but I swear he's grown already , at least another two inches or more - is this possible ? He looks bigger around too . Anyhow - I brought him home in the afternoon , and by evening , offered him a rat pup . He had never had one before , had been eating mice . But - after about 15 minutes of "sniffing" with his tongue , he ate it . He seems very comfortable with me - tries to climb up me if I put my hand in his house , and he'll hold perfectly still so I can stroke the top of his head - will even start bumping my hand with his nose if I stop !
I had him in a ten gallon until payday . Now , he's got a 40BR - big enough , right ? two hides , a big rock water bowl , and temp/humidity gauges - an under tank heater , and a heat lamp . He seems to like his new house , cruising around all over in it when he's not asleep . He ate again , on Saterday , only this time , it took him less than 30 seconds to grab the rat .
Ok - now with the questions . I have him on Pine bedding , that's ok ? The guy at the pet store had told me to use red cedar chips for him , I'm really glad I tried to read up on him before I did that - since he ate right away , he would probably have been dead . But he seems to like the pine , he loves to burrow under it .
I have his gauges about six inches up in the middle of the tank - that's in the wrong place , huh ? His temp reads from 80 at night , to 85 during the day . Humidity is turning out to be a problem . At first it was only reading 45 - but , I moved his water a bit closer to the warm end , and covered 2/3 of the top with cardboard - now it's staying steady at 55 . Still not enough - right ? Tigergenesis says , the heat lamp is probably partly to blame . His under tank heater , is not underneath - when I brought it home , the directions said , if you don't have a stand , to place it on the side of the tank , either at the end or in back . After ten hours , it wasn't warm enough in the tank - so I got the heat lamp . It also says , you can't move it , once it's stuck on - is this true ?
How often should he be deficating ? Some sites I read , say only once every 4 - 6 weeks , while others say about once a week . Confusing ! Either way , he's eaten twice , and hasn't yet "went" at all , as far as I can tell .
That's all I can think of for now - thanks in advance , for your help !

[Marla]

Sounds like you've generally done very well with him. The pine bedding is a no-no, as it contains high levels of phenols that are toxic (as do cedar and redwood). You could end up with a very sick snake if you don't change it, or you might get lucky and he'll be fine. I'd suggest switching to newspaper or paper towels for a few weeks so you can observe him.

I'd highly recommend replacing your analog gauges with a digital combo unit -- many of us here use the AcuRite indoor-outdoor thermometer/hygrometer available at WalMart for ~$15 -- because the digital units are sooo much more acurate than the analog, which can be off by as much as 20 degrees or so. You'll need to take your readings at floor level, where your snake lives.

TG knows what she's talking about, and she's right that heat lamps tend to be humidity-killers. You can't really know how much it's affecting your humidity until you get a good reading on what the level is, though.

As far as defecation, many ball pythons will go 4-6 meals in between, though more or fewer is not uncommon. Most ball pythons will pass urates every 3 to 10 days or so, but feces is commonly less frequent.

[padiente]

You can unstick the pads once they are stuck, just be very gentle and peel it off. You really should have it under the tank, for belly heat. You can get 4 wooden blocks, thick enouigh to hold the cage up a bit, or 2 wooden rails that will elevate the cage a bit, place them under the cage with the heat pad stuck to the bottom. This way the heat pad will be safe. Any you should change the pine to something safer. You might want to try feeding in another container, I use a small steralite drawer, to cut down on the possibility of substrate ingestion, and to lessen the chance of a feeding response when you open the cage, less possibility of you getting tagged Hope that helps

[Shelby]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

You are very fortunate to have a ball python that eats with no fuss. Usually once you get a snake, you let it settle for a week or two before even offering food.

You say he looks like he's grown.. it's highly unlikely he grew 2 inches in 11 days. BPs typically grow at a rate of a foot a year when they are young.

Your snake sounds like a real gem. Most young BPs are extremely headshy, and will even bluff a strike at you if you get too close to their head.

I would actually say a 40gal breeder is too large for a young BP. Your snake may feel uncomfortable in such a large enclosure. Typically, the cage should be 3/4 the length of the snake. So right now, a 15 or 20 gallon would be fine. An adult BP is fine in a 30 gal.

I personally don't use a heat lamp as it is very drying, and you don't want your temps to go too high. If you decide to use it, make sure you have it on a 12 hour on/off cycle. Perpetual light is stressful for a nocturnal snake.

Pine bedding is a huge no no. Newspaper is great, just put enough layers over the heat pad until it reads the right temperature. (temp guns from Pro Exotics are wonderful http://www.proexotics.com/)

Good luck with him!

[padiente]

I thought it was ok to have a large enclosure like that as long as there are plenty of hides. Wsa I wrong?

[green_man]

40 gal is ok if you have alot of hides and fullage. Smaller would be a bit better for the small guys though.

Kinda scary that the pet store is recommending cedar....
darn pet stores.... :evil:

[hhw]

The pet store I go to knew cedar was bad over 10 years ago, when I bought my first corn snake.

As for the growth, 2 inches does seem a bit much for 11 days. However, it's not uncommon for a ball python to grow 2 feet its first year. I'm not sure where your figure of 1 foot comes from, but my guess would be that 1 foot would be the average after taking into account all the ball pythons on maintenance feed. Thus, 1 foot for a ball python fed weekly or more would be fairly conservative.

[Tigergenesis]

Luvit73 - glad to see you made it over here. Welcome! I told you these guys were great and nonjudgemental. The 40g is fine, but I'd add more hides. You can go with a large cage if you provide plenty of hides and cover. I started my 2 month old in a 50g breeder tank - but he had 5 hides and 3 plants for cover.

I don't think I ever asked what your bps name was?

[sk8er4life]

Kinda scary that the pet store is recommending cedar....
darn pet stores....

i know when i got mine they said its an absolute necessary to have a heat lamp??? and then they said u know this snake is goin 2 get around 10 ft right??? its funny when the petstore people act like they know everything about the animals, hey at least they bothered to ask questions and give some advice on the animal!lol

[alexrls]

40 gal is ok if you have a lot of hides and fullage. Smaller would be a bit better for the small guys though.

just wanted to mention that if u get those hanging plants and a background for the tank it makes it seem a lot smaller so that may help ur BP feel more comfy in its new home