New to this site and to snakes!

[Steph80]

Hi everyone! I am the new proud owner of a 2 month Ball Python named Jordan. I have had him for about a week. I did get him at Petco, and because of things I have read I have concerns I was not given enough info. Jordan's habitat set up is a 10 gal tank, snake carpet for substrate, water bowl, hide on each side (water in the middle), and a climbing vine/branch. As far as heat and humidity...aside from the water bowl, the hide on the cooler side has moss in it that I keep a little moist and change ever couple of days. The humidity has been around 55%. There is an UTH under one side set at 90 degrees and there are 2 lamps, one night and one day. Does this set up sound ok? I just want to make everything perfect for him. He has been to the vet, and got a clean bill of health...I would just like to keep it that way :-)

[Zincubus]

Welcome !!!!


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[Eavlynn]

Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you're doing a good job for little Jordan. I'd keep spare a repticarpet on hand, since they seem to get dirty quick with feeding and pooping and whatnot.

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[OTorresUSMC]

I would not use the carpet. You can not spot clean them. Which means every time the snake poops you have to either leave the carpet in there with the liquid that you couldnt clean or you have to pull the carpet every time, clean it and put it back. I personally use coconut husk bedding. Holds moisture very well without mold risk which is great for humidity. I spot clean when they poop removing the bedding from just that area and replacing with a small amout and i change the entire bedding every month or so. 55% humidity is good. Make sure the UTH is on a thermostat which im guessing it is since you said its set at 90. So other than the carpet your setup sounds A OK. Just curious did you get a morph or a normal?? And welcome to the site and to the wonderful world of ball python ownership.

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[Steph80]

[QUOTE=OTorresUSMC;2478196]I would not use the carpet. You can not spot clean them. Which means every time the snake poops you have to either leave the carpet in there with the liquid that you couldnt clean or you have to pull the carpet every time, clean it and put it back. I personally use coconut husk bedding. Holds moisture very well without mold risk which is great for humidity. I spot clean when they poop removing the bedding from just that area and replacing with a small amout and i change the entire bedding every month or so. 55% humidity is good. Make sure the UTH is on a thermostat which im guessing it is since you said its set at 90. So other than the carpet your setup sounds A OK. Just curious did you get a morph or a normal?? And welcome to the site and to the wonderful world of ball python ownership.

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

Jordan is a normal ball python, not to say I won't look into a morph someday should I choose to get another. I have been very confussed about bedding, and got the carpet after his vet recomended it. If I go with the coconut bedding, should I still use the moist moss in his hide? Also the heat pad and lamps are on a thermostat, however I have not seen it shut off at all...and I check often because I am paranoid. Is this normal?

Oh and an additional question. He is on f/t mice. The pet store was feeding in a seperate container, so I did the same (the one time I have fed him). What I am concerned about is that they said to feed him one fuzzy every 7 days. When I went to buy him food, the fuzzies were tiny comparwd to his widest part. I fed him 2 hoppers that he quickly devoured, and honestly he probably would have eaten another. He is 85 grams and about 18 inches, so what should he be eating and how often?

Sidenote too, the vet probed him and said she is fairly certain that Jordan is actually female but wont know for sure until he gets bigger. Is that normal, or should an experienced herp vet be able to tell now?

[OTorresUSMC]

Ok lets take these in order and hopefully i get them all lol
For the moss you may still need it because you are using a heat lamp. They really dry stuff out. The coconut in the hides however will not be in direct light and should hold the moisture much better. Start with just the coconut, and see what the humidity levels are in the hides. You may find a misting every couple days is all you need(thats what works for me) The thermometers i use have probes that measure temp and humidity both. As far as the lamp and heat pad not shutting off what kind of thermostat are you using? Is it an on/off or a proportional? Mine is an on off with a little light that shows when it is heating and when it is not. I never used a light on a thermostat so i can not offer advice there. Also if you have both the light and the pad on the same thermostat where is the thermostat probe?
For feeding try and feed a mouse that is equivalent to the thickest part of the snakes body. Since he is a hatchling you can feed every 5 days. If the mice are smaller than his widest part then yes you may want to feed two of them. As far as a separate container you will find proponents of both methods. My personal opinion it is truly not necessay and could be a negative. Ball pythons are easily stressed snakes. Moving them to different enclosures could make them not want to feed. Just feed in his tank. This post is getting long so i wont bother with the line of thought as to why people feed in a separate container haha. As far as the sex it is not uncommon for a ball python to be difficult to sex. Being a vet yes they should know what they are doing but its likely because the snake is so small that he is not sure. Take him back when the snake is a few hundred grams and they should be able to confirm no problem.

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[Steph80]

Thank you for your info and suggestions! As far as the thermostat, not sure what kind it is but it has 2 lights one for power and the other for heat source power. It said on tue package to plug all heat sources into it, so thats why I plugged the lamps in there too (just switching night and day every 12 hours). I have to admit I have a crappy thermometer, so exact air temps are not reading, I will be replacing that very soon. The thermostat air probe is about a half an inch over the hide on the hot side

[OTorresUSMC]

Thank you for your info and suggestions! As far as the thermostat, not sure what kind it is but it has 2 lights one for power and the other for heat source power. It said on tue package to plug all heat sources into it, so thats why I plugged the lamps in there too (just switching night and day every 12 hours). I have to admit I have a crappy thermometer, so exact air temps are not reading, I will be replacing that very soon. The thermostat air probe is about a half an inch over the hide on the hot side

Ok your lamp and pad should not be on the same thermostat. They are two different heat sources that heat at different rates and to different levels. Second your thermostat probe should be outside of your enclouse and sandwiched between your heat pad and the tank glass. This ensures that the heat pad, which your snake will lay on, will never get above a safe temp for your snake. You should do this immediately. With that method your 90 degree setting should be fine tho you may find you need 91 or 92 to get the temp inside the hide up to where you want it. You should then have a thermometer with a probe and that probe should be in the hot hide under the bedding. This is where you monitor your temp and adjust your thermostat accordingly. You put the probe under the bedding because balls are notorious for curling up into the bedding and generally end up right on the glass so you need to make sure that glass is a safe temp. The thermometers i use for temp and humidity are available on repitlebasics.com for just $12. Also any pet store should have a thermometer with a probe for fish tanks and such they just wont do humidity is all. For your lamp you can adjust its placement based on the temps you need or buy a lamp dimmer at like a lowes or online then adjust the power on the dimmer based on the target temp you want. Zoomed also makes a dome lamp with a dimmer already on it which you should be able to find at petco.

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[OTorresUSMC]

I FOUND IT!! I think this pic is famous on the website haha. Very simple depiction of a correct set up


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[cletus]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of good info here!