Morgaine (Baby) Progression Thread

[TwitchyWitchyGirl]

Hello All! I just brought home my first (of my own) ball python baby, she's normal, but gorgeous and the sweetest little thing. My first pet was actually a lady ball named Cleopatra, she was my mother's snake and we had her until I was about 10 (she was roughly 20 or so) and I have wanted to get one of my own ever since (it took awhile for my partner to become okay with the idea) and now we finally got one for my birthday!

So without further ado, here is Morgaine! She is just over 2 months old and from a local herp shop that breeds in house. I didn't get a chance to weigh her when I got her home as she was a bit stressed from the drive, so I figured I would just weigh her in a few days before her first feeding, however later that night (when I fully expected her to be hiding for her adjustment period) I saw her out exploring, which then changed to hunting behavior, which I found interesting. So I thawed out a F/T Hopper (which is what she was eating at the shop) and figured the worst that would happen would be that she would ignore it, but she grabbed it as soon as I put it in. She's been hiding under her warm hide since Friday night, so I haven't been able to get many pictures of her, but I have a few since before she ate.







I have since turned the half log to be flush against the back of the tank and there is driftwood leading up to a basking spot/climbing spot. The tank also has an image wrap around it for security. (Also I know that those humidity gauges aren't very accurate, but the Walmart near me didn't have any of the digital thermometer/hydrometer I typically use for my other herps, so I got it for the time being and ordered the one I like).

[TwitchyWitchyGirl]

Did some handling last night, not for very long, just a couple of minutes until she made it clear that she was done. She let me pick her up and hold her without moving defensively or balling, which was honestly a little surprising, but the place that I got her from is amazing about regular handling of babies and also starts them off with F/T so I feel like they did all of the hard work for me. I kept the tank set-up as close as possible to the set-up at the shop, it's just bigger. (She loves her half-log, but it make it more secure I've put a wrap around the tank so it's pushed up against the glass on one end.

Got her one the scale as well and she weighed in at exactly 100g, but she does have one hopper in her and hasn't pooped yet. I'll get a fresh weigh in after her first poop.

I added a moist hide last night as well since I'm having humidity trouble (it wants to sit around 45%). I used a glass mason jar on its side and some moss. She explored in and on top of it yesterday, stayed in it for a little bit, continued to explore, and then I found her back sleeping in her warm hide this morning. She definitely explores and climbs on her driftwood branch a lot!

[TwitchyWitchyGirl]

Someone ate for the second time for me tonight! I must have gotten the easiest going snake in the world, because after reading so many of the "Baby won't eat" posts on here I was honestly worried. Either that or she's just a fatty in the making haha.

Here is a pre-feeding picture I got of her on her new moist hide (desperately fighting humidity levels, I live in a particularly dry apartment, in a dry area, in the middle of a drought and since we're in New England I've had to turn the heat on in the apartment which has only made it more dry.) Has anyone had any success with having a regular humidifier in the same room?

[Coluber42]

I'm in New England, too. Yes, it gets very dry in the winter!
The first thing you can do for humidity is to cover as much of the screen top with aluminum foil as you can, only leaving an opening for any heat source you have that needs to shine through it. Next, use a larger water dish and position it over the UTH or under the heat lamp or whatever you have. If that still doesn't do it, add another water bowl; or piles/handfuls of damp sphagnum moss or some other substrate that holds more water; or add another water bowl with a washcloth or sponge or paper towel sticking out of it to increase the surface area that water can evaporate from.
A full room humidifier might help some, but its effects will be limited. First, because a small humidifier that puts out a gallon or less per day into a whole room isn't adding very much at all to the small handful of cubic feet your snake lives in. And second, because warm air "holds" more moisture than cooler air, and the room is probably not 80 degrees in the winter. If the room is 60 degrees at 50% humidity, the same moisture content in the air will make it something like 25% humidity at 80 degrees. You can't humidify the room enough to keep the humidity in the cage appropriate unless you also limit the moisture loss due to ventilation.

Also, you should get a digital thermometer/hygrometer. Those dial ones are not reliable.

[TwitchyWitchyGirl]

I explained the dialer humidity gauge above. I usually use a combo one with a probe from walmart, but my local one was out, so I ordered one and this one is holding me over until then. I do have two digital thermometers with probes in the enclosure.

As for humidity, right now I have a water dish on the warm side, and a moist hide, and moss throughout a bunch of the tank. I have also covered all but where the heat lamp is with plastic wrap, it's been like that since i took her home and it still dries out within a couple of hours. I even woke up feeling like a husk this morning, red eyes and everything

I'll switcj the plastic wrap to aluminum foil, I just didn't want to mess with the temperatures too much.

[Coluber42]

Sorry, I missed the part where you said you'd ordered a different thermometer.

Plastic wrap or aluminum foil won't make much difference - they're both impermeable. Although foil will let you it closer to the heat lamp. But honestly, the hole for the heat lamp is going to cause problems regardless. A radiant heat panel is a good alternative to the heat lamp, because it goes inside the lid and doesn't require a hole in the foil like the lamp does. They're expensive, but they work well and never need replacing like bulbs. You will need to do some minor modification to the lid to attach it.

You can try a different substrate, such as eco earth, that holds water better. Or even just make piles of it in a few place instead of using it throughout. Live plants help, too - plus they're attractive and good for air quality, and give the snake more things to hide behind.

[TwitchyWitchyGirl]

Haha, I've thought of live plants but I honestly have a black thumb. Any suggestions for plants that tend to do well in snake enclosures? a friend of mine suggested a layer of Eco Earth below the mulch, as that's what she does with her cornsnake. Would that help? I moved her water dish a bit so that more of it is over the UTH, I'm hoping that might help as well.

I'm just really worried because I leave the house and it says 65-70 (right after spraying) and then I get home from work at it's way down near 30.

[Neal]

I would try to switch to f/t rats, your baby can eat rat fuzzies. I personally would recommend trying to make the switch as soon as you can.

Also, I wanted to touch base with you on a few things.

1.) Hides, I would put two identical hides on each side of the tank and I wouldn't use those log hides as the snake isn't going to feel secure like it would with a hide that only has one opening. You can order some great ones from Reptile Basics.
2.) Water bowl, If you go to pet smart, and check near the dog/cat section where they have a huge assortment of water bowls you can get a clay water bowl for a few dollars. They have some weight to them and IMO are a better choice than the ones under the reptile section.

[TwitchyWitchyGirl]

I actually agree, I hate half logs, however that is specifically the one that she had in her enclosure before I got her, so I took it with her because I figured she would be more comfortable. In order to make it more secure I put it up against the glass and covered the glass in dark paper, so it is really only open on one side. I haven't noticed her favoring one or the other, she curls up in the warm one after she eats and I have seen her in the cooler ones as well.

I will also be switching her to rat fuzzies soon as well, but I got hoppers to begin with since she was on hoppers before I got her and I wanted to make sure she got a few meals in her before I switched her to rats.

[cletus]

Congrats on your new little girl!