Will this idea work/ Opinions on my setup

[Joci]

Hello again friends,
This past week I have noticed some (possibly) odd behavior in my three month old ball python Fírnen. During the day, he seems to be more active than usual. He still hides, but he often roams and flicks his tongue.
I'm thinking that it could be:
1. That he is stressed out from all the space that he has in his 20 gal tank
2. He is hungry
3. He is stressed out because I have handled him for about five minutes a few times this week

His humidity and temps are fine, 90-95 degrees on the warm side and 78-83 degrees on the cool side. Ambient humidity is about 50-70 at all times. He has a UTH on the warm side for a hotspot, it is on a thermostat set to 95. I am thinking that these temps might be too hot, but I'm not sure (hence this post).

To address the tank size issue, I was thinking of buying some black foam core board and cutting it to fit inside the tank as a wall to split the tank in half the long way. That way he still has his heat gradient and hotspot, but he also feels more cramped, cozy, and safe.
What do y'all think of this idea/my current temps and humidity?

[SDA]

Too high a temp can cause increased activity in a ball trying to find a cool spot to regulate.

Hot side should be around 88-90 inside the hot hide but your cool side temps seem just fine. that 95 concerns me as it may be too hot and if he only has one hide then he has no place to cool off an hide.


Not sure how many hides you have, how blocked off the tank is and if he has any coverings like artificial vegetation to feel more secure. Little ones tend to fare better when they feel snug and safe.

[Starscream]

I agree that the ambients on the hot side are a bit too hot. 88 degrees is my max for the hot side, and 92 for the surface temp of the hot spot (measured by an infrared heat gun). Your humidity sounds good, and your cool side ambients are also sound.

What you could do is add more cover, such as fake plants or leaf litter, or balled up paper towels -- just so long as you give the snake more visual barriers. Giving them the ability to have some space and decide where they want to be is important, but they also need to feel secure, and that involves adding more things and hides so they have more options.

[Joci]

Thank you for replying, I'll lower the warm temps. He currently has two hides, one on the cool side, one on the warm. He doesn't have any foliage, but I was planning on purchasing that soon. I like the idea of blocking the sides of the tank and now that you mention it, that's probably what I'll use the foam core boards for.

[Joci]

He actually does have balled up paper towels, but I think you all are right about giving him more cover

[Coluber42]

Since he's young and presumably growing, it's also possible that the prey size that used to keep him satisfied for awhile doesn't last him as long and it's time to bump it up. Sometimes you don't notice how much your young'uns are growing when you see them every day until suddenly they're borrowing your clothes and cramming for the SAT.

Could also be that he's getting more comfortable in his environment and coming out to hunt more. Although I agree with others that your hot side is probably too hot, especially in a relatively small space; and during the day it may be even hotter than you think if the tank also gets more sunlight in the window this time of year or your house heats up in the afternoon. A thermostat should take care of that - if you don't have one, you should in any case.

[Joci]

Thanks for the reply!
His UTH is on a thermostat, since it is important to make sure he doesn't get burned. As for prey size, I had had issues getting him to eat, so he is temporarily on fuzzies while I am getting him eating (very small, I know). Today is feeding day and I'm on the last fuzzie. After he eats this last one I am going to start offering him small mice or rat fuzzies, depending on which one is available at my local pet store.

Edit: The last time I weighed him he was 71 grams. He was 54 grams when I got him at three weeks old, so he is improving slowly but surely. This is one of the reasons I was temporarily feeding him a smaller meal.

[SDA]

If you can start on rat fuzzies it might benefit down the road. I have read a few people on here had some effort migrating to rats so if you can start on rats early and get that successful you might have an easier time moving to small or medium rats in the future.

[Joci]

If you can start on rat fuzzies it might benefit down the road. I have read a few people on here had some effort migrating to rats so if you can start on rats early and get that successful you might have an easier time moving to small or medium rats in the future.

I completely agree with you, and I am trying to find f/t rats for a reasonable price. Do any of you know any good sellers that you would recommend?

[SDA]

I use and swear by big cheese rodents. The only problem is they sometimes run out of stock but you can easily view on their site if they have them in. The quality is top notch and packaging is really well done. I buy 3 trays of small rats at a time and 45 lasts my adult over 5 months.

They sell in trays of set amount per tray but you can get different sizes on the same order (per tray of course). Only issue I would see is your snake outgrowing a tray before being done with that size. If that isn't the case, rat fuzzies are 25 per tray.

If you are worried about quantity and your snake outgrowing them, I think perfect prey offers smaller quantities. However shipping would be expensive if you aren't buying in a bigger bulk.

Buying in bulk online saves so much over local pet shops but again if you are feeding a juvenile that keeps growing I could see it being a concern.

Check and see if a reptile show is coming up in your area as that is hands down the best place to get frozen rodents.

Either way if the size is only temporary, paying the little extra for a small volume from a local store might be the way to go until you get to the next size up and can have a larger amount for a while.