New Ball python owner from oversea

[MennoA]

Hi all,

My name is Menno and im from The Netherlands. I recently bought a new hatchling (3 months old) female pastel.
As im not new to snakes, i had a cornsnake, i am new to pythons.

Ive got a nice wooden tank, with a lot of hides and a big waterbowl for her to roam.
Temps are (hold on let me converse ) 86 on the warm side, wich is regulated by a thermostat. And 77 (give or take)on the cold side.
Humidity is around 80% atm, maybe because ive misted the tank a few hours ago. Im still learning to nail this one as my corn wasnt that picky about humidity.
Hopefully she will eat today, as its been a week in het new enclosure.

Here se is:



a few quick questions, whats the best place to put a hygrometer? on the floor or in the air.....
and should i meassure the temp on the floor (on the warm side) or a few inches above it?


best regards

Menno

[MennoA]

just a followup question, do you keep the temp 24/7 on 88 or is it wise to cycle the temp. During dayhours around 88 and in the night around 80?

and yeah shes taken her mice nice and clean

[Dianne]

Welcome aboard...she’s lovely.

For the hot end of my ball python cages, I set the thermostat to keep temps between 88-90F. My thermostat probe is about an inch off the bottom of the cage and I’m using radiant heat panels (RHP) for heat. If you are using an under tank heater (UTH), the temperature probe for your thermostat needs to be between the heat tape/mat and the bottom of the cage. I’ve tecently started spot checking surface temperatures with a heat gun due to the advice from the fine folks here on this site.

The hygrometer can go pretty much anywhere, depending on the type - stand alone vs stick on. For those cages where I use one, I try to set it off to the cool side so it isn’t under or affected by my RHP.

[MennoA]

Thanks for the reply.
I've got an CHE. The probe is now halfway, so I'm gonna lower it a bit then

[Craiga 01453]

Welcome to the forum!!!

To answer your question about placement of hygrometer and where to measure temps, it's important to think of where ball pythons spend their time...on the ground (underground when they can) and hidden. So that's where you want to measure temps and humidity.

There is also no need for a night time temp drop.

You already mentioned that your humidity is a bit high, which I agree. Aim for closer to 60% and bump to 70-75% during shed.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, we're happy to help!

[MennoA]

ok, thanks for the reply.

[Bogertophis]

And Menno, that's a beautiful little ball python you've got!

[Michelle-07]

Hello, veery nice snake you have! Greetings from Czech Republic )