ball python newb and I have a couple questions about my tank

[mm91187]

Hello.. i just got me a ball python last Saturday in the Dixie reptile show and I have a question about my tank setup. Right now the humidty is at 60% (the larger gauge) and the tempurature is 80F(to the right of the humidty gauge) and I have another gauage sitting on top of the log and it reads 88F. Is the tempurature and the humidity good for him? Usually when I come home he will be laying right under the lamp, he used to always be laying on top of the pillars directly under the lamp(because he was cold?) but I got him one of those under the tank heating pads so now he is usually cuddled under the log or around the pillars. The heating mat is under the log to the right a bit. The substrate is reptibark. Also, is there anything I should add/remove from the tank? I havent fed him yet but I have him some frozen mice already. My brother feeds his snakes (kingsnake and western hognose) in separate cages, should I do the same also?
Here are a couple pictures of the tank, and my snake it wrapped around the pillars.

[shhhli]

i believe the humidity is fine, but are you saying its around the 80s thoroughout? try and break up the temperature with 80s on one side and 90s on the other.


Btw- had to post simply because it was the Dixie Reptile Show- Sweet! tis the only one i know of around in the Alabama area that ive got easy access to.

[Krynos]

Pretty good!


I'd tweek it some more. The basics of what you need are:

A temperature gradient - as in one side of the tank at 92F one side at 82F to allow your snake to thermoregulate.

60% humidity - rising to 80% during sheds.

A hide available on the warm side and the cool side.


So I would put a UHT on the warmside with a thermostat set to 92F, move the lamp to the center, put the water bowl directly underneath it. Get a digital thermometer/humidstat (way more accurate that the strip or dial kind), also a IR temp gun is great for measuring the temps of the substrate the snake is on to make sure you are hitting the 82/92 gradient.

Also the mesh top on that viv will allow heat and humidity to escape (we use the same kind), so you can put some plastic food wrap over it, or have some plexiglass cut to fit, with a hole for the heat lamp to go above.

(I personally also add a UHT to the cool side with it's own thermostat, but that's overkill to be honest!)

[frankykeno]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your first ball python! Here's the link to our caresheet on bp's. It will give you the specifics for these snakes and should be a lot of help to you.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

Just a suggestion but those analog gauges are known to be very unreliable and can be off by quite a bit. Here's what a lot of us use.



It's actually not sold for snakes but works very well. You can find it at WalMart (brand name Acu-Rite) for around $12.00 or at Lowe's or Home Depot (sold under another brand name), that plus the cost of one AAA battery. It defaults to time, temp and humidity but push a few buttons and you have two temps plus humidity. Very handy and very reliable to monitor your environment.

Once you get your temps and humidity within the correct ranges, just let your snake settle in for a good week of no handling and you should be good to go for your first feeding attempt.


~~Jo~~

[mm91187]

alrighty, how can i get the tempurature hotter in there? I think its only 88F because of the lamp, but if I move the lamp to the center of the cage the tempurature will prolly drop down. i forgot to say its a 20 gallon long tank

[Krynos]

The heating pads that stick to the underside of the tank are highly recommended, but use a thermostat with them. That's what I was talking about.

Around here big pet stores and reptile stores tend to carry both the ZooMed and T-Rex brands, along with ZooMed thermostats (not so good) and Alife thermostats (okay).

If there is no where local to you, then MG Reptiles can hook you up with what you need. They are a forum sponsor, you should be able to find the ad

[Krynos]

I forgot to add that the temps you are mostly concerned with are the belly temps, as in the temperature of the bedding you are using. A stick on thermometer will measure the air temp at its location. You need a thermometer with a probe, or a IR temp gun to take readings of the bottom.

For example, in our balls enclosure (also a 20L and pretty similar to yours) the stick on thermometer for measuring air temps read 78-82 most of the time, depending on the temp of the room. The cool side belly temps are 82 and the warmside belly temps are 92.

I hope that clears up what I was trying to explain a little

[mm91187]

ooh I get it now.. awesome man. aruond here we have a Petco, a petsmart and a Wetpets, so they should carry a thermostat in one of those. Ill have to stop by walmart this week and get an acu-rite

[JLC]

alrighty, how can i get the tempurature hotter in there? I think its only 88F because of the lamp, but if I move the lamp to the center of the cage the tempurature will prolly drop down. i forgot to say its a 20 gallon long tank

If you've got a UTH plugged in without any regulation, it can get really HOT. Chances are your temps are much higher than you think they are. The very first thing you need to do is get an acurate reading of temps. The thermometer that Jo gave a picture of is really great, inexpensive, and easily obtained.

I would also get that UTH plugged into a rheostat (dimmer switch) so you can keep it from getting too hot and burning your snake. You can get these very inexpensively at any hardware store and the heating unit just plugs right into it. Easy as pie.

EDIT: The rheostat is just a first step to controlling those temps. If you get a thermostat first, you can skip the dimmer all together...although it may still be useful to control temps on the cool side of the tank if you need a second heat source to get the right gradient.

[JLC]

ooh I get it now.. awesome man. aruond here we have a Petco, a petsmart and a Wetpets, so they should carry a thermostat in one of those. Ill have to stop by walmart this week and get an acu-rite

Are you in Montgomery?? I just moved away from there this past summer. Wetpets was a really neat pet store with some awesome herps!!