In need of some help..

[Trigger]

Hello everyone. I recently have came into some money with tax season and all and I can finally afford to get a ball python!!!! Wich is veary exciteing for me as ive wanted one for years ... I breed leopard geckos but a snake is in my veary near future. So I go out with my basic knowledge of snakes and reptiles in general to purchase some stuff for my new scaled friend. I buy as follow : U.T.H , Repti bark and eco earth type substrate for a good mix , half log for a hide , fake tree for plenty of climbing room and a appropriate sized water dish. Over to walmart for two accu-rite`s and some heat lamps, one with a 60 watt generic heat reptile bulb. And one the same but with a night bulb.So I go home with this to setup, at first I bought a 20 gallon but wasent satisfied and I dont think my bp would be later on either , so back to the store it was.. this time I arrived at home with a 40 gallon tank. I install the uth, substarte, hides, trees, and water bowl. Plug everything in and place the Accu-rites in. I come back abit later hopeing for some stable temps but to no avail.... it seems I cant get my temps above 75 degrees on the hot side and that just wont cut it..... would a ceramic heater be better or maybe higher wattage bulbs? I dont want to get the snake till the habitat is stable for atleast a day and I can record the highs and lows. Any help is greatly appreciated so I can get my soon to be snake home and get the "ball" rolling .


Best regards
Ryan

[jglass38]

A couple things:

1. a 40 Gallon for a baby is way too big. You will end up with a stressed out baby.
2. I would use multiple hides so he doesnt have to choice temperature over security.
3. What is the temp of the room?
4. Where are you measuring this temp?
5. What are you using to control the UTH temp?

Its good to see people do research before buying and making sure everything is right. We will all do our best to help you get it right.

Jamie

[Shelby]

Hello.

If you are getting a baby BP, a 40 gallon tank is not a good choice. Young boids are nervous animals.. nothing bigger than a ten gallon tank for a baby. Large spaces are actually stressful on a baby. Even an adult BP needs no bigger than a 30 gallon tank.

I don't use lamps for any of my snakes.. I use flexwatt (heat tape.. it's an UTH that you can buy by the foot) plugged into a thermostat. Thermostats are extremely important.. without them your UTH will get too hot. Matt at mgreptiles can get you what you need as far as heating goes.. and most anything else too. http://www.mgreptiles.com/

As far as hides.. I don't like those half logs. They are too open.. not secure enough for a BP. You also need at least two (one on warm side one on cool side) something dark and tight is good for a hide. A lot of people use the plastic house plant saucers that go under potted plants.. I use washed out TV dinner trays, and whatever else I can find.

Be sure to read our care sheet.. it covers just about everything. http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=52

[Trigger]

Hmmm ... I thought teh tank might be abit big but their in what looks to be a 50 gallon long at the pet store. The floor heater is set at 72 degrees consitantly... if i use it more our bill would be outrageous. I have more then one hide .. I guess i forgot to mention it.. one half log, one rock hide, a leafy hide with cave .. etc . I put the probs on the back glass section of the cage .... its inside hte cage just on the back wall ... I dont have a rheostat yet for the uth so no way to measure the temp on that yet.

[iceman25]

Welcome! Always glad to see new bp owners do research beforehand! Here is a link that will help you setting up a glass tank(if you want to go with a tank).

Glass Vivarium setup

Also, consider returning your UTH and getting a flexwatt and thermostat from mgreptiles.com as April(Shelby) suggested.

[Trigger]

I know I should wind up wit ha smaller tank but i dont understand how a bigger tank is stressing out an animal that normally lives in a forest wich is MUCH bigger. I guess because theri burrows or dens are smaller? I have the 40 gallon setup already . I just hate seeing 109$ go down the drain for the tank... ahh well.

[iceman25]

I know I should wind up wit ha smaller tank but i dont understand how a bigger tank is stressing out an animal that normally lives in a forest wich is MUCH bigger. I guess because theri burrows or dens are smaller? I have the 40 gallon setup already . I just hate seeing 109$ go down the drain for the tank... ahh well.

Ball Pythons live in rodent burrows in the wild. So they will be stressed out by large, transparent enclosures. Its a no brainer Can you not return the tank for a smaller one?

[Trigger]

Nope... no returns...... dang.Would it be possible to put a background up on 3 out the 4 sides of the tank?

[jglass38]

How about a divider and only using one side? I dont think a background is going to make a difference.

[iceman25]

Go, through the link I gave you in my first post. Its a really good tutorial on setting up a glass tank. If you cannot return the tank, consider providing as many "tight fitting" hides as you can. The tight fitting is a must for these animals and the large gapping wooden logs will not cut it in making them "feel" secure. The best I have found are the little "pot plates." Knock a hole out on the top or on the side and get rid of all the jagged edges. Provide many of these as you can.