BP Setup Check: Tell me what you think

[bcampos]

Hey Guys,
My name is Ben; I'm from Jersey and I have just recently purchased a Ball Python. This is my first snake. I have had a variety of animals, specifically dogs, and this is my first real reptile. I have read alot of the forums on husbandry and have read a book I purchased regarding these snakes prior to my purchase.

The only thing that I will probably be questioned on hard is where I bought my snake: Petco.... I know I know.... I've read it all on here, but it's done and over with and now I have my snake....

I've had my snake (Gaston) for 5 days now.... I've handled him a couple of times to which he was very tame, and crawled around my hands and arms happily.... For the past 3 days I have abstained from handling him as I have read about in these forums, so that he can adjust to the new surroundings and begin to eat.....

Now onto the setup, for your review please... Tell me what you think:

Tank: 30 Gallon "Critter Cage" with sliding screen top....
Substrate Astroturph
Water Bowl
Log Hide
Rock Hide
(2) Wood objects
(2) Thermometers
(1) Hygrometer
(1) Daytime Lamp 0800-2000
(1) Nightime Lamp (same side) 2000-0800
Under tank heater on hot side of tank

I have the tank graded in temperature from 90 degrees on the left to 80 degrees on the right. I have had some humidity issues... It's about 55% now.. I think i'm going to cover up some of the screen to help keep in some moisture. (tell me what you think of that)

Feeding: According to the reading that I have done, my 16" - 18" snake is somewhere between pinkies and fuzzies. On day 2 I purchased a fuzzy and attempted to feed the snake, however he did not eat. I removed said fuzzy and discarded it. I then read that I should wait 2 weeks before feeding a snake in a new habitat.

Snake Activity: Gaston generally stays in the log hide during the day, with a short appearance to explore in the early evening. He is most active while being handled, but as I said before I am abstaining from handling until he has a few mice in his belly.

Now for everyone's favorite part: PICTURES!!!!!

Gaston Mantooth: My Baby Ball Python


Tank Setup:


Tank Overhead View Including Sliding Lid:


Hides/Sticks/Things:


Thanks for any information you can provide. I'm looking forward to Gaston's First Meal.....

A note on my Petco purchase.... Gaston is a Petco Purchase, and I undoubtedly should have gone somewhere else... I was able to find out that he is captive bred... I have a friend at the store who was able to get invoice information regarding the purchase, and it stated 6 Baby Ball Pythons Captive Bred... I am going to try to call the company on the invoice to double confirm.

Thanks again,

Ben

[CntrlF8]

Not bad.. You'll need to match up your hides, preferably by getting rid of the log hide (not a favorite of BP's usually) and replacing with an identical rock hide on the hot side. I would definately suggest covering part of the screen top to hold in the moisture. You'll need to experiment with that to get the proportions of covered/uncovered correct for your situation. You might also want to bump your warm/cool temps up a couple degrees. 90/80 is acceptable, but 92-94/82-84 is considered ideal.

Also get a digital thermometer/hygrometer. The cheap accurite model at wal-mart costs $11 and has an indoor/outdoor temp feature that uses a wired probe to get the ouside temp. Set the probe up on the floor of the enclosure in the center of your hot spot UNDER your hide and attach (with tape or similar) the main body which contains the other temp probe and the hygrometer probe to the cool end.

[hoo-t]

Actually, if you're reading 90 degrees with your thermometers where they are, and assuming its accurate, Its probably too hot. That temp should be taken at ground level.

Steve

[CntrlF8]

Actually, if you're reading 90 degrees with your thermometers where they are, and assuming its accurate, Its probably too hot. That temp should be taken at ground level.

Steve

Good point. I didn't take the location of the thermometers into consideration, which I should have. Thank you for correcting me.

[xdeus]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on getting a Ball!

You have a very nice looking setup, however... it's not very practical for your snake. Ball Pythons like small, enclosed areas especially when being introduced to a new environment. Young Balls are particularly prone to stress, and large enclosures can often stress a Ball Python.

A 10 gallon tank would be more appropriate as well as replacing those hides so that your snake will fit snugly inside feeling the sides of the enclosure when coiled up inside.

The lights may work for heating, but they will really dry up the humidity in the tank and you may find that your snake will have stuck sheds. You could try covering the tank lid with aluminum foil in order to keep the humidity in. An ideal solution would be an Under Tank Heater (UTH) connected to a quality thermostat. You could also supplement that with a low-wattage light as glass tanks are typically more difficult to keep warm.

The sticky thermometer and hydrometer are pretty popular, but they're not very accurate... especially the thermometer as it only tells the temperature near the glass and not what the snake is feeling. A better solution would be to replace those with an Accurite thermometer that you can find at Walmart. You place it directly on the cage bottom and it will tell you the temps on the cool side, the warm side (preferable under the warm side hide via a probe), and the humidity. They only cost about $13 and are well worth the investment.

Finally, I would suggest that you read our caresheet. It's chock full of all sorts of helpful information.

Good luck!

[Kagez28]

defiantly too hot if those dials say 90... they are usually 5-10 degrees off, not to mention they are 2 inches above the ground.

i recommend getting a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer and hygrometer, they are called acurties and can find them at walmart for $12.

i would do that first because those dials are not giving you a good reading, and that is possibly dangerous for your snake, as he could get burned.

are you using anything to control the temps of the under tank heat?

EDIT: i gotta learn to type faster

[dr del]

Hi,

to the site.

You might also want to have a look at our glass tank setup sticky for ideas.



dr del

[dalvers63]

i would also suggest that you start with rat pinks or fuzzys, not mice. Most hatchling ball pythons are more than big enough to take rat pinks. If (after you've let him adjust to the new tank and get all of your husbandry issues taken care of) you find he isn't interested in rat pinks, try a hopper mouse. Most won't eat prey that is too small for them which could be a problem with a fuzzy mouse.

Some balls are mouse eaters in the beginning (two of my hatchlings are) and some are rat eaters.

Good luck with your new baby and

[bcampos]

OK Guys I am back from the store:

I honestly thought I was on the right track here after reading this stuff... But aparently I messed up big time. So here's the modifications since my last post:

Ran out and got an indoor outdoor thermometer with probe. I placed the probe under the hot side hide. Speaking of hides, i now have two slightly smaller identical hides, one hot side one cold side. I also picked up a thermostat for the heat pad, and ran the probe as instructed in the glass tank set up sticky....

You guys were right about those junk thermometers. I removed the snake from the tank, set up the new thermo's at the same heat settings, and it was 84 cold side 99 hot side... I seam to have it now at 81 cold side 94 hot side...

Oh yeah, please disregard the temperatures in the picture, I just started the light and heat pad when I took the pic and it hadn't made it up to temp yet.

How is it looking now?

[xdeus]

Looks much better. You may still have to cover that lid in order to boost humidity. Also, if you have problems with getting your snake to eat it may be due to the tank being too large. You can try placing a lot of crumpled up newspaper in the tank to let your snake feel more secure.

One last thing... what's up with the lock?