I just got my first ball python!

[bender29]

Hey everyone, I've been heavily browsing these forums all week and I wanted to give a big thank you to everyone. I have learned so much information over the last week.

I just got my first ball python, Apollo, a week ago. I picked him up from a breeder in my area. He is currently around 3 months old.

Anyways I just had a few general questions about him and his environment. I attached a few pictures of him and his tank below. I was just wondering if the environment seems suitable? It's currently a 10 gallon tank; I'm going to move him into a 20 gal. L when he gets a bit a bigger.

I have one UTH on onside of the tank. I haven't gotten a rheostat yet, but I'm going to pick one up this weekend. Ambient temps/humidity are currently 82 degrees and 65%.

This is my first question... how do I lower my humidity? I live in FL, so it's already very humid here. I'm currently using cypress mulch, should I switch to a different substrate? If so, I was thinking about Aspen shavings... I like the aesthetic look of these rather than newspaper etc. My humidity sometimes jumps into the mid-70%s which is getting pretty high... He seems to like the hide over the UTH better so I drilled a few holes in the top because the humidity was so high moisture was completely soaking the top of the hide.

Secondly, how long should I wait until handling him after I feed him? I'm very anxious to start handling him, but he just ate his first meal (from me) yesterday. An adult mouse.

He also shed the day before that. It was a nice clean shed without any broken pieces left on him. I'm assuming the high humidity was good during this period, but now I need it to be lowered.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...97/Apollo1.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...97/Apollo2.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...t297/Cage1.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...t297/Cage2.jpg

So far, I think he is doing pretty good. Any advice would be much appreciated it.

Thanks everyone.

[Argentra]

Well, first off congratz on the new friend, he's quite pretty.

A few things I saw about the enclosure: 1 - find a background you like and cover the back and both sides of the tank. Having it open like that can stress a BP.
2 - See if you can get two identical hides so he doesn't have to choose safety and comfort over temperature.
3 - This is purely aesthetic, but I would add a soft fake plant or two for more cover and nicer look.

I'm not sure about the humidity thing, since I live in very dry Colorado... but a switch to aspen might help since cypress really holds moisture.

[Enve]

Welcome aboard!
Your setup seems ok if I may add a few things...

1. You should measure your temperature gradient (hot side and cool side). You are only seeing your ambient temps in the tank. Acurite (Sold at walmart and target) makes a good thermometer that measures hot cold and humidity.

2. You need to get "something" on that UTH ASAP, it can get very hot and if he prefers the hide over the UTH it will burn him.

3. I would cover the back and sides of the tank with some kind of backing, it will make him feel more secure and comfortable.

As for the humidity, you could change your substrate, use a little less of the cypress, bake it to dry it out, uncover somemore of the top and/or move the water bowl completely away from the UTH. After a feeeding you should leave him alone for 48 hours before handling again. Hope that helps and welcome aboard

[Argentra]

*Slap self* Ah right, the digital thermometer!! Thanks, Enve.

Yes, you should get a good digital thermometer, such as acurite, with probe for warm side and humidity reading. It's best to KNOW what your warm and cool side temps are as well as ambient.

And also, yes to getting a control for that UTH ASAP.

[Enve]

Someones not very alert tonight

[Sinsation]

OOO pretty reduced!!! I love me some reduced patterns.

[bender29]

Thank you Argentra and Enve.

I completely forgot about the background cover. I will have to do that this weekend.

Yeah, I am definitely going to go get a rheostat tomorrow. I didn't realize these things get so hot until recently.

I have an infared temperature gun, would that work as well for measuring the substrate temperatures?

I didn't realize that moving the bowl towards the end of the tank would help with the humidity. Great tip. I think I'm going take a lot of that cypress mulch out and see if that helps any. If it doesn't, I may just change substrates.

I know it isn't a great picture, but judging by his size, roughly what should he be eating? He seemed to eat an adult mouse yesterday very quickly.

[bender29]

OOO pretty reduced!!! I love me some reduced patterns.

What is a "reduced?" Is that just a variation of a "normal"?

[Sinsation]

Reduced is just lack of the spotting within the brown areas basically.
Look through Rabernets photos she has the best reduced's!

[Enve]

No prob! Temp gun will work just fine, also how long have you had that substrate in there? If it's only been a few days it will dry out and your humidity will go down. As for feeding, it's kinda hard to say from the pics, I would say small adult mouse if it's only 3 months old. The prey should be about the same girth of the largest part of the snake.