QUESTION Regarding My new Ball and my arrangement!?!

[ndizzleg]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the forums, and had just recently bought (about a week ago) a 3 week old baby python. I got to choose from 2 at the pet store and the one that I had chose had seemed to be more lively and friendly, so i had went with the female ball. I had been doing a little bit of research and heres my setup

-24"x15"x15 terranium
-(2) Clay Cave Hide Boxes {One on warm side/one on cold side}
-Repti Bark Substrate
- Water Dish (near middle of tank)
- Big tree Branch over the one hide box on the cold side
- (1) Dome style light on warmside {has a 65 watt red bulb}
- (2) Thermometer's {one on lower warmside/one on lower coolside *thermometer on warmside has a humidity gauge too*
- Zoomedic manual thermostat
-under tank heater on warmside {covers only a lil over a 1/4 of tank}

OK thats pretty much everything, I leave the red bulb on throughout the day on the warmside and the temp reads 85-86 on the thermometer and between 45-65% humidity throughout daytime. The cooler side during the day reads between 75-77.
And at nighttime(around 9 when it gets dark) i turn the knob on the thermostat down to medium and the warmside of the tank ends up to be between 80-83 and humidity is around 45-50%. And during the night on the cooler side it reads about 72-75. DOES ALL THIS SOUND ABOUT RIGHT TO MAKE MY NEW BALL HAPPY!? Everything seems normal, he's very easy to handle during the day, isn't skittish at all, seems to yawn a bit lol. Mostly hides during the daytime unless i get him out to handle. But at night he's a little active. Goes between the warmside hide box and eventually back to the coolerside hidebox? IS THIS NORMAL BEHAVIOR FOR MY BALL? Pleeasee respond back experienced ball owners and tell me what you thing!? Thanks everyone!!!

[Houzi88]

Seems good. Post some pics up. I'd love to see your 3 week old baby.

[Indigo]

Temps need to be a bit higher, around 80-84 on the cool side and in the low 90s on the warm! Sounds good other than that. And yes, pictures are needed!

[starmom]

I can't wait to see your new snake! Your set up just needs a wee bit of tweaking. Try to get the warm side up to about 92F and the cool side about 85F. These are 24 hour temps with no night drop. Your ambient temps ought to be about 82F-85F also. Remember, there is a degree or two of scoogie room but no more than that! You'll get really good sheds if you keep the humidity somewhere between 50-60%.
A lot of snake keepers like to not touch their snake for about a week or two after they get it. This allows for the snake to be able to settle in to their new digs. During this time you can change the water and substrate if you need to, but no touching the snake. It's hard to do, but it'll pay off in the end!!
After about 12 days, you can offer her food and then, if she takes it, don't touch her again for another 2 days. This will give her time to digest, and between now and then, you've got your temps to work on!!
Cool cool cool on your new snake!! Congrats!!!

[ThyTempest]

I'm not sure why no one has brought this up yet, but what kind of thermometers and hygrometers are you using? If using stick on or dial types, go to walmart and buy the acurite digital thermometer/hygrometer. It is about 12 dollars and is much better than the stick on or dials, which can be off by over 10 degrees, and the humidity has been noted to be off by over 30%. The acurite thermo/hygro will measure 1 ground temp, which is usually under the warm hide with the probe, ambient temp, usually place the unit itself on the cooler side, as well as humidity. Hope this helps, and check out the stickies for more tips.

[ndizzleg]

Well i went to Petco today and bought 2 Fluker's Digital Thermometers. They both have built in humidity readings too. I placed the warmside one at the bottom of the terranium and one at the lower cooler side of the terranium. So all in all those should work And i'll adjust my temps accordingly

[missi182]

Well i went to Petco today and bought 2 Fluker's Digital Thermometers. They both have built in humidity readings too. I placed the warmside one at the bottom of the terranium and one at the lower cooler side of the terranium. So all in all those should work And i'll adjust my temps accordingly

Sounds good! Do those thermometers have probes to measure surface temps? That is very important to know because the temp above your UTH can be several degrees lower than the actual temp of the glass that your bp can access should she burrow under the substrate. That is one of the main reasons an accurite is a good device to use (and its not expensive)

Overall it sounds like your doing great so far.

[ndizzleg]

No they don't have probes. I know what your talking about though, i've seen those before. But im going to wait a little bit to read the temp's. They keep climbing gradually soo ill let ya know what they read in about 20 minutes or so.

[littleindiangirl]

Well i went to Petco today and bought 2 Fluker's Digital Thermometers. They both have built in humidity readings too. I placed the warmside one at the bottom of the terranium and one at the lower cooler side of the terranium. So all in all those should work And i'll adjust my temps accordingly

At least one of them I've seen at pestmart (lol) does, I'm not sure if it was flukers or not.

I also have one of the thermo/hygrometers by flukers, and it does do a very good job of measuring.

[ndizzleg]

Ohhh yeah, does anyones ball just ever lay out like half way between the warmside & coldside and just chill for a bit??? Just wondering!? Thanks everyone!