I've been into snakes since I was a little kid, but was never allowed to have one, now that I'm 19 and out on my own I finally went and bought a Ball Python.

I've spent countless hours researching and obsessing over giving him (I say him but I'm not sure if it's male or female, the guy at the store said female but at the juvenile stage I know it's sometimes hard to be certain.) the best of care.

Anyway, he's in a 10x12x20 tank, I started out with just a hide log, a bowl of water and a 100watt Neodymium daylight bulb. Ive since decided this was far too much for him and switched out for a 50watt "moonlight bulb" and an 8x8 undertank heater. Ive got a thermometer and hygrometer in the tank now as well as a second bowl of water on the opposite end (an empty chip dip container with a hole cut in the lid). After wrapping half the screen lid in saran wrap and a few mistings on the mulch Ive finally been able to maintain a 50% humidity level. As you can imagine this was impossible before with the 100watt bulb.

In the close to 6 weeks now that I've had him he's never given me a problem, eats great every 5-7 days and never struck at me. However, now at the 6 week mark im beginning to wonder when he's going to go into shed...After eating yesterday, he's spent ALL of today soaking in his chip-dip "pool" and I'm wondering if that's a sign of coming into shed OR if the tank is too warm for him with the 50watt moonbulb AND undertank heater going at the same time.

The bulb and heater are both at one end of the tank (the same side an open bowl of water is on to help humidity), his 'pool' is on the other side. The thermometer on the warm side of the tank reads about ~90F with the moonbulb and heater on and now that I turned the bulb off (heater is still on) it's reading ~84F.

So, 50watt moonbulb and undertank heater on 24/7, is this too much? Should I just use the bulb to help supplement heat in the winter? I don't get how he could be hotter now than he was with a 100watt bulb on 12 hours a day...

((also ive included a picture of Legion, posing like a green tree python ))