Another newbie with questions!

[Zafra]

I did post over in my introduction that my hubby had already lost the first snake we bought, but I'm happy to say I have him/her back!

So, now since we bought another one anticipating the worst, we have two. I decided we should keep both, but I'll see if it's feasible...

When I brought Thing 1 (temporary names! LOL) home, it was an impulsive purchase, but since we'd owned a ball several years ago, not a completely ignorant one. We put him in what amounts to about a 20 gal. plastic tub w/ one of those lids that matches-up and locks together in the center. I had it already, and hubby drilled some holes in it. We bought a digital therm. and some aspen bedding. Since we put the tub in our 'Florida Room' - essentially a room w/windows on 3 sides, it stayed a good temp during the day, but dropped at night. We knew we were going to move it to a 55 gallon aquarium, so I got a 40-50 UTH from Zoo Med. Unfortunately, that same night is when we lost it! I got Thing 2 and some pinkies next day since hubby was determined we wouldn't find the snake, or if we did it would be months from now.
I'll post a picture soon, but I want to catch Thing 2 doing what I'm going to talk about and plus I need light!
My concerns are:
I've read I need to seperate the snakes, so I could just make something to halve the tank - but there's already a 'hot' and 'cool' side with the UTH. Any way someone can see to get around that I'd be grateful, but if not I suppose one could go back in the plastic for now. I have a friend who offered me a 25 gal. and I might take him up on that!

Hubby has the idea from having corn snakes and such as a kid, that all they need is a place to hide, water and food. He recognizes temperature as a factor, but isn't convinced on the whole 'need 2 hides' and 'ball pythons aren't active and like to hide in small spaces'. He would love to know how people know this. He thinks a 55 gal. for one is great, since they should want to have room like in the wild, right?
Thing 2 does a funny thing - I mentioned the above because according to the wisdom of this board, the hide we bought is way too big. It's one of those half-log things - the large size! You would think Thing 2 would hide in the back of the cage, but no - he is quite comfy sandwiching himself between the front glass and that hide! LOL So, yeah - he seems fine since he ate when we got him and he does indeed spend all day curled-up - but we can see him fine! Since the cage is in the back room and we can see the occupants fine without actually walking in front of the cage or even into the room, I think that helps. Their only distractions are the 4 cats we have!

My temperatures are 'ok' but I am wondering if they are still too cold - I have a temp from the probe under where Thing 2 has been camping-out of about 88 degrees. That's on the glass, directly on top of or almost on top of where the UTH is. I can put my hand on the UTH underneath and it doesn't burn me, just feels really warm. I snagged one of the rheostats mentioned from Home Depot, and it shows my room temp. about 74(night) - 77(day) and the ambient air temp in the cage is 76-78 with about 62-64 percent humidity. That's all on the 'hot' side. The cool side is a good 5 degrees or more less. Granted, we've had almost no sun the past week and it's rained every single day. Ugh! Horrible weather. When the sun comes out it will warm-up that room considerably, but of course we are just entering summer and Hurricane Season, so there is a good possibility of cloudy weather and possibly below-normal temp. days.
I forgot to mention, but we put wood on the top with holes drilled-in. So far the snakes haven't been able to reach, let alone push it, but I'm sure at some point we'll need to secure it somehow. Right now I have the rheostat and a pump of hand sanitizer sitting on top.

So, other than pictures of my silly snake 'hiding in plain sight' anything else you guys need to know, tell me! I want to make sure I have these guys around awhile!

[unrezt]

I did post over in my introduction that my hubby had already lost the first snake we bought, but I'm happy to say I have him/her back!

So, now since we bought another one anticipating the worst, we have two. I decided we should keep both, but I'll see if it's feasible...

When I brought Thing 1 (temporary names! LOL) home, it was an impulsive purchase, but since we'd owned a ball several years ago, not a completely ignorant one. We put him in what amounts to about a 20 gal. plastic tub w/ one of those lids that matches-up and locks together in the center. I had it already, and hubby drilled some holes in it. We bought a digital therm. and some aspen bedding. Since we put the tub in our 'Florida Room' - essentially a room w/windows on 3 sides, it stayed a good temp during the day, but dropped at night. We knew we were going to move it to a 55 gallon aquarium, so I got a 40-50 UTH from Zoo Med. Unfortunately, that same night is when we lost it! I got Thing 2 and some pinkies next day since hubby was determined we wouldn't find the snake, or if we did it would be months from now.
I'll post a picture soon, but I want to catch Thing 2 doing what I'm going to talk about and plus I need light!
My concerns are:
I've read I need to seperate the snakes, so I could just make something to halve the tank - but there's already a 'hot' and 'cool' side with the UTH. Any way someone can see to get around that I'd be grateful, but if not I suppose one could go back in the plastic for now. I have a friend who offered me a 25 gal. and I might take him up on that!

Hubby has the idea from having corn snakes and such as a kid, that all they need is a place to hide, water and food. He recognizes temperature as a factor, but isn't convinced on the whole 'need 2 hides' and 'ball pythons aren't active and like to hide in small spaces'. He would love to know how people know this. He thinks a 55 gal. for one is great, since they should want to have room like in the wild, right?
Thing 2 does a funny thing - I mentioned the above because according to the wisdom of this board, the hide we bought is way too big. It's one of those half-log things - the large size! You would think Thing 2 would hide in the back of the cage, but no - he is quite comfy sandwiching himself between the front glass and that hide! LOL So, yeah - he seems fine since he ate when we got him and he does indeed spend all day curled-up - but we can see him fine! Since the cage is in the back room and we can see the occupants fine without actually walking in front of the cage or even into the room, I think that helps. Their only distractions are the 4 cats we have!

My temperatures are 'ok' but I am wondering if they are still too cold - I have a temp from the probe under where Thing 2 has been camping-out of about 88 degrees. That's on the glass, directly on top of or almost on top of where the UTH is. I can put my hand on the UTH underneath and it doesn't burn me, just feels really warm. I snagged one of the rheostats mentioned from Home Depot, and it shows my room temp. about 74(night) - 77(day) and the ambient air temp in the cage is 76-78 with about 62-64 percent humidity. That's all on the 'hot' side. The cool side is a good 5 degrees or more less. Granted, we've had almost no sun the past week and it's rained every single day. Ugh! Horrible weather. When the sun comes out it will warm-up that room considerably, but of course we are just entering summer and Hurricane Season, so there is a good possibility of cloudy weather and possibly below-normal temp. days.
I forgot to mention, but we put wood on the top with holes drilled-in. So far the snakes haven't been able to reach, let alone push it, but I'm sure at some point we'll need to secure it somehow. Right now I have the rheostat and a pump of hand sanitizer sitting on top.

So, other than pictures of my silly snake 'hiding in plain sight' anything else you guys need to know, tell me! I want to make sure I have these guys around awhile!

A 55gallon long(if that's what you have) divided in two should have more than enough space for a warm and cool side. What I would do is put one uth on each end, then the middle is the cool sides.

From what I understand, the reason ball pythons prefer small and tight places is because they live underground in the wild. Large open areas leave them feeling vulnerable to attack. This is also why they need at two hides, one on each side of the tank. So they aren't trading security for warmth/coolness.

If your warm side temps are in the 70s, you definitely need a heat lamp or some other form of extra heating. Prolonged exposure to low temperatures will weaken your snake's immune system and make it very prone to getting very sick.

[llovelace]

Here is a pic of what can happen when housed together, classic case of dominance. The snake on the left is almost 2000g, while the snake on the right is around 730g. They were house together before they came to me.

[Zafra]

Thanks - wow that's a big difference, Lisa! Yikes.
Yes, theoretically the 55 is fine for both, the problem is I already *put* the 50 gal. UTH on one side! So the other side is 'cool'. Urgh. Had I only waited...

Any ideas on how to put a ceramic heater or light overhead w/o buring the wood top? Or should I make 1 side something else? We had a wood top last time, too (made the cage ourselves) and the wood got singed from the heat. We know not to do that again!

Just FYI, I just fed them tonight and I put them in seperate enclosures for that! They are still seperated because I want them to digest a bit before going back together. Until I can either get something to heat the tub, or figure out a way to 'split' the tank, that's the only place I have a decent-enough environment.

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

I have 10 and soon 13, so... 2 is a breeze lol

Glad they will be separated eventually!

[llovelace]

You can get plexi-glass from Home Depot. silicone it in place in the middle of tank.