New owner with some questions

Question 1 bought a large tank for him n wondering how big is too big it's also fairly high was thinking of using tree wood too make a second level for him to climb up

second can't seem to keep the humidy up in the smaller tank wondering about suggestions for plants to put in to keep the humidity up

also since the tank is high hanging the basking lamp inside the tank is that a good idea or bad?

Thanks for any input
eryk edge

Need to know how big your BP is to judge the size of the tank. Also the size of the tank would be good.

Youll need to cover a good portion of the top of the tank to keep the humidity in. Plants will help maintain it, but if the top is open it will be hard to get the humidity up.

Keep the basking light on the outside, if its to far away to get hot enough you can buy a hotter bulb. An UTH with thermostat might be your best bet though if your having a humidity problem.


Checkout this sticky in the Caging section about sealing up the top of the tank: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=90187

We use real plants in ours. I did a post a few weeks ago about live plants and Kaorte posted a list of toxic plants. See if you can find it. They work great and look great too. WalMart has little ones on sale for 2.50 right now. We got some of those.

BP's aren't really climbing snakes. They hide most of the time. If you did a second shelf with wood, it would mostly be for your benefit to look at. BP's aren't very good display animals unless your up at 3am to watch them :P

How big is your snake, and the tank?

How big is too big? Well that depends on the size/age of your snake. If it's a baby I wouldn't go much bigger than a 20gal, but I have my adult female in a 50gal. But that's probably the biggest you should ever go. And you just have to make sure to clutter it up with fake plants and branches so he feels more secure (and of course make sure he has his 2 tight-fitting hides).

A second level would be good! Ball pythons don't really need to climb, but I believe that some of them really enjoy it and gives them more to think about. Just make sure the wood is clean and disinfected before you put it in the tank, and also make sure that it's thick enough that it supports your snake and he can't fall off of it easily (they tend to be kind of clumsy ;)).

Plants won't really do too much to keep the humidity up. They help, but regular misting and covering the top with tinfoil/towels are usually the best ways to increase humidity.

Do not hang the basking light inside the cage!!!!!!! Even though the tank is tall, the snake can still reach it and possibly burn himself. Never put the lamp anywhere the snake can come in contact with it. Getting a clamp/stand for the light or placing it on top of the outside of the screen are the best ways to do it.

Hope that helps!! :)

He is nearly 3 feet n 3 yrs old the tank is 85 gallons estimating but 3 feet wide 2 feet deep n 2 feet tall

Yeah thats a pretty huge tank for a full grown BP. Although it depends on the BP, if yours feeds and lives happily then you shouldnt have any problems. Any kind of feeding refusals though and the first thing I would do is put him/her in a smaller enclosure. It would be a lot easier to keep the humidity up in a smaller tank too.

30 gallon would suffice for a 3 foot BP.


/edit

Caught myself anthropomorphizing there. By 'happily' I mean heathily. Eats, poops, sheds, etc.

I have only had him a few days he currently in a 20 gallon n doesn't seem big enough for 2 hides so gonna try to fill up a lot of space in the big one n see how he reacts

All the help has been really helpful thank you all very much

You should checkout the caresheet and the stickies on this site. Lots of helpfull information to get you going :gj:

You already stated you are having problems with humidity in the larger tank. Let me tell you this, using a large tank will not help your cause.

If you think the 20g is too small, go with a 30g breeder. That should be MORE than enough space for two hides an a water dish.

Also, a second "climbing level" is pretty useless, especially with a big adult ball python. They are ground snakes and do little to no climbing if they are happy.