Opinions on my New tank/BP

Hello everyone, got my first ball python last week. Not sure on the age, but hes a little bit longer than a foot. I don't have a scale at the moment, but I measured his girth and its about 7 cm in circumference. I only have pinky mice at the moment and I fed him two of those yesterday. I plan on getting larger mice(either small or medium) when I get a chance to go to the store(feeding days are Monday).

My tank setup is a 20L with screen top:
-Cypress mulch substrate
-Black foam backboards covering the back and two sides
-Two identical log hides against the back corners covering one opening of each log
-Large water bowl for obvious reasons and to keep humidity @ 69%
-Zoo-med UTH(7 watts)
-Acu-rite Thermometer/hygrometer with probe sitting on top of glass over UTH
-Hydrofarm thermostat taped to UTH @ 95F
-Aluminum foil covering top half of screen
-Ambient temp ~79F
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c351/vboyt/BP_1.jpg

Opinions or suggestions please? I'm probably gonna get rid of the cypress mulch on the first major cleaning and switch to carpet or aspen. I also have chlorhexidine gluconate on the way for cleaning purposes.

If I were you I would get rid of the half log hides and get two tight fitting hides with one entrance. Other than that, you're looking good.

Nice work! :gj: It is true that some BPs do not find half logs to be secure enough hiding spots, but I find that some are alright with them, especially if you add some crumpled newspaper or fake foliage inside.

thanks for your inputs. As for the hides, I initially used cereal bowls from the dollar store, but he did not even try to go in the bowls for five days. I, then, tried the half hides from petsmart and within five minutes he was inside it. So I'm keeping the half log hides; they fit the BP pretty securely, but he'll outgrow it soon probably.

@ Crazy4Herps: you can probably see the plants hanging over the entrance of the log hides; they help make the BP feel more secure :)

The hides are my only complaint but if your snake is using them and eating regularly then I don't really see an issue. When he outgrows them maybe you could upgrade him to something more enclosed.

Looks good!

Good Job... :gj:

If you decide to change substrate, I do not recommend the Repti-carpet. It is a pain to clean and it is basically useless once it gets soiled.

Make sure you have a spray bottle to mix the Chlorhexidine in. You can get them pretty cheap at Wal-Mart in the Garden section. It only takes about 2-3 capfulls per bottle. Also, I remember a while back someone was talking about depending on what kind of water you mix it with will determine it's effective shelf-life. If you mix it with regular tap water it will be good for about a week. If you mix it with purified water it is supposed to be good for about a month or something like that. I'm not too sure so I just change mine out each week...

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

Good Job... :gj:

If you decide to change substrate, I do not recommend the Repti-carpet. It is a pain to clean and it is basically useless once it gets soiled.

Make sure you have a spray bottle to mix the Chlorhexidine in. You can get them pretty cheap at Wal-Mart in the Garden section. It only takes about 2-3 capfulls per bottle. Also, I remember a while back someone was talking about depending on what kind of water you mix it with will determine it's effective shelf-life. If you mix it with regular tap water it will be good for about a week. If you mix it with purified water it is supposed to be good for about a month or something like that. I'm not too sure so I just change mine out each week...

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Thanks for the suggestion on not using the repti-carpet, I'll keep that in mind when it comes to changing substrate.

I got a spray bottle from Dollar tree for...$1, its a 24 oz bottom if im correct and has a mixture gauge on the side to determine mixture levels and 'full' level. I believe that should work well. Do you know what chemical decreases the life of the chlorhexidine gluconate? All tap water is different as far as chemical composition.

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Originally Posted by vbt

Thanks for the suggestion on not using the repti-carpet, I'll keep that in mind when it comes to changing substrate.

I got a spray bottle from Dollar tree for...$1, its a 24 oz bottom if im correct and has a mixture gauge on the side to determine mixture levels and 'full' level. I believe that should work well. Do you know what chemical decreases the life of the chlorhexidine gluconate? All tap water is different as far as chemical composition.

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I have no idea on the chemical thing but I keep my chlorhexidine in the same dollar store bottle :P I got the one with the blue top.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vbt

Do you know what chemical decreases the life of the chlorhexidine gluconate? All tap water is different as far as chemical composition.

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OK! I found the thread where this was discussed and basically no conclusive studies have been done on it, so it is all theories and educated speculation. I will just keep doing what I'm doing and change it out weekly.

Here is the thread...

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=chlorhexidine