New to set-ups

I'm heading to a reptile show this Saturday to hopefully bring home a new buddy, and I'm trying to set everything up beforehand so I know everything will work well. The only thing I'm really concerned with is the heating/humidity. I have a 40 gal. tank that I'm heating with a ZooMed ReptiTherm under-tank heater as well as ZooMed 75-watt basking spot lamp and nocturnal infrared heat lamp that I'm putting in 5.5" clamp lamps. I got reptile thermometers and humidity readers that stick to the tank and so far it reads about 30% humidity and about 70F temperature-wise. (I'm also using fir bark as bedding, I don't know if this affects temperatures or anything.)

Will it be too hot to leave both the infrared light and the ReptiTherm heater on at the same time, or should I turn one off for a certain amount of time since it's 70F in my house already and I'll have that basking lamp on as well? Or is having both heaters just overkill? Also I've read a lot of things over the net but none really say for sure how high/low the humidity should be. 30% seems to be the common but I'd like to know for sure. I'm trying to make sure I have most (if not all!) of my questions out of the way so I'm not crossing my fingers that things just work.


Thanks so much!!

If you are getting a baby ball a 40 gallon tank will be too large, If you are getting an adult female that size is great.

Check out the caresheet it will really help you alot
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

I'm heading to a reptile show this Saturday to hopefully bring home a new buddy, and I'm trying to set everything up beforehand so I know everything will work well. The only thing I'm really concerned with is the heating/humidity. I have a 40 gal. tank that I'm heating with a ZooMed ReptiTherm under-tank heater as well as ZooMed 75-watt basking spot lamp and nocturnal infrared heat lamp that I'm putting in 5.5" clamp lamps. I got reptile thermometers and humidity readers that stick to the tank and so far it reads about 30% humidity and about 70F temperature-wise. (I'm also using fir bark as bedding, I don't know if this affects temperatures or anything.)

Will it be too hot to leave both the infrared light and the ReptiTherm heater on at the same time, or should I turn one off for a certain amount of time since it's 70F in my house already and I'll have that basking lamp on as well? Or is having both heaters just overkill? Also I've read a lot of things over the net but none really say for sure how high/low the humidity should be. 30% seems to be the common but I'd like to know for sure. I'm trying to make sure I have most (if not all!) of my questions out of the way so I'm not crossing my fingers that things just work.


Thanks so much!!

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I think it will depend upon what u decide to bring home I have bps and i had to get ride of the lamps because they was suckin out my hum, but i live in az so hum was extremely hard to hold

Thanks! I'll check that caresheet.

And I forgot to say that I was planning to get a Ball Python. I considered other breeds but since I'm new to this I don't want to get out of my league with an animal I can't care for properly.

Congrats on deciding to pick up a BP! You'll understand while we are all addicted to them :P

As for the setup, the size of the cage depends on how old the BP you get is. You DO NOT want to put a baby ball in a 40 gallon. Having a cage to large will cause ALOT of stress. Now for an adult BP (preferably a large female) 40 gallon is great. As for the substrate id go with paper towels for the first little while. With paper towels you'll be able to notice things more. As in if the snake you bring home as mites. Although the breeders that go to shows usually keep their animals in good condition, It's better to be safe then sorry. In other substrate it will be hard to see mites, on paper towels you will be able to spot the mites easily!


Most people use aspen or newspaper because it is so easy to clean! Aspens sort of a pain lol, but anwyays, newspaper is so easy, its what i use. When my BPs make a mess, i just replace ALL the newspaper with a fresh batch.


Definitely check out the care sheet, its super beneficial! Welcome to the addiction :P

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Originally Posted by DZ Reptiles

Congrats on deciding to pick up a BP! You'll understand while we are all addicted to them :P

As for the setup, the size of the cage depends on how old the BP you get is. You DO NOT want to put a baby ball in a 40 gallon. Having a cage to large will cause ALOT of stress. Now for an adult BP (preferably a large female) 40 gallon is great. As for the substrate id go with paper towels for the first little while. With paper towels you'll be able to notice things more. As in if the snake you bring home as mites. Although the breeders that go to shows usually keep their animals in good condition, It's better to be safe then sorry. In other substrate it will be hard to see mites, on paper towels you will be able to spot the mites easily!


Most people use aspen or newspaper because it is so easy to clean! Aspens sort of a pain lol, but anwyays, newspaper is so easy, its what i use. When my BPs make a mess, i just replace ALL the newspaper with a fresh batch.


Definitely check out the care sheet, its super beneficial! Welcome to the addiction :P

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The caresheet definitely helped. I thought for a while that I'd like to bring home a baby but after thinking it over I think I'll be better off getting an older, more established feeder for my first herp. :] Less headaches for us both, haha. I've always wanted to own a snake (or even more than one eventually!) and BP's are just so gorgeous! There's so many different morphs I know it'll be hard to choose just one. :D

I'd still go with the baby. Enjoyment of seeing it grow.

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Originally Posted by TheWinWizard

I'd still go with the baby. Enjoyment of seeing it grow.

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yea babies are awesome! Plus they are normally feeding in pet shows

A lot of people are saying the baby would be too stressed in such a large enclosure. I had thought that it would actually enjoy more space.

Basically, could I keep a baby ball in the 40 gal. and just include more hide areas for it to feel more comfortable as it grows, or not even try and stick with am adult. I don't want to stress him/her out. :(