One quick question

According to this website http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBall.html
it says I should cover most of my screen top to keep in humidity. (Look under humidity). So I was wondering if it would be ok if I just duct taped a good portion of the screen top? Thanks

Also, I just purchased a humidifier online, so I was wondering if I still needed to do this?

It'd be best to still do it even with a humidifier. And yes, duct tape would work.

Duct tape or contac paper - make sure you hit the inside of the screen to prevent nose-rub, and leave a few open triangles at the corner for air exchange.

What is nose-rub? And by hitting the inside of the screen, you mean also duct taping the inside right?

I am sure that is what he means. If you put tape only on the top there is the sticky part at the bottom facing inside. Many times ball pythons will rub thier noses on things and the adhesive could cause irritation.

Snakes will often rub their noses on the screen top. By covering the inside of the screen as well as the outside, you prevent them from injuring themselves. Not to mention, the tank will hold heat and humidity a lot better.

ok, thank you all for your help.

Rubbing the nose on the screen can cause scarring, as my biggest bp has as a result of her previous owner. And yes, it's best to duct tape the inside of the screen as well as the outside to prevent the adhesive from coming in contact with your snake, and you should leave some areas uncovered for air exchange. Alternatively, some people replace their screen lids with plexiglass or similar with holes drilled through for air exchange, and then you don't have to worry about the adhesive or the nose rubs.

What about a glass top? Does anyone use those? Currently I have a screen top covered w/duct tape (inside and out) and we made our own humidifier, it's working pretty well, but I'm going to go a little bigger (20 gallon until she's older) and probably will not use a screen top.......any suggestions are welcome!

My questions with the glass top would relate to how you plan to ventilate it and whether the fragility of glass might come into play -- it would in my house. Plastic pegboard as Smynx and Smulkin use beneath the substrate with their burrowers should also be a good lid option.