Just thought I'd say hello....

My name is Crystle and I just joined this forum because somehow I ended up with my ex's snake....something bout how where he's living told him to get rid of it or get out and our son decided we were the ones that were going to take it in....i k ow absolutely nothing about snakes except what I've read in the last month online.

I have a fancy ball python in a 10gal aquarium. I have a heat thing on the underside of one end and I guess the other end is the cool side. I have had Toke for a month and have no idea if she shed before I got her or not. I feed her frozen rat pups once a week and she takes them. Fairly readily so far. in the aquarium I have a climbing branch I got from petsmart, that has a couple of hides in it. She has a water bowl tl drink and soak. I have a lamp that has some kind of purple reddish bulb in it that my ex said was for night time, but I think it makes the tank hot . So it doesn't get turned on often. Recently I was keeping the humidity between40-50...but I sprayed the tank to night and it jumped to 57. Not sure what a good humidity level is for a small bp but I've read ranges from. 40-60.

I'll try to include a couple if pics. If you have any suggestions pleeeeease feel free. I need all the help I can get learning about this thing.!! (although she has grown on me since I got her....):taz: btw she is approx 2-3 foot arm and about as big as the base of my thumb. I have no idea how old she is or anything. She was bought at petsmart about 5 months ago.

Welp, first of all, welcome!! And let me praise/thank you for reaching out and wanting to provide the best care. :)

A couple of things stand out to me. Firstly, from the setup, it doesn't sound like Toke has a thermoSTAT attached to the 'heat thing'. (Which is a UTH, btw. 'Under Tank Heater'. :P) A thermostat is really important, or the UTH WILL someday end up burning Toke, and hurting her quite severely. A lot of people don't know this, so you see most of them without thermostats. This is the cheapest one you can get:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...arm+thermostat


You will also need something accurate to measure temperatures. If you using those little dial thermometer/hydrometers, they're crap. You're right, the light and mat probably make the tank too warm. The easiest, cheapest thing to measure temps with would be to go to Walmart and get yourself an Accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer/hydrometer. I remember paying 7 bucks for mine, but they might have gone up. Another option (And one I wholeheartedly recommend!!) is getting an IR gun. I LOVE mine, and it wasn't too much-

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am going to recommend you ditch the tank. It's not necessary to, and I've used tanks, and they're perfectly doable, but imo, they're more trouble than they're worth. A nice clear storage box you have laying around, or pick up at walmart is cheap, lightweight, easy to clean, heat, and keep up humidity. Your humidity sounds good, but I'm highly doubting that's what it really is.

Anyway, others will chime in too. Thank you so much for giving her a home!!

Anya covered anything productive i would have said^. In addition i'd like to add that i think his name is wicked awesome haha!

Ants has covered the basics and I'll add that any questions you have, ask. We will not be cruel or shun you for asking questions, though some people may say use the search function if you ask a question that has been asked, but ignore them. Different parts of the day different members are on, some with more experience and knowledge than others. So you'll get different answers probably. Good luck with all, and thanks for taking the snake in.