Any advice would help!

Hello all, I am very new to reptiles and just bought my son a ball for his b-day. I got a piebald and it looks very cool and was very tame at the pet store. I had everything set up for him when he was brought home, but the snake will not go in any of his hides now and also seems a little on edge. Is this common for being in a new enviorment? The temp in the hot spot is between 82-85 and the cool side is 75, I have his heat pad on the side of the tank because I was informed that leaving it underneath while on the stand could result in a fire. He is just laying on top of his hide trying to place its body between the glass and the hide. Should I be worried at all? Any advice would be well appreciated. Thanks.

First of all, do you have the heat pad hooked up to a thermostat to regulate the heat? Is he in a glass tank? It is very normal for a new animal to be insecure in his surroundings, explore etc. Give him a full week with no handling and keep temps good. I keep my hot spot at 88-90. Also, if he is in a glass tank, covering a few sides of the glass will help him to feel a little more secure.

Please check out the vive set up sticky on the main page.

Make sure you have:

- A THERMOSTAT (this controls the UTH; this is not to be mistaken for a thermometer).
UTH on the outside of the bottom of the vive - the side is will not aid in belly heat, nor will it properly warm the air. I don't know who told you it will cause a fire, either. But that is a load... ;) anything with heat is a fire hazard, yes, but I have yet to hear about ANY heat mat causing any kind of damage - apart from to the animals themselves, when they get burned from unregulated heat sources.
- At least two digital thermometers; one with a probe to place overtop the UTH.
- Hygrometer.
- Water bowl.
- Minimum two hides, one for each side.
- For a glass vive you may also need a heat lamp.

Temps (with proper thermometers in place) should be 80F on the cool side, 90F on the hot spot. Below 75F can cause respiratory infections and is NOT a generally accepted temperature. Ball pythons are form Africa; they require high temps and mid-higher humidity. Low temperatures and proper humidity will cause infections.

Posting a photo of your set up can help us determine what the issue may be :) as well as a detailed description of your set up.

One last thing to keep in mind is that often times pet stores give you incorrect advice about housing and set up for your snake. This is for a number of reasons, but in general it is wise to ask experienced handlers and breeders about proper set up (such as those found on this forum!).
:P

Best of luck, and please do post back with your description and/or photo.