New bp owner!

Hi guys. I'm going to apologize in advance for the length of this post, I have More than one question and I want to be as through as possible. Today I have purchased a 2-3 month old, 1 1/2 ft (approximately) female (99%sure) bp. She is currently in a 50gal long with 'Gem' brand bedding, a rock, water dish, and a Tupperware (not see through it's sort of a pastel darker pink color) box bin type thing. And a few sticks that stretch up and across her tank. I have a thermometer at both ends of my tank. And as it is night where I am right now I have the heat in her tank at 85 warm end, and 75 colder end. Her rock is in the cold end, her water dish is in the middle, and the hide at the warm side. For heat I have a 100w red night bulb sitting directly on top of a hole I cut in the wood that I use as her cage cover. ( I have about 10-12 a little less than a sharpies width, of the plastic part, drilled in the wood) and the red light is placed directly over her hide. The pet store I received her from (long time friend of my uncle is the owner, and he is notorious for keeping is animals in the BEST shape and being the best bet shop in my county). He kept her in a take with several of her brothers and sisters who are same size, and a slightly larger one. Farley small tank with a long hide and same bedding I have. She is eating fuzzies, and was fed this morning when I picked her up. Since she has been in her cage I have picked her up 1) to show my family what I had got (super excited) 2) I touched her to feel if she was getting heat (about an hour after I turned her lamp on). She has explored over the cold side and touched on her rock and stick for about 10 minutes, made her way back to her hide, and laid in it for a while, then about 30-40 minutes later picked her head out a little).
SO!
My questions really break down into a few parts.
1) is her terrarium to big?? I've read that they can become stressed if placed in too large an enclosure. I'm seriously considering inserting a piece of custom cut glass to I can slowly lengthen the terrarium to what she requires. If so, what size is best for her?
2) should I give her a smaller hide? The one she in is now is QUITE large compared to her.
3) how hot should I keep her tank on hot and cold ends? And how do you recommend I maintain her heat better. (If I could avoid spending money I would like to, so home tips and tricks are BEST!) (but I am not opposed to spending money where I have to)
4) humidity? What are some ways I can control humidity? Does moving her water dish under the hot lamp work? Should I spray in her enclosure with a mister 2-3 times a day? I've read a LOT of different articles, but I would love to hear from people who own snakes!
5) what do you recommend I add/subtract from my setup? What does your setup include? I want my snake to be as happy as I can make her. Is foliage good? ANY tips are GREATLY appreciated.

Please forgive me for the length! And I'm sorry if any of these questions seem obvious, or 'stupid'. But I just want to be as educated as possible and talking to people with experience is a good way to get advice!
Thank you!!!



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ALSO FORGOT TO ADD: how long until I can handle her? I've heard of people waiting 15 weeks, all the way to holding them 15 minutes everyday (expect for feeding day and the day after)? What do you recommend? She seems very very friendly and docile. And the owner of the store said she has always been docile and he's never had any problems.


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1) is her terrarium to big?? I've read that they can become stressed if placed in too large an enclosure. I'm seriously considering inserting a piece of custom cut glass to I can slowly lengthen the terrarium to what she requires. If so, what size is best for her?
No... Big open spaces will make her uncomfortable, but if there's enough cover and hiding spaces she could exist anywhere a suitable environment is maintained, no matter how large (think nature). The key is giving her enough cover and hiding space... Or, yes, you could divide things if you wanted to make it smaller.

2) should I give her a smaller hide? The one she in is now is QUITE large compared to her.
They appreciate a well-fitting hide, I think. As long as there's a hide though, it's nothing I would consider crucial to her well-being. Just add it to the 'to do' list.

3) how hot should I keep her tank on hot and cold ends? And how do you recommend I maintain her heat better.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet
(If I could avoid spending money I would like to, so home tips and tricks are BEST!) (but I am not opposed to spending money where I have to)
Best way is likely to ditch the heat lamp and glass tank, and go with a heat mat/thermostat in a bin. The bin will hold the heat and humidity in much better.

4) humidity? What are some ways I can control humidity? Does moving her water dish under the hot lamp work? Should I spray in her enclosure with a mister 2-3 times a day? I've read a LOT of different articles, but I would love to hear from people who own snakes!
Best way is to get rid of the heatlamp. You'll basically be fighting an uphill battle against it over humidity. Of course that's not always an option. Putting the water bowl on the warm end will help. Another common method is putting a damp towel over a portion of the lid, or setting up humid hides.

5) what do you recommend I add/subtract from my setup? What does your setup include? I want my snake to be as happy as I can make her. Is foliage good? ANY tips are GREATLY appreciated.
I like newspapers, but I have a rack of bins. I like it because waste is easy to spot, it's very easy to see when the paper gets soiled, and I can do an entire clean-out and sanitize multiple bins in a couple of minutes.

I have used aspen and the past and would recommend it. Might not be the best thing if you're having humidity problems though. Wait for someone with more experience to answer.

how long until I can handle her? I've heard of people waiting 15 weeks, all the way to holding them 15 minutes everyday (expect for feeding day and the day after)? What do you recommend?
I give new snakes two weeks, personally. We handle them for ourselves, not for them, so I think when there's any chance of them being stressed it's best to just leave them be.

Other thoughts of mine:
For heat I have a 100w red night bulb sitting directly on top of a hole I cut in the wood that I use as her cage cover.
This sounds like a recipe for injury or escape. I can't say much without seeing it, but make sure the snake can't come into contact with anything hot, and make sure the lid is absolutely escape proof.

Also:
Most measurement/monitoring equipment you'll buy at the petstore is junk (thermometers, thermostats, etc). Make sure your equipment is giving you useful, and reliable readings!

Finally, I should mention that these are all things that could have been asked before having a live animal on your hands... Just saying for future's sake.

Hope that helps :)

Sorry, I misread one of your questions. It wont let me edit now though, so...

5) what do you recommend I add/subtract from my setup? What does your setup include? I want my snake to be as happy as I can make her. Is foliage good? ANY tips are GREATLY appreciated.
Personally your lid sounds a little iffy to me. I'm picturing plywood with a hole in it and a metal-dome heat lamp fitted over the hole. I would see to getting a real lid for the tank, if you stick with the glass tank. Something that can allow air circulation, and that you can leave a damp towel over to raise the humidity

Fake foliage is fine. Real plants will be more hassle than they're worth (very messy, problematic, headaches, not highly recommended), etc.

Basically anything that can make her harder to see will be appreciated as cover.

Make sure heating equipment is all regulated and things are kept clean, and beyond that they're pretty undemanding creatures once you get the environment right.

If you think her hide is too large for her, an easy solution is to get substrate (or a paper towel) wad it up, or tear it to pieces and stuff them into her hide. That way she can push it around the way she wants it. I know my snake certainly loves to do some digging around his hide so if you place extra stuff in there, they will move it as they see fit.