New owner, rookie mistakes, enclosure woes

Hello all.

I got a ball python from a local store at the beginning of the week, but I made the rookie mistake of getting both the snake and the tank+equipment at the same time, especially because I can't seem to get the proper conditions.

Here's what I've got so far:

• Zilla 20L glass tank
• Single layer of newspaper lining the bottom, topped with 1/4 inch of Eco-Earth
• Reptitherm UTH for 10 to 20 gallon tanks
• Two hides, one which never gets used no matter where they're put
• Water bowl in the center
• Zilla 1000w thermostat, digital thermometers, and a digital hygrometer

Where exactly should I be putting the thermostat probe? Currently I've got it directly on the newspaper with the Eco-Earth around/over it, just above the center of the UTH. I've also set it to around 93F or so.
However, even though the thermostat seems to be working, I have a thermometer probe right next to the thermostat probe and the temperature on that thermometer only shows around 74F.

In addition, the cool side of the tank only reads around 70 to 72 degrees.

Humidity is also an issue, but despite using a glass enclosure it seems right now I actually have too much -- a solid 75% through the night with nothing covering the top. When I started I didn't have Eco-Earth and I'd have to spray every hour just to barely maintain 45 to 50% even with foil covering most of the top and water bowl over the heat pad. My hygrometer probe is about an inch up the glass wall around the center area of the tank... is this a good place for it?

My ball is pretty snappy, too. He likes to pose for a strike when I change his water and the first time I was doing this, he *did* tag me. Felt hilarious, but given these conditions I'm worried for his later health. Since I basically just got him, I'm also hoping he won't be going on a hunger strike when it's time for first feed.

Thanks all

thermostat probe should be on the outside between the glass and the UTH so snake cant move it or pee on it altering the temp its reading

michaelt's advice is solid. In addition, with the on/off style thermostats like your Zilla one, I wouldn't set the temperature for anything higher than 90 degrees.

The reason for this is that these work at either 0% power or 100% power. Basically, they run at full blast until they reach their set temp and then shut off until they fall below the minimum temp and then repeat the cycle over and over again. Because of this, they often reach temperatures higher than their set points for a period of time after they reach their shut-off point. You don't want to put your BP at risk for exposure to anything higher than 95 at any time.

Also, as a general rule, there's really no reason to have the temps above 90 anyway. They don't need it for thermoregulation and, if you have less than reliable husbandry equipment, you can put their health at risk. :)

Now, as far as the humidity goes, there's actually a bigger worry if the humidity is too low, so I wouldn't sweat your 75% reading. As long as the sides of the glass aren't fogging up or showing beads of water and there's no standing moisture your new addition will be fine. Humidity is something that's pretty easy to get a gauge on without a gauge (ha!). Good, full body, sheds are a great indicator that your humidity is where it needs to be. If you start having incomplete sheds, or they start getting stuck during the process, then you simply raise your humidity so next time they shed they don't have the same issue.

Okay, first: relax. BPs are small but hardy little creatures and have survived for millions of years, I'm sure they don't always have perfectly ideal conditions in Africa.

I had very similar experience. Asked for afternoon delivery, waited all day and then the pet store guys dropped off everything including the snake on a Friday evening and left and the store was closed. I just stood there looking at all the stuff for a few minutes wondering what the heck I'd got myself into.

Since the UTH is already on the tank, get a roll of aluminum tape from hardware store for $5 and tape the probe onto it UNDER the tank, near where the warm hide will be in the tank.

http://i61.tinypic.com/bfl577.jpg

Secondly: if the snake is threatening you when putting in the water bowl - move the water bowl to somewhere he can't reach you! It doesn't have to be in the middle.

Third: maybe the newspaper is soaked? It's hard to believe the humidity in the tank is 75%.

I'm no expert and I'm new to reptiles but I've had similar humidity issues with ecoearth before.

Your humidity isn't a big deal, it will lower eventually. I use ecoearth myself and I prefer to buy the loose dry package. My pet store didn't have any of that, so i had to get the condensed brick. So now i had to soak it in water for half an hour so it would expand and it got damp. Like really damp. I thought it would dry quickly but it stayed wet and raised my humidity to 90% closed and about 80% with half the top open. Your 75% isn't the big issue so you should just ignore it for now. What you should be concerned about is if your substrate is damp. If you bought the condensed ecoearth you need to dry it out before you used it. It is unhealthy for ball pythons to sit on damp substrate. I dried mine out by setting up every spare heat lamp i had into the tank (my ball was in her old tank). This was the easiest for me, but you don't have the luxury of experimenting before your ball goes in. I've read that you can also bake your damp substrate in the oven for a few minutes. Although I'm not sure how willing i would be to do that.

Anyways, that's my limited input. My account is new but I've been reading (probably for hours) on this forum and it is a blessing for new owners like me and you :D