Setup Review

OK so we are getting down to the nitty-gritty and attending Atlanta repticon next weekend in hopes of finding a great pet for my daughter and I… I've been working on the habitat for about two weeks trying to get it just right following the sticky thread on this site as best I can.

I'm currently using an EXO Terra 24 x 18 x 12 front door tank with an under therm UTH and also a CHE on the cool side. My thermometer constantly reads 90° on the warm spot and 80° on the cool side… I am also using a Lutron dimmer for my CHE.

One thing I've noticed is that when I spot checked the heat with my infrared thermometer gun the ambient temperature seems a little low. It's OK on the cool side but on the one side it varies from 80° up to 90 depending on where I point it at. I would normally try to move the CHE to the middle of the tank to try to regulate the heat a little better on both sides but honestly this screen has a crossbar right down the middle going up and down and it's impossible to put my CHE right in the middle so I have it on the cool side.

We've also been in communication with the number of the breeders that will be at the show to see what they may have available while also reviewing anything about them that we can… Our first goal is to try and find the white python… Super lesser or super fire but hopefully find one that's feeding on frozen thawed and has a good disposition.

My other question is if we find a great snake for the right price that seems to have a good disposition but are told it is feeding on live how hard is it to convert it we definitely don't want to feed live it just is what it is for us… Hopefully it's something we can convert without too much difficulty. :)


pics of setup:





https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...w/IMG_4476.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...w/IMG_4477.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...w/IMG_4478.jpg

Cool side move up a little in temp. My ambient varies as well day to day. Get an accurite temp and humidity digital gauge. Cheap on Amazon. Great start!

If you have a uth keeping a constant hot spot then the ambient doesn't need to be as high, I believe 80 throughout is fine with a uth but someone is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong [emoji14]

As for converting over to F/T it really just depends on the animal. I know hatchling tend to be the hardest to switch over and with an older animal you can afford to wait a few weeks if they don't take the f/t the first couple times where as if a younger animal doesn't take the f/t it still will need to be fed. I would talk to the breeders and see what they think if they were on live before hand. Both of mine were on live and switched over to F/T with no trouble at all, the breeders had told me beforehand that they were great eaters and didn't think they would have any trouble switching but this is never a guaranty.

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Looks like a nice set up for your new friend :)!

As far as F/T goes, this video was pretty useful to getting Coco to switch over to F/T.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSX79DpN2b8

First time, Coco took the mouse overnight. Second time, she struck at wrapped and ate :). The idea is to make it smell like "Thanksgiving Day" to them ;).

Have fun looking for your future friend / pet :)!