My Journey Begins!

Hi all. Me and my family are about to become owners of a baby Royal Python, well within the next three to four weeks. The breeder who I'm buying from has assured me that he will be feeding well on F/T and weigh a little over 100g before he allows the little fella to join us.

I've done my fair share of research over the last 6 months to the point where my head is ready to pop off trying to figure out the B/S from best practices but all worth it in the end.

I've started to piece together his new home so I can get the temps and humidity to were I would like them to be before I bring him home. I have a few questions I would like to ask if someone would like to offer me there opinions.

I'll start with things I've acquired.

Exo Terra Glass Terrarium
Heat Mat
Thermostat
2 x Digital Thermometers
Digital Hydrometer
Water dish
2 Identical hides for either end of the enclosure
IR Thermometer (the gun type)

I've also bought some other useful stuff like: Bottle for misting, Feeding tongs, Cardboard to cover 3 sides of the enclosure, Artificial plants to add clutter and some Foil tape.

That leads me to my questions.

1. Enclosure: The dimensions are 60cm x 45cm x 30cm ( L x W x H ) I'll upgrade it when he out grows it but is size of that going to be okay for a baby royal? I'm I bit worried about the height not being enough. As soon as I bought it I started second guessing myself.

2. Substrate: I'm not quite decided on a substrate, I'm siding with Coconut Fiber as a want something that's going to give me some good humidity levels due to my glass enclosure. Would this be a good choice or should I look at something else?

Any other tips in general or things I've missed would be much appreciated thanks.

Well you are definitely more prepared than I was xD. I am no expert in fact I just got my python but he/she seems to enjoy their enclosure. Just fed them like a champ and they got it down. I would say your doing alright? The height should be okay at least according to the care sheet. my enclosure is a lot higher 16" . But in my shore time the only time I have seen my ball python move upwards was when they were stressed(I switched hides and they did not like the new hide at all) most of the time it tends to stick to the floor, so height should not be too much of an issue. Though I would definitely wait for someone more experienced than me. Just putting some input in and seeing how what I have observed from my python may or may not help others.:)

Specially since some people use tub-aware tubs for there critters.

How are you handling ambient temperatures in this setup?

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

How are you handling ambient temperatures in this setup?

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Not sure yet, I've not put anything together at the moment. I was hoping with a 3rd of the tank covered with the heat mat that there would be the right amount of fluctuation in temperature on the other side of the enclosure to suit the right ambient temperatures or is that wishful thinking?

I'm thinking a ceramic from above maybe then? What about another heat mat and thermostat on the other side of the tank or is that a big no no?

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Originally Posted by Welsh-Richie

Not sure yet, I've not put anything together at the moment. I was hoping with a 3rd of the tank covered with the heat mat that there would be the right amount of fluctuation in temperature on the other side of the enclosure to suit the right ambient temperatures or is that wishful thinking?

I'm thinking a ceramic from above maybe then? What about another heat mat and thermostat on the other side of the tank or is that a big no no?

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This seems to largely depend on your area(geographical) normal outside temp/humidity, for me for example the heat mat is enough, my outside temps hit around high 90s to low 100s this time of year where I am. My particular room is always about 77 degrees so my cold side is usually about 80-82 while my hot side is mid 80s with the hide hole typically being 88-93 is the highest I have seen. I would say that if you need more heating on the hot side a ceramic above. But a heat mat is a no on cold side unless you have a very cold climate...? I don't know if my feedback was good or not someone could help me out here and give it a rating please?

Another perk of being in florida is the humidity is like always 65-70% outside so I rarely have to spray.

EDIT: I would however set everything and check out the temps and situation and then lay the numbers out for the forum that way we know if your set up actually needs some help?

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Originally Posted by Welsh-Richie

2. Substrate: I'm not quite decided on a substrate, I'm siding with Coconut Fiber as a want something that's going to give me some good humidity levels due to my glass enclosure. Would this be a good choice or should I look at something else?

Any other tips in general or things I've missed would be much appreciated thanks.

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Substrate I use repti-bark and its alright(looks good and retains humidity) just a bit pricey(for me). The thing about coconut fiber though is from what I have seen it is rather powdery, this would lead me to beleive that it would retain too much moisture and clump together or get mold. Most of the research I have done for this lead to coconut based substrates being mixed with another type of substrate.

Problem I got is I'm in the U.K. At the moment it's pretty hot due to our freakish summer we have had but by the end of September the temperature will start to drop dramatically. We use the central heating in the winter to keep the house warm but we don't leave it running all night when we go to bed.

As you said I think the best thing to do is set it up and take some readings and monitor it closely for the next few days.