this CAN'T be right.. right???

I was visiting a ball python I was looking at adopting and he is currently being taken care of by a friend of the owner, and he seems healthy and everything but the person currently taking care of him said that they have been leaving the heat lamp off during most days because "it's already hot enough in the room". The temp i observed looked like, low 75 or something, and NO basking spot. Is this snake OK?? I almost want to adopt it more to take him out of her hands sooner but I can't until Tuesday. Is it likely he is getting sick from this?

No way to know if he'll get sick or if he already is, but yes, 75* is too low. If depending on ambient room heat, you'd want about 85* for BPs so they stay
healthy. If you decide to adopt him, listen close to his breathing (for whistles, clicks, crackling that may indicate an RI), and look for bubbles in mouth, or open-
mouth breathing, & any other health issues, since a snake immune system doesn't function well at lower than optimal temperatures. Hope you get to him in
time...I wonder how long he's been this cool or coolerl? In the wild there are temperature fluctuations too, keep that in mind.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

No way to know if he'll get sick or if he already is, but yes, 75* is too low. If depending on ambient room heat, you'd want about 85* for BPs so they stay
healthy. If you decide to adopt him, listen close to his breathing (for whistles, clicks, crackling that may indicate an RI), and look for bubbles in mouth, or open-
mouth breathing, & any other health issues, since a snake immune system doesn't function well at lower than optimal temperatures. Hope you get to him in
time...I wonder how long he's been this cool or coolerl? In the wild there are temperature fluctuations too, keep that in mind.

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I'm worried on that length of time as well. I got a picture of him and he looks calm but maybe too calm because he's coldhttps://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...386/image0.jpg

Appearance is the only thing you can tell by the photo...

I've seen people keep ball pythons in the 70-75F degree range and brag about it.

The issue is: I've never seen someone who does this say 'I've kept my ball python for 10 years at 75 degrees and I've never had a problem...'

I adopted my 3 yr old albino boy and the owner just had a heat mat stuck to the SIDE of the tank. He didn’t feed very often and I assume it was due to the low temperatures. Once I got him at the right temps he began to thrive and eats like a machine. Amazingly, he seems no worse for wear.

Cute little guy. Keep us posted, lots of experienced keepers here that will definitely be able to help if any issues arise. He will be with you soon enough and you can control his environment so he can thrive!