hoping i gave him a better home

about a month ago, my mom came home with a 4ft bp around her neck. she told me that some man was walking around with it at a yard sale at this apartment complex. she asked him about the snake, because i have been wanting one for about two years now. she thought maybe he knew someone who bred them, etc. the guy said that he found it in an apartment (he's a maitenance man), supposedly the people had been evicted or what not, and had just left the snake there. oddly enough, he asked my mother if she wanted it.

to make a long story short, the guy gave us the 75 gallon tank along with three live mice that were in it with the snake. the tank was literally FILLED with bugs. i think there may of been black and white mites, too. the substrate looked like it had never been changed, it seemed like the previous owner just added more and more over top of the soiled. there were pieces of mice that he had eaten prior to that, as well. the maitenance man said that when he found the snake, it was very cold. there weren't any lighting system, or any UTH. the whole thing was filthy, needless to say.

after putting the snake in a sterilite that i had made about a year ago (i had been saving up money to buy the actual snake, i had everything else purchased and ready to go, just no snake), i also put the three mice in a different cage. i sterilized the 75 gallon tank and eventually moved him back into it.

in the 75 gallon tank i have: 1 hide on the hot side, along with a medium sized water dish. there's a huge water dish in the middle, and two hides on the cool side. also, a large piece of driftwood throughout the cage. for substrate i use paper towels, although i'm probably going to be using newspaper eventually. i have been using paper towels to make sure i don't see any mites. i have a screen top. for heating i've been using a human UTH, and infrared lighting. the temps are:
hot- 98.8
cool- 76.3
humidity- 58%

are my temps alright? is there anything i could be doing better?
also, do i need to have a thermostat or rheostat (sp?)?
on my heating pad there are three temperature settings -low, medium, high
i keep it on low.

i just wanted to hear what everyone thought, because this is pretty much my first snake. also, he shed about a week ago, and it was perfect. it all came out in one piece. and he has eaten all of the mice already. i tried to feed him a medium sized thawed rat, and he didn't take it.

sorry for such a long post. :P

welcome to the site!!


sounds pretty good but i think u need to bump up the cool side to about 83 degrees and im not sure how big a 75 gallon is do u have the dimensions?

aide from that start putting up pics!!! we all love seeing a new snake!

Your temps are a tad off. 82-84 cool side, 92-94 warm side. Your humidity is perfect.. should be between 50-60% most of the time, with 70% during shed times.

In my opinion, the human heat pads are just too irregular. Get in touch with Matt (justcage) and see what his advice is for a 75g tank. http://www.mgreptiles.com

Other than that, all seems okay.

how do i achieve an 83 degree cool side? i already have two heating devices. should i just switch to a sterilite?

Oh, thank goodness the man had the heart to take the snake out of it's horrid environment! And thank goodness that he found such a kind-hearted person to take it in after him! It sounds like you're quite committed to the snake, even prior to owning it. That's very reassurring, and I am willing to bet that your new Ball Python is already very greatful to have met you!

Have you taken him to a vet yet? I would highly recommend it, especially considering the mites. He may have also had some internal issues as well that you should look into.

Good luck, and post some pictures!!! :D

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Originally Posted by alexrls

welcome to the site

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sorry i just have to point this out, he joined before you lol

Where do you have the cage? Sometimes you can achieve warmer temps by moving the location of the cage. Try and avoid exterior walls and any drafty areas. Remember too that heat rises, so it's coldest on the floor. Best of luck with the new snake. :D

i noticed my viv was a little cool so i put a human heating pad on top of the rubbermaid container... so the air temps are a bit higher. seems to be working alright.

don't know if it's advisable or not though, as i'm very new to snake keeping myself.