Just a couple ?'s on heat and housing

I was wondering is it bad to not use thermostats on each tank? Seems like alot of people have one for every tank so they make it sound. I dont use a thermostat on any of my tanks. My snake room has always been around 78-80 when I check the temp. My cages all stay around 80-82 on the cool end and 87-90 on the warm end. Only time it differs is at night when I switch the lights is when it drops down to 80 on one end and 87 on the other end. I use a UTH on the cool and a light on the warm end. I have never had any problems with with any of the snakes. I plan on buying a rack system before winter to switch them all to for breeding and room purpose and will have a thermostat on each rack. The snakes are check on regular by me atleast 5-10 times a day or by my girlfriend.

Another question I have is I see alot of people are against housing more then one snake together. I understand if one is sick it can spread to the others but what if they have all been check and in QT and come out fine. We had 3 Ball Pythons together in a cage at my school and nothing bad ever happened with them. Right now I have 3 together in a 40 galloon breeder and have no problems. They are still smaller guys 2 are a year and a half old the other a half a year old. I dont plan on keeping them like this forever thats why I want to switch to a rack system. I was just curious since so many places that sell snakes have more then 1 in a tank and ZOO's house snakes together also.

Last question is I have 1 ball python that just wont shed easy. Hes in the tank with the 3 and the other 2 shed fine humidity is around 60%. He just seems to be a stubborn shedder. He has been like that ever since I got him.

Wow, sounds like you need to do a little research my friend. There are many threads in the Husbandry section that will give you direct answers to these questions.

I have been. I just got done reading about the rheostats I think I may go buy those for the UTH's. I have read about them spiking temps and burning the bellies of the snakes. Anything I have read about shedding problems seems to do with humidity. Also I have read about some of the problems with with housing snakes together like spreading diseases and mites and so on. I just wanted to see if there was anything I missed. When you go to search you end up getting some things you was looking for and a bunch of things you didnt want and then you cant find something else.

I will try to clarrify this up as much as possible so people dont get confused. The 3 have only been in this tank together for not even a week yet. I got the little guy from a friend who couldnt have it anymore due to living in dorms. The tank was not his only the snake was so I got the snake by itself. The other guy was put in there due to some retard breaking his 20 gallon long tank with a basketball. How it managed down a hallway and into a room I dont know I was at work. So this is ONLY for a small amount of time. Maybe a month till I order my rack system. I got a new job some may have read in a previous post so my check is 1 week behind. Once I get my second check I will be ordering the rack system I just looking for info on if it will be ok for a short amount of time. They have all checked out fine with no mites of parisites. I know it causes stress but will they be ok for a month like that? Its a big tank is that enough of room to keep stress down alittle?

Just wanted to clear this up before the flaming starts I know its bad. Its just for a short time.

like you said they have only been that way for a week it can take a couple weeks or months for some very bad life threating things to show up and only a second to contract themn so right now you just hope that nothing bad has happend.

but b4 you get a rack you can still make temp tubs to seperate the bps. you never know what that new one that your friend gave you has or the one thats home was turned into a backboard. pick up some flexwatt or some kind of uth and hit up big lots walmart or something and pick up 3 tubs. tape the uth to the bottom of one end of each tub. plug them into a thermostat, place newspaper and a water bowl inside each tub along with 1 snake and make sure that lid wont come off, use a belt, tape, shoe laces what ever you got. keep an eye on your temps and humidity you may need to add some holes to adjust the humidity. this is quick set up but far better than 3 snakes one tank.

as for the shed like you said you have only had him for a week you r friend might not have taken the proper care all the more reason to not wanna keep them together. place him in a tub with a pretty damp towel for an hour or so then hold the towel gentle around his body and let him slide threw shed should come off as he does.

I'll just say this, since you already know not to keep those snakes together:

Rheostats are a waste of money!! DO NOT buy one. Instead, spend your money on a thermostat. Even the ZooMed ReptiTemp 500R is better than a rheostat or dimmer. Of course, if you can afford to get the Johnson, Ranco or even the Herpstat that would be highly preferable.

There's a lot of stuff out on the web about how keepers don't "need" a thermostat, and that snakes do fine without all the basic stuff we at BallPythons.net support so constantly... but then, a tough animal like the ball python can survive under some amazing circumstances. That, of course, does not mean that those people are doing what is best for their animals.
I have rescued three snakes now that were being kept by people who thought they were doing ok because the pet store people told them to get whatever they had and do whatever they were doing. The snakes conditions ranged from 'just needed some warmth and a few good meals' all the way down to 'would have died if I hadn't taken them then and there'.

When doing research, it's best to also research the sites and books you are looking at to make sure the information is the best and most up to date you can find. :D Good luck getting everything together.

Thanks alot guys I will go get that all tomorrow and set them up. The one that has a shedding problem I have had for a few months and hes always been like that and it bugs the hell out of me.

I hate keeping them together cause it bugs me but I was kinda stuck. What really bugs me is how that tank got busted I still looking into that one.

Hi,

Do you still have the heater you used on the busted tank? What kind of heating was it?

Would it be possible to adjust it to use on a tub system? - if so then really it should only cost you a couple of bucks to seperate them.

If you post what you have we might be able to suggest ways to help.


dr del

I was heating it with a UTH and a light.

I understand your circumstances but you do have a responsibility as their owner to give them the best of everything, they depend on you to do everything for them. If money is tight and you cannot afford a rack right now consider building your own asap there are plenty of how to's all over the internet on how to go about doing this successfully. Or just by them their own individual tubs at walmart and purchase a thermostat and flexwatt to wrap around the backside and plug it in. A water bowl, papertowels, and a hide is a must. Also a thermostat is a must, ball pythons require a certain temperature for them to be happy and healthy. Also it is a safety measure incase your flexwatt/heatwire/heatpad decides to commit suicide and overheat. Hopefully everything works out for you and your snakes. Goodluck!