Concerned about my ball python

Ok first off you can't run multiple appliances off of one thermostat. With your setup I would have the thermostat controlling just the UTH. The thermostat probe needs to go outside the tank between the UTH and the bottom of the tank. Use an IR thermometer, or one with a probe, to measure the surface temperature on the glass, and set the thermostat so the glass surface temperature is about 90*F. You may have to thin the aspen under the hot hide a bit so your ball python has access to it.

Second, ditch one of the lights. Ball pythons primarily live underground in termite mounds and hunt at night, they don't need bright light. Put a heat lamp in the other fixture if you need to raise the ambient temperature.

Cover the top of the tank, leaving space for the heat lamp, with something like foil or Glad Press N Seal to help keep humidity in the tank.

If you have problems keeping the humidity up you can switch from aspen to cypress mulch during the winter. Cypress retains and releases more moisture without getting moldy than aspen does.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Ok first off you can't run multiple appliances off of one thermostat. With your setup I would have the thermostat controlling just the UTH. The thermostat probe needs to go outside the tank between the UTH and the bottom of the tank. Use an IR thermometer, or one with a probe, to measure the surface temperature on the glass, and set the thermostat so the glass surface temperature is about 90*F. You may have to thin the aspen under the hot hide a bit so your ball python has access to it.

Second, ditch one of the lights. Ball pythons primarily live underground in termite mounds and hunt at night, they don't need bright light. Put a heat lamp in the other fixture if you need to raise the ambient temperature.

Cover the top of the tank, leaving space for the heat lamp, with something like foil or Glad Press N Seal to help keep humidity in the tank.

If you have problems keeping the humidity up you can switch from aspen to cypress mulch during the winter. Cypress retains and releases more moisture without getting moldy than aspen does.

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Why can't you run multiple appliances off one thermostat? The one she uses has 2 plugs & says that you can run 2 things. I have the same one. I only use it for the UTH and my red heat lamp is on a dimmer, but I'm just curious since it says you can run 2 things.



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Originally Posted by Alx

Ok here are some pics of the enclosure for my ball python. The thermostat I have is hooked up to both lamps and to the under tank heater and set to 90 degrees. The reason I am concerned and got worried is because of the folds on its skin that make it look rather thin. the temp right now reads 90 and the thermostat just switched the heating off and the humidity read 40. any tips or advice and how to better it's enclosure would be appreciated. And I will contact llreptiles to see what he was eating and when he last ate. Another question. Is there a better way heat the tank better without using so many things I have a small undertank heater that sits under its hide. a ceramic heat immiter that I leave on at night that is 100 watts and a 70 what day light on the colder side of the cage (with it being winter it gets cold in the mornings and sometimes throughout the day. Also I randomly hear a sort of click noise that comes from the tank is it coming from my snake? it almost sounds like when my iguana snalts if anyone is familiar with that kinda like a sneeze idk how to describe it. [



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I'm by no means even close to an expert here, but to me, the "wrinkled" area looks like it's because he has been underfed.



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Originally Posted by thejenius77

Why can't you run multiple appliances off one thermostat? The one she uses has 2 plugs & says that you can run 2 things. I have the same one. I only use it for the UTH and my red heat lamp is on a dimmer, but I'm just curious since it says you can run 2 things.

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I should have clarified - you can have multiple appliances if they are exactly the same, such as heat tape on a rack. A heat lamp and UTH should have their own controllers.

Also I have that t-stat, it's an on/off switch type, not a proportional where it adjusts the amount of power. So while fine for a UTH, the OP will see the lights turn off and on all the time as the t-stat works, which would be annoying (to me anyway).

I understand your worry sweetie.

Yes the baby is a little thin, but I've seen much worse.

The aquarium is going to be a little bit of work to get it tweaked correctly for the baby, but it is completely doable. I am not sure if the two lamps up above are for heat, or light, or both. It is true ball pythons don't need a lot of light. They aren't like lizards and some other species of snake. That much light is almost certainly part of the stress factor. If you use them for heat, it would be better for the baby if you used a ceramic heat emitter, CHE. These put off heat but no light. For the most part, ambient room light is fine for ball pythons.

If you cover part of the screen top with plexiglas that will help hold in the humidity and will make that a little easier to keep where it need to be. You can also make or invest in a humid hide. If you cover the back and both ends of the tank with black construction paper, it will go a long way towards making the baby feel more secure and help reduce stress.

You've only had the baby a short time, and especially if it was shipped to you, it will take a little time for it to relax and get comfortable enough to be hungry. Pinky anything, rat or mouse, is much too small for him/her. You should try a young adult mouse, just past the crazy hopper stage, or a similar sized rat. You want the prey to be just a little bit bigger around than the baby is. Or at least the size of your thumb, not including the tail, to start with.

The great thing about the CHE, they fit in the same fixture as your lights, so you can buy just the emitter and save money. A small one should be in the neighborhood of $12-$15 I think. Unless the room he is in gets quite cold, one should be enough in combination with your UTH.

Change these few things and give the baby a few days after the changes are made and try again.

Gale

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Originally Posted by angllady2

I understand your worry sweetie.

Yes the baby is a little thin, but I've seen much worse.

The aquarium is going to be a little bit of work to get it tweaked correctly for the baby, but it is completely doable. I am not sure if the two lamps up above are for heat, or light, or both. It is true ball pythons don't need a lot of light. They aren't like lizards and some other species of snake. That much light is almost certainly part of the stress factor. If you use them for heat, it would be better for the baby if you used a ceramic heat emitter, CHE. These put off heat but no light. For the most part, ambient room light is fine for ball pythons.

If you cover part of the screen top with plexiglas that will help hold in the humidity and will make that a little easier to keep where it need to be. You can also make or invest in a humid hide. If you cover the back and both ends of the tank with black construction paper, it will go a long way towards making the baby feel more secure and help reduce stress.

You've only had the baby a short time, and especially if it was shipped to you, it will take a little time for it to relax and get comfortable enough to be hungry. Pinky anything, rat or mouse, is much too small for him/her. You should try a young adult mouse, just past the crazy hopper stage, or a similar sized rat. You want the prey to be just a little bit bigger around than the baby is. Or at least the size of your thumb, not including the tail, to start with.

The great thing about the CHE, they fit in the same fixture as your lights, so you can buy just the emitter and save money. A small one should be in the neighborhood of $12-$15 I think. Unless the room he is in gets quite cold, one should be enough in combination with your UTH.

Change these few things and give the baby a few days after the changes are made and try again.

Gale

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What she said ^^^^

Stop worrying and all will be fine, all comments are helpfull and your bp will be happy and healthy in no time, one thing though is that for a tank that big for a baby bp will need more cover cause they get stressed out if they dont have sufficient security, a hide on both sides (assuming you have a hot and a cold side is preferable so they dont have to sacrifice thermoregularity for good security

I think your snake is rather thin and I would be worried. Looks like it has not been eating properly for quite a while. How much he weights? Pinkies are definitely too small for him.

Your setup seems quite large and there is very much light. Put some more cover in there and cut down the lights if you can. Wait for the shed to complete and the offer a well heated f/t mice sized about 10% of his bodyweight and see what happens. And let us know :)

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone! I will try to get back to everyone's questions as best as I can and have a few questions myself. My snakes been doing ok been leaving him alone checking on him occasionally to make sure it's breathing (sorry can't help it when he looks so thin and doesn't move much). First questions is about the thermostat, is it really bad to have multiple things plugged into it? Both things control the same side of the tank the probe sits next to the hide whith the undertank heater being under the hide and the 100 watt Ceramic heat emitter sits above the hide. And I read from one reply that the thermostat probe should go outside the tank between the under tank heater and the tank? That would fit very awkwardly becuase the probe is around half and inch thick and I think that would also reduce the effectiveness of the under tank heater? I am using one ceramic heat emmiter that I leave on 24/7 connected to the thermostat, I was using a second 70watt bulb as means to heat the other side of the tank because it's been rather cold especially in the mornings. I tired using foil over the tank with holes for the heat lamps but it didn't seem to help the humidity. I was doing some reading and youtube-ing and saw a few people say to cover part of the tank with a moist/wet towel? Would this help raise the humidity? I've also been spraying the tank occasionally to raise the humidity but will this cause mold? And yes I will be purchasing at least one more hide and decorations to cover up the tank more and make him feel more secure just need to wait till I get paid, I've spent quite a lot of money the thermostat was 50$ along with all the other expenses+ Christmas and bills. So I'll be making adding to his enclosure soon. CHE for 15? From a hardware store? They are 25$ at petsmart or petco depending on the wattage. It has been a bit cold especially in the mornings which is why I was using both bulbs it was hard to keep the temps up. I'm going to look around the house to see what I could use for more hides/coverage. And I went for pinkies because I had never fed a snake before and I just wanted it to have eaten something but once I brought the pinkies home they were def too tiny. Just waiting for it's shed to finish before offering it another feeding. Just hope it's not starving. I have the smallest UTH that basically just covers under the hide should I go for a bigger one that heats up around half the tank? And should the water bowl sit under a heat source? The water gets a bit warm idk if that's a bad thing. Thank you again to everyone for your replies hoping my snake does fine I feel I won't stop being a little worried until his first feeding is done with lol. Sorry this isn't split into paragraphs kinds of just wanted to get back to you guys. If anyone has any ideas for names feel few to throw them out as I can't find a name that I like for him he's a vanilla pastel with yellow coloring the pics of him here dont show his true coloring because he is pale in color from shedding. Thank you everyone!

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Originally Posted by Alx

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone! I will try to get back to everyone's questions as best as I can and have a few questions myself. My snakes been doing ok been leaving him alone checking on him occasionally to make sure it's breathing (sorry can't help it when he looks so thin and doesn't move much). First questions is about the thermostat, is it really bad to have multiple things plugged into it? Both things control the same side of the tank the probe sits next to the hide whith the undertank heater being under the hide and the 100 watt Ceramic heat emitter sits above the hide. And I read from one reply that the thermostat probe should go outside the tank between the under tank heater and the tank? That would fit very awkwardly becuase the probe is around half and inch thick and I think that would also reduce the effectiveness of the under tank heater? I am using one ceramic heat emmiter that I leave on 24/7 connected to the thermostat, I was using a second 70watt bulb as means to heat the other side of the tank because it's been rather cold especially in the mornings. I tired using foil over the tank with holes for the heat lamps but it didn't seem to help the humidity. I was doing some reading and youtube-ing and saw a few people say to cover part of the tank with a moist/wet towel? Would this help raise the humidity? I've also been spraying the tank occasionally to raise the humidity but will this cause mold? And yes I will be purchasing at least one more hide and decorations to cover up the tank more and make him feel more secure just need to wait till I get paid, I've spent quite a lot of money the thermostat was 50$ along with all the other expenses+ Christmas and bills. So I'll be making adding to his enclosure soon. CHE for 15? From a hardware store? They are 25$ at petsmart or petco depending on the wattage. It has been a bit cold especially in the mornings which is why I was using both bulbs it was hard to keep the temps up. I'm going to look around the house to see what I could use for more hides/coverage. And I went for pinkies because I had never fed a snake before and I just wanted it to have eaten something but once I brought the pinkies home they were def too tiny. Just waiting for it's shed to finish before offering it another feeding. Just hope it's not starving. I have the smallest UTH that basically just covers under the hide should I go for a bigger one that heats up around half the tank? And should the water bowl sit under a heat source? The water gets a bit warm idk if that's a bad thing. Thank you again to everyone for your replies hoping my snake does fine I feel I won't stop being a little worried until his first feeding is done with lol. Sorry this isn't split into paragraphs kinds of just wanted to get back to you guys. If anyone has any ideas for names feel few to throw them out as I can't find a name that I like for him he's a vanilla pastel with yellow coloring the pics of him here dont show his true coloring because he is pale in color from shedding. Thank you everyone!

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I use the same thermostat as you. I have my probe taped to the UTH with FOIL tape. I had to do it that way because I had my UTH in place before I knew that I needed a thermostat. I put the tape on the cords all the way up to the bottom of the probe & a small strip across the tip of the probe to keep it snug to the UTH.

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