My Story!

She is in a 55 gal now... I have both logs and caves in there for her as well as multiple grape vine created caves and plants she loves to hide in...

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Originally Posted by KO7707

She is in a 55 gal now... I have both logs and caves in there for her as well as multiple grape vine created caves and plants she loves to hide in...

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wow yeah, get rid of that gigantic tank and move to a 10gal or 20gal max.

55 is too much for a full grown ball python.

Wow I just figured the bigger the tank the happier the snake! She seems to love to explore all the different things in there! The temps and humidity are fine in it, how come smaller is better?

I was actually picking up a 75 for her tomorrow afternoon thinking 55 is too small! She is about 2 feet long... I don't think "she" is full grown but I have no clue on "her" age...

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Originally Posted by KO7707

Wow I just figured the bigger the tank the happier the snake! She seems to love to explore all the different things in there! The temps and humidity are fine in it, how come smaller is better?

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Ball pythons are very shy snakes. They thrive in smaller enclosures. They spend 90% of their time hiding, so the constant roaming and exploring is actually a sign of stress.

How are you measuring temps (what kind of thermometers) and controlling your heat source (what kind of thermostat or dimmer)?

If you look at a 55g, you will notice that it is super tall, and ball pythons are ground dwelling snakes. They will only use the bottom 12" of the tank, so you are basically heating 20 gallons that will never be used by the snake.

[QUOTE=Kaorte;1025054]Ball pythons are very shy snakes. They thrive in smaller enclosures. They spend 90% of their time hiding, so the constant roaming and exploring is actually a sign of stress. [QUOTE]


I feel awful for her now!!! :tears: I have read so much and have never noticed any info on keeping them in small tanks, I must have just over looked this... Should I keep multiple different hides and the piled grape vine for her or should I keep the tank more minimal, I also have a ton of greenery in there for her, should I remove it?


I have 4 thermometer and humidity gauges set up in different low spots in the tank, Because she is my only and first one I haven't got too into fancy equiptment yet... But I think I'll have to shop tomorrow to find her a lower smaller tank... What do you suggest using to check it all?

[QUOTE=KO7707;1025060]

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Ball pythons are very shy snakes. They thrive in smaller enclosures. They spend 90% of their time hiding, so the constant roaming and exploring is actually a sign of stress. QUOTE]


I feel awful for her now!!! :tears: I have read so much and have never noticed any info on keeping them in small tanks, I must have just over looked this... Should I keep multiple different hides and the piled grape vine for her or should I keep the tank more minimal, I also have a ton of greenery in there for her, should I remove it?


I have 4 thermometer and humidity gauges set up in different low spots in the tank, Because she is my only and first one I haven't got too into fancy equiptment yet... But I think I'll have to shop tomorrow to find her a lower smaller tank... What do you suggest using to check it all?

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Well for right now, the more stuff the better. Clutter it up as much as you can until you can find her a smaller home.

I would suggest getting her in a 10gallon or in plastic housing.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=40
There is a DIY on how to do it. It is super easy and very inexpensive.

Not the prettiest thing, but it will most likely do the trick for a problem feeder.

For temp and humidity, you absolutely need digital readers. For thermometers, you need the kind that have a probe. If you are using a UTH (which I highly reccommend) you should put the probe right above the UTH right on the glass (under the substrate).

Thanks so much for all the info! I will get to work on changing it as soon as the stores open in the morning! I feel so bad, I just though they can go wherever they wanted in the wild so why not give her as much room as possible... Live and learn I guess, well at least I've only had her in there for a month! so maybe she'll be able to forgive me!:oops:

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Originally Posted by KO7707

Thanks so much for all the info! I will get to work on changing it as soon as the stores open in the morning! I feel so bad, I just though they can go wherever they wanted in the wild so why not give her as much room as possible... Live and learn I guess, well at least I've only had her in there for a month! so maybe she'll be able to forgive me!:oops:

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We were all new at some point. Don't beat yourself up over it!

If you have any questions, please ask! Everyone on this forum has great advice for taking care of these great animals :)

:) Thanks! I will get this fixed! I will keep updating, hopefully she'll be happy soon!