Finally.. PICTURES of my BP

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Okay, you need to use about an inch of substrate, that is probably why your UTH isn't heating up enough. Make sure the probe is under the substrate right over where the UTH is.

About your hides. Honestly I would think about getting different ones. The log hide doesn't really work as a hide for a ball python. They are far too open for this kind of shy snake. You need some small tight fitting hides that are low to the ground. You could go out and get some rock cave hides from the pet store but those can get kind of expensive. opaque plastic bowls with a hole cut out of the side work very well and are very cheap!

Move the lamp to the other side of the cage or the cool side. You don't need two heat sources on one side of the enclosure.

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i did have the light and pad seperated and even removed some of the substrate and that was when i was getting temp readings the same i didnt have a cool side.. when i moved them both to same side thats when the temps got better. i think i need a different pad mine is only for a 1-5 gal tank and i have him in a 10.

That might be a good idea. The heat pad should be reaching 100* easily unregulated. 80* is awfully low for a hot spot.

should i leave the thermometer ontop of that small cave? im getting 2 different readings.. if i put it ontop of the cave its level with where he's spent all his daytime hours.. and those readings are as follows

ontop of cave
hot side low 80's
top of the wood 90's
cool side 75
humidity between 45-50%

when i sit it on the bark these are the readings

hot side 80.4
cool around 75
humidity 75%
top of wood 90's


im gonna get a better pad wednesday when i go out. where i live its a 30 min drive to anything and i have to pay bills wednesday so ill swing by the store

WAAAAIT A MINUTE i see my problem.. my HOT side is reading wrong.. its not on the tank its gotten moved when i rearranged it.. give me a second and ill fix it and tell you what i got.:oops:

Get a UTH that takes up abot 1/3 the bottom of the tank. You cant always go by the gallons listed on the package because some tanks are reptile tanks and are made wider and deeper but shorter than fish aquariums. The other little cave was fine for awhile. Only bad thing about it being wood is if it gets wet of he goes potty on it you wil need to throw it away.

They like to be able to feel the hide touching them on all sides when curled up inside it. People often think they need more room but they spend their entire lives (in africa in the wild) in a small rodent burrow. Only going a very short distance at night for food and water if at all.

These guys are much more comfortable in a very small space.

For the colder weather to really keep humidity up you can use cypress mulch reptile bedding (the red stuff that is already kind of moist) It hold moisture very well and does not mold very easily. Its harder to clean when they go to the bathroom though.

Really you will do like the rest of us have. Its a hit and miss for awhile. You can listen to everyone here but in the end you will find what works best for you and stick with that. Most important thing is the temp and humidity. The rest will all fall into place.

Oh for the UTH dont forget to use the little feet to hold the tank up a little so it doesn't get too hot under it and the cord is free moving. Since they eventually come off because the sticky stuff isn't very good I just use the plastic furniture discs you can get in the hardware section of walmart or target to put under your furniture legs.

shew..

okay first things first..i didnt knew the pad came with sticky things.. as my husband fixed that part.. so i double checked and they were not on the tank.. so i used some small books from our bookshelf and lifted the tank up approx 1/2"

second i fixed the thermometer.. i have the unit itself in the back corner of the cold side.. i have the prong stuck TO THE GLASS UNDER MULCH TO THE UTH.. here are the RIGHT readings for the tank.... now (if i didnt fix the thermometer right please say so lol)

hot side .. 101 it did heat up to 106.6 but ive raised the tank now so that may cool back off
cold side 75.4
humidity is around 70% i went ahead and removed the extra water and the plastic on top .. now that i have it set up right i can adjust as i go with humidity.


now all these readings changed when i moved the probe right and moved the unit to back corner.

correct me if this is wrong

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I would make sure your snake is eating very consistantly before you consider moving him to a bigger enclosure so soon. For some ball pythons, moving them to a bigger enclosure is enough to make them uninterested in eating.

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okay ill do that.. but we are going to go ahead and buy the tank we found for 20 bucks.. and just keep it stored until we are ready for it.. thats a great price IMO

You are making alot of progress. I really like that little peeking pic. As was already mentioned, I would go with about 1/2- 1 inch of substrate, which will allow more heat from the UTH to come through. Something else that I would recommend is taking that vine on the left hand side and kind of drape it on and around the piece of drift wood so that part of it kind of lays in front of the log hide, which will make it a little more private. Also, it may be a good idea to not tape the vines like that. As you can see, Bo will try climbing through them and at some point they will get pulled down, and snakes and tape makes a mess. I know this may sound crazy, and for lack of a better term, you snake will tend to re-decorate its tank somewhat. It will continue to move and shuffle stuff around so just let it. Your ultimate goal is proper temps, humidity, and a healthy snake that feeds regularly... :gj:

gotch :gj:
tape is now gone excpet from the sides of the tank.. and he couldnt pull it down i dont think i can pull it and i cant get it loose its such a strong tape.. but all the tape where he's been climbing is now gone..

temps are staying the same now.. i moved the light to the cool side and my humidity is still 74%.. but im working on it.. lol

will the humidity always stay that high close to the bark? when i brought it up to top of cave it was 49%

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Originally Posted by toddsbabygirl

gotch :gj:
tape is now gone excpet from the sides of the tank.. and he couldnt pull it down i dont think i can pull it and i cant get it loose its such a strong tape.. but all the tape where he's been climbing is now gone..

temps are staying the same now.. i moved the light to the cool side and my humidity is still 74%.. but im working on it.. lol

will the humidity always stay that high close to the bark? when i brought it up to top of cave it was 49%

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humidity can be a pain I know what youre going through :rage:

It is nearly impossible to keep humidity at one exact percentage. As long as it doesnt drop too low for an extended period its fine. I have racks and I still have a problem with it. The big racks with the biggest tubs always need to be sprayed to keep humidity up. The tubs have no holes punched in them either. The smaller 32 qt tubs are the opposite. The humidity is always around 70% no matter what I do. I move a smaller bowl to the cool side and the snake moves it back to the hot side and the humidity goes up. I use a house humidifyer to keep my entire house at between 50% and 60% and that helps not only the snakes but also myself and my son's allergies.

I personally have never had a problem develop with my snakes having high humidity. Low humidity on the other hand is more likely to cause respiratory issues. I have even had a couple balls have a bad shed even though the humidity was over 70% at the time. A stuck shed will happen every so often no matter what.

Dont worry too much. You have it pretty close to perfect now. Just give the little guy (or girl) some time to relax in the new home.

Just use this forum's stickies to research different area's such as signs of illness, feeding issues, stuck shed and soaking, husbandry etc.. You'll be just fine.:snake:

thanks.. its pretty close to perfect now.. humidity is still just 48-56% though. but temps are PERFECT
im going to try to feed him today, its been 5 days since he came home with us. so i guess ill at least try it.. he seems content in the tank now, no more trying to get out