New Ball Python owner questions

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Originally Posted by JediSamReye

Thanks, yeah in the past i have had lizards, and rats, and hedgehogs, and I have never had issues before, well I bought a guinea pig this week and she died within 8 days, the petstore said because of the "stress" so even thought I had all my other animals for years it kinda broke my nerves, having something die so quick

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probably wasnt your fault petstores arent good should go to private breeders make sure your getting the best quality find a bunch of questions to ask also look at your notifications>inbox i sent you a message to help you out

And cause I have to clear it up when I said a basking spot I just meant a spot that has good heat like with the UTH so they can digest. It doesnt necessarily mean a basking bulb is required for a snake to bask in the heat. :) sorry for any confusion.

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Originally Posted by JediSamReye

so just undertank with a good thermometer and we should be good?

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And a good ThermoSTAT. That's going to be your most important investment for the good health of your snake.

Unregulated UTH's can and will burn your snake.

Yes, I too used the term "basking area". I meant warm side.

I would not be able to keep ambient tank temp warm enough with JUST the UTH.

IF you have to have a room with a comfort level for humans, an infrared lamp hooked to a thermostat will greatly assist with ambient tank temps.

I agree they eat the humidity, but I've found a damp towel with tinfoil over the top with another towel on top of it for weight and insulation, keeps my levels between 60-70%. obviously you'll need to re-dampen the towel every few days.

It sounds like you have decent enough room temp and as mentioned, you'll be set with just a UTH.

But if you use AC or have drastic climate changes, I've found the light (also on a thermostat) can be helpful.

I have to include that this is the setup that works for us and will not be right for everybody else. I felt it was decent info to pass along in case someone else has a similar situation.

Cheers,

Gio

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Originally Posted by Bobbafett

To add:

You're going to find a tank a PITA. A tub or pvc enclosure will be much easier to keep temps/humidity.

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This seems to be sort of a default opinion that gets spread around here quite a bit. What people should be explaining is that perhaps the single most important factor to temperature/ humidity maintenance are the ambient conditions of the room that the enclosure is in. If people would put a fraction of the time into maintaining a good, stable ambient temperature, and air circulation in the room, then any enclosure will work with little to no stress or hassle.
The less effort that you put into maintaining your ambient conditions, the more effort that you will be putting into your enclosures, whether they are glass, tubs, pvc, or wood.

Thanks for the laugh. :P

It's good to see you're concerned for your snake, though.

But yeah, most of them will curl up in hides or relax for most of the day from what I gathered. There are some exceptions. Mine's a weirdo and never stops moving itself. Like NEVER - when I have her out or she's in her case she doesn't stop for more than a minute or so, even if she's basking. 80's a good temperature from what I gathered around the website.

Ok so I went out and bought a UTH on the hot side and also a cearmic heater and I have that in the middle of the tank, now im getting ~83 degrees in the hot area and around 75 in the cool area, I have also got a hydrometer, The tank is about 40 percent as is, and then i have wet the bark a little and its at about 55 percent, I need to gee the thermostat now, thanks for the advice everyone