kind of worried

Yes, an average humidity of 50%-60% is fine.

now I am having a hell of a time, the temp on the hot side is 94 but the humidity is now running a nice constant 75% :(. I have tryed moving the towels off the top but then the temp is dropping heavily. Anything will help

thanks
JR

Are you using a UTH in conjunction with a heat light?

I ask because if the light bulb has a wattage that is too high it will get very hot. I use a 60 watt bulb for Jojo's house.

EDIT: Its like a regular bulb not one of these projection types.

One of the biggest problems with a UTH is that it is either ON or OFF and you have no control over how hot it gets. That problem is easily solved though, by plugging it into either a thermostat or a rheostat (light dimmer switch). I've never looked for this type of thermostat at the hardware store so I don't know how much they would be if they have them, but you can find them at many different reptile retail sites, such as Big Apple. With one of those, you set the temp and it turns the unit on and off as needed to maintain the temperature you want. The other is cheaper and can be found easily at any decent hardware store. You have to monitor the temps closely (which you should do in any case) and adjust the switch yourself, but it's not hard to do at all. I've got both types on my various heating units and both work fine. I monitor all my temperatures closely to make sure something hasn't broken down or been played with by little fingers. :)

Hope this helps some.

yes I am using both, the temp is 94 during day(hot area) and 85 at night(hot area). So everything is on track now. I am going to get a dimmer asap because of summer coming. also the humidity is now at 60% and stays there by evaporation from the water bowl.

thanks
JR

okay well here is my next question. I fed my snake an adult mouse and once she got it down there was no lump what so ever. I am planning on getting to large rats from my work(I am adopting them so they will be free and I have a tank sitting around anyways) and I am going to breed them to feed my snake. How old should I let the babies get before I feed them to lucy?

thanks
JR

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How old should I let the babies get before I feed them to lucy?

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Well I dont know on the age part but as I understand you can feed them a rat that has the same or slightly larger girth than your snakes largest part of his body. My BP just ate his first rat the other night and it was probably 2 to 3 times the body size of a full grown mouse. Probably could have gone a little larger, but being that it was his first rat I didnt want to over do it.

see lucy is still very young so that is what I am worried about. She takes down full grown mice without a problem. I was going tlo let her eat the the rats when they are just a little smaller than the mouse I just fed her. Then by the time I get to the last one in the litter it will be just slighlty larger. Is this a good plan?

JR

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As for the temp question: 88 is a bit low for the warm side... ideally the ambient is around 80 -85 and the basking spot is 90-95 deg. F. so 88 is a bit low for the hot side IMO but not so low as to cause an RI - still you should try to up it to around 90 or between 90 and 95.

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I disagree with this statement. 90-95 is much too warm.....a common misconception with Ball Pythons is that because they come from equatorial Africa they need it super hot and dry....this is not the case. BPs spend most of their time underground where it is cooler and fairly moist. Temps that are too warm and too dry is why you see alot of BPs with skin problems and shedding problems. 88 is a perfect temp for the hot side. You want the cool side to be 75-78.Also, BPs do not bask....they are nocturnal.