How do I get my BP to drink without bathing him?

I feel stupid after posting this x-x but I've learned quite a bit that I didn't know/was doing wrong wowow

Measuring it with your hand is wrong. You absolutely need to have that under tank heater plugged into a thermostat. It will burn your snake. Even if you don't think it feels hot. You are a warm blooded mammal with a core temperature of 98 degrees so how is 100 degrees going to feel hot to your hand? It isn't.

The UTH must be controlled by a thermostat, and then the hot side and cool side must be monitored by a digital, probed thermometer..

Walmart sells a good one for around $13 dollars called the Accurite weather station. You put the entire thing in the tank. The unit on the cool side, and the probe directly on the glass, on the UTH, on the hot side. The screen will tell you both temps and the humidity at the same time. Please please read the care sheet on here and you'll learn everything you need to know about it.

There are many thermostats to choose from. The more expensive ones like Herpstat, Helix, or Ranco.. Then there is a cheaper one that is actually fairly good by Hydrofarm.

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Originally Posted by thecrazyandinsane

I feel stupid after posting this x-x but I've learned quite a bit that I didn't know/was doing wrong wowow

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Not stupid, just un-informed and lack of research;)

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Not stupid, just un-informed and lack of research;)

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Yes! Certainly not stupid! Stupid would have been ignoring the correct information once you came upon it. Which you're not doing :gj:

Here is some good information on this site:

Yes its for a tub setup, but the glass tank setup wont vary too much. You will at least get the idea where to place the thermoSTAT and thermoMETER probes.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e-Basics-*DUW*

And here are some FAQs, they will help you out with some of the basic questions you might have, or something you never thought about.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Husbandry-FAQs

I would make sure you unplug the heat pad till you can get a thermostat. You can even go to any home improvement store and get a lamp dimmer for it as a temporary solution. And you will still have to monitor the temps with a digital thermometer.
Like previously stated the accurite from Walmart is cheap.

Im also concerned with that 100w heat lamp I think you mihht have it way too hot in that tank and its sucking the humidity out and causing him to be dehydrated.


1.0 Ball Pythons(Twizzler)
1.0 Cat (Loki)

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Originally Posted by Wapadi

Back to the questions of food

My newborn hatchling eat RAT PUPS....I didn't even know a ball would except a mouse fuzzy. I would try a rat weaner or a mouse for your next feeding. His scales might feel way loose because he is loosing weight. Just my two cents!

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Wow you must have way different ideas of what rat pups are than I do. Aren't rat pups usually considered about 20 grams? How could a neonate handle a pup?

I think if somebody suggested a mouse, then a rat pup would also be sufficient.

The lamp doesn't do much to the temperature I'm assuming because it's around two feet from the substrate (the tank is a 55 gallon so it's rather tall and the lamp is propped up a couple inches from the lid to prevent it from possibly melting the plastic on the sides.) The way that the hot spot is at the temperature that it is is because a rock in the enclosure absorbs the heat from the lamp.

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Originally Posted by Inarikins

Wow you must have way different ideas of what rat pups are than I do. Aren't rat pups usually considered about 20 grams? How could a neonate handle a pup?

I think if somebody suggested a mouse, then a rat pup would also be sufficient.

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It depends on the size of the hatchling. I've had 82g (out of the egg) hatchlings take a small pup as their first meal. However, I'd go closer to a rat fuzzy for the ones that hatch ~55g. This is why digital scales are so important.

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Originally Posted by thecrazyandinsane

The lamp doesn't do much to the temperature I'm assuming because it's around two feet from the substrate (the tank is a 55 gallon so it's rather tall and the lamp is propped up a couple inches from the lid to prevent it from possibly melting the plastic on the sides.) The way that the hot spot is at the temperature that it is is because a rock in the enclosure absorbs the heat from the lamp.

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in a 55 you are oing to have a ton of problems trying to hold heat and humidity, I started that way and it was a lot of work.
do yourself a favor and either get a 20 gallon tank or a 28qt tub.