New to ball pythons and need desperate help!

Its not the best thermostat. The hydrofarm would be a better choice. But it isn't a total waste of money. Its better to have some sort of thermostat then none at all.

Wow, I just went to check up on Marley and I'm glad I did. The moonlight bulb I bought today did not create less heat at all, in fact my thermometer went up by several degrees! So I turned the light on and looked at the temp and it read over 90! So freaking out that my snake will fry I put back on the infared light I was using before because that seems to keep the heat around 85-88 at night. I am just going to go to the store asap and get a thermostat and weather station and a uth as soon as I can. Also my snake hasn't moved from his half log hide since he went in two days ago! I moved the heat side to the cave today when I made the adjustments to his Terrerium and im hoping by morning he will move to his other hide. I'm just worried that he's okay. When are ball pythons most active late at night? Or do they usually stay in thier hides? I'm thinking he doesn't want to move because he is stressed. We will see tomorrow morning...

Hiding is a good thing. Pacing and roaming are signs of stress. At night they will roam around and that is normal. They are nocturnal. Some won't even come out at night though.

You don't need to change the temperature from day to night. A constant 88-95 is fine.

If he's hiding, be it day or night, he's good. They can and do spend days at a time in one place (or appear to). They do tend to be more active at night than day.

Thanx :D everything posted here has helped me tremendously! I'm glad to be a proud owner of a ball python now :D I can't wait till this quarentine period is over and I can start picking him up!

I am going today to get a weatherstation because everyone was right, that thermometer is garbage, it reads over 90 ever since i put in the moonlight and usually only reads between 85-90

I know alot of this has been covered but here is my rehashing of it.

Thermometer:
http://willowtreehome.com/Merchant2/...01/00891A1.jpg
Other brands are fine it just should have a temp and humidity reading as well as an outdoor probe for temp. You place this inside the tank and put the probe under the warm hide. That way you know the ambient temp the ambient humidyt and the temp under the warm hide all with a glance. This will cost 10 to 15 dollars, I got mine at Walmart.

Under the tank heating pad:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2752652 about 20 bucks at petsmart. You stick this to the bottom of the warm side (under the tank, this does not go in the tank)

Hides:
Get a smaller hide is usually great advice. Your snake wants to cram itself in its hide. If you think its right its most likely to big. What I usually recommend for a baby ball. Is the bottom of a terracotta pot. Basically you find a something that your snake will just barely fit in. Make an opening if there isn't one already and you are all set. Do some searching on this site and you will find many great ideas. Key is to have two identical hides so that your snake can choose the right temp. If you give your snake two different hides they will choose the one they feel safest in regardless of whether its healthy for them or not.

Bedding:
Often referred to as substrate. There are many good substrates out there. I have used aspen shavings they are cheap relatively bad at holding humidity and hard to spot urates sometimes. It comes in large bails or smaller ones. http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2755138
Cypress is my favorite right now. Its a little more expensive, easy to spot urates and holds humidity well. http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2752444
Coconut husk is more expensive yet but holds humidity extremely well. http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=3092177

Water bowl:
Try and find something that is hard to tip over and about as big as the hide. Many people will say you can go smaller, and you can, but its nice to have something they can get all the way in if they want and a larger water bowl will help keep humidity up.

Thermostat/Rheostat:
This is the hardest part and most important. Your temperature should be controlled and constant. I know that sometimes you can find a thermostat or rheostat at petsmart but sometimes you can't and it will not be a good one. My recommendation is to buy one online. There are many places you can buy these. I got mine here http://www.reptilebasics.com/product...roductid=16172 they do offer a version of that model that is 20 dollars cheaper but you have to wire it yourself. If you or someone you trust can do that its a good way to go. Reptile Basics also sells great hides and lots of other things you might need/want.

On a final note. You are already better than most owners of Ball Pythons. You came to the right place to get the knowledge you need. Don't worry to much about not having the money to get things perfect. Do the best you can and have a plan to get where you want to be. Good luck and stay calm. My snake has gone months without eating. I can't say I wasn't stressed myself but I know that I had the support of this forum and when she was ready she ate.

they already got you covered on what to do but I must add, the CARESHEET is your desperate answer! :D

Well guys, I have some bad news. I purchased a stick on gauge for hermit crabs today that measures temp. and humidity. I found out that with the lights being run so often the tank I found was getting almost no humidity! :O So I sprayed it with some water to regulate the humidty to about 55-60. Question now. Is my snake possibly sick from being so dry? He hasn't moved for a few days and I've been pretty worried. I am getting a UTH as soon as humanly possible but untill then to keep the gauge reading 55 and above I have to spray down his cage every few hours...also I have moss setup in there and I was told its bad to spray it. :(

Hi,

Your missing the point.

Stickons give inaccurate readings - you just wasted money and still do not have a reliable way to know what either your temp or humidity is. :(

Seriously the digital acurite is $12 - how much did you waste on this hermit crab thing?


dr del