Tank Setup Advice!

well as you guys know my BP isnt eating and my first thought was relocation stress. but then i thought mabey my set up is lacking somewhere so i figured better be safe than sorry my set up is 88.9 basking 51% humidity cypress mulch 2 hides undertank heater any advice? plz!

Whats the size of the tank?

What temp is ur uth? Is that what the 88.9 is? Or is that ur ambient air temp?

Your temps seem fine. Maybe the cage is to big and he dont feel secure.

I recommend a tub :)

Edit: Also what are you feeding it? And how often are you trying to feed? Did u ask breeder what they were feeding it?

how long have u had him? whens the last time u handled him? are any of the sides covered? hot side, cool side, ambient air temps? size of BP and size of hides? are u trying to feed the same thing he ate before u got him?

sorry forgive me but i have the prob to the thermomator touching the glass where the heatpad is

tank is 20 gallon i cluttered it so it seems tight

i got him a feb 28 i have not held him yet i was waiting for him to eat i tried a rat pup like the breeder said


and sorry but whats ambiant air temp? :tears:

ambient air is the air inside, not on the UTH or under the light or anything. ok well is the heat from ur UTH getting through ur substrate to the snakes belly? how often since u got him have u offered food?

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Originally Posted by mpkeelee

ambient air is the air inside, not on the UTH or under the light or anything. ok well is the heat from ur UTH getting through ur substrate to the snakes belly? how often since u got him have u offered food?

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i tried twice yesterday and the day before but he did not seem interested it was frozen i thawed it out and used a hairdryer for the head he sniffed it but then just walked away not interested the last time he ate was with the breeder the 24 of feb


*how do i measure ambient air?*

Where is the ideal spots to set up the probes...

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Originally Posted by Laxhitman316

Where is the ideal spots to set up the probes...

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i have one under the substrate on the glass for the uth and my humidity probe is in a corner


im haveing trouble with ambient air i thought whatever the prob under the substrate says is what you need therefore if it reads 90 then its good for the snake have i been wrong this whole time?!
:confused:

Well you HAVE to know how hot the actual pad is so you know that inside the hide isn't too hot or if your snake burrows onto the glass it wont burn them. The UTH shouldn't be anymore than 110 to make it 90-95 in the tank on the hot side.

i got this i dont use anymore for my beardie do u think it would be better for my ball python? i got seperate exo terra ones right now but http://cgi.ebay.ca/Thermor-digital-t...-/250575781057 that one measures all 3 so that means i put the prob under the substrate and the machine in the cage so it will read the humidity and the air?



ugh i hate asking dumb questions :(

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Originally Posted by dembonez

i got this i dont use anymore for my beardie do u think it would be better for my ball python? i got seperate exo terra ones right now but http://cgi.ebay.ca/Thermor-digital-t...-/250575781057 that one measures all 3 so that means i put the prob under the substrate and the machine in the cage so it will read the humidity and the air?



ugh i hate asking dumb questions :(

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Yup exactly

But look here

You tstat probe u should put outside the cage under the uth so he cant move it off the uth. Put the therm probe inside the cage on the uth to get the temp of the uth. Then put the box in there to get air temp and humidity

Okay. The three things you need to measure in your snakes cage are the hot side surface temp, ambient air temp, and the humidity.

You have your hot side temp. The probe goes under the substrate right on the glass where the UTH is. This point should never get hotter than 95*F.

The ambient air temp is measured with a probe thermometer or a non probed digital thermometer like the flukers temp and humidity reader. Place the probe or thermometer unit a few inches above the substrate level on the cool side. The ambient air temp should be in the low 80's and never fall below 75*F.

The humidity can also be read with a probe or a digital hygrometer unit. Use a similar placement as the ambient air thermometer. A few inches above the substrate, in the middle of the cage is best.

Your thermostat probe controls the UTH so it should go directly on the UTH outside the enclosure. This makes sure that the snake won't accidentally move it causing a temp spike.


I hope this clarifies on sensor placement. A note on feeding: If your snake refuses a meal, do not keep offering food day after day until the snake eats. Rather, wait a full week (or 5 days depending on the schedule you use) and offer again. By offering many times in a row, you are just stressing the snake out even more. If you wait a full week, the snake will be hungrier and more likely to eat.

It would probably be a good idea to get a gram kitchen scale to track the weight of your ball python. If it starts loosing considerable amounts of weight (this depends on the age and current size of the snake) then it may be time to try other methods or make a vet appointment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Okay. The three things you need to measure in your snakes cage are the hot side surface temp, ambient air temp, and the humidity.

You have your hot side temp. The probe goes under the substrate right on the glass where the UTH is. This point should never get hotter than 95*F.

The ambient air temp is measured with a probe thermometer or a non probed digital thermometer like the flukers temp and humidity reader. Place the probe or thermometer unit a few inches above the substrate level on the cool side. The ambient air temp should be in the low 80's and never fall below 75*F.

The humidity can also be read with a probe or a digital hygrometer unit. Use a similar placement as the ambient air thermometer. A few inches above the substrate, in the middle of the cage is best.

Your thermostat probe controls the UTH so it should go directly on the UTH outside the enclosure. This makes sure that the snake won't accidentally move it causing a temp spike.


I hope this clarifies on sensor placement. A note on feeding: If your snake refuses a meal, do not keep offering food day after day until the snake eats. Rather, wait a full week (or 5 days depending on the schedule you use) and offer again. By offering many times in a row, you are just stressing the snake out even more. If you wait a full week, the snake will be hungrier and more likely to eat.

It would probably be a good idea to get a gram kitchen scale to track the weight of your ball python. If it starts loosing considerable amounts of weight (this depends on the age and current size of the snake) then it may be time to try other methods or make a vet appointment.

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all of the posts helped! but this one was the most helpful thanks so much to everyone for breaking it down for me!! :D


i switched them and getting the temps changed now!

Assuming the environment is in check, you may also try feeding a live rat pup. It's very possible that the breeder had him/her on live.

I tried my Caramel on frozen for 3 weeks and he wouldn't have anything to do with them. One of my het albino females only eats live rat pups (what a pain!), so I decided to drop one in the Caramel's bin. He came out fast and furious and took it down. He's taking one every four days now without hesitation.

I'll make the effort to get him on frozen, but live was the trick to get him started eating.

Good luck!

im still having a bit of trouble with the temps the basking is 108 the humidity is only 53 and the ambient air which i have the most trouble raising is only 77 and thats high any tips for humidity and ambient?

That ambient temp is fine. As long as it isn't lower than 75*F and you provide a hot spot.

Where is the temp of 108* is it directly on the UTH or under a lamp? Either way, you need something to control the heat source. Your best bet is to find a piggy back lamp dimmer to use temporarily and order a thermostat online.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

That ambient temp is fine. As long as it isn't lower than 75*F and you provide a hot spot.

Where is the temp of 108* is it directly on the UTH or under a lamp? Either way, you need something to control the heat source. Your best bet is to find a piggy back lamp dimmer to use temporarily and order a thermostat online.

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okay i found an old one around the house *hope it works* is like 91 okay?

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Originally Posted by dembonez

okay i found an old one around the house *hope it works* is like 91 okay?

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Between 89-95 is what you should shoot for. :)

You can test the dimmer on a real lamp to see if it works and then put it on our heat source.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dembonez

okay i found an old one around the house *hope it works* is like 91 okay?

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Anywhere between 90-95 really....but 108 is way too hot!