Just got a new Pastel Ball Python....

Hey everyone, I am brand new to these forums and I already learned so much great stuff about ball pythons. I am getting more and more interested in these animals as time goes on. I was just wondering if theres a few people that could throw out some tips for me regardling my setup? I will try to describe it to the best of my ability.

Pastel Ball Python (2-3 months old, probably less than 16 inches long)

Tank Size - 20 gallon (long)

Substrate - coconut fiber (about 1 inch deep, maybe a little less or more)

Heat - Under the tank heater (10-20 gallon size) and also a 50 watt red bulb that I leave on all day on the hot side.

Hides - I have 1 hide on the hot side which is a big fake tree with small little fake green flowers on the top with an opening at the very top. I have seen my new pastel crawling through it and through the top and also climbing all over this thing so I am sure he loves it. I also have one on the cold side of the tank. Its a fake half log with 2 entry ways and a couple small holes to climb in/out.

Decoration - I have 1 fake hanging down plant on the hot side of my tank and 1 nice little fake plant in the middle. I also have a nice peice of driftwood going from the middle of the tank all the way to the top of the fake tree hide. I have seen him actually climb around it a bit so I am assuming he appreciates this.

Water - I have a medium water dish on the cold side of the tank in the very corner.

Feeding - I just got him today so I am holding off on feeding him for another few days. I was wonder what I should be feeding it at this age. Small fuzzies or pinky mice? I was told either would be good for him at this size and age.

Some other things I was wonder - I have 2 thermometers in my tank. 1 thermometer is about 5 inches off the ground in the middle of the glass on the hot side of the tank. It reads between 80-82 degree usually. Is this good enough for the air temperature? Also my other thermometer is at the base of his fake tree hide. I have it low to the ground to try to get a good reading of the grounds temp. It reads between 78-81. Is this acceptable or should I do something to add? Should I add a higher wattage of red light? Or a bigger heat pad?

Also, I don't know exactly how to set up an ideal basking area so any help on that subject will be greatly appreciated. Do I even need a basking are or will he just pick the hottest area of the tank to lay around when he feels the need?

Also, humidity seams to be somewhat of an issue. I have 1/2 of the tank scren covered with plastic wrap to try to hold in the humidity, but it seams to hold only for about a few hours before I have to mist the tank again :( The humidity battle seams like it is never ending. Should humidity be around 70 or more around 80? I can't get it above 65 for very long.

I will greatly appreciate any tips or advice all of you ball python enthusiasts have to offer me. Like I said I just bought this gorgeous Pastel Ball Python today and I am really going to dedicate a lot of time into make sure it gets everything it needs to live a happy life. I set up the tank about a week before I even went to purchase the snake because I was so excited and wanted everything to be perfect.

Thanks guys!:banana:

Substrate:
Coconut fibre is good, especially if you live in a dry area and need to mist it occasionally to maintain humidity. It maintains moisture and is resistant to mould. The only issue I’d have with coconut fiber is that it is not easily digestable and can cause impaction if any signifigant amount is swallowed during feeding.

An alternative you might consider later on would be finely shredded aspen. Snakes like to burrow in it, and it is completely digestable if they happen to get any in their mouths during feeding.

Heat:
The UTHs can vary in temperature if not regulated by an external source, like a rheostat or an automatic thermostat. The Rheostats are relatively inexpensive and can be picked up at many home/building centers or through pet stores, while the herp-specific thermostats can be a little more pricey but are generally more accurate and easy to use.

Example of a Rheostat: http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=77

Examples of Thermostats: http://spyderrobotics.com/ (I use the Sypder Robotics Herpstat. It also remembers settings in case of power outages. However, there are other brands to pick from.)

If neither of these options are good for you, than I’d simply suggest putting extra bedding over the heat pad to help dissipate some of the heat.

As you know, most BPs prefer the hot-side to be around the low 90s. However, an unregulated heating pad can easily spike at over 100 and can potentially case burns.

Hides:
I know the tree one you are talking about, and my only suggestion would be to make sure it does not have any sharp edges around the openings. If so, take a bit of sand paper and dull them a little. I always do this with anything that I put in the snakes cage. Somebody once posted a nasty laceration on their snake’s eye that was caused by a sharp burr inside a hide.

Feeding:
This feeding chart might help: http://www.ball-pythons.net/gallery/...seRatChart.jpg

>>> “1 thermometer is about 5 inches off the ground in the middle of the glass on the hot side of the tank. It reads between 80-82 degree usually. Is this good enough for the air temperature?”

That would be your ambient air temperature, and yes, that sounds fine.

>>> “Also my other thermometer is at the base of his fake tree hide. I have it low to the ground to try to get a good reading of the grounds temp. It reads between 78-81. Is this acceptable or should I do something to add? Should I add a higher wattage of red light? Or a bigger heat pad?”

The wattage on the light sounds fine given your adequate ambient air temp. If the heat pad is listed as being acceptable for 10-20 gallon than it should be just fine.

My concern would be that the thermometer on the ground may not be measuring the actual temperature of the heating pad itself, especially under the hide. Again, I’d suggest regulating the temperature of the pad via a Rheostat or an automatic thermostat as mentioned earlier.

>>> “Also, I don't know exactly how to set up an ideal basking area so any help on that subject will be greatly appreciated.”

They are not big into basking. As nocturnal animals, they don’t require special lighting to simulate sunlight, and they rarely spend time lounging around. In all honesty, they will spend the vast majority of their time curled up under one hide or another. ;P If/When they do venture out, they like having things to hide behind, so to make the enclosure as comfortable as possible I’d add a few things to that effect; fake plants, simulated grasses, fake branches, etc.

>>> “Should humidity be around 70 or more around 80? I can't get it above 65 for very long.”

Keeping half the tank covered is good, but plastic wrap might be overkill. Carbon Dioxide is a heavy gas and sinks, so you do want some air flow. I use a doubled-up kitchen towel and it works fine. TIP: You can moisten the towel itself to help trap/produce humidity during especially dry periods.

80% would be considered quite high. 70% is recommended only for when they are going into shed, and not all of them require it to be even that high. Time and experience will tell you what your BP needs and does not.

For now, I’d recommend trying to maintain the humidity around 50%.

If that is difficult, try adding a bowl of coconut fibre in a corner. Make it quite moist, even a little wet. That will help release humidity throughout the day. Prior to moving my BP to a new tank and putting a humidifier in his room, I used a bowl of coconut fibre and it worked quite well. If the room your snake is in happens to be enclosed (a bedroom, study, etc) and not a main-area of the house, you might consider buying a humidifier for that room. It is good for your skin, and good for the snake. Set it to about 40%, as 55%+ can promote the growth of mould.

It sounds like you have done your homework, and you have a very lucky snake! :) Keep up the great work.

PS: Post some pics in the pic section! We love pics. ;)

I don't really like the coco fiber bedding just because its so much like dirt. I don't like the idea of cleaning dirt..just seems counter productive :giggle: . I prefer aspen or paper towels and many people use newspaper or cypress mulch.

I suspect from the way you have your thermometers placed that they are not digital. I would recommend getting a different thermometer. The Accurite weather station from Home depot, lowes, or walmart, is about $12 and measures ambient air temperature, ambient humidity, and a hot spot with the external probe (you would put this under the substrate right above where the UTH is).

Climbing all over things does not mean he loves them. He is a new snake and he will probably spend the next week or two cruising all over the tank looking for a way out. Constantly cruising around is a sign of stress which is normal for a new snake during its acclimation period.

I would actually suggest getting two identical hides. That half log thing isn't really going to get the job done. Ball pythons spend 90% of their time in hides so it is important to provide them with tight fitting "cave like" hides that only have a small entrance.

As far as your heating goes, you will find that the UTH should be more than enough to provide an adequate hot spot, you are just not measuring its heat output correctly. You will also probably find that it gets way too hot. UTHs run at about 115-120* unregulated which is much too high for ball pythons. A reptile thermostat is the best way to control the temperature and keep it around 90*. The reptitemp 500r is widely available online for about 20-25$. I would highly recommend purchasing one BEFORE you find your snake with a thermal burn. Even if you put more substrate between the snake and the heat pad, it can and will move the substrate to get closer to it.

I would move the red bulb to the cool side. The UTH will take care of the hot spot temperature just fine. The red bulb should only be used if you need to raise your ambient temps.

50-60% humidity is recommended and 70% during a shed cycle.

I would start your ball python off on adult mice. Pinky mice are like popcorn for ball pythons. Also, wait one week from the day you got him before trying to feed him. You will be more likely to have success if you wait the full week. Also during this week, do not handle him. Handling is stressful and you should hold off until he feels safe in his home before you take him out. remember, you are a big scary monster to this little guy!

Good luck!

I neglected to mention that part of your issue with humidity might be due to the light you are using. They tend to dry out the air quite a bit. Instead, if you have trouble maintaining ambient air temperatures with just the heat pad, try using a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) in the same wattage range. They screw into the socket just like a light, but don't produce the type of heat that destroys air humidity.

Hope that helps.

wow thanks a lot for the help guys. I really appreciate all this.

I will remove the plastic wrap from the tank cover and probably end up placing a moist towel on half of the cover as you said and see how that works out. Also, I moved the 50 watt red bulb from the hot side of the tank to more in the middle so that it reduces the heat from all one side and will most likely increase the ambient air temperature throughout the tank instead of just the hot side.

I just went to the petland by my house and purchased a few small mice. They look the perfect size for my snake. I plan on feeding it once every 5 days until it gets a little bigger then switching to once every 7 days and using a little larger mouse. Since I have to buy a few mice at a time, what would be good to feed the mice? I have them in small plastic critter cage and I used carefresh as their bedding. The lady at petland told me that using hamster food will be good for keeping them healthy. Is hamster food good to feed my mice i plan on feeding to my snake?

I also purchased a zoo med brand digital thermometer with a probe. I placed the probe right above where my heat pad is located, but I made sure I usedf a thin layer os substrate to cover the probe so that it could get a good reading. It reads anywhere from 87-92 degrees inside of his tree hide on top of the heat pad. Is this a perfect temperature so that my snake can feel comfortable or will this be too hot and cause burns?

These pages should answer all your questions. Just read through them.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=63227
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=30763

Congrats on the purchase and enjoy your new friend :)

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Originally Posted by eulenspiegel

These pages should answer all your questions. Just read through them.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=63227
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=30763

Congrats on the purchase and enjoy your new friend :)

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thanks a lot.

When I read the 2nd link I noticed that whoever wrote that said to put a heating pad under each side of the tank. Isn't that dangerous to do and can't it be bad for your snake to make both sides of the tank have heating pads?

NightLad I will try to get pictures up sometime in the next couple days so you can see my setup and my snake :)

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

thanks a lot.

When I read the 2nd link I noticed that whoever wrote that said to put a heating pad under each side of the tank. Isn't that dangerous to do and can't it be bad for your snake to make both sides of the tank have heating pads?

NightLad I will try to get pictures up sometime in the next couple days so you can see my setup and my snake :)

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Each pad is set to a different temperature using a thermostat. One is set to 90* and the other to 80*.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

wow thanks a lot for the help guys. I really appreciate all this.

I will remove the plastic wrap from the tank cover and probably end up placing a moist towel on half of the cover as you said and see how that works out.

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Great! As time goes on you can always try different things, experiment to find an optional setup for your specific snake. It can be tricky to follow general guides and advice from online, because even your geographical climate may impact things differently. It is import to keep an eye on the setup and to get to know what impacts your area the most.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

Also, I moved the 50 watt red bulb from the hot side of the tank to more in the middle so that it reduces the heat from all one side and will most likely increase the ambient air temperature throughout the tank instead of just the hot side.

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Excellent! If you still find it difficult to maintain humidity, give some thought to purchasing a CHE (ceamic heat emitter) like I mentioned. They cost about $10-15, but they last for years.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

The lady at petland told me that using hamster food will be good for keeping them healthy. Is hamster food good to feed my mice i plan on feeding to my snake?

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Hampster food is basically just small nuts and grain. It is perfectly fine for mice.

I found that buying and storing live mice can be a bit of a pain, especially when owning a single snake. When he gets a little bigger, you might want to try switching to Frozen/Thaw. That way you can just buy a bulk bag of pre-killed mice and keep them in your freezer. (They are less expensive that way, too!)

There are many posts about Frozen/Thaw here to help you.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

I also purchased a zoo med brand digital thermometer with a probe. I placed the probe right above where my heat pad is located, but I made sure I used a thin layer of substrate to cover the probe so that it could get a good reading. It reads anywhere from 87-92 degrees inside of his tree hide on top of the heat pad. Is this a perfect temperature so that my snake can feel comfortable or will this be too hot and cause burns?

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That is perfect. Just make sure it does not jump to 95+. When you hear about heat pads causing burns it is usually when there is A) not enough substrate and B) when the heat is not regulated and hits 100+. As Kaorte said, many pads will hit 115-120*. If yours is stable at 87-92, than it should be fine. I keep mine at 92.

A suggestion about decoration: it might be good to put some black cardboard/bristle board on the back of your tank. That way the snake will feel less overwhelmed when he is out of his hides, and it will give the tank a nice visual presentation. As I mentioned earlier, these snakes don’t go out much and spend most of their lives underground/hiding. Just a thought!

Hey Nightlad, since I don't currently have a rheostat or thermostat I just took your advice and added a little extra bedding over the are of the heat pad. My digital thermometer reads that above the heat pad right under the tree hide is consistantly around the mid-80's. Ever since I moved my red bulb from the hot side to the middle of the tank, the ambient air temperature seams to have stayed about the same, but like I said the heat area where his tree hide is has gone down from 87-92 to about 84-86.

Now I am worried that he isn't getting ENOUGH heat rather than too much. Should I just keep the red bulb on the hot side of the tank?

I am about to go out now and try to find a thermostat or something but none of the petshops carry the stuff that you guys reccommended that I purchase. I will probably have to just buy a regular home one instead of a pet one because I can only find them online and I dont really trust ordering stuff that much.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

Hey Nightlad, since I don't currently have a rheostat or thermostat I just took your advice and added a little extra bedding over the are of the heat pad. My digital thermometer reads that above the heat pad right under the tree hide is consistantly around the mid-80's. Ever since I moved my red bulb from the hot side to the middle of the tank, the ambient air temperature seams to have stayed about the same, but like I said the heat area where his tree hide is has gone down from 87-92 to about 84-86.

Now I am worried that he isn't getting ENOUGH heat rather than too much. Should I just keep the red bulb on the hot side of the tank?

I am about to go out now and try to find a thermostat or something but none of the petshops carry the stuff that you guys reccommended that I purchase. I will probably have to just buy a regular home one instead of a pet one because I can only find them online and I dont really trust ordering stuff that much.

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A home thermostat will not work. I would just buy the thermostat online. If you order from a reputable site, what is not to trust? I am pretty sure petsmart sells the reptitemp 500r online. In the meantime you can go to home depot or lowes and get a piggy back light dimmer so you have at least some control over the heat pad.

Stick the probe thermometer under the substrate right over where the heating pad is. You want to measure the hottest point your snake can get to.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

A home thermostat will not work. I would just buy the thermostat online. If you order from a reputable site, what is not to trust? I am pretty sure petsmart sells the reptitemp 500r online. In the meantime you can go to home depot or lowes and get a piggy back light dimmer so you have at least some control over the heat pad.

Stick the probe thermometer under the substrate right over where the heating pad is. You want to measure the hottest point your snake can get to.

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so i should put the probe under all of the substrate? right on top of the glass bottom over the heating pad? why would I do that? That wouldnt give me an accurate reading of the temperature of where the snake actually is laying.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

so i should put the probe under all of the substrate? right on top of the glass bottom over the heating pad? why would I do that? That wouldnt give me an accurate reading of the temperature of where the snake actually is laying.

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The snake can and will move the substrate around and can get in direct contact with the glass. You want to measure the hottest point in the tank and make sure it doesn't get above 95*F. If the temp on top of the substrate is 92*, then the temperature below the substrate will be much higher, possibly high enough to cause burns.

Kaorte said it best, mate. The reptitemp 500r is the way to go, but if you are in a pinch you can pick up a basic dimmer at your local home building center.

The Rheostat is basically a dimmer switch for regulating power flow, that’s all. You plug it in to your power-cord/socket, and then plug the UTH into it. After that, you can play with the dial to find the optimal power-flow setting which will keep the UTH at the level you want.

I’d recommend putting a piece of tape over the dial after finding the right setting (and marking the setting in case it ever gets moved).

Okay I will do my best to find a reptitemp 500r online. :(

Well guys, I just ordered the reptitemp 500r from amazon.com. I payed the extra money to get the same day shipping. It should be here by tuesday probably. I will go pickup another heating pad also so that once it comes I can set it up right away.

How exactly does the reptitemp work? I can manually set each heating pad to be a specific temperature?

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

Well guys, I just ordered the reptitemp 500r from amazon.com. I payed the extra money to get the same day shipping. It should be here by tuesday probably. I will go pickup another heating pad also so that once it comes I can set it up right away.

How exactly does the reptitemp work? I can manually set each heating pad to be a specific temperature?

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how much did you pay for it? i really need one and im wondering the price range its gunna be in:D:D:D

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

Well guys, I just ordered the reptitemp 500r from amazon.com. I payed the extra money to get the same day shipping. It should be here by tuesday probably. I will go pickup another heating pad also so that once it comes I can set it up right away.

How exactly does the reptitemp work? I can manually set each heating pad to be a specific temperature?

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One reptitemp 500r can set two heating pads to the same temperature but not to different temperatures.

When you get it, put the thermostat probe on the UTH OUTSIDE the enclosure. Aluminum tape works best for securing it. Then with your thermometer probe right on the glass where the UTH is, adjust the knob on the thermostat until it stays around 90*F.

I am a little confused as to why you want two heating pads?

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

One reptitemp 500r can set two heating pads to the same temperature but not to different temperatures.

When you get it, put the thermostat probe on the UTH OUTSIDE the enclosure. Aluminum tape works best for securing it. Then with your thermometer probe right on the glass where the UTH is, adjust the knob on the thermostat until it stays around 90*F.

I am a little confused as to why you want two heating pads?

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wait up, didn't you say I should set one on the hot side to 90 degree and one to 80 degree on the cold side? or should I just stick with 1 heating pad and the red bulb that I currently use?

Right now my digital thermometer is saying his hot hide is at 88 degrees and the ambient air temperature is 82 degrees in both the hot and cold sides so that should be perfect.

Basically I should just use the reptitemp for 1 heating pad though?

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Originally Posted by Mrgbb

how much did you pay for it? i really need one and im wondering the price range its gunna be in:D:D:D

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i found one on amazon.com for about $23.50 I think it was.

Hey guys I went out to walmart and picked up one of the accurite thermometers that measures the inside and outside temps and humidity. I put the probe on the glass right above the heat pad and its reaching around 120 degrees....

I ordered the repti therm 500r and it should be here tuesday. Should my snake be fine in his cage until tuesday comes around as long as I make sure he has a good amount of substrate down? Or should I just use the 50 watt red bulb and turn off the heating pad until tuesday?

Hi,

Well my advice would be to go buy an inline lamp dimmer (they are around $10 ) and use that to control your heating pad until the thermostat arrives.

Then, when you are ready to try a second heating pad connect it to the thermostat through the dimmer - that should let you get the temp right on both pads with a bit of tweaking.

That way you solve the immediate problem without wasting money on kit you can't find other uses for in the future. :gj:


dr del

Yeah I guess I am going to have to get a light dimmer :(

This snake is making my pockets skinny. But I would rather my snake be healthy and safe from burns than be cheap right now lol.

Thanks for all the help guys. My girlfriend is bringing her camera over in a couple hours. I am putting a background on my tank and setting up the dimmer soon. I will take pictures of my snake and my tank setup to see what you guys think.

Okay guys, I got the Lutron Lamp Dimmer and I successfully got my heating pad to stay around 90 degrees.

But now the new accurite digital thermometer I got is reading the ambient air temperature to be at 85.5 degrees. Is 85+ degrees too hot for the ambient air temperature?

Alls I am using is a 50 watt reb bulb for the middle of the tank to heat up the ambient air. I don't know why its getting to 85 degrees or if thats even healthy. Let me know guys. Thanks

Hi,

Where about is the base unit of the acurite?

Is it at ground level on the cool end?

By the way I usually ended up putting the heat lamps on dimmers if needed as well - just to save desperately swapping bulb sizes to try and find the right one. :giggle:

While I remember;

Once the temp is holding steady in the warm end hide you can move the probe into the cool end hide to see how it is holding as well.

I don't usually pick a spot to permanently place the acurite probe until I have checked all over the place above and below the substrate.

Once I know that everything is dialed in I simply only want it to monitor for changes - generally I end up picking inside the hot end hide.


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Where about is the base unit of the acurite?

Is it at ground level on the cool end?

By the way I usually ended up putting the heat lamps on dimmers if needed as well - just to save desperately swapping bulb sizes to try and find the right one. :giggle:

While I remember;

Once the temp is holding steady in the warm end hide you can move the probe into the cool end hide to see how it is holding as well.

I don't usually pick a spot to permanently place the acurite probe until I have checked all over the place above and below the substrate.

Once I know that everything is dialed in I simply only want it to monitor for changes - generally I end up picking inside the hot end hide.


dr del

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I stuck the probe of the accurate to the glass right above the heating pad underneith the substrate. It is reading about 91.5 degrees which should be perfect.

I place the accurite itself in the hot area in the corner. The red bulb is in the middle of the tank. The ambient air temperature is reading between 85-86 on the hot side. I havnt checked the cool side yet. I will do so now to see if theres a nice temperature difference

okay I had the accurite in the cool side of the tank for about 12-13 minutes now and the ambient air temperature is still reading about 85.5 degrees. Is this too hot for the ambient air temperature?

Hi,

It's a little higher than I would normally aim for - what reading do you get when you put the probe inside the cool end hide and leave it for an hour or so?


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

It's a little higher than I would normally aim for - what reading do you get when you put the probe inside the cool end hide and leave it for an hour or so?


dr del

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well the accurite thermometer that i have only has 1 probe and your supposed to stick it to wherever your going to keep it. I would have to like scrape it off the area of where I already have it lol.

i already put the unit itself in the cool side of the tank and it had the same reading (85-86 degrees). I am starting to get really bothered by this. It seams like if get 1 thing fixed, another thing messes up.

right now these are my readings

Heating pad - 91.0 degrees
Ambient air - 85.4 degrees

Should I just move the 50 watt red bulb to the hot side (over his hot hide) and then move the accurite unit to the cold end of the tank and wait for an hour or what? Im really lost and completely out of ideas with this.

Hi,

Actually since it is in a tank with a snake you dont want to be sticking it anywhere unless you are using something like a hotglue gun. :)

If you have tape in the enclosure please take it out. :please:

But keeping the probe mobile is by far the best idea until you have everything dialed in.

And don't worry - you are actually making good progress and are almost there already. :gj:

Adding another lamp dimmer to your heat lamp for example would let you get everything perfect easily.

But I thought you had intended to stop using the lamp and use a second UTH? Have I picked up the wrong end of the stick?


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

Actually since it is in a tank with a snake you dont want to be sticking it anywhere unless you are using something like a hotglue gun. :)

If you have tape in the enclosure please take it out. :please:

But keeping the probe mobile is by far the best idea until you have everything dialed in.

And don't worry - you are actually making good progress and are almost there already. :gj:

Adding another lamp dimmer to your heat lamp for example would let you get everything perfect easily.

But I thought you had intended to stop using the lamp and use a second UTH? Have I picked up the wrong end of the stick?


dr del

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no no no, I didnt use tape or glue or anything. the accurite thermomter that i purchased came with like this sticky adhesive side where your supposed to stick it to test the outside temp.

Wherever the unit itself is measure the inside temp (ambient air temp).

I will just have to go buy ANOTHER lamp dimmer lol. It seams like I have ran to 100 stores and got 100 things to add to my tank/setup in the past 48 hours. This is actually getting pretty funny that I always seam to need 1 last thing lol.

Thanks for your help again man. I am going to run to lowes really fast and pick up another lamp dimmer.

I will post in a couple hours and let you know how the temps are. :gj:

Okay well I set up the 50 watt red bulb to the new lamp dimmer I got. I set it to about 60% on the dimmer, I will wait around an hour and let you know where it ends up.... But now I have yet again another problem.

My humidity is now reading 91%.... :(

Like I said everytime I fix 1 thing, something else starts to whack out lol

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

Okay well I set up the 50 watt red bulb to the new lamp dimmer I got. I set it to about 60% on the dimmer, I will wait around an hour and let you know where it ends up.... But now I have yet again another problem.

My humidity is now reading 91%.... :(

Like I said everytime I fix 1 thing, something else starts to whack out lol

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If you are up for it, you could dry the substrate out faster by putting it in the oven on 200* for 15-20 minutes.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

If you are up for it, you could dry the substrate out faster by putting it in the oven on 200* for 15-20 minutes.

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i may have to end up doing that..

should my accurite unit be somewhere high up? Like on top of his hot hide? Or should I put it on top of the substrate in like the back corner of the tank? Maybe I am just not getting a good humidity/ambient air reading becuz of the location of the unit itself?

Good point. Try raising the unit up off the substrate and see if that helps with the humidity reading. I forgot that the sensor is at the bottom on this unit.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Good point. Try raising the unit up off the substrate and see if that helps with the humidity reading. I forgot that the sensor is at the bottom on this unit.

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yeah i was trying to read and find out where the sensor is at on this product.

what I ended up doing is sticking a small square of adhesive to the back of the unit, and i stuck it on the inside of my tank about 6-7 inches from the substrate.

I will leave it like this for 30-45 minutes and see if it gets better readings:banana:

I doubt the humidity will stay that high for very long. Take off the towel covering half the tank and a few hours should reveal a noticeable drop.

I know exactly what you are going through with the humidity, because I went through the exact same thing when I got my BP. Seriously, reading most of this post is like having a flashback! But let me pass on some advice that was given to me by my brother-in-law who owned a massive reptile collection: in the wild things happen... like rain. :P (Meaning: yes, we should strive to meet optimal requirements, but remember that they’ve existed in the wild for thousands of years, too!)

If you ever do use the oven to dry the substrate, make sure it is cool before replacing it.

You are doing a great job so far, and I think it is fantastic to see such a dedicated and committed owner. Keep it up!

PS: Many people will caution against putting anything sticky in the cage, especially tape. If they can get into it, they will.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NightLad

I doubt the humidity will stay that high for very long. Take off the towel covering half the tank and a few hours should reveal a noticeable drop.

I know exactly what you are going through with the humidity, because I went through the exact same thing when I got my BP. Seriously, reading most of this post is like having a flashback! But let me pass on some advice that was given to me by my brother-in-law who owned a massive reptile collection: in the wild things happen... like rain. :P

If you ever do use the oven to dry the substrate, make sure it is cool before replacing it.

You are doing a great job so far, and I think it is fantastic to see such a dedicated and committed owner. Keep it up!

PS: Many people will caution against putting anything sticky in the cage, especially tape. If they can get into it, they will.

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Good idea. I took the towel off for now. I will probably place it back on after I can get the humidity to around 60. Yeah I figured that in the wild a lot of unnexpected things can happen, so humidity of 90% for a day or so shouldnt really affect him THAT much.

Thanks for the compliment! I just figure if I chose to get the BP than I should do whatever I can to make it feel comfortable and healthy.

As for the tape, I didn't use tape. I used a small square of adhesive, and the back of the accurite thermometer is covering it up by far. I will look around to try to find a suction cup to see if it fits on the accurite so that I can be safe encase something weird happens.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

I will look around to try to find a suction cup to see if it fits on the accurite so that I can be safe encase something weird happens.

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Suction cups are the way to go, for sure. The thing is, many of them like to climb (despite what books have to say about it). I can totally picture the lil'fella climbing up on it for a better view. Look at these pict of mine as a baby! (He was a few months old in that pic, and in his first enclosure. This is him now.)

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...1/9/climb3.JPG

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NightLad

Suction cups are the way to go, for sure. The thing is, many of them like to climb (despite what books have to say about it). I can totally picture the lil'fella climbing up on it for a better view. Look at these pict of mine as a baby! (He was a few months old in that pic, and in his first enclosure. This is him now.)

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...1/9/climb3.JPG

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lol yeah I have seen many ball pythons climbing in pictures despite what people say about them not being climbers.

I found a suction cup from a different thermometer, and I was able to rig it to the thermometer im using right now. I took out the adhesive square just to be safe.

would I be able to get some hides like the ones you have in those pictures at walmart? I have 2 hides right now but they arnt identical sadly.... because I love them both and they look great in my tank.

thats a great looking snake by the way

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

I found a suction cup from a different thermometer, and I was able to rig it to the thermometer im using right now. I took out the adhesive square just to be safe.

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That’s fantastic! I didn't want to freak you out or anything, but there are many posts that deal with un-sticking a stuck BP that wound up in tape or other adhesive mediums. Generally... not fun. For some reason they seem attracted to it like a moth to a flame! :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

would I be able to get some hides like the ones you have in those pictures at walmart? I have 2 hides right now but they arnt identical sadly.... because I love them both and they look great in my tank.

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I got those at a reptile expo for .50 cents each. I knew that I'd want something that looked more 'natural' when he got bigger, so they were just temporary. Now I'm using fake rock hides that actually look rather good.

You can find similar fake-rock hides on a smaller scale, but they are a little pricy. I think they go for around $6-10 each (and he will outgrow them soon enough). I've seen them in pet stores, not sure about WallMart. You will find them at a reptile expo for sure.

If the hides you have are working for you, than I'd leave it alone for now. So long as he is using them and eatting, not showing signs of stress, than he may accept them and be just fine.

And Salzedo says 'thankssssss'!

I got my ambient air temperature to around 84 degrees. I put the 50 wat red bulb on a dimmer as well, and I am currently working on adjusting it.

Is 84 a little too high for ambient air temp?

Also, I fixed my humidity problem and UTH problem. My humidity is now reading around 58 % and my UTH is reading about 93 degrees. My reptitemp 500r should arrive tomarow though, so I can take off these dimmers and hook up my stuff to the reptitemp and have it more steady.

I also was able to find a 4-pack of some small plastic bowls at walmart and I was able to cut a little opening in 2 of them and replace his current hides with these ones. I made sure to use a nail file to sand down the edges of the cuts and also that little pokey bump on the bottom of plastic bowls. as soon as I replaces his hides last night he went right into one of the new homemade plastic bowl hides.

84 is a touch high for ambient temps. You want about a 10* temperature gradient from 90-93* to 80-83*. Having your ambient temps a little higher isn't bad though. :)

Glad he likes the new hides!

Okay I got the ambient air temp down to about 83 degrees.

So far everything is looking great.

Hot spot temperature - 92 degrees
Ambient air temperature - 83 degrees
Humidity - 62 %

Now that I have everything settled, I will try to finally give this little guy a full 7 days before handling him again.

I plan on feeding him on thursday, should I just put newspaper down over the substrate, and let him eat inside his enclosure over the newspaper?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

Okay I got the ambient air temp down to about 83 degrees.

So far everything is looking great.

Hot spot temperature - 92 degrees
Ambient air temperature - 83 degrees
Humidity - 62 %

Now that I have everything settled, I will try to finally give this little guy a full 7 days before handling him again.

I plan on feeding him on thursday, should I just put newspaper down over the substrate, and let him eat inside his enclosure over the newspaper?

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That is fine, although you don't *really* need the newspaper. I have never heard of this species becoming impacted from ingesting bedding.

Good to hear! Now the last thing I have to do is just wait for the reptitemp 500r to arrive :gj:

my REPTITEMP 500R arrived today!

How do I set up the probe on the REPTITEMP 500R?

It has no adhesive back on it or anything. Should I tape it or use some adhesive on it and place it above the glass right on top of the heating pad, then cover it back up with substrate?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

How do I set up the probe on the REPTITEMP 500R?

It has no adhesive back on it or anything. Should I tape it or use some adhesive on it and place it above the glass right on top of the heating pad, then cover it back up with substrate?

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Use aluminum tape and tape it to the outside bottom of the UTH (outside the enclosure). If it was in the enclosure, the snake could move it causing the UTH to over heat.