Ball Python help needed!

I picked up a royal python on friday after having a corn snake lost for 4 months. With my cornsnake i held her from the day i got her and she had no problems with handlind or feeding. With my ball python on the other hand, i got her out the day after i got her and she was fine but she seems to strike at me every now and again but not actually bite me. I tried feeding her the day after i got her as the shop said that was her feeding day but sadly there was no response and she didnt feed.

A little bit of information:

Temperature is 90 degrees on a hot spot with the cool end around 80 degrees
humidity is about 20 atm as i dont have a spray bottle that can be used to increase humidity, ( any tips on how to raise it would be great.)
and her night temperature is 80 degrees hot spot and around 75-80 in the cooler end.

I didnt come into the ball python keeping ready enough as i thought it was going to be as simple as keeping a corn, which i kept one for about 6 years and was happy.

Thanks in advance, Harry

Give your new little BP at least a week of no handling to settle in. Try feeding. If it eats then wait about 2 moredays to handle to allow for digestion. Just limit your interaction to changing water and spot cleaning if need be. They need time to adjust to their new surroundings...

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Originally Posted by ord0s

A little bit of information:

Temperature is 90 degrees on a hot spot with the cool end around 80 degrees
humidity is about 20 atm as i dont have a spray bottle that can be used to increase humidity, ( any tips on how to raise it would be great.)
and her night temperature is 80 degrees hot spot and around 75-80 in the cooler end.

I didnt come into the ball python keeping ready enough as i thought it was going to be as simple as keeping a corn, which i kept one for about 6 years and was happy.

Thanks in advance, Harry

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The hot spot should remain around 90F at night as well. As for humidity, there are a few ways to bump it up, but first, what type of enclosure are you using? What type of substrate? What type of heat source and controlling device are you using? And what are you using to measure temps and humidity?

And Welcome to BP.net...

I have got an exoterra thermometre on both cool and hot end, The enclosure is a wooden one with glass anels on the front, i usually use aspen shreddings but im using newspaper at the moment which can be changed. The trouble with my heating is the temperature in my room is constantly changing so i have a heatmat which keeps the hot spot at a constant 78 - 80 degrees and a basking lamp to help boost the temp up but i cant leave it on as it will easily reach above 90 degrees. This causes a lot of turning on and off with the lamp. oh and the humidity is measured by a humidity stat thing.

Hi. Welcome to the forums. The first thing I would do is read through this caresheet. There are a few touchups that need to be done your bp's home.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59

Ok. First I would get rid of that lamp because it is going to suck the humidity out of his cage. It sounds like it's pretty good size. If you aren't attached to the cage, you might consider getting a tub. It's so much easier to keep your bp healthy in one.

Next thing. You need to get a UTH (under tank heater). I'm not sure what you mean by heat pad, but if it's like the human ones that isn't enough. I would probably get two UTHs. One for the hot side and one for the cold side. You can put the one on the cold side on a dimmer switch. You will have to seach for it, because i'm not exactly sure how to do that. However, both UTH's need be be hooked up to a thermostat. Powerspikes can make temps reach over 100 degrees, and that's bad.

If you don't want to use a tub, try getting some small tupperware bowls and putting damp moss in them. That should make the humidity rise a bit.

Start with that caresheet, and we can go from there.

Does your tank have a wooden bottom, and what type of heat mat is it? and how is the heat mat mounted? Is the top wooden, glass, or screen? Also what are the dimensions of the tank?

right thank you for all this support. The heat pad i spoke of is a UTH sorry about the bad name calling for it and i would get a tub but tht is a complete waste for the cage she is in as it was rather expensive. The bulb i will have no problem with getting rid of as it is a complete hastle. But i am troubled with this thermostat option as i am worried about how much this will cost and how i would go about setting it up.

the UTH is on the inside of the tank attached to the bottem on the wood. the tank is 4ft by 1 1/2 foot by 1/12 foot. and btw the ball is around 1 year old.

One of the problems that you may be having is that the tank my be a little big for the ball python. I know that in my experience most of my ball pythons enjoy smaller enclosures, so that could be a little of the feeding and agression problems.

You temp problems can be fixed quite simply by looking into the zoomed rheostat. It works the same as a thermostat, but you can pick them up for about 25.00.

The humidity problem can be the difficult one, I am in New Mexico where we have a constant humidity of about 20% outside so I invested in the repti-fogger. They may be a little more expensive but it corrected my humidity problem almost overnight.

Wooden tanks and belly heat is going to be a pain. You will need to find a way to cover the UTH and seal it so that the snake and urine and feces won't come into direct contact with it. I have never used a wooden tank, but I have heard of people using floor tile over it or mounting a piece of plexiglass over it and sealing it with a sealing compound. If no one with experience in this posts on here, you may try posting the question on one of the boa forums. Alot of the larger snake keepers build their own enclosures.
As for thermostats, you can spend anywhere from around $25- $300, depending on brand and functions needed. You can get a ReptiTemp 500r for $25-$30 which will run your UTH and lamp together to maintain the temp, but you are definitely going to need to be able to prevent the snake from direct contact with the heater and light. Another option would be to go with a Radiant Heat Panel, which would mount into the top of the enclosure. They will run you a little more money and you will still need a thermostat. I think it might be best to get a ReptiTemp 500r and set up a tub, which will work until you can get the wooden tank sorted out...

THERMOSTAT OR REHOSTAT

Problem solved

Right my UTH is inside my tank with a few sheets of newspaper on it, more than the cool end so that it doesnt burn the snake but provides enough belly heat. Im in england so im not sure how the prices for that rheo stat compares but i will definatly have a look into it now, i have just checked the tamp and humidiy for the cage and its at 90 degrees hotspot 82 degrees cool spot with humidity at 20 thanks for this help its been great its just humidity which is my problem and feeding :/ thanks!

Hopefully some of the UK members will see this and tell you where to get the stuff at...

i am really gratefull for all this help :) sorry for all the hassle as i am a noob when it comes to ball pythons :) i really do wish that my local reptile shop was as helpfull as you guys.

Dont worry if you dont want to but could someone just give me a straight forward list of the things i need to do :)

thanks, Harry

Here is a quick list:

1) You need to get some way to control the UTH. A thermostat will work best, but you can also use a rheostat or a lamp dimmer. You can get those at hardware or home improvement stores.

2) Cover the UTH with something. If plexiglass is not an option, you can try getting a cheap plastic tub and cutting the bottom out of it and mounting it with some small wood screws to hold it down over the UTH. Just something to protect it from the snake, urine, feces,or spilled water.

3) Two identical hides. One over the UTH and one on the other side.

4) Water bowl. This doesn't really need to be big enough for the snake to soak in, but a larger shallow bowl will help with the humidity.

5) Digital temperature/ humidity gages will give you more accurate readings than the dial or tape stick on type...

6) If the heat lamp is mounted inside the enclosure, you need to make sure there is a screen around it so your snake cannot touch the bulb...

Are your thermometers digital ones with probes? 78-80 where the UTH is seems awfully cold as a UTH will reach temps of 120* if left unregulated... You want to measure the temp right above the UTH so you know the temp the snake is sitting on.

There is a thermostat that is relatively inexpensive in the UK although I can't remember the name. Habistat maybe?

ahhh my thermometres are right at the top of the cage :S

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Originally Posted by ord0s

ahhh my thermometres are right at the top of the cage :S

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they need to be down near where the snake will be spending most of its time.

will there be much of a difference then?

I think if you measure the temperature of the UTH you will find a big difference. The temp on the surface of an unregulated UTH can get hot enought to burn your snake...

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Originally Posted by ord0s

will there be much of a difference then?

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Yes. Get yourself a digital thermometer with a probe and set it right where the UTH is and see for yourself.

Rght, really a huge thanks to everyone who has helped me here but i think im settled. im probly gunna go out in the next week or so and by myself one of those storage tubs / bins probably 35 litres, and ill get a habistat thermostat which ive found for £25, the tub will most likely mean i will need a new heat mat but oh well anything for that beauty of a snake :D hopefully this wont total any more than around £50 and 'should' (crossed fingers) get her to feed and should sort out this humidity problem.

and thanks again everyne :) tell me whether you think this is a good idea.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ord0s

Rght, really a huge thanks to everyone who has helped me here but i think im settled. im probly gunna go out in the next week or so and by myself one of those storage tubs / bins probably 35 litres, and ill get a habistat thermostat which ive found for £25, the tub will most likely mean i will need a new heat mat but oh well anything for that beauty of a snake :D hopefully this wont total any more than around £50 and 'should' (crossed fingers) get her to feed and should sort out this humidity problem.

and thanks again everyne :) tell me whether you think this is a good idea.

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Good luck! If you need help, don't hesitate to ask. We are all just here to help :gj: