New here! Am I doing it right?

Hello everyone, I'm new to this site and to snakes.
I just recently joined this site to learn more about my ball python.
Last week, my mom made a very serious impulse buy. She went to the pet store, saw the ball python, and immediately took it home. At first I put aspen bedding in the spare 10 gallon tank we had that already had a zilla heat mat under it, and had the tank at a steady 80 degrees. She had a half log hide and a ziploc container for a water bowl.
After being directed to this site, I've changed a lot of things. I changed the substrate to paper towels, added an infra red heat lamp on one side to raise the temperature of other side of the tank to 90-93 degrees and the cool side is still 80. I switched the half log to a plastic container and added another hide on the other side. Also since she has a bit of stuck shed on her, I raised the humidity to 70-80%.
Yesterday we fed her, and she took the f/t fuzzie with no problem and no constricting, so I guess she's used to eating f/t. I fed in a different container, and she didn't mind very much.

So far, is everything okay? I want to make sure I'm doing it all right! :)

Caramell, welcome!

You seem to be doing everything right. But, you didn't read the TOS of the site properly. Every new poster is required to....


POST PICTURES!!!!!!

:D:D

We'd love to see your baby!

Here is a care sheet: http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59 Everything you need to know is right there! Congrats on your new pet! I wish my mom did that when I was a kid! Enjoy it!

Sounds pretty decent to me. Looks like your doing a good job. Also Aspen is okay to use, but you have to move the BP out of its enclosure to feed so your BP doesn't ingest the Aspen. Iv used Paper Towels for substrate on a Beardie before and to be honest its not easy to clean. But if you like using it thats fine. Also I'm glad you joined to further your education on Ball Pythons.

:welcome:
Everything sounds good.
You can feed him in his inclosure if you want and aspen is a good substrate as well.

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Originally Posted by Jsh

:welcome:
Everything sounds good.
You can feed him in his inclosure if you want and aspen is a good substrate as well.

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If your going to use loose substrate you don't want to feed your BP in the enclosure because of the chances that they will ingest the substrate.

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Originally Posted by hunter94

If your going to use loose substrate you don't want to feed your BP in the enclosure because of the chances that they will ingest the substrate.

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I've been feeding on aspen for quite a while with no problems. I feed off tongs so strikes are towards the ceiling not the substrate. Sometimes I flip hides for them to feed on but it's rare. I'm not saying their isn't a slight risk, its just not high enough for me to worry about it.

I always need in the enclosure with aspen and never had a problem!!!

The OP can always put down some newspaper or paper towels on top of the substrate when feeding. Then there is no chance of the snake getting any of the substrate in it's mouth. They do not need to feed the snake in a separate container.

1. No need to swap enclosures or put things down, a lot of people think if the snake ingests some bedding it will be the end of the world, but a lot more have no issues with it. Aspen is a great bedding, I used to use it.
2. The OP stopped using aspen and started using paper towels, so I dont see where you guys are getting the urge to tell them to switch when they already did.
3. Temps are fine, humidity seems fine, if the stuck shed doesnt come off in a week or so I'd suggest soaking in warm water for half an hour or so and if it's just on the body you can gently rub it after and it should come right off if it doesnt in the water.

What size is the snake? Hoppers to adult mice are good if it's not tini-tiny, use the widest diameter of the snake as a set for you widest diameter feeder. You may want to add a second identical hide. Try blocking out 3 sides so that the snake is more secure (this doesnt seem necessary in your case but is always nice in a tank). Use aluminum foil on the screen lid to aid in maintaining humidity (1/2 to 2/3rds the lid).

Where are you getting your temps? You need to test the glass right on top of the heat mat, it could be getting to hot (but if you have a 5-10gallon heat mat chances are it wont, but it can). BPs dont seem to bask often so a heat lamp could be overkill and may not be necessary, but if the belly heat on the pad stays where it is and the ambient temp stays where it is you should be fine and may well just keep the heat lamp.

Aspen is fine, paper towels arent necessary, you can spot clean aspen, but with the towels you will need to pull all of it and put in a new set once a week/every bathroom use.

I too have no problem with feeding on aspen. My snakes strike up and coil their prey, I've only once seen one of them get a piece of aspen in their mouth and he spent all of .002 seconds wiggling it out before wolfing down the mouse. The one snake that doesn't strike, just eats...well, I just lay his mice down in front of him. No worries though since he's a weird little thing and always pushes all of the bedding out of his hide so he's lying on the naked tub floor. :rofl: He's like a little interior decorator!

Thank you everyone! I chose to feed outside of the enclosure to avoid getting tagged if my hand goes in the cage. I've read in a lot of places that it doesn't really work and it's highly debated, but I think I'll just stick to what works for me. I also switched to paper towels because I was afraid the aspen was going to mold(which it did actually start to in one corner) and spread bacteria. I put a few layers of paper towels over the heat mat(and yes, its a low power mat for 5.5 gallons) to avoid any burns. The heat lamp also is low powered, and keeps the ambient temps nicely. I plan to get a ceramic heater in the future.
Also, the shed has been stuck there since last week and she only got a little bit off, so I think tomorrow would be a good time to soak her.
The fuzzie we fed her was just a bit smaller than her widest part, so if she grows dramatically within the next few weeks, I'll check out the sizes of the mice they have at the pet store and see if it's good enough for an upgrade.

And here are the photos of my little darling! She(not sure if it's a she, I just enjoy saying it) is about 1 and a half feet long, and I named her Caesar.

http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/t...MK/caesar2.jpg
http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/t..._MK/caesar.jpg

You have more of a chance getting bit trying to pick up a snake on feeding day! Feeding in the enclosure will get better feeding response because the snake is less stressed from not being moved! See what works best for you!

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Originally Posted by seeya205

You have more of a chance getting bit trying to pick up a snake on feeding day! Feeding in the enclosure will get better feeding response because the snake is less stressed from not being moved! See what works best for you!

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Really, there's a bigger chance? I didn't know that. I thought that maybe if I feed in a separate enclosure, the snake will get used to a routine and also have a good feeding response. The snake was fed in the store every Thursday, so we didn't change the day. She didn't struggle or strike when we moved her and had an immediate response to the mouse on the tongs. I'll see if the good behavior continues, and I'll feed in the cage if anything goes wrong. :)

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Originally Posted by seeya205

You have more of a chance getting bit trying to pick up a snake on feeding day! Feeding in the enclosure will get better feeding response because the snake is less stressed from not being moved! See what works best for you!

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Agree 100%.

I would say, if the snake is eating regularly in a separate container, there is no need to mess with what's working. If she ever goes off feed, that's another story.
Do you have a postal or kitchen scale? How much does she weigh?

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

I would say, if the snake is eating regularly in a separate container, there is no need to mess with what's working. If she ever goes off feed, that's another story.
Do you have a postal or kitchen scale? How much does she weigh?

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I have a kitchen scale, and I'll make sure to weigh her at the time of her soak tomorrow. She does have good girth though. But what do I know,right? I'm a noob. :P

You said you're using a heat mat, are you regulating it? It needs to be on a thermostat because they can reach 120*. Look for the Hydrofarm Thermostat on Amazon, they are the best digital thermostat for the money.

Also, eventually your snake will be waiting to be fed when feeding day comes around after a while. If you continue to feed outside the enclosure, you will be picking up a snake that is already in feeding mode. Thus, increasing your chances of being tagged. You should know that being tagged is just inevitable with snakes, some day it will happen. It doesn't hurt, don't worry. They barely even draw blood. I would take a BP bite over a paper cut any day.

BTW, I like your snake! Very cute :)

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Originally Posted by sarahlovesmiike

You said you're using a heat mat, are you regulating it? It needs to be on a thermostat because they can reach 120*. Look for the Hydrofarm Thermostat on Amazon, they are the best digital thermostat for the money.

Also, eventually your snake will be waiting to be fed when feeding day comes around after a while. If you continue to feed outside the enclosure, you will be picking up a snake that is already in feeding mode. Thus, increasing your chances of being tagged. You should know that being tagged is just inevitable with snakes, some day it will happen. It doesn't hurt, don't worry. They barely even draw blood. I would take a BP bite over a paper cut any day.

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Alright I'll make sure to get a thermostat as soon as I can, I also want to invest in a thermometer with a probe.
I guess I'll rethink feeding in a separate enclosure. I have until next Thursday to make a decision. :)

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Originally Posted by Caramell

Alright I'll make sure to get a thermostat as soon as I can, I also want to invest in a thermometer with a probe.
I guess I'll rethink feeding in a separate enclosure. I have until next Thursday to make a decision. :)

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Do what works for YOUR SNAKE. Keeping ball pythons is not an exact science, we give newbies the guidelines and advice based on what has worked best for us. For instance, my BPs like it a bit colder than recommended. I have to keep their cold sides down to about ~70-75* MAX, they are both rescues and never had heat previously. They like to be a bit chilly I guess, because if their temps get any higher than that they won't eat and cruise like crazy. Of course, they do both have a hot spot ~90-92* where they spend most of their time.

It may take some time for you to figure out how your snake likes everything, but it sounds like you're doing everything right:gj:

Okay I'll be sure to keep track of everything! Thank you!

Make yourself comfortable and stay awhile...your with family now;)
:community