Humidity

i just got a ball python and i have a 30 gallon tank....i had a couple of questions. first i have two hides one a half log on the cool side and a hide rock on the warm side. and then i have artificial branches but my tank seems a little crowded. i dont know if that is bad for "Zoey". my second question is the humidity stays around 50-55 unless i spray water onto my bedding then it will spike to 70ish but wont stay, i dont know how to get it to stay. lastly it seems to just stay under the rock on the warm side the whole time the light is on then at night it will come out for an hour or two and then go right back under the rock after trying to escape for 2 hours....can anyone help me????

the man with a plan

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=90187

That is what I did with my glass tank and it work amazing. Its not pretty but it works. You can also cut a piece of plexi-glass to fit the lid and cut a hole in the center to allow airflow. Also that lamp is just gonna dry everything out, if you have an UTH that should be enough for heat. As for the hides you want Identical hides as they seem to favor one hide and won't move to the other side to thermoregulate.

Also refer to these links for glass tank setup, they helped me alot.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=126316

why do you have to black the cage out????do i really need to do that or is that just something optional...i did not black my glass tank out also i have a heat light on the one side of my tank and it keeps it at a constant temp on each side, as well as a black light for night time. also is it bad to have alot of objects in the tank....is less or more better???

also i was told not to use heating pads as they can burn snakes...thats what i was told.....

Blacking the cage out will make the snake feel more secure, it also provides an insulation layer, it is optional. As for more stuff, the only down side is its more you have to clean but the snake will feel more secure with more things, especially a young bp. And the UTH will burn a snake if used without a thermostat. If you have a UTH a thermostat is a MUST! Remember the snake lives on the bottom of the tank not 2 inches of the bottom, which is also why you should use the digital thermometers with the probes. The dial type thermometers can stick and inaccurate, and again they don't measure the belly heat of the tank.

Also I forgot to mention, Ball Pythons are nocturnal and spend most of their time hiding. As I read all the time on this forum, "A hiding BP is a HAPPY BP!"

Hey...I had a glass tank with the same problems (as far a humidity). First off, heat lamps will dry out your tank, so that should be first to go. Second, ball pythons need a UTH (under tank heater) because their bellys need to be around 85'F to help them digest. Heat rocks will burn them, esp if not put on a thermostat because they will come in direct contact with the (really) hot "rock". I put my UTH under one side of my cage and have a couple inches of Aspen Snake Bedding on top. Measure the temp on top of the bedding. (Also, be careful with a UTH because if your snake burrows under your bedding, the glass at the bottom of your tank CAN be too hot and burn them. Again, counteract this with a thermostat.)

As far as humidity : like I said above, loose the heat lamp. Ball Pythons like belly heat MUCH better. You can do a couple of other things as well...get a different substrate that holds moisture better WITHOUT MOLDING. (Aspen Snake Bedding is notorious for growing mold quickly if not kept in check. I'm sure other ppl on this site can reccomend a good substrate for this.) You can keep misting, but like you said it doesn't really stay humid for a long period of time. If you have a mesh screen top on your tank, put something like foil over 3/4 of it. (Heat and moisture will escape from the top of the tank, that's why when ppl have too high humidity, they put more holes in the top.) I will say that I made the switch to plastic tubs instead of tanks and have never had another humidity problem, so you might consider that as well. (You can get a plastic storage tub at walmart and burn air holes in it.) You could also try to put a soaked sea sponge in the tank. This will still need to be dampened every now and then, but lasts longer than misting.

For your Crowded tank problem I will say this : I only have hides, a water dish, and ONE tree branch in my tubs. I put the branch (approx 2-3 in. thick) in there in case they want to climb, but really, my girl never has. (I also use the sea sponge trick when she sheds to bump the humidity from 60-70% to +80%.)She's way more interested in sleeping all the time in a hide than going out and "playing" with stuff in her tank. If your bp really likes to climb or something, I'd say leave something in there (though maybe not as much). If they aren't really interested in all the stuff, take it out. Or you could take care of 2 problems at once - Get a big tub. More room for all the decorations, no more (or at least fewer) humidity problems.

Good luck, and I hope this helps (even if it is kinda long winded...) :D

thank you i am still in the learning process i just dont want anything bad to happen...also is a black light ok for "moon light" or my night light, i already have one so i thought maybe i could use that and save some money...also zoey has been in her tank since monday the 9th and i gave her 2 days to adapt and then i fed him yesterday afternoon and it ate right away...so how long should i wait till i feed him again, and will it be ok for a week if i leave town???

I'm glad to hear he's eating for you! About 5-7 days is the recommended here for a feeding schedule. A black light should be fine to use for night, my "moonlight" bulb looks just like a blacklight. As for leaving him, if you don't have a thermostat and timer hooked up to the light and UTH I wouldn't leave him, just my opinion. If you don't have anything or anybody monitoring the temps they could get too hot or too cold. That's just me.

I do agree. Zoey won't starve to death or anything, but at least a thermostat is pretty much a must esp. if you're going to go out of town, let alone just on an everyday basis. I only know all this because I've done like you and asked around on this forum.

It's great that he's eaten for you already! Be sure to feed appropriatly sized meals (about the same size as, but no bigger than the thickest part of your snake) I'd say every 5 days for a little one. Like I said, a week won't starve him to death or anything, I'd just feed right before you go, and when you get back (if it's actually gonna be 7+ days).

As far as saving money, you really do need a uth and a thermostat. www.reptilesupply.com has a lot of good stuff at some of the lowest prices you'll find. I'd recommend that instead of actually sticking the uth (most have a side you adhere to your tank), I'd say leave the cover on and just place it under your tank (still in contact with the tank bottom though). This way, when he outgrows the current tank, you won't have to buy a new uth too (assuming it's big enough. I use a 10-20 gallon one). Remember, you need about 90-95'F on the hot side of the tank, and 80-85'F on the cool side. I use one uth on the warm side of the tank (set with thermostat) and the other side stays warm enough so you don't really need two...

Either you go ahead and buy the correct supplies now and set it up before you go, or you really need to have someone check the temps every couple hours to be sure your snake stays healthy. You wouldn't want to come back to a snake with a URI and then have to pay vet bills to.

Hope it works out!

oh...also, You can have a timer for lights etc., but I don't use lights so if you want to keep from buying that too, I'd just leave the lights off. The thermostat will keep the temps right by itself.

ok so i took all that in to consideration....if i have a UTH would i need the heat light i am using now. also i have two temp gauges on either side of my tank and i got light timers so that my heat light will turn on and off as well as my night light at appropriate times. i have my day light set from 9:30 in the morning till 10:30 at night and my night light from 10:30 at night till 9:30 in the morning...also the temp gauges have been staying stable on both sides (cool side about 80-85 degrees) (warm side 90-95 degrees) but at night these will drop....i was told that i really don't need a UTH if i have my over head light set up correctly. and thanks for the tips for the humidity, i choose to use a towel to cover the top and it has kept the humidity around 55....now just got to figure out how to get it to spike while Zoey is shedding

See...I've always heard the opposite : you need belly heat for ball pythons, not lamps. I don't know of anyone on this site that has actually recommend heat lamps for bps...If you have a UTH, you shouldn't need the overhead lighting.

When sheding, you can either do the sea sponge thing or dampen the towl (though change it out if it starts smelling musty) you're using over the cage and it may help boost the humidity.

ok cool....i will def get a UTH then...they do not come with thermostats correct, i will have to get each separate and i will should only need one for the hot side, that sounds good i will get one of those ASAP then, and it will also keep the air temperature correct?

No you would not need the heat lamp anymore, you can just put a normal bulb in to keep the day/night cycle. The uth should provide enough heat, even at night and prevent night drops. Also remember again that the snake lives on the ground, not 2 inches above, so the lamp may not be making your substrate warm enough. To get the humidity up you can moisten the towel on the lid, put some moist sphagnum moss, or even a moist sea sponge to keep the humidity up during the shed. I find the moss is plenty to keep my humidity up.

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Originally Posted by Fishead850

ok cool....i will def get a UTH then...they do not come with thermostats correct, i will have to get each separate and i will should only need one for the hot side, that sounds good i will get one of those ASAP then, and it will also keep the air temperature correct?

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Yes it will, warm air rises.

I haven't seen one with a thermostat attached, but that doesn't mean they don't make any. I think it'd just be cheaper to buy them separate anyway from somewhere like www.reptilesupply.com. It will keep the air temps correct. Basically, (like at night when temps drop) the thermostat will only turn off the uth when it gets above the temp it's set for. Otherwise, the uth will remain on and keep the tank warm. If you're concerned about a day/night cycle, you can keep the lamps, but if it were me, I'd try to sell the lamps (like on e-bay) and just keep the tank close to a window. (It's what I do. Room lights up when the sun's out, gets dark after it goes down. Except when the room's light is on that is...but you get the idea.)

I don't have a huge tub, so one uth works for me (hot side is right and so long as the lid is closed most of the time the other side still stays above 80). Now, later if you get a 50 gal tank or something, you'll prob need two uth's to keep all the tank warm enough-but that's later...

Also, Keep the lid on the tank. Sounds simple, but a LOT of heat and humidity will rush out of a tank with the lid off. So, when you go to handle your bp, be sure to keep the lid on after they're out of the tank so you can keep the right levels.