ventilation ?

im setting up my 10g for a new bp im getting tomorrow. i have been reading on how to keep humidity and heat in the enclosure with the use of a plexi glass topper. do i cut the plexi to cover the entire top? and what about the snake getting enough air? i dont want to use foil cause it looks mediocre.

Cover the top 1/2 to 3/4 of the way, which will leave more than enough air. :)

Might be easier to control the humidity if you just cover the whole thing and then start drilling holes until you get it right. Or cut it to where there's a few inches of airflow, and then cut it more later if needed.

spitzu gives good advice. When I used tanks I would cover all but 2 inches of the short side of the screen top.

I don't hold with the idea of increasing humidity by using the water vapour from the snakes breathing. Good ventilation is important, I would never recommend covering more than 2/3 the top. I'd also make sure that a space is left hot to cool, a gap over each end to try to generate good movement.

Use a humid hide if necessary but not the snakes lungs to bump humidity!

I usually cover 1/2 of the top during shed cycles. What kind of substrate are you using?

so i went to the hardware store, and picked up some acrylic. cut to fit the screen top and left 1/4" gap all the way around. cut the top in to a 2/3 section and a 1/3 section so im able to move the acrylic around. ill try holes to really fine tune the top. im having a hard time keeping the cool side up above 75 degrees. any suggestions?

Insulate the back and side of the enclosure. Glass is a crummy insulator I usually would use a ridgid foam insulation system.

How are the hot side temps?

Are you measuring inside the hides?

What is the ambient air temp?

The room temp?

im going to the garage to get some 1" pink foam borad. so the temp in the hot side hide is 93 with my temp gun. the temp outside the hot side hide is 82. room temp is in the low 70s

That is load warm enough inside the hide, I try to keep inside the cool hide 80 and the ambient air around 80-85 or so. The insulation may help get the ambient temps up some but watch the hot hide temp it could also creep up too. I tend to keep hot temps at 90 as very very few thermometers in use have perfect accuracy and no ir guns do.

Keep in mind that over time the acrylic will bend as it absorbs moisture.... In order to stop that, flip it over every couple of days until both sides have absorbed moisture :)

thanks for the hint on the acrylic. and im using esu reptile thermostats placed in the hides to help control the heat. just got the little lady this morn. im going to give her a few days then post some picks but anyother helpful advice about the enclosure would be great. im thinking im going to need some smaller hides cause she in tiny compared to the hides i have. any thoughts on that?

The snake should contact the hide on three sides or so. Typically a hide that looks too small for the snake that it can still fit in is a good size.

this might be a little off subject but this morning while im getting ready to go to work i notice the little ladies head poking out of the hot side hide. im thinking shes hungry. any ideas on this behavior?

That can be feeding behaviour or just curiosity. How often and how large are you feeding?

i just got Gigi(thats what my wife named my female ball python) yesterday, so this is all pretty new to me and tried feeding tonight but with no success. she seems really curious for just traveling over night in a bag.

She is just checking out her surroundings. I would give her a week before you try feeding her anyway. Let her settle in and get used to her enviroment, then try and give her a meal. Good luck.

Yes give her a week with out messing with her. minimal contact, as unobtrusive cleaning as you can manage.

im going to take that advice and run with it. no handling.