New to the world of ball pythons HELP!!

Well I went to a yard sale and found a poor little almost 3 ft ball python male. He is just fine but know I need to know what to do with him. Today we picked up a 55 gal tank with a lid two lamps with one day and one night bulb. He has a cardboard hide house and a plastic water bowl that's big enough for him to lay in. And he is in aspen bedding. And he is eating just fine on dead med size rats.

So can someone help me with the little snake we have called George.

Thanks

1. get something to control the lamps, 82 on the cool end, 92 on the hot end, put a hide on both ends

2. cover the lid with either foil or wax paper with holes for ventilation, this will help to keep humidity around 50-60%(you'll have to spray to keep it up) and put it to 70% during shed, you can use an acurite thermo/hygro to get readings

3. they dont actually need day/night cycles, but they cant have constant bright light

and please post some pics for us;)

I would start here it explains a lot :) then ask all the questions you want.
As the care sheet says your going to need a Tstat and Under Tank Heater.
Another hide and well I would read the care sheet :)

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...thon-CARESHEET

Hello and welcome. The first thing is you have asked a monster question and you might get much more useful information if you narrow the scope a bit. I'd start with reading some care sheets there are a number of great ones out there.

http://www.vpi.com/publications/the_...hon_care_sheet
http://www.ballpython.ca/care.html
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

To start there is lots of conflicting info out there so read a few and compare them.

That should help you to narrow your questions some.
Welcome!

Ok so I don't need the day bulb if I have a light or the drapes open then. Or would it be better to keep the day one and take back the night one? I'll post pics later I'm on my iPad and it won't let me.

How can I do the humidity.

And what is the best bedding. I've heard a lot of mixed things.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Porter

Ok so I don't need the day bulb if I have a light or the drapes open then. Or would it be better to keep the day one and take back the night one? I'll post pics later I'm on my iPad and it won't let me.

How can I do the humidity.

And what is the best bedding. I've heard a lot of mixed things.

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if i were you, i would get ceramic heat emiters, you can leave them on 24/7 and not have to worry about light, the ambient light in the room is more than enough.

for humidity, get a hygrometer, acurite sells indoor/outdoor thermometers with hygrometer included, that way you'll be able to measure both sides, and the humidity in one console with a probe, heres one example: http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...1/SSPX0571.jpg

as for bedding, aspen is fine and i would say is what most people use if they dont use newspaper, i use coco.

The aspen you are using is actually great for substrate, If you are worried about humidity, ditch the lamps and use a under the tank heater, you will need something to control the temperature, but something as simple as a dimmer switch will work. Also cover the screen top and move the water bowl to the hot side these things will help your humidity.... If he is heating good that is great good he is in hands of a responsible enough owner to do some research:gj:

Ok well I have the thermometers and the humidity things so were good there. and I ordered him a humity hide bowl it just hasn't come yet.

Um how do i add photos?

O ya he loves the under heater and it is not to hot at all I check it all the time. so I can get rid of the day lamp thats good.

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1319594109

Going to see if this pic works

Here is our set up. I would love some pointers to fill this home with things for him to climb and to have a very happy life. http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1319594107

This one is him in his new home tonight. He just loves to climb http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1319594111

Nothing to do with George but my baby girl is just funny http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1319594106

My 7 year old playing around with George. http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1319594104

and just another pic of him all curled up http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/...h_IMG_0024.jpg

Ok so the day lamp can go back and well keep the night time one. so he gets heat from the bottom and the top.

How can I up the humity right now on the cool side the humidity is about 40% and the temp is 75 Degrees.

just remeber that BP's arent too gravity friendly ie. they fall off things alot
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/SSPX0551.jpg
you'll notice the stick on the right has a flexible vine thing wraped around it and connects the two sides so he can just climb up on it like its a platform, this way he doesnt have to worry about wrapping around a single stick and falling off, since i git this, he uses it every night and hasnt fallen off once

and to keep the humidity up for now, just spray in there with a spray bottle, and try to bring your cool side up a bit to 79-82, anything under 75 can get dangerous

ok so some branches with a lot of arms. that works. Ok so Ive heard that you should feed them in a diff tank. so they don't swallow the aspen. would it be better to just change the bedding to like the reptile sand or something.

And how can I up the humidity and its not hot enough on the warm side. I think I need a diff bulb. what would be the best one to get. since its not heating up enough with the tank being so big.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Porter

ok so some branches with a lot of arms. that works. Ok so Ive heard that you should feed them in a diff tank. so they don't swallow the aspen. would it be better to just change the bedding to like the reptile sand or something.

And how can I up the humidity and its not hot enough on the warm side. I think I need a diff bulb. what would be the best one to get. since its not heating up enough with the tank being so big.

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you dont have to feed them in a different tank, i do but its not necessary. NEVER use any kind of sand or fine dirt with them though, aspen is safe to digest in small amounts, so unless the rat is totally covered, i wouldnt worry about it

mines in a 55 as well, and the lamp on the left is 100 and 75 on the right, 100 is too hot though, so i use foil to regulate it by blocking most of the beam, if you look, you k=can kinda see it in the photo, its a rectangle of light instead of circle

ok looked at the box its a 60 watt and then i have the heating pad thing under the tank.

How can I bring up the humidity though

spray bottle

ok so just spray some water on the walls of the tank. and is the 60 watt ok? O can you house a few pythons in the same tank? A friend wants to get rid of his two male pythons a spider and a pastel.

Each snake will need it's own enclosure. Housing them together is just asking for trouble. A 55 is really big for a single snake, but you can work with it if you try.

You can check Craigslist in your area for cheap tanks, 20 gallon is more than big enough for a male.

If you are going to end up with this many, the bulbs and such are going to get expensive, so you may even want to consider setting up a shelf for all the tanks and using Flexwatt heat tape under all of them. Then you only need one thermostat instead of three. Tanks are murder on your humidity levels, but with some fiddling you can get it right. Read up on your Caresheets, they have LOTS of good information, hints and tips.

Gale

:Well from the looks of it you have a nice snake there :) I would stick with the tank you have and make your snake feel a lot more secure. To start I would get some backagroud for 3 sides of the tanks and a couple of nice tight hides.
SEE PHOTO

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...29230124_n.jpg

Also aquariums are a real pain in the butt for humidity I make a cover for all of mine out of Plexiglass and just drill a few holes in it as seen below :)

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...488_5501545_n.

I prefer to use EcoEarth coconut husk substrate because it holds humidity so well but that is just what I like. Hides can be store bought or made out of tupperware or even flower pots as in photo 1. Read the care sheets and look at your library for a book and enjoy the snake. Do you know what is was eating before I prefer rats because the are easier to find here and well when the snake is nearing 3-4 feet I can feed only one instead of several mice. I also prefer feeding F/T (FROZEN THAWED) for ease and price. Looks like a verynice looking snake and well all Balls are pretty to me. I hope this helps get you off to a good start and feel free to ask lots of questions most everyone here is great for help and answers :gj:

Thanks ok so the day light is now gone. That will save some money.

My heat side is almost up to 80 and the humidity is a little past 40 right now.

Would it be better to get a 75 watt red bulb for the heat side?

and to help with humidity would it be ok to cover one side of the lid with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Porter

Thanks ok so the day light is now gone. That will save some money.

My heat side is almost up to 80 and the humidity is a little past 40 right now.

Would it be better to get a 75 watt red bulb for the heat side?

and to help with humidity would it be ok to cover one side of the lid with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

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Hello, and :welcome to BP.net.
Since you have an Under Tank Heat Pad, this is what is going to give you the warm basking spot. I strongly recommend getting a thermostat to control it. This will regulate the heat pad so that it maintains a stable temperature and not allow it to get hot enough to burn your snake. There are several different styles and brands that range in price from about $30 for a good basic thermostat, up to $300+ for the high end models designed for multiple and advanced applications. If you need links to the manufacturers and websites, we will be happy to provide you with them.
Basically, the set-up will be with two identical hides, one on each end. You will need either a thermometer with a probe, or a temp gun. You should measure the warm side temperature inside the tank, under the substrate, on top of the glass, above the heat pad. You would adjust the settings on the thermostat so that spot is maintained at 90-92F. The reason that you measure the temperature under the substrate is because as the snakes move around inside the hides they will move the substrate or burrow down to the heat, so that is the hottest temperature that they can be exposed to. It will also help if you make the substrate layer only about 1/2 to 1 inch thick.
The cool side, which is also the ambient air temperature is what you need to maintain at around 78-80F. Since you have such a tall tank, a red heat bulb or ceramic heat emitter will work as a supplemental heat source to keep the ambient temps where they should be. The ambient air temp on the warm side does not need to be 92F since you are providing belly heat. It sounds like you are maintaining the ambient air temp with a 60 watt red bulb, so you shouldn't need a 75 watt bulb unless the ambient temps don't hold.
To help with humidity, you can cover the entire screen with aluminum foil except for a cut-out for the lamp and maybe about 1 inch or so on each end, which will allow for ventilation.
Some thing that can help with heat retention is to insulate the back and ends of the tank. You can use anything like cardboard, styrofoam insulation or foam core board. You can use this with or without aquarium scenery. I prefer the foam core board because you can get it in different colors and it provides a cleaner look in my opinion. You can usually find it at places like Wal-Mart and Target in the school supplies section near the poster board. All you have to do is cut it to fit the glass and tape it on.
As was already mentioned, you can provide something for you BP to climb on, to help clutter up the tank. Keep in mind that BP's are not the greatest climbers, but they can, and do, so whatever you choose, be it branches or sticks from a store, or something that you make from PVC pipe, make sure it is sturdy and stable enough to support the weight of the snake and not tip or fall over.
Something else that you can use to fill in some of the open space is fake vines and/or plants. Most pet stores will usually carry some of these, or you can go to an arts and crafts store like Michael's and find a pretty good selection, and they are usually cheaper than pet stores. Just make sure that you clip off any sharp points or loops on the end. It also helps, if you want to mount them to the glass, to use a hot glue gun instead of the little suction cup hooks that sometimes come with them.
I hope this helps a little...

ya so far the light has been on since around 7 this morning and it is only about 80 on the warm side so I think the 60 watt will need to go back. So ill take back the thermometer and get an electronic one instead.

Thanks so much for the help.

hey guys i have a quick question. Is it bad to re-arrange the items in my ball pythons tank like the hides water bowl etc. In addition is it bad to add new items or replace items? Thanks!