New to the site

Just wanted to say hey, introduce myself & tell yall about my BP.

I'm Emily,
& I have a 9 month old ball python named Bubbles.
I;ve only had her since december. & Shes my very firsttt.

About a month ago, she went septic...
and my vet didn't think she was going to make it. But i guess i did something right because, she did :))
She shed while she was sick and has still been having pretty bad skin problems from it :/ & her eye caps still hadn't come off.. Until yesterday, when i picked her up and her eye was swollen and bleeding :(
Took her to the vet... she stayed over night. And I've been in shock since they called this morning. Apparently, she rubbed against something so hard, that it pulled her eye out. So, my poor little baby only has one eye. And i feel absolutely horrible :(

Has anyone else dealt with problems like these?
I've learned ssooooo much these past couple of months, from the vet.
I'm just curious, how others have dealt with it?
& I want to know what others have done to help their snakes get through things like this? I don't want her to be in pain :(

Is the vet youre taking her to experienced with balls?
Describe your setup too, that will help.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Is the vet youre taking her to experienced with balls?
Describe your setup too, that will help.

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Yes, he is.

Shes in a 20 gallon tank,
its lined with paper towels, atm. because thats what the vet said to use while she was sick..
There is a heating pad & a lamp on the right side... because thats the only way i can keep it warm enough.
She has a hide and a water bowl on the right, left & in the middle of her tank.
& thats it. thats all my vet told me to put in there...

Welcome to BP.net! Sorry to hear about your BPs troubles.

Ok thats good. What are you controlling the heating elements with? And what are the temps/humidity in the cage?

Sounded like she was trying to remove eye caps and peelwd her eye out. Probablly did it on the screen top if youbhave one

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Ok thats good. What are you controlling the heating elements with? And what are the temps/humidity in the cage?

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I don;t remember what its called, but its just a heat bulb. it doesn't put out light.
and there is a heating pad on the bottom of the tank.

i keep the temp about 88-92
& her humidity is at 27, atm...

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Originally Posted by snake lab

Sounded like she was trying to remove eye caps and peelwd her eye out. Probablly did it on the screen top if youbhave one

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Yeahh, thats what the vet told me.. They said it happens :/
She was really sick for a while. & tried sooo hard to get the eye caps off.
It makes me sooo sad, but atleast she lived right?
Because the first time i took her to the vet he told me, she probably wouldn't live.

Im sorry to hear about your snake. One thing is that your humidity is too low (really common in tanks because the bulbs suck out moisture). If you cover the majority of the lid in foil it will help keep humidty in. Theres also a thread in the DIY section on making acrylic lids.

Welcome Emily!

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking you need to ditch the heat lamp.
Use the heat pad under the tank with a reostat to control heat output. Moniter to heat with a thermometer with a probe right on the bottom of the tank. Also put something to lift the tank off of what ever it sits on so air can get under the tank(if not, you may have the whole tank heated the same eliminating the cool side). If you did all that, the next th e you need to do is cover about 90% of the top of the tank with a towel, plastic, glass, etc. The cover will conserve heat and keep humidity in.

Ball pythons are pretty tough. Hope I didn't lean on you too hard.
Enjoy the site! And I hope your BP gets better!

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Originally Posted by cmack91

Im sorry to hear about your snake. One thing is that your humidity is too low (really common in tanks because the bulbs suck out moisture). If you cover the majority of the lid in foil it will help keep humidty in. Theres also a thread in the DIY section on making acrylic lids.

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I know it is... The vet had me keeping it low while she was sick.
the vet said something about the humidity being high while she was septic was bad?
idk.
her skin has been getting better. & she'd been healing pretty well until yesterday. so, i haven't changed anything i've been doing.

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Originally Posted by Jason Bowden

Welcome Emily!

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking you need to ditch the heat lamp.
Use the heat pad under the tank with a reostat to control heat output. Moniter to heat with a thermometer with a probe right on the bottom of the tank. Also put something to lift the tank off of what ever it sits on so air can get under the tank(if not, you may have the whole tank heated the same eliminating the cool side). If you did all that, the next th e you need to do is cover about 90% of the top of the tank with a towel, plastic, glass, etc. The cover will conserve heat and keep humidity in.

Ball pythons are pretty tough. Hope I didn't lean on you too hard.
Enjoy the site! And I hope your BP gets better!

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I've just been trying to get her better recently, so i did exactly what the vet said..
I have been looking into better ways to control her temps and humidity, though. Thats part of why i joined the site :)
So, thank you for your advice :)
& for the well wishes :))

Do you have a t-stat controlling the uth?
An what are the cool side temps and ambient air temps?

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Do you have a t-stat controlling the uth?
An what are the cool side temps and ambient air temps?

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This is exactly why i came here.
No one has been straight with me, about what to do.
She's my very first snake, ever. and I knew absolutely nothing.
people just keep telling me different things. I've tried to learn as much as possible.
But it always seems like i'm missing something :/

But no, i didn't know i needed to control the UTH.
And I don't have a t-stat on the cool side.
I am ssooo going to the store in the morning.

You cant get them from the store. You have to order them online. They can start at $30ish for cheaper ones but if youre willing to spend more in the begining to get a nice one that will last it will pay off in the long run.
Its really nice having someone new join the site and not getting all defensive when they find that what theyre doing isnt necesarily right because someone misled them to begin with...
The best thing you did for your snake is coming here! :)

Thats the way i buy everything :)
I don't want to buy something cheap, just for it to break and have to buy a new one.
Do you know which sites sell them?

Lol.
Thank you :)
I want to know what i'm doing wrong! thats exactly why i came here.
being defensive isn't going to keep my baby healthy. I'm a newb & i know it :) hahaa

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Originally Posted by Emmmx

Thats the way i buy everything :)
I don't want to buy something cheap, just for it to break and have to buy a new one.
Do you know which sites sell them?

Lol.
Thank you :)
I want to know what i'm doing wrong! thats exactly why i came here.
being defensive isn't going to keep my baby healthy. I'm a newb & i know it :) hahaa

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Ok i just didnt know what your budget was. I would reccomend a Vivarium Electronics-200 or VE-200 from Reptiles Basics (rbi.com)
I reccommend that because thats what i have but Herpstats and Helix thermostats are also very good. Im not positive what sites sell these but just google it and you find them easily. Ultimately its up to you but at the very least i would suggest getting a proportional one.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Ok i just didnt know what your budget was. I would reccomend a Vivarium Electronics-200 or VE-200 from Reptiles Basics (rbi.com)
I reccommend that because thats what i have but Herpstats and Helix thermostats are also very good. Im not positive what sites sell these but just google it and you find them easily. Ultimately its up to you but at the very least i would suggest getting a proportional one.

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Thank you, so very much Mike :)

http://www.reptilebasics.com/ve-200

http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

http://www.helixcontrols.com/

These are the 3 Sites to get them from.

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Originally Posted by Emmmx

Thank you, so very much Mike :)

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No problem :)

So, do i need to put one of those on each side? or just the side with the heat pad?

You can also buy a lamp dimmer from Lowe's or another home improvement store until your thermostat gets here. They're kind of fussy until they get dialed in then they keep the temp pretty consistent. I bought mine for like $12 I think, just make sure you make little adjustments to it and not big ones.

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Originally Posted by Emmmx

So, do i need to put one of those on each side? or just the side with the heat pad?

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You plug the tstat into the wall then plug the uth into the tstat to regulate the temps. You only need 1

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

You plug the tstat into the wall then plug the uth into the tstat to regulate the temps. You only need 1

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Okay :)

What is the difference in the 100 & the 200?

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Originally Posted by Emmmx

Okay :)

What is the difference in the 100 & the 200?

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The VE-100 is an on/off model, which means the UTH will either be fully on or fully off as the T-stat tries to maintain the set point temp. This can be hard on the UTH and will shorten the life of the heating element.

The VE-200 is a proportional model, which means the UTH never really goes fully hot or fully cold. It's better for your heating element and keeps the heat inside the enclosure more consistent.

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Originally Posted by Emmmx

Okay :)

What is the difference in the 100 & the 200?

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Sorry my phone had died last nite but what slim said is correct^

On/off means its NOT proportional.
The ve-200 is proportional and the ve-100 isnt

I am a new snake owner too and had no idea about some of the info in this thread! I am going to go make adjustments on my LuLu's tank right now!! I'm.also going to be doing.some shopping!! Thanks for starting this thread!! I also hope your bp gets better soon!!!!

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Originally Posted by LuLu's Mommy

I am a new snake owner too and had no idea about some of the info in this thread! I am going to go make adjustments on my LuLu's tank right now!! I'm.also going to be doing.some shopping!! Thanks for starting this thread!! I also hope your bp gets better soon!!!!

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glad it helpedd :))

& thank youuu :)