Ball Python never goes to warm hide

Hey Everyone

Got a question. I just got my first snake over a month ago, hes a normal ball python. I got him from petsmart i know you should never buy your snakes from there was just my first time. But other than that he seems really healthy... The first day i got him he actually eat for me because the people there had no idea when he eat last.

Here are my temps Warm Hide.... 90 for temp Cool Hide 75-80 for temp Ambient Temp around 83-85 Humidty Between 50-60 he did have his first shed for me couple weeks ago... He did have a bad shed but i let him be and the next day he got it all off himself. Hes a beast never missed a meal for me.

But this week hes been staying on the cool side i never see him go to the warm hide i also use a heat lamp and under the tank heater.. Reason why i have him in a glass tank lesson learned first ball python. My question is why he is always under the cool side for me and why has he stopped using the Warm side hide. The two hides i have for him is a Log which i am getting rid of because i think he might be choosing his favorite hide so i am just going to get him another rock hide to match the warm side one and put it on the cool side...

Does your Under Tank Heater (UTH) have a thermostat controlling it? what are you using to measure temperatures/humidity?

Checkout this thread on cage heating:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

while 50%-60% humidity is perfect most of the time, during shed I would suggest that you bump it up to 70%

Yes i do have a thermostat to control the heat... And i have 3 digital thermostat i have 1 on the cool side 1 under the warm hide and i have one to measure the ambient temp and also a digital one for the humidity......

What i forgot to add is for the Heating Lamp i have two branches that go up under it and i guess when he wants to get warm sometimes i will see him basking under the lamp but he was using the warm hide till i added these branches in the tank so maybe that might be the problem... But he is eating every week for me like a champ...

Thermometers measure temps, thermostats regulate the temps. I think you have these two confused.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Thermometers measure temps, thermostats regulate the temps. I think you have these two confused.

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Typo on my part... i do have a Zoo Med Repti Temperature Rheostat and i have a thermometer to messsure the temp under the warm hide

Hooked up to my under the tank heater.

Can you post a picture of your setup? That will help us help you.

9 times out of 10 when a BP isn't using the hot hide and a UTH is involved it is much hotter than the owner thinks it is... unregulated UTH's can achieve temperatures of 130+ degrees (more than hot enough to kill a BP)

Yeah when i first got the UTH's i noticed how hot it got so i went out and bought the Repti Temp Control which now keeps the temp where i want it... but sure give me a minute and i post a pic...


Thank you

I strongly suggest that you get a thermostat for your UTH (or unplug it)

You can get a decent thermostat for $30. Just stay away from the junk sold at pet stores. Not only are they overpriced but have proven to be extremely unreliable.

Hydrofarm thermostat budget but gets the job done: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

Herpstat, best of the best. These are far more accurate, much safer, and have tons of cool features: http://spyderrobotics.com

Thank you... for the Amazon link i just placed my order for that :)


Once i added those logs under the lamp thats when he stoped using the warm hide because he seems to bask on the logs under the light...
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https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...38335694_n.jpg

My guy is currently doing the same thing. At first I thought it was because he preferred his old hide to the new one that was over the hot-spot, so I swapped them and he moved over to the hot side. Since he went through his shed a week ago, he's been hanging out in the "middle" zone in his moss hide. He just ate too so it's unusual to not see him on his hot side. The UTH is regulated by a Hydrofarm thermostat, and a probe in his hide on the substrate reads 86-90'F. Half of me is tempted to just let him self-regulate, but the other half is worried something isn't just right for him. He has grown a little too big for his old hide, but until last week he seemed to prefer it. Should I get an identical hide to the middle one now that he seems to like it and put it over the hot side, or just let him figure it out? How often do BPs do things like this?

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Originally Posted by OmNomNom

My guy is currently doing the same thing. At first I thought it was because he preferred his old hide to the new one that was over the hot-spot, so I swapped them and he moved over to the hot side. Since he went through his shed a week ago, he's been hanging out in the "middle" zone in his moss hide. He just ate too so it's unusual to not see him on his hot side. The UTH is regulated by a Hydrofarm thermostat, and a probe in his hide on the substrate reads 86-90'F. Half of me is tempted to just let him self-regulate, but the other half is worried something isn't just right for him. He has grown a little too big for his old hide, but until last week he seemed to prefer it. Should I get an identical hide to the middle one now that he seems to like it and put it over the hot side, or just let him figure it out? How often do BPs do things like this?

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It is always recommended to have identical hides on the cool side and hot side for this very reason.

I highly recommend these hides: http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

I have found that less is more when it comes to Ball Python caging. This is how I set up all of my cages:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0455.jpg

Make sure both hides are the same so that your snake isn't choosing security over temperature.

Mine also decided to stop using one of his hides, even though they are identical. I have his tank in a corner so the entrance to one side faces the wall and you can easily see into the hide on the other side. He never would go into that hide so I turned it around and now he goes back and forth regularly.

*shakes head*

These snakes....If they only new how good they had it. :P

*goes to store to find identical hide*

Hrmph...probably have to stuff it with moss too just like the other one....what next, Feng Shui for snakes? :P

Thanks for the tips everyone I am just going to buy the same hide ;) looks like my best bet :)

Oh sure...I go allllll the way to the pet store, to find his identical hide, come back and open up his cage to have him come zooming out (guess he's still hungry).....of his old hide over the hot spot.

:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Damnit Shen! Stop messing with me! :P

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

It is always recommended to have identical hides on the cool side and hot side for this very reason.

I highly recommend these hides: http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

I have found that less is more when it comes to Ball Python caging. This is how I set up all of my cages:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0455.jpg

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Thank you i have been trying to fine those hides forever..... Also i really hate my glass tank but i also want a viewing tank hes just a baby hes about 14 inches long so you know any good tanks i can buy i just really hate this glass tank .....

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Originally Posted by Burzurk

Thank you i have been trying to fine those hides forever..... Also i really hate my glass tank but i also want a viewing tank hes just a baby hes about 14 inches long so you know any good tanks i can buy i just really hate this glass tank .....

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I use PVC cages made by a company called Animal Plastics:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/c22733cf.jpg

http://www.animalplastics.com

Here is a thread I wrote on them:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...With-Pictures!

Thanks for the helpful links :)

Thinking about buying one of those terrestrial cages from There my glass tank doesn't hold heat very well so I have to use those heat lamps if I buy that cage I prob won't need those heat lamps to keep the heat up right

For the T1 what's a good radiant heat panel I could buy for that tank ?

This 40 watt panel from RBI is what I would recommend:

http://www.reptilebasics.com/40-watt-radiant-heat-panel

Watch humidity if you going to heat lamps

Thanks for the help and tips all I post my new enclosure and set up when it arrives thanks so much