Newbie.... ned help and advice

As a 46 year old women, I think I may have dropped off the deep end!! When my sons wanted snakes my response was "over my dead body" !! Well, I must be close to death cause after seeing these beautiful creatures on the internet, I just had to have one for my own.

I got Dr. Watson last Sunday at a pet store. He is a normal male. About 14'' long. I currently have him in a 29 galllon tank. It has a heat mat under one end. Reptile carpet stuff on the bottom. He has two hides, one on each end, a water dish, a branch, and some fake plants covering his hides alittle and covering the stick.

All I have for thermometers is a stick on one. It reads 75-82. I'm getting better thermometers tomorrow. Anyway, Watson spends most off his time in the cool side hide. When we first brought him home he spent his time in the warm hide over the heat mat but since has moved. I have a heat bulb on during the day to keep the heat up. It's on a timer. When it goes off, he comes out and moves around some and then hangs out on top of his hide in the fake leaves. Is this normal? Is he too cold? If so, why does he not go towards the warm side? I tried to feed him two days ago, but he showed no intrest. F/T hopper mouse. I'm not sure when he last ate... When should I try again?

What is the best set up to keep Watson's home at the proper temp and lighting? I so want him to be happy and healthy!! I can not believe how attached we are already to him !! I sure don't want to lose him !!

Congrats on getting your first ball :). My mom is 48 never liked snakes and now that I own them she's always asking how they are hoping their ok lol. Ill let everyone else answer your questions they'll give answers with more experience behind them :)

Welcome to the deep end. You mentioned a thermometer, do you have a thermostat controlling your UTH? If not you'll want to look into that.

Here is where you want to start:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jodi2950

As a 46 year old women, I think I may have dropped off the deep end!! When my sons wanted snakes my response was "over my dead body" !! Well, I must be close to death cause after seeing these beautiful creatures on the internet, I just had to have one for my own.

I got Dr. Watson last Sunday at a pet store. He is a normal male. About 14'' long. I currently have him in a 29 galllon tank. It has a heat mat under one end. Reptile carpet stuff on the bottom. He has two hides, one on each end, a water dish, a branch, and some fake plants covering his hides alittle and covering the stick.

All I have for thermometers is a stick on one. It reads 75-82. I'm getting better thermometers tomorrow. Anyway, Watson spends most off his time in the cool side hide. When we first brought him home he spent his time in the warm hide over the heat mat but since has moved. I have a heat bulb on during the day to keep the heat up. It's on a timer. When it goes off, he comes out and moves around some and then hangs out on top of his hide in the fake leaves. Is this normal? Is he too cold? If so, why does he not go towards the warm side? I tried to feed him two days ago, but he showed no intrest. F/T hopper mouse. I'm not sure when he last ate... When should I try again?

What is the best set up to keep Watson's home at the proper temp and lighting? I so want him to be happy and healthy!! I can not believe how attached we are already to him !! I sure don't want to lose him !!

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Here's some threads I'd suggest reading:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=30763

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=173621

You're going to find a lot of good information here.

Welcome to the addiction :)

If you dont have a thermostat you must get one. They are not optional when using an uth.

Your temps may be too hot. You really need to get some digital thermometers with a probe.

As.for feeding I would wait till your temps are stable then give him a week of no handleing to adjust to proper temps.


Are you trying to feed in his enclosure or in another place?

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

Hi!
Welcome to the forum :)


Since you got him on Sunday, it is recommended you leave your snake alone for at least a week before handling or feeding him. This allows him to settle down and adjust to the new environment.

If he is really picky about not taking his food, do not handle him at all until he has eaten at least 3 consecutive meals. Handling can be quite stressful for a new snake.

Once you have the proper set up/husbandry and he still doesn't eat f/t, try offering him a live feeder.
Live can often jump start a feeding response. And feed in his enclosure. He will not become more aggressive. Moving him to a separate feeding cage is more stressful and actually increases your chance of getting bitten.

How much does your snake weigh? Length doesn't mean much to us. Small snakes can be long and older snakes can be short. Weight in grams gives us a better understanding on his growth and size. I'm going to assume he's fairly young. Try blocking out the sides and back of the enclosure with dark paper or background wallpaper. This will make the enclosure feel more secure to him.

Try reading up on the care sheets here.
But here's a basic break down:

Hot side of your enclosure should be 88-91 degrees. And the cool side should be around 80.
No part of the enclosure should be under 75. Anything below 75 can give your snake a respiratory infection.
Hooking up your heating pad to a thermoSTAT will help regulate the hot spot to the proper temp safely
And when using a heating pad, a thermostat is needed. You can burn your snake otherwise.

You don't need special lighting for your snake unless your ambient temps are too low.
Your humidity should be around 60% and 70% during a shed. You have a heat lamp. Lamps are notorious for drying out the enclosure and sucking up humidity. If you could get your ambient temps up above 75, you wouldn't need the lamp.
Do you know what your humidity levels are at now?
We can offer tips on how to maintain the proper humidity.

You've already gotten sound advice and all the key links from the rest of the folks up here, so I just want to say: welcome to starting the addiction in your 40s!

I'm 45 and kept all kinds of herps when I was a kid. It all stopped by college for me. Then, last spring, I happened to pick up a gopher snake I found on a hiking trail, and it all came flooding back.....:D

Got my first ball at the end of May. Now I have 6 and am looking forward to breeding in a couple of years.

I'm glad you found bp.net - everything you need is now at your fingertips!

Thanks for all the good advice. It can be a little confusing when first starting out.... I am going snake supply shopping today to get all we need I hope. I will get a thermostat and better thermometers. I plan on blacking out the back and sides and also putting styrofoam on the outside to better insulate. The room is cooler... what do in do if the heating pad will not keep the ambient temp up above 75? Do I use a heat bulb then? I put the water bowl close to the heat pad and also keep a moist sponge in the corner to try to keep the humidity up. Do the hides have to be the same? Also, my daughter really loves this this guy and wants to hold him. I try to keep it at a minimum. Is handling really bad for him? He does not seem to mind it. I do try to discourage it but she loves him sooo much!!

Can we keep two snakes in one enclosure? AFTER I get this one all figured out, I already want another one !! I wish I had lots of $$. I would get several cause I just LOVE all the cool colors and patterns. They really are living art !!!

Haha the addiction bug is biting :) but no you can't keep two together lots of problems can happen. People do it but it shouldn't be done. If you want a bunch and don't mind the cages being none see thru you can get a rack? Their cheaper to build and you can have many snakes in a smaller place. Have fun shopping for all your goodies

How about styro on the inside? http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Reptil...ackground.aspx

Heat lamp (I like black) for ambient if your room is cold, be sure to cover part of the screen top to trap humidity. Temps are priority over humidity or feeding.

One Python per enclosure is the standard.

Looking forward to pics.

Oh yeah, the ball python addiction has claimed another victim!

First of all welcome to BP.net. Secondly, congratulations on overcoming your fear and taking the plunge into the wonderful world of ball pythons! Thirdly, you have already received lots of sound advice, so I just want to add this: It can be a little overwhelming at first. That's normal. Take things one step at a time, tweak it here and there until you get it right, then you have a head start on setting things up for another.

I'm guessing your guy is pretty young and small, and a 29 gallon tank is going to be mighty big to him for a while. Unlike the bigger species of pythons, or other types of snake who need lots of room, ball pythons do well in more snug accommodations, which is helpful for us owners. Truthfully for your little guy, even a 10 gallon would be plenty for now. As time goes by, you will find tanks can be tricky to maintain. It can be done by all means, but it does take more effort on your part. If you only have one or two, or even three, it's not so bad. Once you get one right, the others are easier to setup correctly. However, when the addiction reaches a more advanced stage like mine, finding room for 26 tanks is not feasible, so you'll start looking into a rack system and discover they have a lot of advantages and only a few disadvantages.

I look forward to getting to know you and your snake better.

Gale

Okay, here is where I'm at now. I got a thermostat, better thermometers and two heat bulbs. One black and one blue. I have the thermometer set for 90 on the warm side. It took awhile but I finally have the temps at 90 on the warm side and about 80 on the cool side. It takes the two heat lamps to get it there along with the heat mat under the tank. I put styrofoam (black) on the three sides and covered the top with foil, leaving about an inch on either side for ventilation. With hte heat lamps I have trouble with humidity. I have the water dish on the warm side and I put to very wet sponges in the cage. I mist a couple times when I am home. I can get the humidity up to 50 or 60 but it doesn't stay there long. Any ideas? Am I missing anything else?
Last night after the temps got leveled out, Watson came out of his hide, climbed for awhile on his branch, got a drink, then spent most of the night laying on a sponge in the front of the tank. When morning came he went back into his cool side hide. Is this normal actvities? I also saw him yawn. What's that all about?
He still has not eaten which has me paranoid. I offered him a thawed mouse last night. I made sure it was warm and dry. I dangled it in front of him and he showed alot of intrest. He would even follow it around a little but other than rubbing against it and staring at it, he did not eat. I left it in the cage for 30 min. No luck. I refroze it since I have a limlted supply and have already thrown away 2. Is this okay? I will not refreeze a second time. Should I try again tonight?
I will try to get pictures next time I post. I think he is looking skinny but not sure what a skinny snake looks like... I think I am making progress if he will just eat I can sleep again at night!!
I really appreciate any and all advice !! Thank- You

Yeah, tanks are a real pain to get right. Humidity and heat lamps are pretty well mutually exclusive. Even infrared heat bulbs suck humidity up like a sponge. Right now it sounds like his cool side hide is where he feels the most secure. This is good and bad. It's good he's hiding and not stress-roaming. But he does need the warmth. Try not to panic over him not eating. Even the little tiny ones can go several weeks without eating with no problems.

I will let you know unless that thawed mouse is putting off a massive heat signature, he most likely won't touch it. What I do is get the mouse all thawed out, warm and dry. I grip it with my feeding tongs, and get ready right near the tank/tub. I hit just the head of the mouse with a hair dryer for at least 30 seconds to get it super hot, then offer it really quick while it's still putting out a lot of heat. Since they see in heat, they are way more likely to strike if the food is really good and hot and presents a clear target.

It will take some effort on your part to get the tank just right, but if you are patient you'll get it eventually. Or you'll get tired of the headache and get a tub like I did. :D

Gale