Should I be worried?

We've only had Boston for about 3 weeks now. He was born July 4th this year. We're far from experts but from what I can see he is settling well in his new home. He only wandered (was active) for the first 2 days and now he gets comfortable in his hides. He eats well (just bumped him up from hoppers) and we've only had 1 poop so far but read that i shouldnt worry about the frequency just yet. Iv noticed that lately he has preferred the cool side of his tank. Spending a lot of his time their. Tonight after his feeding, I placed him back into his tank (we feed in a separate feeding tote) and placed him into his hide on the warm side of his tank. When i returned back I noticed that he had moved... Over to the cool side. I have been resurching these snakes for just over a year before our purchase for our 10 year old son. I read several times that snakes need heat to assist in the digesting process. After meals they should be drawn to the warm spots. So why did Boston leave the warm side to digest his food on the cold?!? Maybe I'm overreacting and if so please call it out. I'm chalking that up to being a new mom lol. I just don't want to overlook something that I should be more concerned about. Just to add that I Jason the temps within the ranges listed on the care sheet. I do have a larger tank (38X18 I think) and aspen bedding so I have to spray daily as I loose humidity quickly. Should I be more worried? Should I encourage him to the warm side? I don't want to stress him and we do not touch him for 2 days after he eats but I don't want him to have digestive problems. Anyone? Thoughts?

If your temps are good its fine. I feed my ball in its cool hide alot and it goes right back in. Just provide what it needs and the snake will use it appropriately.

Short answer: No need to worry!

Longer answer: They do what they do :) and if your temps are spot on, the ambient heat in the tank should be just fine for digesting (but yes, belly heat aids in that process). If you have done your research as you've mentioned, then you'll know all about proper temperatures and whatnot, which can also be found under the care sheet section on this forum. "A hiding ball python is a happy ball python".

All the best!

Snakes can also remain in food/hunting mode for a few hours after taking a meal. They're opportunistic predators, and if they catch one rodent, they may get lucky and catch a second, so they move around a bit. In a day or so he may move to the warm side to settle down and digest.

That said, how are you heating the warm side and how are you measuring temperatures?

2 of mine prefer to digest on there cool sides and they have been fine so no need to worry :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bcr229

Snakes can also remain in food/hunting mode for a few hours after taking a meal. They're opportunistic predators, and if they catch one rodent, they may get lucky and catch a second, so they move around a bit. In a day or so he may move to the warm side to settle down and digest.

That said, how are you heating the warm side and how are you measuring temperatures?

---

I'm heating the warm side with a UTH/Herpstat t-stat. I have a temp gage on both the warm and cool side to monitor it but I do want to upgrade to a acurite thermometer (or something similar) that I seem on another thread. Everything is exact temps as on the care sheet. I take direction well lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tiffanie

I'm heating the warm side with a UTH/Herpstat t-stat. I have a temp gage on both the warm and cool side to monitor it but I do want to upgrade to a acurite thermometer (or something similar) that I seem on another thread. Everything is exact temps as on the care sheet. I take direction well lol

---

If you're talking about the analog ones... you unfortunately wasted your money buying them. Get a digital with a probe or an IR thermometer and measure the surface temp of the glass under the warm side hide. If the analog thermometer is reading an air temp of 90-ish on the hot side, it's likely his surface temp is too high.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bcr229

If you're talking about the analog ones... you unfortunately wasted your money buying them. Get a digital with a probe or an IR thermometer and measure the surface temp of the glass under the warm side hide. If the analog thermometer is reading an air temp of 90-ish on the hot side, it's likely his surface temp is too high.

---

Thank you for the reply. Going to have to go purchase one ASAP! Would you know any brands/makes that I can purchase locally in Canada? Something that's preferred rather then wasting anymore money? I googled and see this one but its more for food preparation. Would I be able to use something like this? http://www.thermoworks.com/products/...ermometer.html

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-a-thermometer

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bcr229

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-a-thermometer

---

OMG that's awesome!! U are the BEST!!

Does it have to be a probe sensor? Will this one work? It has 3 sensors so thought it would be great for monitoring all areas just don't know if its something I can use inside the tank?
http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/digital-.../6000137479572

You need a probe for the hotspot. That would only work for the air temps.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

You need a probe for the hotspot. That would only work for the air temps.

---

Thank you! I always see your reply's in other threads. Really appreciate the advise and information you provide :) I did get probe and placed it under his bedding on the warm side. I was getting a great reading (90 w/probe under hide on warm side, ambient 85, and cool side was sitting about 77) Then the DAMN UTH broke down so waiting for a replacement to come in the mail which should take about 10 more days as per the manufacture. Currently trying to keep my ambient up above 85 since I no longer have a UTH. My previous warm side probe is now sitting at 77 and i slid my red light (stays on 24/7) over to the previous cool side as he prefers that hid. Just checked this morning and the temp was 90. It dropped to 87 when I uncovered a bit of the top screen, currently have a towel covering some of the top just to hold more heat in. Hoping that I can still feed him tonight (our weekly schedule) if I can keep the ambient heat over 85

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tiffanie

Thank you! I always see your reply's in other threads. Really appreciate the advise and information you provide :) I did get probe and placed it under his bedding on the warm side. I was getting a great reading (90 w/probe under hide on warm side, ambient 85, and cool side was sitting about 77) Then the DAMN UTH broke down so waiting for a replacement to come in the mail which should take about 10 more days as per the manufacture. Currently trying to keep my ambient up above 85 since I no longer have a UTH. My previous warm side probe is now sitting at 77 and i slid my red light (stays on 24/7) over to the previous cool side as he prefers that hid. Just checked this morning and the temp was 90. It dropped to 87 when I uncovered a bit of the top screen, currently have a towel covering some of the top just to hold more heat in. Hoping that I can still feed him tonight (our weekly schedule) if I can keep the ambient heat over 85

---

If you don't have a UTH with thermostat, my suggestion is to just not feed until you get one. You don't want your ambient temps at 90F!! That's for the warm spot, and should be measured at the very BOTTOM of the vive, below the substrate... so essentially at the hottest place the snake can get to, because they can and do push substrate out of the way. Low 80's was great for ambients.

Also, make sure to keep a heat gradient - meaning, one end is cool (your 77F was totally fine) and one end is slightly warmer, so around 80-83F. You just don't want ambient air temps for the entire tank to fall below 75F, as that can cause respiratory infections. But you also don't want to roast your snakey :oops:

My ambient temp for my ball sits anywhere from 78F-82F during the day, and occasionally drops to 76F at night this time of year before the heat in our home is on full.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NH93

If you don't have a UTH with thermostat, my suggestion is to just not feed until you get one. You don't want your ambient temps at 90F!! That's for the warm spot, and should be measured at the very BOTTOM of the vive, below the substrate... so essentially at the hottest place the snake can get to, because they can and do push substrate out of the way. Low 80's was great for ambients.

Also, make sure to keep a heat gradient - meaning, one end is cool (your 77F was totally fine) and one end is slightly warmer, so around 80-83F. You just don't want ambient air temps for the entire tank to fall below 75F, as that can cause respiratory infections. But you also don't want to roast your snakey :oops:

My ambient temp for my ball sits anywhere from 78F-82F during the day, and occasionally drops to 76F at night this time of year before the heat in our home is on full.

---

There is no reason not to feed with the temps she has. Many keepers here provide no belly heat and only monitor the ambient temps, usually the whole room, and feed just fine. In my snake room I have a oil heater set to 78. My bloods and brb hardly ever stay on their belly heat but digest their meals just fine with the ambient temp staying around 78-80.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KMG

There is no reason not to feed with the temps she has. Many keepers here provide no belly heat and only monitor the ambient temps, usually the whole room, and feed just fine. In my snake room I have a oil heater set to 78. My bloods and brb hardly ever stay on their belly heat but digest their meals just fine with the ambient temp staying around 78-80.

---

Cool, mine too! It was just a suggestion, since they seemed worried about it. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NH93

Cool, mine too! It was just a suggestion, since they seemed worried about it. :)

---

I get that but it just feeds their fear.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NH93

If you don't have a UTH with thermostat, my suggestion is to just not feed until you get one. You don't want your ambient temps at 90F!! That's for the warm spot, and should be measured at the very BOTTOM of the vive, below the substrate... so essentially at the hottest place the snake can get to, because they can and do push substrate out of the way. Low 80's was great for ambients.

Since I have a larger tank (38X18X16) when the UTH failed I moved my heat lamp from the middle of the tank to the right hand side hoping to create a hot and cool side again. It just so happens that the thermometer part is also in the left hand corner. So I think the reading I was getting this morning of 90 was simply because the heat lamp was closer to thermometer. My probe from that thermometer was under the bedding on the bottom of the tank up against the broken UTH and it was reading 77 so I figured I could turn that into my cool site for the time being, until I received my replacement UTH that is.

Also, make sure to keep a heat gradient - meaning, one end is cool (your 77F was totally fine) and one end is slightly warmer, so around 80-83F. You just don't want ambient air temps for the entire tank to fall below 75F, as that can cause respiratory infections. But you also don't want to roast your snakey :oops:

Proior to the UTH failure I had my thermometer probed hot spot (on the left of the tank) set to 90 - My thermometer itself was on the right (as suggested in care guild) would read low/mid 80's so thats what I used to measure my ambient - My heat lamp was placed center tank - I was advised that this was perfect. Are u saying that I need a 2nd probe under the subtrate on the cool side to measure that temp with another thermometer on the opposit side of that 2nd probe?

My ambient temp for my ball sits anywhere from 78F-82F during the day, and occasionally drops to 76F at night this time of year before the heat in our home is on full.

---

Thank you BOTH for all the words of advice!! Being a new owver and seeing that Boston cant really talk to me to let me know if hes happy lol, Im always worrying about him. Im hoping this will get easier and I will be able to read him better when I get some time under my belt :)