Sad Day

Hello forum family! I hope everyone understands how much I love rue. When rue joined my familyhis "packaged" included

• 55 gallon aquarium tank, which had a small crack in the bottom of it. It was all she had enclosure wise that would fit rue. While at the store he was kept in a wood enclosure with no heat lamp, only a heating pad (which she said he hated his enclosure but had nothing else to keep him in at the time) I knew I didn't want to take him home in an enclosure he hated so we opted for the cracked tank. The wooden enclosure he disliked was about 18in tall, 12in wide, and about 5 feet long (homemade) The tank came with the screen top lid.
• Small stone water dish (he couldn't even soak half of his body if he wanted to), again said it was to small for him and to get him a new water dish as soon as we could.
• Hide log (again, to small) when rue stuffed himself into his log it was like a teeter tatter in the air he clearly didn't fit.
• Moss; he loves his moss!
• Cocoa bark; she said he loves the humidity. I switch up his substrate pretty regularly and it seems he loves aspen bark the best though it drys out his enclosure I can seem to keep it humid. I mentioned in another post that he burrowed underneath his chips one day LOL I thought he had escaped somehow.
• Fluker heat lamp, with night light bulb 100wat; he never basks up his bulb. Ever. He seems to like if I turn the lamp off and cover his enclosure to with his towels, it gets 65-70% humidity.
• Fluker medium sized heating pad (only uses this after a tasty feeding) It sits half up his water.

Since the purchase of my little love boa, I've invested in:

• Many different substrate, like I said cocoa holds better humidity but he loves to burrow in the aspen chips. He doesn't care much for newspaper.. he just lays there like a limp noodle.
• Varies water dishes. First one I purchased was a glass water bowl from my local craft store. It was about 12in in diameter, and 4in deep. It was a circular glass bowl. Cleaned and sanitized it of course. Before his shed he only used it for sipping when thirsty but since he started his shed he likes to soak for about 24 hours at a time. I bought the bowl for 3.99; that being said I have switched for a plastic storage container. I was worried since it was a cheap bowl and glass for some reason rue would break it and get hurt (many people said it wouldn't break but thats just being a paranoid parent) The plastic container is a typical rectangle storage container from home depot, its long and narrow so it goes across his tank instead of being stuck to one side. It stretches from his cool side over the heating pad to his heat lamp. It is also 6in deep. (I still keep the small dish on the hot side under his heat lamp, it helps with the humidity. A tip from a forum member on one of my former posts)
• A new hide. I researched hides, and when not being able to comprehend spending a large amount of money on a hide when he's already outgrown a large size wood half log... I made my own. I made a cardboard hide which he LOVED. His cardboard hide I made ran along his tank (just like his plastic water dish now) it had one opening in the front of the hide and on the left side. It was wide enough for him to stretch out in it, and sadly I didn't see much of him after that he loved his hide and lived in it hehe. UPDATE: This week I looked thru the forums and came across the home-made clay hides which I have made! It's perfect size! He loves it, I used a glass baking bowl for the size. Since it was much bigger than the gals who posted it, it had to bake for MUCH longer in the oven. But, in the end if it was very inexpensive and he truly loves it! So worth the hours of baking!!
• My boyfriend brought home a large rock, and two pieces of driftwood from the beach. Many hours of research and dozens of opinions later it was a non-harmful type driftwood. We baked the rock and left it cool over night. We also stripped the bark from the driftwood, baked the wood, and sanded it all down with a high grit. We tied them together with robe so he could climb on it and he most often spends his active night life on it.
• Spacers for his tank; 1in spacer so his tank sits up off my desk that way I can keep his heating pad underneath his tank and not on the side. I have a fear of fire which is why I spaced the tank from the desk for the heating pad.
• Thermometer for both cool, and hot side.
• Thermostat for his heating pad, to control the temp.
• Humidity reader (which is amazingly helpful)

I've ran into some maintenance issues since Rue's been at home with me such as; (about two weeks or so ago)

• The tank leaked. One morning I woke up to water all over my very expensive desk his tank sits on. Also, his heating pad burnt out from water being on it. I called the reptile store and explained the situation. She(the owner) said she didn't believe me, theres not way the tank could of leaked... she went on to interrogate me about how much water was in the tank, did i have the water bowl right now the crack, what about the heating pad, if that was over the crack than it was my fault it expanded. I explained, no the heating pad was not over the crack, the water was not above the crack, and the only kind of "water" in the tank besides the water in his bowl was the moisture from his cocoa. She told me she's leaving town for the reptile expo they were having about 2 hours south of the shop. She(still the owner) said when she got back into town to bring the tank in let her fill it up and if it leaked she would replace it with a new tank she had just ordered and received for the shop. Since I couldn't wait because his bulb went out to (I explain that below) my sweet little rue has gone without heat almost 24 hours... I went to my local home depot and asked him what would be best I told him it was or an aquarium tank and Rue was a boa. He directed me to a silicone that is SPECIFICALLY for aquarium fish tank/reptile safe (thank god) I went home and siliconed his tank inside and out. He spent the night in his large "feeding" container (no I no longer use it to feed him, he eats in his tank) he had his heating pad under his for the night so I didn't have to worry about his getting cold. (since this, no leaks) I called her monday and told her what I did because I couldn't just go the weekend with a leaky tank and no heating pad which she told me over and over he would be fine... She replied to me "so your not going to bring it in?" I told her NO, I want to order a pac cage for him and when I do that, than YES I will bring it to her. She ended up giving me store credit for the heating pad I had to replace (which is, eh, alright... I'll use it for rats)
• The morning of the heating pad/water tank disaster, his night light bulb went out for no apparent reason! I tried different plug ins, the bulb has not been dropped, never been damaged. Since, I bought brand new when I took Rue Rue home I brought the bulb AND the lamp back to the reptile store. She(the owner, she's the only one that works in the shop so when i call or go in I only deal with her) shook the bulb, plugged it into her own plug in and said "hmmm much be a factory problem, ill replace it)
• THIS MORNING 4:30AM FRIDAY MORNING APRIL 10TH, 2015.... This bulb burnt out again! At this point we have moved! So, it can't be anything with the plug in or anything on our end. His heating pad is plugged into the same outlet and still works. As soon as her store opens you bet your sweet a$$ i'm going to call her.

My sad dilemma....... Rue.
I'm at my wits end with with situation and the saddest part is, none of my problems are rue. I love him, he's gentle with me even though I am new to being a boa mom in the snake community. He's insanely patient with my compulsive cleaning, he lets people who haven't been around snakes get familiar with him (and end up changing her outlook on snakes) for those who might want to tell me "this could give him a lot of stress" well... when he meets new friends. He's on me and they know only to pet him if he's NOT tense or trying to hide on me (which he never does) and if he slithers to them, than thats a welcome to pet and hold him. If he's in a shy mood, he's stays on me and I tell him better luck next time. My sweet little rue has NEVER struck at me or ANYONE. He has recently been vocal with me (he's in shed) but never with anyone. This situation makes me want to return rue and everything he came with for a full refund. I'm confused on what to do because it's the problem his enclosure is. I need advice, the logical side tells me... its never going to end and it will end up affecting his health. Than half of me says, I love Rue he's such a amazing snake I want to keep him for the rest of his life. I can't seem to figure out what is best, or honestly how I should go about the situation with the store owner. Now, her reptile store is the ONLY store that isn't over an hour drive. Yes, I have a local pet store such as petsmart and petco but I like the idea of sticking to a store that is specially for my rue.

Yes, I know I need to adds pictures of his actual enclosure, I will slowly add some later tonight :P

Thank you everyone for reading my long, difficult post. I trust you, my forum family, to show me both road on the path I need to choose. You guys/gays have helped me SO much already. I truly appreciate it.

Order your supplies from a source like big apple Herp or lllreptile depending on the side of the country you live in. Josh's frogs is another good place to order supplies from. These places sell appropriate equipment and typically know how it works and various troubleshooting.

To to be fair you bought a tank with a crack in it what did you expect. Dry it out and put some aquarium silicon on it, spread it out like you would caulking for a window so it gets into all the little crevices and such. This will help hold you over and prevent further leaks.

Maybe with this most recent problem you sould start looking towards finding his big boy home because that 55 gallon won't hold him forever. There are many reptile cage manufacturers that offer appropriately sized cages that are made from durable plastic which don't leak and will hold heat and humidity better.

I don't understand what you're so sad about; invest in an Animal Plastics cage or similar reptile enclosure, one that will house your Rue now and once he's full grown. Invest in some RHPs and a good thermostat and everything will be fine for you and Rue :)

Your problem is that you are trying to keep a snake in a tank designed for fish, and it's a broken tank at that. Get a proper reptile enclosure, either PVC or melamine, with an RHP regulated by a decent thermostat for heat, and dump the headaches that come with using a tank.

Heat bulbs don't last very long either. They're often expensive as heck to run as well, and even new ones sometimes fail right out of the box how reputable the supplier, so I always kept 2-3 spares on hand before I wised up and moved everything to racks and stacks.

If funds are tight then spend what you need to now to make the tank work, accept that there will be headaches, and set money aside for a better enclosure in the future. Also canvas your local Craigslist and FB groups for used caging, if you have cash and a truck you can score some insane deals.

My advice is a 55 gallon tank is going to be hard to get humidity and temps right on period. I use 40 gallon breeders for my bp and sunglow juvenile and they work fine. Much easier to keep temps and humidity. First of ditch the heat pad, they are not needed. Second don't use a bulb as your heat source. Go to Petsmart or Petco or whatever is close and buy a Ceramic Heat Emitter. Those only give off heat, not light but they are durable and last forever. Next if you haven't done it yet, cover at least 3/4 of the screen top with tin foil to hold in humidity. I use thick cardboard that I cut to fit the whole top of the screen. Then I cut out where I want the dome with the CHE in it to go, be it left or right side. I cut this circle about 1" bigger than the dome size to allow airflow. Then I cover the cardboard in tin foil. This does 2 things, it will create airflow in the tank because the cardboard isn't air tight so cold air will leak in from the cool side and drop down, then it travels along the ground and hits the air under the CHE which is warm. It then is pulled up and out past the CHE dome. Anyways even that should work for a 55 gallon but you might need 2 smaller CHEs vs 1 large one. Also go to Home Depot and pick up a lamp dimmer for the CHE so you can adjust it. I use one like http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lutron-Cr...H-BL/100478442. Its like $12 and works great. Make sure it is rated for 300 watts. Then you can adjust the hot spot. Humidity will be an issue but you can use moist moss or folded up wet paper towels on top of his hide on the warm side and just resoak the paper towel a couple times a day.

Ultimately though the best is a PVC cage. The best bang for the buck I have found are Animal Plastics cages. Good price and quality. Only downside is about a 3 month wait time.

As for ordering supplies, I personally like using Reptile Basics. Good prices and fast delivery plus their hides are great. Both my little sunglow and BP love them.

Im confused about what the issue is here? All of these problems occur routinely with used reptile goods. To be fair you did purchase the snake from a shop owner who didn't even know the correct species of the animal. It seems like the other goods you purchased were doomed from the start.

If you cant afford a PVC enclosure with a RHP you can us a fish tank and a single heat lamp to achieve a bare bones set up. I would opt for a 40 gallon breeder tank, which actually has a larger floor surface area than a 55 gallon. If you already have an 8 inch heat lamp you can use that with a 150 watt infrared bulb. Ive found that at an ambient room temp of around 71 deg, that this wattage gets a nice 90 deg hot spot and a cool spot in the high 70s. If you need to modulate the temps down, you can use a cheap lamp dimmer from home depot. Ive had rescue animals that flourish in a setup like this, even though its not supremely ideal. You can cover the top with wet towels for humidity increases, or do the humid hide routine.

Don't let all of this stress you out. Once you get everything in working order it will be much easier to care for Rue. Don't give up.

So much in this book.....
That 55g tank you are using, are the light fixtures sitting on thw screen or hanging above it?
How often do you move them or bump them?
All of this will significantly shorten the bulb life.

Thank you everyone, I do plan on buying rue a proper tank but right now funds are tight. So it has to work and the reason why I went with that tank is because it was the only one she had or else I would of gotten a different one. I have patched up the bottom since it leaked. The reason why I'm upset (since most of you ask) is because these products were brand new all except for the hide,water dish, and tank. So I'm not sure as to why the bulb would go out twice within a two week period I also live pretty far from the store... I love rue. He is a good snake, with his enclosure it seems like one thing right after the next. But yes, as soon as I have the extra money (in the next couple of months) I do plan on getting him a set up that will last them throughout his life. Thanks everyone, all of your advice is soaked up & pondered.

And just an FYI..... Keep a couple extras on hand. If it can break or stop working then have a back up. I know it can get expensive but it will reduce your stress a lot.
You dont have to buy them all at one time either. Just when you have a little extra cash.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

And just an FYI..... Keep a couple extras on hand. If it can break or stop working then have a back up. I know it can get expensive but it will reduce your stress a lot.
You dont have to buy them all at one time either. Just when you have a little extra cash.

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What he said. I live over an hour away from the nearest pet store of any kind, and further for good reptile supplies (I like in the sticks). I have a tegu that requires a good UVB light and heat. When I order or pick up supplies, I always double it, just to be safe.

Light bulbs get jostled in shipment and can be predisposed to burning out easily. Also, some sketchy shops resell used or damaged bulbs that are returned.

Jump on craigslist and I bet you can find a decent 40 gal breeder tank with a lid for cheap. Get a 150 watt IR bulb in there and you're good to go. I'm telling you this is the most economical way to go.

Pet stores are usually reticent to refund a burnt out bulb but if it's that new and burnt out I would make a fuss and demand an exchange at the very least.

I have never had a problem returning a bulb within 3 months from Petsmart. I use T5 ReptiSun tubes and heat lamps for my beardie and like I said, I never have had a problem returning them. Most incandescent "heat" lamps though don't last that long anyways especially if you use them 12 hours a day like I do. About 6-8 months and they are done.

I had a 20 gallon tank and tried to set that up for my first bp. I could not get the heat/humidity right no matter what I did. In the future, I want a PVC cage but for now my two little ones are in tubs and they work great. I can maintain perfect heat/humidity with no effort whatsoever. I just set them up, checked my gauges and everything was good.

Maybe you can do that while you save up for a PVC cage? They're pretty cheap! I know tubs may not be the best looking but who cares? A snakes health is more important than the look of their environment :) And my snakes seem pretty comfortable in their tubs!

Drop that petstore. There's plenty of options online and pet Co or petsmart will be fine for run of the mill supplies. I wouldn't trust someone that sold you a boa as a ball python. No need to keep giving them repeat business.

Update! For those who have been curious all day...

Skin
Rue shed! It wasn't a perfect shed, he had one piece of stuck skin behind his head I soaked him for about 25 minutes in warm water after being dried off with a warm towel he was all shiny & handsome!

Pet Store Adventure
Also, when I went to petsmart after work to get a emitter I ended up buying the 36 x 18 x 18 zoomed 'wide' cage until I can get him a bigger pvc cage. It was on sale LOL (that's how I like to justice all my "not needed right now" purchases) I got a 100watt emitter so we will see how it goes, thanks to all of you who all freely gave their advice in my emotional disaster of a day. My biggest fear is, messing with his heat (when the bulb burns out, which I don't know if I said it in my last post BUT it was the second bulb I had got from who in the last two weeks) I also, when to home depot and bought a dimmer. I've never used one of those so we shall also see how that goes as well.

The Hewiett Reptile Emporium
I called her on my lunch at work today and let her know hey, Im not sure whats going on but I woke up in the middle of the night and his bulb is burnt out again she replied with "well I'm not sure what your doing wrong" So, I got all my goodies from the Petsmart instead. I did go to see her later which she was INSANELY rude to me. I went to buy Rue a dinner present for his post shed extravaganza. Yes, I do plan to switch to f/t soon! The heating pad I had to replace she gave me store credit for so thats why I still get the live rats there. I want to give her a 1 star review, google yelp bing but I can't seem to.

THANK YOU ALL!
Though I am new to reptile parenthood I love this forum because I can ask questions, without judgement or being treated badly. And for that, I thank you all. I truly love the advice I get. I'm like a sponge I will literally soak up as much knowledge I can to make sure Rue has the best quality of life.

Incase you arent aware of how to set up a glass tank to better suit a snake here is what im doing for my tank witch aimilar in size to the one you bought, hopefully everything works out for you and rue

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ss-tank-set-up

Check on amazon too.. The CHE will last you much longer than a bulb, but just in case, check amazon's prices. They do carry some reptile bulbs, CHEs, lamps, etc.

Check out this link on how to foil a screen top. I know you got a new zoomed terrarium, but it still has a screen top, so this method will help you modify it (cheaply) to hold humidity better.

Grats. That cage is the same ones I use for my baby sunglow and pied BP. You should be able to get the heat and humidity fine in there. Reread my post and use the cardboard and tin foil with damp paper towels and you should be golden until the snake gets to about 4-4.5'. Then you need to get him the PVC cage. that's funny about Hewitt Reptile as I used to go there a lot and knew the original owner before he sold to the gal which I know also but wont name names ;). Kind of surprised she was that rude as she is normally pretty mellow but anyways. The CHE will last way longer than a bulb and is much more durable. Boas don't need a light in their cage as room lighting will work just fine and in glass tanks where you want to keep them mostly covered, its hard to set up a light in there.

Now one more piece of advice, like the reptile owners bible, go to Home Depot and buy a temp gun. Then you can use that to dial in the warmest spot under the CHE with the lamp dimmer. That's what I use and I got both my sunglow and BP set with 87-88F warm side, 81-82F cool side and 50-60% humidity. This is in a 75F house but it gives you an idea of what you can get and that's with the dimmers oly set about 50% so if your house is colder, you will have plenty of room to play with. And I too use the 100 watt CHEs.

Oh and also you don't have to feed F/T. I personally feed live that I pre kill beforehand since I prefer to feed all my snakes fresh but if you are squeamish about killing rats/mice, then yeah probably go to F/T as feeding live isn't really the best option imo.

Oh I also forgot to mention, you don't NEED a UTH. I never use them. As long as the ambient temps are good in the cage, a snake will be fine. Just set up one of his hides under the CHE so the CHE warms it and if he really wants heat, he can sit on top of it. That's what my sunglow does and I use Reptile Basic hides as they are cheap, nice, and offer a flat top which doubles as a spot to lay moist paper towels on under the CHE and the snake sometimes likes to sit on the warm moist paper towel lol.

+1 to Sauzo. Get that temp gun and 95% of your issues with heat will "dissipate." Also, IMO local pet shops and especially big box pet stores are AWFUL at giving out any type of herp advice. Usually they are in the business of slingin' second hand reptiles and anything they can get their hands on. Simply disregard them, move on and seek the advice of established breeders and enthusiasts like you have been doing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

IMO local pet shops and especially big box pet stores are AWFUL at giving out any type of herp advice. Usually they are in the business of slingin' second hand reptiles and anything they can get their hands on.

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Actually they're in the business of making money, which much of the time means selling you stuff you don't need, like a separate tub for feeding, a fish tank and heat lamp for a ball python, a heat rock...

Yep, and by slingin' reptiles I meant trying to extort as much money as possible out of peoples previously owned reptiles by selling them at ridiculous prices to the unwitting consumer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

Yep, and by slingin' reptiles I meant trying to extort as much money as possible out of peoples previously owned reptiles by selling them at ridiculous prices to the unwitting consumer.

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:confusd::confusd::confusd: Big box stores buy from breeders and importers.

Was referring to the local reptile shops in my area. Scales N Tails etc. Awful.

Any updates on the infamous Rue?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

Any updates on the infamous Rue?

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Hi there! Not much of an update, rue loves his new cage hehe. I really need to upload pictures (I mean it this time, maybe in the next couple of days hahah). I was so frustrated with the whole situation of the shop owner. I was on the verge of getting rid of everything, except rue... Which doesn't make sure sense. It was all the equipment that was an issue, rue has been perfect. So, after work I went and bought the new cage which I had talked about previously in the thread. His log, hide, and water pond all fit. He has cedar shaving on the hide side with the emitter above, and on the water side is the heating pad. On the water side also has cocoa dirt. He keeps himself all strung out across it, on the log, thru the hide, I feel he truly enjoys it. All of his temps & humidity is correct. Everything has been so far so good. I shared that I bought the emitter which is 100watt and it's still kickin. I tried to make the clay hide, it lasted about 2 days than got all soft LOL i followed the instructions exactly how it said so now i just have his old wood half log hide tunneled so he fits. Rue hasn't ate since the day I bought his new tank, when i bought him the owner said "he has a very healthy appetite he eats every 7-10 days) since conversing with you great folks I have decided the best thing for rue is to space out his feeds. This thursday Im going to buy him a dinner treat (rat) and ill just keep it on the every other week which works perfect cause its payday so I wont be able to forget it at all haha. He's not over weight or underweight he is a meatloaf thats for sure. Though, the only update I have is, he has been loving the sunshine! He sits at his cage around 5pm so he can stretch his skin. He loves to bask in the sun on the window sill. I have posted recent pictures on my profile of his roaming adventures and enjoying time outside of his cage. He has a appt with an exotic vet (super far away from our home) April 27th, its just a routine check up, I just want him looked at to make sure he's all in good health. Plus, it's about half the price of my pit bulls yearly exam so I can argue there haha! Thank you for asking about rue!!

Get rid of the cedar shaving now!! The cedar oils can cause RI in snakes just like pine oil plus its toxic to them.

:taz:No cedar! Also, every 2 weeks may be not often enough, you will need to monitor his weight. I looked but didn't see an age mentioned.

Lol had to run but saw the cedar bedding and had to post that before I ran off. Anyways, if you have any idea of his age, then you can use a guideline for his feeding. I usually do babies to 1.5 years old get fed every week. Then up to 3 years old get fed every 2 weeks. Then past 3 years old every 3-4 weeks. Just watch and if he starts to lose that streamline muscular tone, then cut back on the feeding. Rosey loves to eat and I have a weak will for my pets so I feed her a little more than she should have and now she is chunky...but happy. So I have to make her exercise a lot to work off that fat :P

Ohmygod �������� I'm sorry idk why I put cedar! He's on ASPEN shaving!!


also, he is 4 1/2 years old (that's what the store owner told me) he's a little over 4 foot long. Maybe I'll have a better range on his age after his vet appt.

This morning I decided to change rues cage (left his aspen shavings) he has had the same dirt for about 3 weeks. It was starting to smell some type of funky, I took pictures of my process. Advice is welcome as always! Thank you forum family!

First I had to dispose of the dirty linen

• I put his aspen shavings in a new garbage bag, threw them to the side for later use
  
• I put his dirty dirt in a garbage bag with the old moss and in the garbage it went
  
• Washed his water bowl with a touch of dawn dish soap, throughly rinsed, set aside
  
• I cleaned out Rue's cage with a dawn soap rinse, in the bathtub, made sure that all the soap was gone. I truly love this new cage because it was a pain in my *you know what* to clean his old 55 gallon fish tank, this is easy enough where I can put in it the tub!
• I also wash and rinse his fake plants

1. Heating pad underneath his tank
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...zerender-7.jpg

2. Foil above his cage P.S. thank you for this tip!!
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...render-8.jpgnd



3. Add his fake plants and foam background into cage



http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3531.jpg


4. Add his log, and his stick


http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3533.jpg
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3534.jpg


5. Add his cedar shaving with moss mixed in


http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3535.jpg

DEPTH
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...536_430292.jpg


Both companions wait and watch patiently, its a long process :P

Tach (my pit bull) chose the human bed
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3537.jpg

Rue chose the dog bed haha! Under the blanket, but watching. He always pokes his head out and watches everything hehe.
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3538.jpg

6. Now it's time to add his cocoa dirt (plus water bowl)

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3540.jpg

7. How could I forget his moss?! He loves it so!

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3541.jpg

8. Nifty little 100 watt emitter; Yet another great tip from the forum family


http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...542_779930.jpg

9. I put towels on top of the ugly foil, I also have a cute little rock to hold the cord for the dome

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3543.jpg

10. Drape the towel over the side for added security that he loves so much

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3544.jpg

After everything I couldn't help but feel like I was forgetting something!

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3547.jpg

Oh yeah, RUE :P

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3548.jpg

Here are some miscellaneous of him after he entered his clean cage, Hope you enjoy them!
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3549.jpg
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3550.jpg
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3551.jpg
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3555.jpg

11. Last & Final step! Privacy for him to enjoy his clean cage
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...2/img_3556.jpg
When I return home from work, he's usually trying to be sneaky peaking from under the towel! Hehe, I open his cage to let him get some fresh air and stretch! Supervised of course!

• This time around I chose to go without a hide, lately he's been burrowing underneath his aspen shaving around his hide or simply pushing it out of the way LOL. His humidity has been consistent and at the correct percentage. Also, the temp gun says his temps are spot on and consistent as well. So far everything has been going well without any surprises. If you guys have any advice on his cage etc id love to hear them!
  
  
• He still hasn't been fed, he will be on thursday.
  
• Also I apologize if the pictures aren't up to par, this is my first time attempting to add images to a thread

Also his vet appt is coming up! Next friday! I will keep you posted on that too!

Something that works great as a cleaner also is Chlorhexidine, also called Novalsan. Its the same stuff vets use for exam tables and such. Any farm/feed store should have it as its used as an oral rinse and antiseptic. You can order it online as well but I just buy the 16 ounce concentrated bottles from Bothell Feed on Bothell Everett highway and then use an empty 1 gallon milk jar cleaned out and mix in 3-4 capfuls to that gallon of water. Then I put it in a spray bottle and refill as needed and use it to clean all my snake and lizard tables, utensils, water bowls, cages and spray it on my hands inbetween handlings. You can also use F-10SC too but you have to order that stuff from Amazon, Reptile basics, Bean Farm but its basically the same type of disinfectant for gram positive and negative germs.

The plus side to both Chlorhexidine and F-10SC is a little bit in there wont hurt them and it builds a barrier to germs. Just make sure the F-10SC is not the F-10SCXD stuff as that stuff needs to be rinsed all the way.

Nice looking cage btw. Mine aren't that fancy lol. My baby sunglow has a PVC climbing branch in her cage, aspen floor, an RBI hide on each side, her water bowl and a 6' silk vine I stuck to the sides of the cage with suction cups from Home Depot. My BPs cage is aspen floor, 2 RBI hides and a water bowl lol and big BCI is aspen floor, a water bowl and a single hide on the cool side but she gets to come out daily so shes happy lol.

I like the setup. However I would try to not alter anything else or handle maybe until the little lad eats

I also use Chlorhexidine as a cleaner. I bought the concentrated gallon jug (can't remember if I got it from reptile basics or amazon) and I bought a pump top for it from reptile basics. The top screws onto the gallon jug and 1 pump gives you enough cleaner to mix up a gallon of spray. I mix it and then put it in an industrial type hand spray bottle. A couple things to keep in mind about this cleaner thought: 1. If it comes into contact with biological matter (i.e. poop) it nullifies it. 2. You have to mix up a fresh solution about once a week as it looses it's effectiveness.

I just make sure that I remove any fecal matter or shed, etc. from the tubs first (wipe them out with a paper towel or clean with water / soap if it's stuck on) then spray down well with the Chlorhexidine and let sit to dry for a while. I use it in tubs, cages, on perches, and in water bowls / on hides. Great stuff!