New and excited!

Hello Folks!

I am new to owning snakes but have been lurking around and doing a lot of research, I know that isn't a substitute for first hand knowledge though. I am getting a ball python from craigslist and will be getting him sometime this week. He comes with a 4x4 melamine cage with sliding doors but no heat source. I am trying to figure out options with this, is there a way to put the heat mat on the outside and get enough heat through? If not I am thinking of putting the mat on the inside and placing slate tiles over top of it, any suggestions regarding this? I plan on using newspaper or paper towels as a substrate first just till I get use to him and may switch. I am also getting a thermostat, thermometer and hygrometer for the cage and plan on setting that up per the guides on this site. He is currently right around 500 grams (I will be weighing him to get a more exact weight) and eating medium rats ever two weeks, does this sound correct? One last question is he is suppose to be a Cinnamon male but I'm not really good with morphs. Is there any way to tell for sure? I'm posting the pictures they gave me and will post more when I get him. If there are any other suggestions please feel free to post them. Thanks and have a good day!

PS: Even if he isn't a Cinnamon I'll be happy with him, just curious to know for sure what morph he is!

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...pst6qot8km.jpg


http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...psrjbjkftx.jpg

That is a very good example of a cinnamon.

For heat, I am not sure. If the cage is closed, you may need something to cove the heat pad that wont burst. Not sure if glass or tile is a good option, but maybe someone else will know.

Thanks! I was thinking so cause I don't see any of the yellow hue to him,. The heat issue that is why I was thinking of using the slate tile.. I have seen it used in homemade cages before but I'm not sure, hopefully someone can help me since I'll prolly be getting him the end of this week.

Have you actually seen inspected and held the snake? I have seen some animals in pretty bad shape off of craigslist. They usually end up in a reptile shelter near me that i have since stopped going to due to the numerous snakes with issues that I did not want to bring home to my collection since it grew. Be careful. Hope it all works out. As for heating, what did the original owner use and did it work? If so i would just duplicate what he\she did.

500 grams eating medium rats does not sound right. Maybe medium mice. My 2200 gram male eats medium rats. Look into getting a radiant heat panel. Works much better and you won't need the UTH.

With the previous owner they heated their whole reptile room and didn't use anything else. I can't do that, plus want to provide belly heat and I can't do the radiant heat at the moment so any other suggestions? Sorry I got the weight wrong that was from another animal on Craigslist . He is closer to the 2000 grams and is about 3 years old. They aren't sure exact weight but will find out for me. I have held the snake and he seems to be good..no mites or other noticeable issues. Also I'm sorry for typos but I'm on my phone and just worked all night. Thanks for the help folks!

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Originally Posted by bluefox009

With the previous owner they heated their whole reptile room and didn't use anything else. I can't do that, plus want to provide belly heat and I can't do the radiant heat at the moment so any other suggestions? Sorry I got the weight wrong that was from another animal on Craigslist . He is closer to the 2000 grams and is about 3 years old. They aren't sure exact weight but will find out for me. I have held the snake and he seems to be good..no mites or other noticeable issues. Also I'm sorry for typos but I'm on my phone and just worked all night. Thanks for the help folks!

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It sounds like you have a good handle on the main essentials. Congrats on the new addition. Be sure to practice a good quarantine time frame and think about pre-treating his enclosure with provent a mite. Clean and sanitize the enclosure well prior. The heating could be with a ultra therm heat pad and thermostat. I would be more inclined to want the ultrtherm on the outside of the glass bc that is more the acceptable placement. Refer to the bp.net search bar to help you through other husbandry queries. Good luck.

I planned on spraying and cleaning the cage..so put it on the sliding glass door? All the other sides are melamine. .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bluefox009

With the previous owner they heated their whole reptile room and didn't use anything else. I can't do that, plus want to provide belly heat and I can't do the radiant heat at the moment so any other suggestions? Sorry I got the weight wrong that was from another animal on Craigslist . He is closer to the 2000 grams and is about 3 years old. They aren't sure exact weight but will find out for me. I have held the snake and he seems to be good..no mites or other noticeable issues. Also I'm sorry for typos but I'm on my phone and just worked all night. Thanks for the help folks!

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Glad to hear you checked him out thoroughly. Make sure you do quarantine if you have other animals. For the heating you may be in for a bit of trouble. How thick is the melamine...I'm guessing around 3/4" - 1". You may be limited to getting an RHP unless you feel like modding the enclosure. Can you get pics of the enclosure for suggestions?

Looks like a cinammon to me. Congrats on the new baby :)

I'm really thankful for the replies and asee for modding the cafeelings I could prolly do some things. The other option would be just to get a 32 or 41 quart tub for now ( I believe those are the right sizes..if not please correct me). Here is a pic, not the greatest bit what I have from them and I'm not sure how thick the melamine is.

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...pszhctlcgs.jpg

At 500 grams a 32 qt tub would work great! Congrats on your new snabie!


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Thanks guys! He is actually heavier than 500 grams, I had that wrong in the first post.. he is more around 2000 grams and 3 years old. I am actually thinking of two options.. just get a tub (researching proper size) and putting a heat mat under it and all that.. or use heat tape and slate tiles/glass inside the tank.. still not sure.. but stilll have a few more days to decide.

That's a big three year old. Maybe it's a female? I have an adopted snaked that I want to have someone sex.

It is definitely male.. and I'm not 100% on weight.. they said that he is around that, could be less than that. He just ate so they can't weigh him right now for me. Anyone have suggestions on the heating of the melamine cage? I really don't want to get a RHP right now

Alright so after a lot of reading and just thinking over this situation I have come to the conclusion I am just not happy with the melamine cage, so I am going to get go with a tub. Most likely going to do the 41 quart range with the locking handles.. BUT if anyone has suggestions on size please let me know. I will be mounting heat tape or a UTH on the bottom, I am going to start out with a rheostat and then later switch to the thermostat. This may change if I can find a good priced thermostat locally instead of having to order online. I am going to be using the Acurite Thermometer/Hygrometer from Walmart and I also have a temp gun already. Substrate will be newspaper since I have a stack of it already. Hides I plan on using plastic bowls or flower pots as I've seen on a post here until I know he is full grown then I'm going for the fancy black plastic ones. Water dish is prolly going to be a dollar tree dog bowl, one of the heavy types. I do believe this sounds good so far but am open to suggestions. Eventually within the next year I will be buying an Animal Plastics T8 or T10 and getting one of the really good thermostats from spyder robotics or helix and a few other nifty stuff I want.

Once again thanks for all the help and for having this lovely forums I can obsessively read through