Soaking

I have heard different things about soaking. We just got a banana ball that is a little over a year old. He is close to shed and is soaking himself in his water bowl. Is this normal since there is so much negative views on soaking your snake? Plus my husband got concerned because he completely submerged himself for a few seconds. I don't want him to drown, so should I take out the bigger water bowl and replace it with a smaller one that he can't submerge in? I would be devastated if we came home from work and he died from drowning himself on accident. I know they breathe slow and he would probably be fine for a few mins, but I have heard stories about them drowning and seeing this has me a bit paranoid tbh. My snakes are my babies and I would feel like I lost a child if something happened to them. I am probably overreacting, but I would like some reassurance and advice. Please and thank you. :D :snake:

Assuming the temperatures, humidity and other husbandry issues are fine...He will be fine, snakes can soak, and even swim. It might just be a shedding thing. or maybe he is trying to kill mites. check in the water bowl after he has soaked for a long time to see if there are little dead mites that look like poppy seeds.

Could he be overheating? What are the temps? Is it too dry? What is the humidity?

His temps and humidity are fine. His temps are 79.3 on warm side 72 on cool side with a humidity of 52. It is 10pm so those are good. I was more concerned with him drowning. He doesn't have mites. He is a bit of a goof ball tho lol.

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Originally Posted by Smaugsmom

His temps and humidity are fine. His temps are 79.3 on warm side 72 on cool side with a humidity of 52. It is 10pm so those are good. I was more concerned with him drowning. He doesn't have mites. He is a bit of a goof ball tho lol.

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Your temps are way too cold! They should never be below 75! You "warm" temp should be your cool temp.

Agreed missterdog!!! Cold side temps can be high 70's to low 80's with you ambient temp being around 80F. Hot side temps should be high 80's to 90-91F!! Boost those temps up ASAP- even if it's night time! What do you use as a heat source and is it regulated by a t-stat?

Definitely boost those temps, and you want it to be almost as warm at night as it is in the daytime. I don't think your snake will drown himself, at least I've never heard of that being a thing. I soak my bp for fifteen minutes in warm shallow water a couple times a week and I have never heard anyone tell me that it was unhealthy. In fact, my (trusted) vet recommended it! :)

79 on the warm side is not high enough. 89-90 on the hot side. Ambient all over should be no less than 80. Saying they are fine is not fine. Those temps are too cold.

Did you check for mites? Is your beep going into shed? Just one of many reasons they soak. My boople soaks after she eats. She gets in it like its a hot tub. They are silly ones...

Like the others have said, your temps are too low.

How are you heating? Are your heat sources regulated?
What is your humidity?
How are you measuring temps and humidity?

The most common reasons for a BP to soak are mites, the animal is too hot or a shed is upcoming.
Since a shed is upcoming that would be my guess. However without more information, that is strictly a guess.

I was told those temps were good at night. That during the day they needed to be higher. I was also told that if I have a UTH another heat source isn't necessary and they have both.

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Originally Posted by Smaugsmom

I was told those temps were good at night. That during the day they needed to be higher. I was also told that if I have a UTH another heat source isn't necessary and they have both.

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Nope their cold blooded which means they get all their warmth from the environment those temps aren't safe for any time of day also uth doesn't really raise ambient temperatures it only provides a hot spot.

I'm usually the guy telling people to turn the heat down but even I think that's too cool. If that was your night temp that would be fine. It gets pretty cool at night in their home range.

Overall you want to be within spitting distance of 80-81 degrees. Personally I think hot spots are a bit silly so I'll either use a wide spreading fixture combined with a CHE or a slightly larger than you'd think you need heat pad and just set it to 80-81 with a thermostat and I'm golden.

I have talked to professionals about the temps and they are fine. During the day they need to be high like you guys are saying, but during the night, just like in nature the temps drop.

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That IS the night temp.

Snakes absorb heat through the belly. That is why people use UTH's.

In the wild the temps do drop, but that doesn't mean that this is necessarily good for the snake. Snakes in the wild are very sluggish by morning, and that is because they aren't warm enough and need to heat up by being in the sun. If they could, I'm sure every snake would prefer that their air temperatures stayed warm 24/7.
Also, snakes get warm through the ambient temperatures whether they have belly heat or not. Having a UTH in addition to a CHE is much preferred.

Which professionals out of curiosity and what were their reasons for a required temp drop? Or what was the explained benefit of lower temps vs stable, consistent temps?

Even for a night drop, anything below 75 is considered unhealthy. They don't require night drop temps and prolonged exposure to colder temps like that could lead to a RI. There's a reason it's not normally recommended and why 75 is listed at the coldest acceptable temp.

The people in this forum, some of them are LITERALLY professional breeders. Which professional snake breeders are you talking to that told you that your temperatures are fine? If you have access to talk with the "professionals" then why are you asking us amateurs here at the forum for advice? :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Smaugsmom

I have talked to professionals about the temps and they are fine. During the day they need to be high like you guys are saying, but during the night, just like in nature the temps drop.

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That IS the night temp.

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Did the professionals also tell you that in nature snakes usually don't make it to the full life expectancies that they do in captivity? Why because conditions in nature aren't always optimal nature is unpredictable so that's another factor to keep in mind. Cold is cold whether it's night or day if they could handle lower than recommended temperatures there wouldn't be so many posts about digestive and respiratory issues.

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Oh here we go....

im right but asking questions anyway but going to tell you I'm still right. Stop it, just stop it!

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Originally Posted by Smaugsmom

Snakes absorb heat through the belly. That is why people use UTH's.

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Reptiles absorb and lose warmth from any direction just like anything else.

The profile pic tells me all I need to know about, if the owner cares what’s in the animals best interest or not.

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Originally Posted by Sonny1318

The profile pic tells me all I need to know about, if the owner cares what’s in the animals best interest or not.

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Huh?

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

Huh?

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I was thinking the same thing! lol

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My questions had nothing to do with his temps. Secondly a vet and a few professional breeders told me that. I love my snakes btw for those of u that don't think I do. U don't know me so don't u dare judge me period. Neither one of my snakes are sick, sluggish or have mites tyvm. They are well cared for and they eat once a week on the same day. They don't refuse feedings and if there was something wrong with them they wouldn't eat. So thanks for the judgements instead of the advice that I asked for and I am done here.

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Originally Posted by Smaugsmom

My questions had nothing to do with his temps. Secondly a vet and a few professional breeders told me that. I love my snakes btw for those of u that don't think I do. U don't know me so don't u dare judge me period. Neither one of my snakes are sick, sluggish or have mites tyvm. They are well cared for and they eat once a week on the same day. They don't refuse feedings and if there was something wrong with them they wouldn't eat. So thanks for the judgements instead of the advice that I asked for and I am done here.

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Someone obviously doesn't like criticism when you ask questions people need to know details and the conditions. What you described were all wrong how dare you try to discredit and tell everyone on here that they are wrong all these people on here were trying to help you and you acted like a complete and utter child if you don't like opinions don't post on here because I guarantee you there will be opinions whether you ask or not especially when you are ignoring guidelines that are literally everywhere!!

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"don't dare judge me"... ok then, so you are perfect and beyond any mistakes ever. No need for knowledge, because you already KNOW IT ALL. :rolleyes:

Like I said......lol

and now...I'm judging! I wasn't before.

A thread about vets and their opinions on temp drops was made not too long ago. The general consensus was vets are not always a reliable source to base your husbandry on. Here is said thread if you'd like to give it a read.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...he-recommended

It's always good to compare your sources and double check if what you're doing by is really fine, or if you've just been lucky so far and problems have not emerged YET. Especially if multiple people are telling you something is off.

You're probably long gone by now but what's the harm in checking instead of digging your heels down and crossing your arms saying you're fine and how dare we question you? Stop making this about you.

As a side note, any breeder can claim to be a professional. Frankly I trust breeders here on this forum with years of experience who share their knowledge, provide explanations and are willing to discuss why their methods and husbandry practices work and having healthy, thriving snakes to prove it.

I certainly trust that more than a simple "because it's like nature" statement.

Food for thought friend.

I completely agree with MissterDog and I also wanted to add one last point.

If you want to imitate nature (low night temps and all) then you should have no problems with using a CHE or other heat lamp. In the wild, the ground isn't warmed from below by an enormous heat mat. How is it warmed? By the sun.

The wild ball pythons aren't warmed early in the morning from below by some mysterious source, they're warmed from above by the biggest "CHE" in our solar system.

Sure, the sun heats the ground and then the snake can get belly heat, but the point is that the sun was the one to warm the soil, not some underground heating system.

Even if you ignore the fact that temp drops are unhealthy, I'm sure you can see why only using a UTH is not mimicking nature's heating system like you want to.