I need advice on my terrarium

I just got my first ball python and I am afraid of messing up. My terrarium is 30x12x12, substrate is coconut fibers. I have a good sized water dish and two hides, one on the hot side one on the cold side. I have a thermometer on both the hot and cold side, the hydrometer is in the middle. Right now I am using a ceramic bulb plugged into a thermostat.
My biggest concern is I was using a heat pad mounted on the side of the tank, but I am afraid of the little fella burning himself.
I have been doing a lot of reading on keeping them but I keep second guessing myself. I want to make sure he has a great life.
Any help or recommendations would be great.

I'm new to this myself. I have uth (heat mat) under his hot side on a thermostat and a che (ceramic heat bulb) on a thermostat over the tank for ambiant heat because it is pretty cool in my house. My tank is roughly the same size as yours. I did add a second water dish on the hot side as the che really dries out that side of the tank quickly. I use two digital thermometer/hygrometer meters...one on each side. As long as you keep a thermostat on your heat mat and check your temps at least once a day (I use a heat gun for spot checking) he should be good. I would put the heat mat under his hot spot though because they don't do much for heating the air but do great for belly heat. Also, if you struggle with humidity and temps, if you have a screen too, you can cover most of it with something like aluminum foil. It helps a lot. Just make sure you leave enough open for air to circulate. As I said I'm no expert, I've had my guy for about a month,but this set up is working for me. [emoji846]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ff0f179e44.jpg

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Welcome to the forums :welcome:

Sounds like you are doing good for your new little companion. As long as you have a warm side at 90 degrees and a cool side at 80 degrees with a hide on both sides (sounds like you do) and the humidity at around 55% that's perfect. Humidity can go up to 70% while he is shedding, you'll notice the belly turn pink when the shedding process starts. Only thing I recommend is getting a head pad for under his warm hide but make sure you but a thermostat on it. To read the temps you should definitely get a heat gun (those things that measure heat with a laser) so you can properly set the heat pad's temp as ball pythons need the belly heat to digest meals.

Sounds like you are doing good for your ball python and he will be very happy. Does your little guy have a name yet?

The heat pad mounted on the side does little to no good in providing ambient heat to the enclosure. It should def be connected to a thermostat in order to regulate the heat. It should be mounted under the tank with the thermostat probe secured between the pad and the bottom of the enclosure. Good luck!

After work I am going to visit the pet shop.
As far as the heating pad on the bottom goes, should I be worried about fire?
The tank sits on an old dresser and the tank itself is slightly raised on the bottom. I'm not sure if there is enough airflow.
Also. Should I put the ceramic bulb on the thermostat with the heat pad or should it be always on? Or do I need a dimmer switch?
I have a zoo med timed power switch. Can I plug everything I need into that? Like plug the thermostat into the always powered side, maybe a light on the timed side to mimic daylight?

My tank does have a screen top and right now I am using foil to try and control the humidity, is there something I can use that looks better and stays secure? Aluminum tape maybe?
I'll post a picture this evening after I have changed some things.

As far as his name, the girlfriend named him Professor Snake (instead of Professor Snape)
And I nicknamed him Smoothskin (I like the fallout universe alot.

And tonight is Smoothskin's first feeding with me. I hope it goes well.

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As long as the tank is slightly raised and you have all of your heating elements on thermostats I don't think you have to worry about fire. As far as something that looks better than foil...you can use a towel or maybe some plastic of some kind. I found the foil works better than the towel did. Also you can cut a hole in the foil and place the heat lamp on top of it. It helps hold in the heat and no fire hazard. If you use a towel or plastic and put to close to the heat lamp it can def catch on fire. I have a power strip with a time side and an always on side. I plug my light lamp into the timer side and both thermostats on the always on side. So far that has been working great. My lamp stays on aprox. 12 a day and off for 12. Although I have seen people say the extra light is not necessary, I just like to have the tank lighted. He pretty much stays hidden all day anyways. I'll take some pics of my set up for you.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

After work I am going to visit the pet shop.
As far as the heating pad on the bottom goes, should I be worried about fire?
The tank sits on an old dresser and the tank itself is slightly raised on the bottom. I'm not sure if there is enough airflow.
Also. Should I put the ceramic bulb on the thermostat with the heat pad or should it be always on? Or do I need a dimmer switch?
I have a zoo med timed power switch. Can I plug everything I need into that? Like plug the thermostat into the always powered side, maybe a light on the timed side to mimic daylight?

My tank does have a screen top and right now I am using foil to try and control the humidity, is there something I can use that looks better and stays secure? Aluminum tape maybe?
I'll post a picture this evening after I have changed some things.

As far as his name, the girlfriend named him Professor Snake (instead of Professor Snape)
And I nicknamed him Smoothskin (I like the fallout universe alot.

And tonight is Smoothskin's first feeding with me. I hope it goes well.

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You said you were going to feed him. How long have you had him for? U can use either a dimmer(rheostat) or a thermostat on the CHE. So if you are going to user a thermostat, I suggest you get a Herpstat because they have bask assist which is made to use with CHE and other types of lamps. The down side of a rheostat is that if the ambient temps in your house increase or decrease the rheostat will not adjust.


Below are your ?s with answers:

As far as the heating pad on the bottom goes, should I be worried about fire? No you only need like 1/4 inch minimum
The tank sits on an old dresser and the tank itself is slightly raised on the bottom. I'm not sure if there is enough airflow
.
Also. Should I put the ceramic bulb on the thermostat with the heat pad or should it be always on? Or do I need a dimmer switch? You will need either a dimmer or a thermostat. if you go with a thermostat I recommend the herpstat2. I have it and LOVE IT. it also works on everything from heat pad to CHE.

I have a zoo med timed power switch. Can I plug everything I need into that? Yes, but I recommend just getting a normal power strip

Like plug the thermostat into the always powered side, maybe a light on the timed side to mimic daylight? No need for a light. your ambient light in the house will be good enough.

My tank does have a screen top and right now I am using foil to try and control the humidity, is there something I can use that looks better and stays secure? Aluminum tape maybe? I used to use saran wrap, and tuck it under the end of the screen top.

If you have anymore ?s please just ask.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

After work I am going to visit the pet shop.
As far as the heating pad on the bottom goes, should I be worried about fire?
The tank sits on an old dresser and the tank itself is slightly raised on the bottom. I'm not sure if there is enough airflow.
Also. Should I put the ceramic bulb on the thermostat with the heat pad or should it be always on? Or do I need a dimmer switch?
I have a zoo med timed power switch. Can I plug everything I need into that? Like plug the thermostat into the always powered side, maybe a light on the timed side to mimic daylight?

My tank does have a screen top and right now I am using foil to try and control the humidity, is there something I can use that looks better and stays secure? Aluminum tape maybe?
I'll post a picture this evening after I have changed some things.

As far as his name, the girlfriend named him Professor Snake (instead of Professor Snape)
And I nicknamed him Smoothskin (I like the fallout universe alot.

And tonight is Smoothskin's first feeding with me. I hope it goes well.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

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UTH should be on thermostat. I use tile floors at the bottom of the tank.

The first picture is my strip and the thermostat my heat lamp is plugged into. ( I don't like this one because it's not digital and it took a while to get it set right. I recommend a digital one more like the one in the second picture. It is much easier to set the exact temp you want.) The last picture is what the top of my tank looks like. Someone above mentioned seran wrap...that would work great if you weren't using a heat lamp. If you put that too close to the heat lamp it will melt it. There is so much advice out there and so many strong opinions on the "right"way to do things. I say read all you can and watch all you can and form your opinions on what works best for you and your [emoji216]. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a0ee9d29eb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bc4a83c56c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7f81b13ca8.jpg

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Thanks for all the help.
I have had Smoothskin for about three days. The pet store person said to try and feed him today.
Thoughts?
He seems comfortable in the terrarium. Hides during the day, comes out an hour after dark checking things out.

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wait to feed. at least 1 week.

So I got some new things this evening and I am redoing the tank, as far as heating.
I have seen a lot of things saying to put the thermostat underneath the substrate above the heat mat. Thought?
to me personally if the thermostat probe was between the mat and the glass I feel like there would be a false reading. The heat needs to be hotter on the mat so it can travel through the glass and substrate right?
my girlfriend ordered a ceramic lamp with a dimmer switch. I ordered a heat gun.
For the time being, should keep my CHE on the thermostat?
Should I get another thermostat just for the CHE?

It is not yet perfect, I know there is more to do as far as heat management. But this is what I have so far.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...983cc0841e.jpg

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A lot of people suggest putting it between the mat and the glass but I don't feel like that gives accurate reading on the temps inside. I have mine on top of the glass under his hide. His hide is has a bottom on it so I do periodically open it and check the temp inside the hide with my heat gun. I usually run the mat a couple of degrees hotter than the hide needs to be to get the correct temp. I do suggest you get some digital thermometer/hygrometers because those little round analog ones are notoriously inaccurate.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

So I got some new things this evening and I am redoing the tank, as far as heating.
I have seen a lot of things saying to put the thermostat underneath the substrate above the heat mat. Thought?
to me personally if the thermostat probe was between the mat and the glass I feel like there would be a false reading. The heat needs to be hotter on the mat so it can travel through the glass and substrate right?
my girlfriend ordered a ceramic lamp with a dimmer switch. I ordered a heat gun.
For the time being, should keep my CHE on the thermostat?
Should I get another thermostat just for the CHE?

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The thermostat probe needs to be between the mat and the glass. The snake will just bulldoze the probe in the tank and get it wet and it will end up failing. You need a heat gun to check the temperature on the glass once the thermostat is set up and has been running the mat for a couple hours.. And yes, you might have to set the thermostat higher than 90 degrees to get the temperature right on the heat gun on the glass.. One other thing.. If this snake is young you will want to be really careful about constantly messing with his cage like you are doing.. It's a big tank for a little snake and you might run into feeding issues if you are constantly messing with his set up...

What I do is put the probe between the heat mat and the glass, I need to turn my thermostat to 100 to get it to 90 in the tank. That could differ of course and that's what the temperature gun if for, to get it just right. Glad you are doing everything you can to make your ball python happy. :)

I suppose I will wait a couple of days before I change anything else in the terrarium for heat management. That way smoothskin will calm down a bit and my heat gun will be in my possession by then.

I'm curious if my guy is stressed though. He hides during the day with his head looking out of the hide, and during the evening he goes for a stroll in the tank.
Is he stressed, hungry, or chillin'?

And thank you all for your help thus far. I am glad I joined the forum. You are all very helpful and polite.
My girlfriend joined some Facebook group and asked the same things I did in the beginning and every single reply she got was very rude and not helpful at all.
Thanks again.

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Pretty much all the above advice is obv good as most on here have more knowledge than myself. I will say however vivosun makes a half decent thermostat thats digital and even has 2 outlets totally programmable for about 20 bucks if u look hard enough. Ive had one now for a while my male is 7 years old ive had it for a while. i also have one of there reptile uth mats (they specialize in house hold planting type crap so they have heat mats intended for germination of seeds n stuff n they have thermostats intended for those applications but recently came over to the reptile side of things). Point is there equipment, as far as im concerned, is on par with any other cheaper digital thermostat just priced appropriately (generally 2 or 3 times cheaper)n they work.

Thats the recommendation id like to add as its effective n cheap. If u can afford a vivarium or herpstat id absolutely go with that instead. My opinion go cheap or super expensive cause all the garbage in the middle is analog and overpriced with a big box name on it made cheaper than anything u can think of. Retail stores need to mark up 60% min to make it, so think about that lol.

Everything looks awesome man, you dont need to over think it either. if u like the uth on the side thats fine, but realize the gradient of heat will not be as proper as it should nor as controlled. I know a lot of people that put them on the side for bio active setups n if u have thicker substrate it works. Lets say its on the right side, u have the uth on that side of the tank set for 90 degrees. Where do u place the probe? If ur placing it lets say on the left side of his hide on that side it will be way to hot near the glass, if ur palcing it in the middle of the hide it will have to heat up to prob 115 near the glass in order for it to be anywhere near 90 6 inches away from that. So that is where the problem lies. If u want to use it as additional heat set on a dimmer switch to the temps u like thats fine. Id use it under the tank for sure man. Ur supposed to buy one 1/3 the size of the tank but for real as long as his hot hide is to the correct temps it can be exactly the size of his hide as the rest is irrelevant. He will very rarely if ever be warming up outside of his hide if its the correct temps anyway.

Theres no right or wrong way it def doesnt need to be exact or this would not be a beginner snake that does so well in captivity. Id personally say 5 degrees on either side of whats recommended and ur still doing better than the average person with a ball python and ur snake will absolutely thrive. Stop overthinking it though. If he is eating , pooping, and shedding correctly with no issues and mainly only coming out of his hides during duskish dep in ur animal, ur pretty much doing everything right. (Mine wont come out for about 2 to 3 days after eating usually.)

When something is wrong with the setup, or ur snake, they will be ripping around in the tank like a nut usually. Also if something is wrong with the animal they generally wont feed and u should always check the tank everyday (not saying u dont already) for poop n notice inconsistencies. Just because snake (A) has a hard poop n snake (B) his poop is a little looser, if there always like that its normal for each animal to be a little diff. You would want to take notice to a bunch of blood or his insides still hanging out because its super constipated n trying to poop, stuff like that. Take notice to u feed on fri he generally poops wed or something like that n now its feed day n theres no poop yet n hes acting weird and seems uncomfortable, u can start to put together what might be going on based on ur observations.

Just learn to read him ur doing everything perfectly just get what everyone else is recomending a thermostat and put the pad under. You DONT need anything else so stop overthinking that part of it lol.

I personally write down everything my snake does, poops, sheds, eats n what color rat i feed n if he grabbed it instantly or not. When i clean the bowls, n clean the entire setups n what my average temps have been lol. Id recommend if ur collection is small to def do that. It could save ya one day when either u or a professional (vet or breeder whatever) is asking u what has ur snake done in the past what rat has he always grabbed instantly so we can see if we can get him eating right away ya know stuff like that, it only takes a second. ATM i just do it on a sticky note in my phone by the month, i add the date n what i did simple as that. im going to format it better soon and add an exel on my phone to fit my needs, if someone could send me a template thatd be dope. Anyway ur doing great he will be with u for a very long time u have a lot of time to learn ur snakes behaviors.

Id say it took me a solid 4 years to get a good read on mine. I can honestly say i know when he is hungry, when he wants his tank cleaned, when he wants to come out, rare but i swear he actually wants to come out sometimes. When he is def not in the mood to be bothered. I've only ever handled him 2 days a week max, i feed on thursdays so sun n mon n tue are the only 3 days i will take him out 1 of those three days generally unless he isnt feeling it, if for nothing else i will weigh my animals usuallyonce a week. I also schedule tank cleaning those days unless absolutely needed. Otherwise he is left alone. He has never so much as even looked at me like he wants to bite me defensively let alone ever done it. Just my way of doing things. Also just because an animal doesnt bite does not mean it is a fan of being held every other day or every day they cant talk to us so if u think for any reason he wants to be left alone do it. Now when they are hatchlings and/or brand new to u. Id give the animal n month to get acclimated to its new surroundings than he is getting held 2 times a week whether he likes it or not till he knows ur trustworthy n he is trustworthy to u n all will be good. Sorry to rant jeeze lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

I suppose I will wait a couple of days before I change anything else in the terrarium for heat management. That way smoothskin will calm down a bit and my heat gun will be in my possession by then.

I'm curious if my guy is stressed though. He hides during the day with his head looking out of the hide, and during the evening he goes for a stroll in the tank.
Is he stressed, hungry, or chillin'?

And thank you all for your help thus far. I am glad I joined the forum. You are all very helpful and polite.
My girlfriend joined some Facebook group and asked the same things I did in the beginning and every single reply she got was very rude and not helpful at all.
Thanks again.

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All normal behavior.. You will find out if he is stressed out when you go to feed him for the first time.. It's not always a dead give away but if they aren't eating at that age, more than likely something is bothering them..

One other thing i do for bedding is i have the hot side stay mostly dry as well the other side is the cool more humid side. The way i accomplish this with coco is with eco earth. Im just a fan cause i feed in the tank n never had an issue, forest floor, aspen, and also the big husks coco all have been sticking out of my snakes nouths at one point or another but this has been fantastic.

Eco earth in the block form (because its the cheapest), then get the bag of it, that is slightly damp but way drier than the block will be and very fine. i love it, its soft looks good smells good its awesome stuff n ive tried it all. First time i went to coco my 7 year old male was literally divining thru the stuff had the majority of his body covered with his head poking out if a snake could tell u he is happy he was doing it that day. I hate the course chunky coco crap that everyone is pushing now. Its rough my snake will get almost like dye marks under him in a few spots from it when he is balled up, hes heavy n i can tell he doesnt like laying on it n having a chunk digging into his side im sure of it.

Anyway the sides with the blue cheap homemade hides are the cool humid sides. The sides with dry coco and store bought hides are the hot sides. My animals have changed for the better. Since changing to this setup. Even if u wanna use the chunky stuff cool try this though pick up a bag of this dry stuff. One big 24 qt bag will last u with that size tank prob 4 to 8 (more towards the higher number) of changes. Also pick urself up a sterolite container that u water the coco with to break it up and use only distilled or at least filtered water n u can store left over in that as well. I only say this cause the left over will not go bad (ur adding a ton of bacteria n crap with tap water believe it or not) n u cant put the lid on it lock it n the rest is ready to go.for however long u leave it. u can also let it dry out n just use that instead of buying the dry bag but this take preperation n i prefer the dry bag for hot side as its superior to the block for sure. Then u put the moist stuff mostly on the cool side the dry stuff on the warm side. I dont have humidity issues n i live in ne pa and have the 7 year old normal male 2 kilos in a 40b critter cage n the other pic is my pastel banana g stripe maybe 10 months old 450 grams in a simple sterolite setup which he loves.i have a bio active terrarium exo terra that im getting my plants going n isopods n springtails its about 5 months old now its a 36 x 18 x 24 which he will go when he is bigger, i know the height isnt needed but it is for the plants i have. Anyway try this if u want since hes already used to coco n u will never have an issue with scale rot or anything like that. U will moisten the cool side to keep the humidity to what u want n thats it. Perfect setup for a ball python im telling u, u wont look back. I do a complete clean out n change every month max (i know it can go way longer but i have 3 snakes so idc about the money part of it). I clean water every 2 or 3 days unless dirty and clean his hides prob every 2 weeks. I ise chlorhexidine for cleaning his hides n stuff dawn for water bowls (idc about opinion here i want them clean ni have never had an issue using that) n f10 sc xd and the chlorhexidine when i clean the tank out as well as rinsing it after n then a light more diluted chlorhexidine to finish it off so it stays killing bacteria even after im done. Get thise 2 cleaners for sure or at least chlorhexidine, amazon a gallon for under 15 bucks to ur house it will last so long it will amaze n can be used many other applications. Awesome products man. F10 is way more expensive but worth it for sure. My hides used to still wreak until i got the f10 that stuff is legit. If ur close enough to me i will give u both lol.

Just came to the conclusion idk how to add a photo so let me know if u wanna see the pics n tell me how to n i will lol. Im terrible at life.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

I suppose I will wait a couple of days before I change anything else in the terrarium for heat management. That way smoothskin will calm down a bit and my heat gun will be in my possession by then.

I'm curious if my guy is stressed though. He hides during the day with his head looking out of the hide, and during the evening he goes for a stroll in the tank.
Is he stressed, hungry, or chillin'?

And thank you all for your help thus far. I am glad I joined the forum. You are all very helpful and polite.
My girlfriend joined some Facebook group and asked the same things I did in the beginning and every single reply she got was very rude and not helpful at all.
Thanks again.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

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With the thermostat probe you are not taking the temps of the inside. you do that with a Temp gun. If your probe is inside TAKE IT OUT NOW! It is very dangerous to have the probe inside. if the water bowl spills or he pisses on it you are out of luck as temps will rise above the accepted range and could possibly hort/burn your snake. If you dont follow any other directions please follow this one. I do not want your snake to get hurt.

Thanks again for all the helpful information.
I'm going to take the probe out right now,but I have two questions.
A) The thermostat is a Zilla thermostat, I think the probe might be plastic. Will it melt if I put it between the heat pad and the glass?
B) I'm using a Zoo Med heat pad, the directions on the back say that if i remove it from the glass it will damage the internal wires. Thoughts? Should I go buy another heat pad?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

Thanks again for all the helpful information.
I'm going to take the probe out right now,but I have two questions.
A) The thermostat is a Zilla thermostat, I think the probe might be plastic. Will it melt if I put it between the heat pad and the glass?
B) I'm using a Zoo Med heat pad, the directions on the back say that if i remove it from the glass it will damage the internal wires. Thoughts? Should I go buy another heat pad?

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It should not hurt the thermostat.. All of my racks have it right against the heat tape and when I had kept snakes in tanks it was never an issue.

As far as removing the pad.. If you are careful and peel it back just far enough to place the probe you should have no issues. I did it multiple times without a problem..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moose84

It should not hurt the thermostat.. All of my racks have it right against the heat tape and when I had kept snakes in tanks it was never an issue.

As far as removing the pad.. If you are careful and peel it back just far enough to place the probe you should have no issues. I did it multiple times without a problem..

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I put the probe under the pad, but because of the probe the pad is awkwardly bent. Almost propped up like a tent. is that ok?

yes... It will be tented slightly. The pads are too thick to conform around it like a piece of tin foil..

Sorry in advance, I know a few of you told me to wait a week after getting him before feeding.
But he seemed to be searching for food, and I was also worried if he was stressed and thought if he ate that would mean he is chillin.
So I thawed a hopper for 20min, the pet shop said that is what they were feeding him so I did the same. Bought the hopper from them actually.

ANYWAYS
I dangled the hopper in front of Smoothskin, not 20 seconds later he grabbed it and ate it.
I imagine that is a good sign?
Here's a terrible quality picture. I didnt want to disturb him.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1f38894bf8.jpg

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I fed mine the day after I got him because it was the day he was used to being fed on and I knew he must be starving because they were way under feeding him. He ate like a champ and has not refused a meal since I've had him.

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Sorry in advance, I know a few of you told me to wait a week after getting him before feeding.
But he seemed to be searching for food, and I was also worried if he was stressed and thought if he ate that would mean he is chillin.
So I thawed a hopper for 20 minutes.....


If it was feeding day I don't see a problem feeding. Don't see why you would have to wait a week. I think feeding would help acclamation. I didn't wait a week with mine I did like you did, fed on feeding day. I don't know who came up with that idea (hasn't started till recently) . But I do believe in not handling till 3 meals in a row.

But a 20 minute thaw? How are you thawing? Did you use hot water? You don't want ice crystals deep inside the feeder. Did you use a temp. gun to see what the temp of the feeder was? You want it in the 90's at minimum. If you use water to thaw it is best to use room temp or cool faucet water. Make sure the feeder is real soft inside then heat it up (a hair dryer works best IMO.) You can also air thaw but it takes about 2 hrs with a hopper then use hair dryer.

In cool water it would take at least a half hour to 45 minutes I would think.
If you put it in water (cool temp is best) you want to (after thawed) use a hair dryer to warm and DRY it good (or at least lay something down to keep the feeder out of the substrate) or it will cling like a coat. I let a wet feeder drop (1 or 2 times) onto the substrate I won't do it again. The last time that happened it looked like it was wearing an aspen coat. So I usually air thaw. Or I put it into cool water to thaw then use the hair dryer to gently dry the fur completely, by holding the dryer a pretty good distance away from the feeder.

Never tried laying something down, that might work with a wet feeder, but the snake IMO might pull it off what ever you laid down and still get into the substrate.
Some people (and I have done this a few times) put the feeder in a bag and into water, and if you can keep the water(and air) out you might want to try thawing it that way.

But to me the easiest by far and best way is with carefully monitored and timed air thaw on top of the enclosure, then heating it up till in the 90's and putting it in the enclosure. Haven't had a refusal with this snake yet (that I remember.) But she's still young (only a year and half old.) IMO a 2 to 2 1/2 hour thaw doesn't hurt a thing. And during that 2 to 2 and half hours believe me if your snake had arms it would be looking for a fork and napkins.

PS not saying your feeder was wet.

Glad he's eating for you, that's a good sign, it means your snake is happy and not stressed out. I remember when I got my little guy he took a few weeks before eating.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ballpythonsrock2

Sorry in advance, I know a few of you told me to wait a week after getting him before feeding.
But he seemed to be searching for food, and I was also worried if he was stressed and thought if he ate that would mean he is chillin.
So I thawed a hopper for 20 minutes.....


If it was feeding day I don't see a problem feeding. Don't see why you would have to wait a week. I think feeding would help acclamation. I didn't wait a week with mine I did like you did, fed on feeding day. I don't know who came up with that idea (hasn't started till recently) . But I do believe in not handling till 3 meals in a row.

But a 20 minute thaw? How are you thawing? Did you use hot water? You don't want ice crystals deep inside the feeder. Did you use a temp. gun to see what the temp of the feeder was? You want it in the 90's at minimum. If you use water to thaw it is best to use room temp or cool faucet water. Make sure the feeder is real soft inside then heat it up (a hair dryer works best IMO.) You can also air thaw but it takes about 2 hrs with a hopper then use hair dryer.

In cool water it would take at least a half hour to 45 minutes I would think.
If you put it in water (cool temp is best) you want to (after thawed) use a hair dryer to warm and DRY it good (or at least lay something down to keep the feeder out of the substrate) or it will cling like a coat. I let a wet feeder drop (1 or 2 times) onto the substrate I won't do it again. The last time that happened it looked like it was wearing an aspen coat. So I usually air thaw. Or I put it into cool water to thaw then use the hair dryer to gently dry the fur completely, by holding the dryer a pretty good distance away from the feeder.

Never tried laying something down, that might work with a wet feeder, but the snake IMO might pull it off what ever you laid down and still get into the substrate.
Some people (and I have done this a few times) put the feeder in a bag and into water, and if you can keep the water(and air) out you might want to try thawing it that way.

But to me the easiest by far and best way is with carefully monitored and timed air thaw on top of the enclosure, then heating it up till in the 90's and putting it in the enclosure. Haven't had a refusal with this snake yet (that I remember.) But she's still young (only a year and half old.) IMO a 2 to 2 1/2 hour thaw doesn't hurt a thing. And during that 2 to 2 and half hours believe me if your snake had arms it would be looking for a fork and napkins.

PS not saying your feeder was wet.

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I put the feeder in a plastic bag last night. A few sources told me to put it in warm water for 10 minutes to thaw it out. I wanted to make sure it was good, so I waited 20 min. I then let the feeder cool down a bit afterwards.
When I fed smoothskin the feeder was dry and had a wee bit of blood coming out of its nose.
I then held the feeder in front of him with a pair of tongs. When he struck it and coiled around it I tried to mimic a mouse struggling, then dieing. That seemed to work out good.

Today my temp gun is arriving so I will be able to monitor everything.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

I put the feeder in a plastic bag last night. A few sources told me to put it in warm water for 10 minutes to thaw it out. I wanted to make sure it was good, so I waited 20 min. I then let the feeder cool down a bit afterwards.
When I fed smoothskin the feeder was dry and had a wee bit of blood coming out of its nose.
I then held the feeder in front of him with a pair of tongs. When he struck it and coiled around it I tried to mimic a mouse struggling, then dieing. That seemed to work out good.

Today my temp gun is arriving so I will be able to monitor everything.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

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Sorry, I got ya. I was wondering how you thawed it in 20 min. Lol.

That's great that you will be getting a temp gun they are so nice. I love the night button on mine I can check it day or complete dark, didn't know I had one on it at first till I got to looking it over. Seems like your doing a fine job. It's really easy for the most part once you get what you need and learn what to do to keep BP's I Love them!!! even though I have only one.

So I am having a terribly annoying time with my humidity.
I live on the central coast of California, so in the morning and evening the humidity gets high, and during the day it is dry. Just when I think the humidity is good, fog rolls in or rolls out.

Any ideas?
I saw something on you tube about a "humidity box". Thoughts?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

So I am having a terribly annoying time with my humidity.
I live on the central coast of California, so in the morning and evening the humidity gets high, and during the day it is dry. Just when I think the humidity is good, fog rolls in or rolls out.

Any ideas?
I saw something on you tube about a "humidity box". Thoughts?

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What are the humidity measurements that you're getting?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wnateg

What are the humidity measurements that you're getting?

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During the morning it will be about 80% and during the day it goes down to 40%
I have a big water bowl under the light. And luckily I've been home all day so I have been spraying some water inside trying to get it around 60%.
I fed him yesterday so sunday I plan on changing the substrate to see if that will help at all.

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Sorry ,under the CHE not a light.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Smoothskin805

So I am having a terribly annoying time with my humidity.
I live on the central coast of California, so in the morning and evening the humidity gets high, and during the day it is dry. Just when I think the humidity is good, fog rolls in or rolls out.

Any ideas?
I saw something on you tube about a "humidity box". Thoughts?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

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You brought back memories about the fog...I used to live in Santa Barbara. Since you have some high humidity every day, I wouldn't worry about his humidity getting
low during part of the day...not at all. Nature isn't perfect either. You might want to put in a humid hide though...many snakes like & use them. Just get a big enough*
plastic food container (oblong- & rectangular), cut a doorway into the top & keep some moist substrate inside (soaked & drained moss, orchid bark, etc). That way if he
needs more, he can help himself to it...that's much better than trying to regulate the cage thru-out the day, & like I said, that's not even necessary anyway.
(*make sure it's big enough for both the snake AND the substrate you'll be using; get something on the large side & you can use extra substrate while he grows into it.)