Advice needed regarding my BP please.

I have a spider ball python that is a little over a year and a half who seems uncomfortable all the time. Constantly roaming, occasionally making squeak noises, and up until just a few days ago, he stopped eating. His heating pad is always at the correct temp, but I have been having issues maintaining his humidity. There are no signs of respiratory infection (snot, having his mouth open, etc) and I just don't know what is wrong. Possibly his husbandry? I believe he's in a 20 gal tank with a mesh top. I have the same size hut (large) on each side and a water bowl inbetween, but closer to the cold side. We use eco earth for substrate. Is there a better way to set up his enclosure if that's wrong? I have no idea what to do for him. Any suggestions are welcome, preferably ones who have bp's, themselves. Thank you

What are your exact temps?

How big is he and what size prey do you feed and how frequently?

Are your hides tight, like a shell fitting a turtle's back?

Not sure about exact temps right now as I am not home, but it's usually 78 to 81. Not sure how to explain how big he is, but he's around 3.5 feet long and almost as thick as a pop can, but not quite. His hides are not tight like a turtle shell because I can see he has some room (especially above him), but he bulges his body thru the opening of his hut? He eats small/medium rats every week and a half or so.

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Originally Posted by snakemom24

Not sure about exact temps right now as I am not home, but it's usually 78 to 81. Not sure how to explain how big he is, but he's around 3.5 feet long and almost as thick as a pop can, but not quite. His hides are not tight like a turtle shell because I can see he has some room (especially above him), but he bulges his body thru the opening of his hut? He eats small/medium rats every week and a half or so.

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are those temps consistent throughout the cage, or do you have a warm side as well. they need a temperature gradient, and the range you provided would be ok for the cooler side. warm side temps should be between 86-90(ish)

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Originally Posted by oropher101

are those temps consistent throughout the cage, or do you have a warm side as well. they need a temperature gradient, and the range you provided would be ok for the cooler side. warm side temps should be between 86-90(ish)

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Actually considering it is a Spider I would recommend 86/88 no higher :gj:, spider do better when cooler but not cool to the extent of what it is being kept at either.

Excuse me, wrong temps for wrong snake. Currently his warm side is 85 and is usually 85-88.

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Originally Posted by Stewart_Reptiles

Actually considering it is a Spider I would recommend 86/88 no higher :gj:, spider do better when cooler but not cool to the extent of what it is being kept at either.

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I did not know this, thanks for the info! :D

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Originally Posted by snakemom24

Excuse me, wrong temps for wrong snake. Currently his warm side is 85 and is usually 85-88.

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Do you havee a temp gradient? You're only listing one temp. There should be a gradient so the snake can thermoregulate as needed. The cool side should be 78ish and the hot spot should typically be 87-88.
I wasn't aware spiders did better with a cooler hot spot (no spiders in my crew) but I can say that Deb is extremely trustworthy so I would follow her advice.

I don't have anything to monitor the cold side? It's just as is? Also, I forgot to mention that he did just shed a few days ago, but I don't think it was the best, as he still had a few pieces left on the back of his neck. Just a day prior to him shedding, we had a storm and lost power for 2 days and had to stick adhesive warmers under the tank. Not sure if that is a factor or not. Also, can someone send me a picture of their successful husbandry habits, just so I have an idea if mine is okay or not.

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Originally Posted by snakemom24

I don't have anything to monitor the cold side? It's just as is? Also, I forgot to mention that he did just shed a few days ago, but I don't think it was the best, as he still had a few pieces left on the back of his neck. Just a day prior to him shedding, we had a storm and lost power for 2 days and had to stick adhesive warmers under the tank. Not sure if that is a factor or not. Also, can someone send me a picture of their successful husbandry habits, just so I have an idea if mine is okay or not.

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You need to monitor the cold side as well, yes. Ball pythons have rather tight temp requirements. Cold side needs to be around 80f, or it can get too cold.

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https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...thon-CARESHEET

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ips-and-Tricks

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-With-Pictures!

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines


These links should help. They detail some of the basics.

In the future, please do proper research BEFORE bringing an animal home. It's our responsibility as pet keepers to know what we're doing BEFORE bringing an animal home. The animal doesn't get a choice and relies 100% on us to care for them.

A basic Google search for less than 5 minutes brings up plenty of links that all discuss temp gradients and basic husbandry.

So please start doing some homework so your snake can have the life it deserves.

Thanks, but excuse you, I did do my "research", this just happens to be a hiccup. Please stop talking to others as if they're stupid and inferior to you. stuff happens, doesn't mean I'm not well educated about MY animal.

From what I read, it sounds like your main issue is humidity. The squeaky noise or however you described it is most likely from being too dry it can cause almost a whistle sound as they breath and the bad shed is an obvious indicator as well. It makes sense that it would be too dry with your setup, it is near impossible to keep good humidity with a screen top. I would recommend blocking most of the screen with plexiglass or something similar and leave just a small area for air exchange. Watch your temps after doing this because it will most likely keep the enclosure warmer as well because with an open screen top you are constantly losing warm air. Just keep an eye on it and adjust as necessary until you have your temps dialed in again. Then to keep your humidity up just add a little water to the substrate weekly or as needed. You do this and next shed will be perfect. The noise when breathing should clear up quickly as well. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by snakemom24

Any suggestions are welcome, preferably ones who have bp's, themselves. Thank you

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Apparently not. You literally said "any suggestions welcome". Soooo...

I kindly took the time to share links with you....

...and this is how you show appreciation???

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Originally Posted by snakemom24

Thanks, but excuse you, I did do my "research", this just happens to be a hiccup. Please stop talking to others as if they're stupid and inferior to you. stuff happens, doesn't mean I'm not well educated about MY animal.

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My reply was polite, informative and helpful. Also true. The most basic of research shows that pretty much every species of snake in the hobby requires a temp gradient. It's literally "Snake Keeping 101"

It's not a "hiccup", it's a lack of preparation. It's on EVERY caresheet there is, including the one I linked from this forum. And this one.....
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care...s/Ball-Python/
...and this one....
https://www.bhbreptiles.com/pages/ba...hon-care-sheet
...and this one...
https://www.petco.com/content/petco/...ll-python.html
...and this one....
http://www.avianandexotic.com/care-s...s/ball-python/

Those were the FIRST FIVE I opened, ALL FIVE discuss themp gradient. It took all of five minutes to research.

I didn't call anybody "stupid" or "inferior"... Those are your words. I'm just trying to help.

You're no longer trying to help, now you're just being a moofy. And yes, it is just a hiccup because he has been perfectly fine since March when I bought him. Hasn't had a problem until just recently, and I believe the power outage was the contributing factor on that. Which says that I have been caring for him just fine without a "temp gradient". There are much worse things people do to their animals. Thanks for your help, you're dismissed.



@rufretic Somebody helpful, finally! Thank you so much!

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Originally Posted by snakemom24

You're no longer trying to help, now you're just being a moofy. And yes, it is just a hiccup because he has been perfectly fine since March when I bought him. Hasn't had a problem until just recently, and I believe the power outage was the contributing factor on that. Which says that I have been caring for him just fine without a "temp gradient". There are much worse things people do to their animals. Thanks for your help, you're dismissed.



@rufretic Somebody helpful, finally! Thank you so much!

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Look, I'm trying to help. And when people say they've done research but don't know the most basic of husbandry requirements it makes me question what else was missed?

If you did research you would have known about a temp gradient. You literally can't read about snake care without seeing a mention of a gradient. It's literally on every care sheet. And care sheets are just a stepping stone to learning. They only scratch the surface.

And I'm sorry, but just because the snake seems healthy isn't a guarantee. They're extremely good at hiding illness. And if the snake has been kept for 8+ months in an enclosure without something as basic as a temp gradient the animal could be hiding illness. I'm not saying that's the case, but I'm saying it could be and you would have no way of knowing.

If you really want help you'll be open to the fact that you didn't do enough research and be more than willing to provide the following info so we can see if anything else was missed. I'm sorry if some questions were answered elsewhere, but for the sake of helping you I'll be thorough.

How old is the animal? How much does it weigh?

What size and type of enclosure?

How are you heating the enclosure?

Are you heat sources regulated by a thermostat?

What are your temps? Where and how are you measuring?

What is your humidity?

What substrate are you using?

Are there at least two appropriately sized hides?

What size prey are you feeding? How often?

Starting with these questions will help us help you.

I've taken the time to share links and ask follow up questions. So, no, not being a smart guy. I'm actually trying to help. Hopefully you see that.

Probably restless because it’s in a 20 gallon tank. Imo that’s WAY too small


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Originally Posted by snakemom24

I don't have anything to monitor the cold side? It's just as is? Also, I forgot to mention that he did just shed a few days ago, but I don't think it was the best, as he still had a few pieces left on the back of his neck. Just a day prior to him shedding, we had a storm and lost power for 2 days and had to stick adhesive warmers under the tank. Not sure if that is a factor or not. Also, can someone send me a picture of their successful husbandry habits, just so I have an idea if mine is okay or not.

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I’ve had my spider for years without issues. If you’d like feel free to message me if you want to avoid people chiming in with bs. Although I think everyone here follows the predominant care sheets so... I’d just go off that. Idk if you’ve changed tank size but a 20 gallon is too small. I’ve noticed my bp will become restless if my apartment gets too warm. It could be that your UTH is heating the entire enclosure to the hot spot temp because it’s too small. Just an idea


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