Meet Hercules

This is the first Ball Python I've owned. I have a 3ft corn named Earl. I picked him up through a friend of a friend. He's about 4ft. long and Approx. 5 years old. He came with the tank and accesories for $100. I am currently reading up on humidity and substrate. He didn't shed full this time around and still has eye covering and around the neck. Feel free to let me know of any suggestions since I am a newb.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...rculesfull.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...culesfull2.jpg

take out the heat rock, get a good UTH, a digital thermometer/hygrometer, and a secure lid.

http://ball-pythons.net/modules.php?...warticle&id=59

there is a care sheet

for the skin, soak him for like 15-20 mins and see if you can gently roll the retained skin off. If not, you can soak him for more. If you do not feel comfortable rolling the skin, place him after a soak in a moist pillow case. Moving around should remove most of, if not all of the retained shed

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

take out the heat rock, get a good UTH, a digital thermometer/hygrometer, and a secure lid.

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nice..i second TM

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Originally Posted by cris78

nice..i second TM

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canot forget either a dimmer or a thermostat

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

canot forget either a dimmer or a thermostat

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Almost forgot that..and what is that substrate?

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Originally Posted by cris78

Almost forgot that..and what is that substrate?

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looks like that repticarpet stuff. holds smell like no other.

swap it out to newspaper, or if you are going for looks try aspen or reptibark. newspaper is real easy to clean and holds humidity pretty well and the aspen and reptibark are a little harder to clean but are visually appealing if that is the look you are going for

Thanks for all the fast replies. The person I picked him up from used the heat rock for the 4-5 years he has had him for. I have read on multiple sites that it's not good while reading up on them this morning. I will be on the way to the pet store but wanted to research a bit first. Currently he is on a sort of felt. Before the previous owner was using the "astro turf" but didn't have any left to change out. I have seen any sites recommending sand (I was thinking the digestible type) so was looking more into wood possibly cedar?

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aspen or reptibark. newspaper is real easy to clean

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Looks like newspaper it will be. I know that the humidity is fairly low around here during the winter.

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Originally Posted by harleybro

Thanks for all the fast replies. The person I picked him up from used the heat rock for the 4-5 years he has had him for. I have read on multiple sites that it's not good while reading up on them this morning. I will be on the way to the pet store but wanted to research a bit first. Currently he is on a sort of felt. Before the previous owner was using the "astro turf" but didn't have any left to change out. I have seen any sites recommending sand (I was thinking the digestible type) so was looking more into wood possibly cedar?

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cedar is not good for snakes. The previous owner may have had the heat rock for 4 or 5 years and god only knows how many burns the snake had. aspen can be picked up for very cheap at petsmart. That is about all I would buy from there. I paid $12.99 for a 50 qt bag, which is plenty to go around. it fills my 4 1960's in my rack, a 30 gallon breeder, and a custom 37x17 enclosure and it barely has any missing

:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by harleybro

Thanks for all the fast replies. The person I picked him up from used the heat rock for the 4-5 years he has had him for. I have read on multiple sites that it's not good while reading up on them this morning. I will be on the way to the pet store but wanted to research a bit first. Currently he is on a sort of felt. Before the previous owner was using the "astro turf" but didn't have any left to change out. I have seen any sites recommending sand (I was thinking the digestible type) so was looking more into wood possibly cedar?


Looks like newspaper it will be. I know that the humidity is fairly low around here during the winter.

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it is okay to keep the humidity in the higher 40 range but when shed time comes bump it to at least 65.

What size enclosure is it in? If you are serious about keeping this snake, then spring for a good thermostat, not just a $30 one, which have been shown to fail more often than the good ones.

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cedar is not good for snakes.

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Sorry had read that in the care guide and replied to fast before re-reading.

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Originally Posted by harleybro

Sorry had read that in the care guide and replied to fast before re-reading.

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no problem, i'm just glad you took the time to research the snake instead of just buying it for the cool factor

Congrats on the new one.

Like said about please take out that heat rock. They are not good for really any cold blooded animal. Heat rocks are more of a threat than they are an aid. Whenever there is direct contact between a heat source and a reptile, there is a potential for malfunctions and burns. With the availability of safer alternatives on the market, heat rocks and their use should decline into extinction.

You can get a UTH (Under Tank Heater) and a thermostat to keep control on the temperature. Rich from http://www.reptilebasics.com/ is a GREAT guy to buy from and will be happy to answer any and all your questions. Remember the warm side should be in the low 90's and the warm side should be in the mid-low 80's. Anything under 75 is not good! Also you will want to get a thermometer. Lowe's sells a good one that is called ACU-RITE. I know a lot of people on here have one or more, including myself.

Also go out and get two hides. You can use two semi large tupper ware bowls for hides. If the snake looks a little "cramped" in there the better since they like to feel secure in their hides. Also those plastic plant water catchers do the job great also. Just cut a entrance way in and there ya go.

Also provide a source of water at all times. I know I've seen and have heard people say they snakes don't need water. NOT TRUE!

I see you have a towel or some kind of fabric in there. A few sheets of news paper works great for bedding. Also Aspen is good too. NEVER Ceder or Pine. Those two are really bad, since they have oils in them that really mess with a snakes respiratory and can irritate the snakes skin.

Also as for lids, do make sure it is secure since snakes are all well trained escape artist !

Also I see that you said he didn't have a complete shed last time. You can try letting him soak for a little bit and GENTLY let him rub thur a towel. It's not a huge deal it will come off with the next shed. NEVER NEVER NEVER try to remove a stuck on eye cap from a shed. You can do more damage to the snakes eye then good.

Oh yeah and humidity... you want 50-60%. 70% when the snake is getting ready to shed.


Okay I think I hit most of the important things, if not I'm sure someone else will pick up on it.

Please do read the caresheet for BP's:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

Thanks all for the tips. I will be restting the tank. I have a bag of Aspen chips along with a UHT. @ thermometers and a hydro for making sure he'll be happy. I also picked up an extra hide some moss and a dish to help maintain humidity. Lilly thanks for the tip about the eye caps. I will be trying the bath later tonight once I have the tank set. :)