Separating My pythons..

Well guys what do you think... Now they have their own homes just as you guys suggested! :)

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D/100_3726.jpg

Where are there hide boxes? They need a hide box on each end of the enclosure.

Just need to identical hides per tank and youre good to go. :)

Also make sure that the hide boxes are cozy enough so that they feel "touched" from all sides.

ok Check .... Hide boxes should be above the heating pad or off to the side?..

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

ok Check .... Hide boxes should be above the heating pad or off to the side?..

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One above the heating pad and the other on the cool side.

Thanks!!!..

Another question, I see a lot people say they keep a constant temp in there enclosure and the infrared or Moonlight on 24/7. But I read a lot about not doing that.. like this:

No special lighting required. Fluorescent bulbs are more cost effective and run cooler than incandescent bulbs, and you eliminate the possibility of thermal burns. Light should be on 10 - 12 hours daily.

cage temperature should stay at 77-90F during the day. You can turn off the basking light and drop the temperature to 68-75F at night. These animals are active at night, so no special lighting is required.

No lower then 75 any time. I wouldnt even go that low. I'd go 78 at the VERY lowest.

You running those heat sources on a thermostat?

-Jason

Your temps should never go that low. 80-83 on one side and 90-93 on the other. All day all night, 24/7, it should never change from that period.

Hope this helps.

The temperature should never fluctuate unless you are breeding them, which I am sure that you aren't. I never let the cool side get below 80 at any time, it us unhealthy for your animals and they will be more suseptable to illness. Put one hide where it is 80-83 and one where it is 90-93. They need to be identical. You do not want your snakes to have to compromise heat for security.

The red bulbs you see over most of the cages here are because the snake can't see red, but the light allows you to watch your nocturnal snake without disturbing him by turning on the lights :)

Thats what I do.. I run a red infrared light all day so you can really watch them and then I run a blue moonlight which is much darker at night. Both these bulbs are 75w and both my tanks are 20L. I have your standard sticky heating pad located underneath my tanks on the opposite side of my water dishes. I'm curious if 20L tank is sufficient enought room for a full grown ball python? Obviously right now they are not full grown but only roughly 165-200g's each. Babies! I do plain on breeding later on. The knowledge I have is that I have to wait till my female is about 2 years old?.. I'm going to go out and get the hide boxes today and I was curious if you start out with a certain size hide box and then they get larger as your snake does? I think about when the snake is full grown and I have 2 large hide boxes in a 20L and a large snake... that isn't much room? or is it?

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Originally Posted by JBallPython

You running those heat sources on a thermostat?

-Jason

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Also, I would recommend partially covering the tops to the tanks in order to keep humidity up in the tanks with those heat lamps.

-Jason

You want hide boxes that they have to literally squeeze into...you know a hide box is the right size when its not touching the ground anymore once they're in it ;) they love that! Don't spend a lot of $ on hides from the pet store if you don't have to...upside down opaque plastic containers with entrance holes cut into them work great, are easy to clean, and are inexpensive to replace.

and wherever you got this info from:

Quote:

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No special lighting required. Fluorescent bulbs are more cost effective and run cooler than incandescent bulbs, and you eliminate the possibility of thermal burns. Light should be on 10 - 12 hours daily.

cage temperature should stay at 77-90F during the day. You can turn off the basking light and drop the temperature to 68-75F at night. These animals are active at night, so no special lighting is required.

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...stop listening to them. Young ball pythons should not experience a drop in temps at night. Also, ambient temperatures in the 70s is really too cool for young balls, 82-84 is much better and helps support their raging metabolism at that age/size.

Other than getting hide boxes and making sure your temps are high enough, great job with the setups - they'll be much happier in their own space. Those are 20 longs, right? Those should be find for a while...males stay smaller most of the time and could probably live in a 20L for life. A female will need more floorspace eventually.

First, I'd like to acknowledge your open-ness to suggestions here as evidenced by taking immediate steps to separate them, good job!!!

Some things still need tweaking, but you're on the right track! Others have mentioned already - they both need two hides, one on the cool and one on the warm side. You can even pick up plastic bowls from Dollar Tree and make your own by soldering out an entrance, like in this picture:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...aEnclosure.jpg

And this is what I housed my 150-200 grammers in - it's a 15 quart tub:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...b/BabyRack.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...ub/BabyTub.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...b/PretzelA.jpg

I love tubs, because I don't have to use any lights, I just let them have natural daylight cyle. And they hold heat and humidity better.

Also - you asked about breeding your female - generally she can breed in her third winter (or ~2.5 years old). Good rule of thumb, she should be at least that age, and then about 500 grams for each foot of length that she is.

Wow, I cannot believe how cool everyone here is! To keep helping me is beyond appreciation!
rabernet, thanks for the kind words!! :) I will post pix when I get the hide boxes and I will take some better up close pix of my babies for all to see! :)
As far as closing the top up a bit should I just lay something across the top where laps aren't? also, is it a bad idea having the trees in their enclosure? They seem to love them, but I worry about them crawling to the top and burning themselves on the lamps? Any thoughts?

I wouldn't worry too much about them touching the lamps, since they're on the screen - it was my experience when I used tanks, that the screen didn't get all that hot.

You can use contac paper to cover the areas where the lamps aren't. I can help with humidity, but I found that even then, I had a hard time with keeping humidity up with the lamps.

No problem at all...its actually really nice when a user comes on here as a new member and doesn't immediately become defensive and offended that their setup is slightly off. You're off to a great start.

A lot of people use contact paper to cover screen lids, all except the area where you place your heat lamp. Doing that will allow the cage to hold on to some of the heat and humidity better than with just having an open lid.

Its funny because if I knew better before I came on this board.. I could have saved a lot of money giving my snakes tubs instead. I know this question sounds silly but what type of heating pads are used for a tub and how does the snake get good oxygen supply being in a tub?

I use flexwatt heat tape to heat tubs, and use a soldering iron to poke holes in the plastic for air flow.

for holes, i used my dad's power drill. for heat, i used a standard heat mat for a 10 gallon tank.

I used a power drill once before...plastic everywhere and a few cracks here and there, sharp edges as well. of course, using a soldering iron, you gotta get a gas mask to get away from the terrible fumes...do it outside..haha...

Try both methods and do which ever works for you.

I notice my girl's body is getting dry and it seems as if the shedding process is coming soon. I spray her every night with very warm water. Her eyes are not yet cloudy but looks as if its in the beginning stages of becoming cloudy. I notice her behavior may not be as loose as before.. does this sound normal at this stage?.. Should I already stop handling her and wait a while till the cloudiness comes fully and she finally sheds.. or can I still hold her until the eye caps become completely fogged?..
Thanks again!..

They get a little 'grumpy' or anxious around shedding time. If handling during that time doesn't seem to bother them, I wouldn't worry about it.

Also, this is a great sticky put together by Daniel on the shed process, in case you haven't had a chance to review it and become familiar with the different stages of a shed. And if you click on the pictures, you can see a larger version of them!


http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=28794

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

Its funny because if I knew better before I came on this board.. I could have saved a lot of money giving my snakes tubs instead. I know this question sounds silly but what type of heating pads are used for a tub and how does the snake get good oxygen supply being in a tub?

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I felt the same way when I tried to tell my brother snakes can live in tubs. Lucky for me I found this site before buying them:D

Nice job by the way, your setup is almost complete! Pretty soon you will migrate from this section and hang out in the other sections like, breeding and For sale lol. Take care

-Jordan

Thanks! Well.. unfortantly my new boy did not eat today... Was a little disappointed. I had a good feeling he would because he has such an out going personality. Its been since last Thursday that he ate last "Supposively"(with the breeder I bought him from). Same with my girl. The girl I bought from the pet store and I have had her exactly 2 weeks worth of feeding. She took both times beautifully... Well here is a few more pix of her..
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D/100_3788.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D/100_3774.jpg

Here is my pastel boy that I only had one pic of.. I guessing the right thing to do is give him maybe a day or two longer?.. I hope he eats!

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D/100_3756.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D/100_3739.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D/100_3751.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...D/100_3762.jpg

My daughters room by the way!... She's heavy into the princess theme as you can see! :)

Can you start using the normal font? It gets hard to read the large colored reading real quicl.

First off, I think that it's great that you seperated them into seperate tanks. Now here are my suggestions. :)
You can definately use the zoo-med type heatpads, but please go out and get a rheostat for them. This acts as a dimmer and makes sure that the pads always stay at the right temperature and do not get hot enough to burn your snake or even start a fire.
Nw for shed times; when I used tanks, this method worked great for me. I would spritzd the interior of the tank and substrate using a spray bottle that I got at the dollar store, with warm water. Then, I put plastic cellophane wrap over most of the lid. This will retain humidity awesomely and I almost guarantee a whole shed if you do this at the first sign of your snake's eyes going blue.
Anymore questions, please ask!

ok.. I'm a lil upset my male won't eat. I only had a week.. but he's do to feed. He was do yesterday. I waved a warm mouse in front of his face for a good 35mins... nothing! Tried again about 30mins later.. nothing. Could this be because he still adjusting? My female I only have two weeks.. and she took to both feedings! I emailed the breeder and he said.. well we were feeding them rat pups. I said well this is a big mouse.. could the snake tell the difference? I'm a little concerned because when I did buy the snake from the breeder they mentioned nothing about rat pups.. they told me they were feeding him normal size mice. Should I give him another few days? He has such a great friendly personality. I really hope he feeds! Also how do you guys go about defrosting your frozen mice as sanitary as possible?

Normal size font.. is this better? ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

Normal size font.. is this better? ;)

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i think he meant use the same font and color as we all use instead of the reddish color.

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

You can definately use the zoo-med type heatpads, but please go out and get a rheostat for them.

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rheostats...is that what they're called to control temps from a heat pad? where can i find them?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

ok.. I'm a lil upset my male won't eat. I only had a week.. but he's do to feed. He was do yesterday. I waved a warm mouse in front of his face for a good 35mins... nothing! Tried again about 30mins later.. nothing. Could this be because he still adjusting? My female I only have two weeks.. and she took to both feedings! I emailed the breeder and he said.. well we were feeding them rat pups. I said well this is a big mouse.. could the snake tell the difference? I'm a little concerned because when I did buy the snake from the breeder they mentioned nothing about rat pups.. they told me they were feeding him normal size mice. Should I give him another few days? He has such a great friendly personality. I really hope he feeds! Also how do you guys go about defrosting your frozen mice as sanitary as possible?

Normal size font.. is this better? ;)

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I wouldn't worry about it one bit. Give them some time to settle into their new homes. If you do not have success next week, you can try to toss some loosely crumpled newspaper in the enclosure to help him feel more secure. If you are offering f/t, you can leave it in the enclosure overnight. (but I'd wait and offer food next week) You're going to have to watch and gauge his reaction. Sometimes waving the food around freaks them out. I have one that I have to quietly sneak the f/t mouse into her hide and leave it. She usually takes it then, but she's still my pickiest eater. You'll find out what works best for your boy.

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Originally Posted by Snakeman

rheostats...is that what they're called to control temps from a heat pad? where can i find them?

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Rheostat is just a fancy word for dimmer (typically lamp dimmers work well), and temps will fluxuate a bit when using them. I prefer thermostats myself. :D

well i found them at a nearby target while searching through their site...the cheapest one was $29.99.

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Originally Posted by Snakeman

well i found them at a nearby target while searching through their site...the cheapest one was $29.99.

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Go to a hardware store. They are only like $7. it does not need to be anything fancy looking. The one you found was probably meant to go on a wall in a room

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS...glm.0&MID=9876
i found these in the home depot site...any of these look helpful?

edit-whoops the link doesnt take you to the thermostats section.i'll see if i can find a way to show them on here.

edit-looks like the links will take you to the main page so i cant post them on here.

You need a thermostat with a probe. Stick with one made for these applications and you won't be let down.

yeah i know.i havent found any thermostats with probes.all i find are thermostats that are over $20 and can be set by pressing "^" or "down".i never thought finding these thermostats would be so difficult.not even walmart carries thermostats, and for digital thermometers i keep getting thermometers for babies and nothing for accurite thermometers for checking temp and humidity levels.

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Originally Posted by Snakeman

yeah i know.i havent found any thermostats with probes.all i find are thermostats that are over $20 and can be set by pressing "^" or "down".i never thought finding these thermostats would be so difficult.

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For a thermostat you will need to order via the internet from a animal specific supplier. Try Rich at www.reptilebasics.com

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Originally Posted by Snakeman

rheostats...is that what they're called to control temps from a heat pad? where can i find them?

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Most pet stores never seem to have them in stock; I would try checking out ebay or mabe Big Apple Herp supply has them.. the ones I use are like lamp dimmers; but don't buy the dimmers at home depot! I tried them, and on their highest settings, my heatpads were still ice cold!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

ok.. I'm a lil upset my male won't eat. I only had a week.. but he's do to feed. He was do yesterday. I waved a warm mouse in front of his face for a good 35mins... nothing! Tried again about 30mins later.. nothing. Could this be because he still adjusting? My female I only have two weeks.. and she took to both feedings! I emailed the breeder and he said.. well we were feeding them rat pups. I said well this is a big mouse.. could the snake tell the difference? I'm a little concerned because when I did buy the snake from the breeder they mentioned nothing about rat pups.. they told me they were feeding him normal size mice. Should I give him another few days? He has such a great friendly personality. I really hope he feeds! Also how do you guys go about defrosting your frozen mice as sanitary as possible?

Normal size font.. is this better? ;)

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can you get small rats? Whether frozen/thawed or live, I would bet that he would take them over a mouse; mice have a very different scent and my experience says that their heat signatures are different also; they are definately built differently!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

ok.. I'm a lil upset my male won't eat. I only had a week.. but he's do to feed. He was do yesterday. I waved a warm mouse in front of his face for a good 35mins... nothing! Tried again about 30mins later.. nothing. Could this be because he still adjusting? My female I only have two weeks.. and she took to both feedings! I emailed the breeder and he said.. well we were feeding them rat pups. I said well this is a big mouse.. could the snake tell the difference? I'm a little concerned because when I did buy the snake from the breeder they mentioned nothing about rat pups.. they told me they were feeding him normal size mice. Should I give him another few days? He has such a great friendly personality. I really hope he feeds! Also how do you guys go about defrosting your frozen mice as sanitary as possible?

Normal size font.. is this better? ;)

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Several things that strike me about your post:

1) Only offer one time, once a week. If he refuses his food, leave him alone and don't handle him until he sucessfully feeds for you. Remember too, that you recently put him in his own enclosure, he needs a week to acclimate to that.

2) Did you ask the breeder if he was feeding live, or frozen thawed?

Yes, if he's a rat eater, he could have imprinted on rats.

Like I said above, leave him alone for a week - did you get hides in his enclosure for him yet? If you can only get mice, I'd try a nice small or medium live mouse. Be prepared to house the mouse for another week in the event of another refusal. Only leave the mouse with him for about 1/2 an hour. I can tell within 15 minutes if I'm going to have a refusal, as most of my collection are pretty quick to eat.

And keep asking question! :)

Yes i picked up Hides.. only one for each because go figure the local pet store only had two log hides! So I'll probably go to the dollar store for my next pair of hides and pick up some dishes or something to give them a change up!

how do you guys go about defrosting your frozen mice/rats as sanitary as possible? The method the guy at my local reptile center uses is putting the mouse on top the screen of the tank next to the lamp, wait about an hour and its warm and defrosted... my beef with this is that now a mouse had defrosted on the screen!!?! I have to touch that screen, lamp.. etc. There must be a better way and I'm sure I'm going to get probably a dozen different ways you guys ago about it so I'm gonna say thanks now!.. AND I'm sure I'll say it again later.. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

Rheostat is just a fancy word for dimmer (typically lamp dimmers work well), and temps will fluxuate a bit when using them. I prefer thermostats myself. :D

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I have both a set of dimmers and a set of lamp dimmers. I'm finding my lamp dimmers dont allow the flexwatt to get warm enough. the other dimmers will allow temps to be closer to normal for the warm side. fortunately this evens out so the cool side doesnt stay too cool and the warm side helps to keep the cool side warm enough.

make sense to anyone? lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

Yes i picked up Hides.. only one for each because go figure the local pet store only had two log hides! So I'll probably go to the dollar store for my next pair of hides and pick up some dishes or something to give them a change up!

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Yup - upturned plastic bowls or somesuch with holes cut/melted in them are a great cheap hide. Just try and make sure each snake has 2 identicle hides.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gLoBaL mInD

my beef with this is that now a mouse had defrosted on the screen!!?! I have to touch that screen, lamp.. etc. There must be a better way

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Put them on a couple of folded sheets of newspaper?



dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Snakeman

for holes, i used my dad's power drill. for heat, i used a standard heat mat for a 10 gallon tank.

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I tried using a power drill and it didnt work. I mean I pushed and pushed and it wouldnt move at all. so I switched to an exacto knife and did all the holes.

wasnt till my SO got home and showed me...I had the drill set on reverse LOL

so if it doesnt work, check the way its drilling :)