Smaller water dish? He doesn't care..

So I found out my CHE is making it impossible to have any humidity in the tank. So I removed it. so his warm side is 96.4 degrees, cool side is 82.3 degrees and the humidity currently is 33.5%, last night I got humidity to the mid 50's....the little booger still went into the dish with the water:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0038.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0039.jpg

The reason the bigger dish is still in there is cause many of you wanted to see if he would still go in there due to him just liking the dish, or if he was after the water.

Should I put in a water dish he has absolutely no way of fitting himself into? I feel bad cause he seems so happy and content in his water dish.. :( And is there anything I can do to allow him to have a dish to soak in that will prevent scale rot? This is my last issue I need cleared up then I will have everything setup and good to go.

i don't get why you want to keep him out of his dish.....:confuzd:

some like to soak

cause I was told on here him soaking everynight will cause scale rot.

He might be in the beginning of the shed cycle so he wants to be in his water dish... And also your humidity is pretty low... I would bump it back up... :2cent:

Here is the thing a healthy BP, free of mites that is not overfed and has proper husbandry (hides tight enough, proper temps, proper humidity) will rarely soak.


So why is your BP wanting to soak so much?

Does he have mites?
Is the enclosure too hot?
Is the umidity to low?
Are his hides not secure enough that he uses the water dish as a hide?
Is he overfed?

deborah made a great point. it seems like your husbandry is a little less than perfect so make sure you perfect everything then see if he continues to soak. if soaking continues then maybe he has mites or hes going into shed or he is just one of those balls that just likes to soak.

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Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

Here is the thing a healthy BP, free of mites that is not overfed and has proper husbandry (hides tight enough, proper temps, proper humidity) will rarely soak.


So why is your BP wanting to soak so much?

Does he have mites?
Is the enclosure too hot?
Is the umidity to low?
Are his hides not secure enough that he uses the water dish as a hide?
Is he overfed?

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Had him checked for mites when I had him sexed, no signs could be found.
Enclosure is def not too hot, cool side (which he stays on) is 82.3 degrees, warm side is 96.4degrees.
Humidity at currently is 34.8% (I know thats low need to find a bedding that holds humidity better) but at the time he was soaking it as 57%
The hides are a pretty tight for him, he doesnt have a whole lot of free room in there.
I only feed him once every 7 days, for the past 2 weeks he was getting a fuzzy mouse, which many said was prolly way too small for him, so this week I gave him a medium mouse, which he took with no problems.


Why cant it just be ok for them to soak... :(

the substrate youre using should be good at holding humdity. it may be the size of the glass tank that is your problem.

are you using a screen top? did you try wrapping it with saran wrap(up to the heat lamp) or something to help keep humidity in the tank? do you mist daily?

get that humidity up and maybe he'll stop soaking. if he doesnt stop and he shows no signs of health problems then just let him soak.

I have a screen top that is covered in tin foil then layerd with duct tape and a corner is open where the CHE was. I been trying to find a sealed lid that will hold lights and stuff but for a 20L, havent come across one. ever since I removed the CHE the tank has improved greatly. Im not sure exactely what kind of bedding im using, its a type of mulch, i think its cypress. when I change it out im getting that brick stuff as I have read is great for humidity.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

I have a screen top that is covered in tin foil then layerd with duct tape and a corner is open where the CHE was. I been trying to find a sealed lid that will hold lights and stuff but for a 20L, havent come across one. ever since I removed the CHE the tank has improved greatly. Im not sure exactely what kind of bedding im using, its a type of mulch, i think its cypress. when I change it out im getting that brick stuff as I have read is great for humidity.

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If you're talking about eco earth or whatever I saw that at Petco this week 3/$10 or something... so buy 2 get one free... maybe that's still on in your area?

We dont have any petco's near me, but others prolly appreciate the heads up though. :D

The whole point of my original suggestion was to test whether he was trying to HIDE in the water dish, or if he was soaking for some other reason. So providing a new dish that is much smaller, but still something he can easily fit into...sort of negated the whole test. He's still trying to hide in his water dish...which looks a lot more comfy than that the first one as far as size goes.


Try providing a proper hide on each side of the enclosure and see if he doesn't eventually choose them over the water dish. (It can sometimes take them a few days to find their new "caves" and decide they are safe to use, so you'd have to be patient to see if it made a difference.)

And by "proper hide" I mean something really small and snug and closed in on all sides. They LOVE to feel squished into their hides. Check out this little illustration of just how small and tight they like 'em....my BP likes to use her water dish as a hide, too...but not the way you might think:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=35212

there is no possible way he feels the water dish is a better hide then his actual hides, the water dish is completely open with no privacy at all, the hides are closed in on all sides but one:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../000_00171.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/maxhides.jpg

#1 is hide on warm side, #2 is hide on cool side. Water dish isnt anywhere close to being a better hide.

plus, if that was the case, he would sit there all day, not just during the night, right?

All I'm saying is that it is a possibility you have not yet ruled out.


"When you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Sherlock Holmes :P

If I had a BP that soaked constantly without any discernable reason that I could "fix"...I would change the bowl to something that she absolutely could not soak in. But that's just me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

there is no possible way he feels the water dish is a better hide then his actual hides, the water dish is completely open with no privacy at all, the hides are closed in on all sides but one:

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This isn't totally true. Ball like to feel the hide touching them all over. If your hides are to big and open then yea he would feel much more secure underwater, cause in his mind his whole body is covered and you can't see him. Try some lower tighter hides and see how that works.

Also be on the mite patrol if its not his hides then its something, hes soaking to releave pressure due to a big meal, he getting to hot, fixing to shed, impacted. so there are loads of other reasons the most common is the hide thing, mites, and the food or temp thing.

hope this helps.

Log hides are not the best hides, they do not provide enough security, I would recommend to switch to something more like this http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p.../CUBBYHOLE.jpg


You can also make hides out of plastic bowls that you can purchase at Walmart.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

Log hides are not the best hides, they do not provide enough security, I would recommend to switch to something more like this http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p.../CUBBYHOLE.jpg


You can also make hides out of plastic bowls that you can purchase at Walmart.

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Yes I use the crap out of those. you can also use the clay disk used to set pots in. Just break a hole in the side so they can go in and out.

ill swing by wal-mart and grab some smaller plastic bowls and see if that changes anything. Im also gonna put water in both the bowls and see if he prefers the smaller one that hes smooshed in or if he goes for the bigger one that gives him more room....this trial and error on this tank is killing my wallet lol. Thanks again for all the advice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

this trial and error on this tank is killing my wallet lol. Thanks again for all the advice.

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well each one is different so you'll have to try different things with each one. Good luck, keep us posted

you suggest when I put the new hides in I leave the water dish in there like it is? JLC post doesnt make me too confortable about leaving the water dish in there...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

you suggest when I put the new hides in I leave the water dish in there like it is? JLC post doesnt make me too confortable about leaving the water dish in there...

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You can take it out for a day if it makes you uncomfortable he'll be fine. When you put the new hides in take and kinda place his head in the hide. This'll keep him from roaming and will let him know its there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

You can take it out for a day if it makes you uncomfortable he'll be fine. When you put the new hides in take and kinda place his head in the hide. This'll keep him from roaming and will let him know its there.

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whats your opinion on the exterror cave hides?

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Originally Posted by sw204me

whats your opinion on the exterror cave hides?

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I love them for my older bigger balls they have more weight to them and help the animal feel more secure.

See.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0/DSCF2382.JPG

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0/DSCF2525.JPG

how old is your snake? incredable pic btw. Mines only 6 months old, about 20 inches long.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

how old is your snake? incredable pic btw. Mines only 6 months old, about 20 inches long.

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They range from 4 months ---

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...ANDOMORPHS.JPG

to 6-7 years old.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0/biggirl2.JPG

You have a really nice set up.

If tin foil doesn't seem to be helping your humidity, try a damp towel on top of the screen. It worked wonders for me when i had a screen top.

did you cover the whole lid when you were using a damp towl?

**UPDATE**

Alrighty, went out and got me some plastic bottoms for flower pots, cut me a door in each one, used a lighter to round out the edges, then put them in the tank in place of the wooden hides. I had to put the wooden hides on top of how lite the new hides are they were moving around to much, so i put the old ones on top and then set my log on top of those to hold em down. I put max back in his cage and he went right in nicely. we'll have to see how it changes. He has been chillin alot on the cool side so i showed him the warm side hide and he went in pretty quick: (I just misted the tank, thats why it looks so wet)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0045.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0043.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0042.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0041.jpg

And heres how it looked before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/000_0032.jpg

nvm, he was in his water dish this morning....next idea?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

nvm, he was in his water dish this morning....next idea?

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Question what are you using to heat" And I must be overlooking it but what are you measuring the warm/cool/humidity with?

Im using a UTH over on the warm side, and cant you see my stick on hydrometer in the back for my humidity? ;)


LoL. Im using two digital guages for the temps and humidity. As seen in the Pic, the guage with #1 and #2 has temp and humidty, the #1 line is the temp of the UTH, notice how it goes into the bedding. #2 is for humidity and is in the middle of the tank. #3 goes to a seperate guage that just has temp and is for the cool side and its probe is located where the circle is.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...00_00331-1.jpg

well if all your temps are right on..90-95 hot 80-85 cool and an RH of 30-50%.

HMMMMM and he's not looking like he is going to shed?

Leave the bigger dish in there it want feel as secure as nice low new hides you've given him and just give it time.

i took him out last night when i was putting the new hides in and he is showing no signs of a shed coming, and seemed alot more comfortable with me then previous times i have held him. Warm side temp right now is 95.1, cool side is 81.6 and humidity is 44%, and hes no where visable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sw204me

Enclosure is def not too hot, cool side (which he stays on) is 82.3 degrees, warm side is 96.4degrees.
Humidity at currently is 34.8% (I know thats low need to find a bedding that holds humidity better) but at the time he was soaking it as 57%
The hides are a pretty tight for him, he doesnt have a whole lot of free room in there.

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Hi,

Well its not by much but your hot end is a little on the hot side really even in the last post its still fractionally over 95. I know it can be tricky but see if you could get it to around 92 or 93 if you can.

I agree on the tight hides thing also being a possiblility - but so is the fact you may just have a python with unusual habits.

It can be a slow, complicated, process tracking down the root causes of these things so best of luck. :)



dr del