New to Ball Pythons

Hey guys Im new here and I just bought my 1st Snake ever!

After doing a lot of research and going back and forth I decided to buy a baby male Pastel Ball Python. I just got him today, he seems healthy and happy so far, he was a little stressed from the plane ride here but the 1st thing he did in his new tank was take a huge dump so I'm assuming he's comfortable lol

I was told he is 3 months old, he looks a little bit big though to me for only 3 months.. They were feeding him on rat crawlers tho..

Anyways here are some pics of my snake and his enclosure.

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...d/P3260204.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...d/P3260203.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...d/P3260201.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...d/P3260198.jpg


The enclosure is a 20 gallon long and I am using Coconut Husk substrate and a little bit of some repti bark. As far as heating goes I have a UTH and a overhead heating lamp(mainly to create a day/night schedule.) My tempts were getting too high tho with both so I replaced the 100w basking light bulb(I should have gotten a 50w anyways) with a normal 65 watt bulb. Cold side is around 80-85 and warm side is 93-98(is that too hot?) Humidity is between 50-60%.

As you can see from the pics I do have a few dial gauges which I know is not recommended but I will be replacing them with digitals. I do have 1 digital that has a probe inside the hide on the hot side tho so I can monitor that.(also Im not going to leave the wire like that)

Do you guys see anything so far that I should be aware of as a potential problem? Does the snake look healthy to you? I didnt notice and hissing when breathing, no mites, and he was very alert to my presence.

My only problem I have run into so far is that he is using the piece of wood in the background as his hide instead of the ones I specifically set out. Oh well he knows where he is comfortable. Does the hide on the left look too small for the size of the snake?

With hides it's the smaller the better, bps like to be squished up inside their hide boxes. Preferably touching it on all sides. Set up looks good, congrats!

By the way so far as the gauges go, go to walmart and get an accurite, they measure your ambient temps, warm side temps, and humidity all in one and they're only about 12 bucks.

They like very tight hides.
98 is too hot, 93-94 max. Ball pythons can feel very insecure in a glass tank so he maybe hiding where he feels more secure as opposed to the best temp area. They like to feel out of sight in a tight dark place.

Your enclosure is nice looking and the pastel is real pretty. That hide on left isnt too small but the door is to open, they want to hide out of site in the dark. With a bright light shining down on him and that large entry hole he maynot feel secure in there. I would loose the light, they dont need it and he will feel much more secure without it. BPs are nocturnal and stay underground most of the day.

Thank you for the feedback

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

With a bright light shining down on him and that large entry hole he maynot feel secure in there. I would loose the light, they dont need it and he will feel much more secure without it. BPs are nocturnal and stay underground most of the day.

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How do I regulate a healthy day/night cycle without a light during the day hours?

Ambient light in the room is enough for day/night cycle. You can heat room(thats what I do) to desired low temps or use a ceramic heater or red night bulb. I prefer to use room heat for ambient because light bulbs or heat emiters dry up air in the enclosure and may make humidity levels a nightmare which can lead to bad sheds and/or RI's. Been there done that.

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Originally Posted by HanDiCaPd

Thank you for the feedback



How do I regulate a healthy day/night cycle without a light during the day hours?

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If the room has a widow in it. That is plenty of light. :)

oh and nice looking pastel!

I went ahead and attached additional moss to the front of the hide on the left leaving only about 3/4s an inch open for the doorway.

Also I forgot to mention how soon should I wait to feed him? I think i remember reading to wait a week for the snake to get comfortable before the 1st feeding but I cant remember.

I don't see anything about a thermostat anywhere in this thread. please tell me your using one, they're relatively cheap (for the on/off type) and are absolutely necessary if you want to keep your little pal from possibly burning himself. otherwise, it's a pretty sweet set up as far as I can tell! Nice looking pastel too!

I didnt plan on using a thermostat but I was going to use a rheostat on the UTH and the Light so I could adjust.

A good thermostat is the best $75 you will ever spend on your BP. Cheaper than a vet bill. Get a Ranco or Johnson and you are set. The cheap petstore ones are horribly inaccurate.

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Originally Posted by HanDiCaPd

I didnt plan on using a thermostat but I was going to use a rheostat on the UTH and the Light so I could adjust.

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if its anything like this rheostat http://www.reptilesupply.com/images/...tat_deluxe.jpg i'd advise against it.

rheterostats are only good if you have a steady constant temperature in the surrounding room(s). thermostats are MUCH more foolproof (assuming you have a good one). i think there are a lot of threads explaining the differences and the goods and bads.

note: i looked up a rheostat and i still have no idea what it is. im not every electrical-savvy.

that said, your baby looks adorable and he is so pretty. his enclosure looks awesome and very natural i hope he's good for you!

a rheostat basicly is a device that allows me to regulate the amount of voltage that goes to the device. the device you posted is an example of a rheostat.

Ill look into a good thermostat tho.

How long should I wait to feed this guy? I just got him in yesterday.

I would wait at least a full week with little to no handling. I made the mistake of over handling my new guy and had a terrible time getting him to feed.

It can be done. You can maintain temps and humidity without a thermostat, but, it is very very tricky. It took me about a month to come up with a set up that works and is safe. I just wanted to see if it could be done. It's way easier with a thermostat!!!

Okay so with the thermostat do I put it on the cold side to measure the ambient temp and humidity and then place the outdoor probe on the hot side?

Do the plugs for the UTH and the Light plug straight into the thermostat?

I was thinking of replacing the light bulb I have now with a red night bulb for a little extra heat and so I can view him at night. Is that okay? My room gets very cold at night so it should help keep his enclosure the right temps.

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Originally Posted by HanDiCaPd

Okay so with the thermostat do I put it on the cold side to measure the ambient temp and humidity and then place the outdoor probe on the hot side?

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You're thinking Thermometer here, which you would set up just like you describe.

A thermostat would have the probe attached to the UTH, usually on the outside of the tank and taped directly to the heater. You would then set the temp on the thermostat to keep it from getting over 93-94 degrees. The hot side temp would need to be measured on the glass, inside the tank.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HanDiCaPd

Do the plugs for the UTH and the Light plug straight into the thermostat? I was thinking of replacing the light bulb I have now with a red night bulb for a little extra heat and so I can view him at night. Is that okay? My room gets very cold at night so it should help keep his enclosure the right temps.

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On the tanks I have both an UTH and a red light on, I only plug the UTH into the thermostat and leave the light on all the time. The light, if isn't over 50W or so, won't get hot enough to cause a problem and the thermostat can them regulate the UTH temp.

Thanks guys for all the help.

I do have another question, while my snake is adjusting to it's new home is it more stressful for the snake if I remove it from the tank and place it in a big tub while I move/rearrange some of the decor or if I leave it in the tank while I move things around?

The less you handle him the better. If there is gonna be alot of activity cover the glass so he cant see. Crumpling a bunch of newspaper and putting it in tank also helps him hide and feel undetected/secure.

So my snake is hanging out on top of the large trunk in his tank just laying there semi balled up spread across it and some of the vines. He hasnt gone in any of his 2 hides so far, during the day he was laying behind his hide between it and the tree trunk...

Is he just laying there because he is nocturnal or should I be worried that he does not like his hides? He hasnt even really gone into either them, im not sure if he really knows they are there. Maybe he just needs to discover them?

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Originally Posted by HanDiCaPd

...should I be worried...?

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That's gonna be me in a week :oops:
heh...sorry to hijack your thread. You probably should just give him a little time to get accustomed to the settings.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HanDiCaPd

So my snake is hanging out on top of the large trunk in his tank just laying there semi balled up spread across it and some of the vines. He hasnt gone in any of his 2 hides so far, during the day he was laying behind his hide between it and the tree trunk...

Is he just laying there because he is nocturnal or should I be worried that he does not like his hides? He hasnt even really gone into either them, im not sure if he really knows they are there. Maybe he just needs to discover them?

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I love it! Reminds me of when I got my first ball python and was so obsessive about him! :D

Anyway - first :welcome:

I suspect, he just hasn't found his hides yet. Yes, I can see he's crawled all over them, but has he actually found the entrances and gone in and explored them yet? I think once he does, he'll start using them, the one on the right is a perfect hide for him - low so it will touch him from the top.

It takes a few days for them to get used to their new enclosure - right now he's just taking things in and I'm sure in a few days he'll be hanging out in his hides.

Looks like you've received a lot of good advice already! And he's a very pretty pastel, btw!

He's a lovely pastel, congrats on getting him.

You can always just very gently nudge him, head first toward the hide. I've had to show a few babies where home is by putting their head at the door the hide. Then it's like a light bulb goes off LOL and off they go to snuggle in this new lovely place. :)

Thanks guys, Late last night he discovered the hide on the rite and he was in it this morning when I left for work.

btw I am working on getting a good thermostat but I cant until like another week or two. My UTH was getting far to hot so I placed a few sheets of tightly wrapped aluminum foil ontop of the dresser where I have the tank. removed the UTH and placed it ontop of the aluminum foil and then placed another few sheets of aluminum foil ontop of the heater between it the tank. Seems to be working well. keeping the temps around 92 degrees.

Thanks for all the help guys.