New Ball Python Owner....?

Hey All:

First off, 1st time here....I gotta say this is a cool sight....

Anyways I just acquired 2 young ( 6-8 months) ball pythons, male and female. Both are healthy, male fully shed recently and just digestlng his mouse and the female has just finished shedding with a bit left on the head area and eyes and waiting to be fed.

They came with a 10-12 gal aquarium tank for them and they have a Aspen substrate of about 2.5 to 3.0 inches. I know that I should separate them but that will be a bit ( month or so....$$ ).

All I have is the tank, a UV light on the top ( does throw some heat) and the Aspen substrate ( they burrow it seems when cold or?). There is NO hiding place or what do I do for a water dish

They also have been fed live grown mice and seem ok with that.

The previous owner said everything has been great and the pythons do seem very healthy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated....thanks

:welcome:

You will find tons of info and help on this site

You need another tank or tub, you will want to get rid of the lamp and get 2 under tank heaters, 2 thermostats or lamp dimmers will do each snake will need 2 hides per tank 1 on cool side and 1 on warm side (I use the plastic bowls from the chinese restaurant as temporary hides they work great for your size snakes), 2 water dishes. 2 accurite therm/hygros

I'm sure others will add to this :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by displacedinbc

Hey All:

First off, 1st time here....I gotta say this is a cool sight....

Anyways I just acquired 2 young ( 6-8 months) ball pythons, male and female. Both are healthy, male fully shed recently and just digestlng his mouse and the female has just finished shedding with a bit left on the head area and eyes and waiting to be fed.

They came with a 10-12 gal aquarium tank for them and they have a Aspen substrate of about 2.5 to 3.0 inches. I know that I should separate them but that will be a bit ( month or so....$$ ).

All I have is the tank, a UV light on the top ( does throw some heat) and the Aspen substrate ( they burrow it seems when cold or?). There is NO hiding place or what do I do for a water dish

They also have been fed live grown mice and seem ok with that.

The previous owner said everything has been great and the pythons do seem very healthy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated....thanks

---

:welcome:


You came to the right place!!!!

Where to start...?

3 things to help;

Here is a ball python caresheet from this site:
http://ball-pythons.net/modules/Sect...warticle&id=59

Here is a link to a sticky on how to setup at tank:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56846

That should help you out a great deal, otherwise just search through the Husbandry sub forum to learn more about housing the snakes:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=62


Hope this helped! and enjoy your new pets!

welcome to the site..... you can get a tank at walmart for like $12

Welcome to BPNet! :)

Heck put the word out to friends, co-workers and family. You'll be surprised at how many people have used tanks sitting in some dusty corner of their basement that they'd love to unload on somebody LOL. Just remember every snake is a born escape artist so a secure lid, no matter what style of enclosure you have, is a must. On glass tanks, metal lid clips are your best friend.

As far as hides, no need to break your bank. Figure out how big the snake is coiled up, hit the dollar store and buy a couple of dark colored plastic bowls that are just big enough for your ball python to happily stuff itself into. Melt or cut out an entrance either in the "roof" or on the side. Instant hides for about $2.00. Sort of like this....

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...chlingHide.jpg

For a water dish you want something that's not easily spilled but is easy for you to scrub clean. Water dishes in the warm, humid environment of a bp home can be breeding grounds for nasty germs so you need a material that you can clean/disinfect easily. Personally I love these ramekins. Their kitchen grade and you can find them very reasonably priced in any major department store and some dollar stores in the kitchen supplies area.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ewaterdish.jpg

As suggested above you do really need to address the issue of housing these snakes together. While it may not kill them to live together, the vast experience on this site seems to indicate that they do much better over the long haul by living solitary lives other than during their breeding cycles.

Well folks:

I'm on my way. Bought another 10 gal tank lsst night from the "Buy and Sell", 2 new under tank heaters, water dishes, and hideaways.

I plan on just using the normal daylight from the daytime, and change over the night time for the cycle to the morning.

Sound ok....

Quote:

---

I plan on just using the normal daylight from the daytime, and change over the night time for the cycle to the morning.

---

If I am reading this correctly you are saying that you want to just use ambient room lighting for day/night transitions. That is fine. No extra daytime supplemental lighting is needed as these are nocturnal creatures who really get stressed by lighting anyway.

Next, with those UTHs, if you don't have them on a rheostat or thermostat, please get that done ASAP! Those things can get hot enough to burn a snake and that is a totally avoidable vet bill, not to mention just good care.

Other than that welcome to the forums!

Bloodsong

you can pick up 2 sliding lamp dimmers from homedepot levitron makes one for $8 and change lutron makes one also but it's like $10 and change they do the same thing

Ok, I will get 2 thermostats for the UTH's as I've are not installed them yet on the tanks. Hopefully I'll get to doing most of this in the next day or so.... I'm also trying to find or build a nice cheap stand to house both tanks.

I greatly appreciate all the help and suggestions that you all have given to me so far. I'll keep you all up to date as things progress....

:)

If you put both tanks side by side, put a divider in there so that they can't see each other through the tank walls. Not sure if you are using glass tanks or not but I put two side by side on a bookcase a few years back and woke up one night to some noise in the living room. They were trying to fight each other through the glass! I was afraid for a while that one or the other may cause itself an injury before I could put a book between them. Later that day I went into the kids' supplies and taped construction paper around the sides of the tank.

Bloodsong

Ok all:

I have picked up a couple of dimmer switches to use with the UTH's. My big question now is that when I cut and hook up the dimmer switch ( 3 wires) inline to the 2 wire power cord of the UTH, do I have to hook up the green ground wire from the dimmer switch and how and where....or can I just disregard it. I know little about electrical wiring so I don't want to cut the 2 wire UTH cord (lose warranty) and short the UTH out without even using it.

thanks again....

:)

It isn't ideal, but there is no real risk if you have a breaker connected to the room, which if your house was built after around 1969, you likely have breakers rather than fuses, so no worries. Just cut the green short and seal the end with electrical tape then tuck it away to where no copper can touch anything.

Bloodsong

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by displacedinbc

Ok all:

I have picked up a couple of dimmer switches to use with the UTH's. My big question now is that when I cut and hook up the dimmer switch ( 3 wires) inline to the 2 wire power cord of the UTH, do I have to hook up the green ground wire from the dimmer switch and how and where....or can I just disregard it. I know little about electrical wiring so I don't want to cut the 2 wire UTH cord (lose warranty) and short the UTH out without even using it.

thanks again....

:)

---

They sell piggy back dimmers that you can just plug the uth into. No wiring involved. They look like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...10000003+90401

Also, when you get a thermostat, you only need one. Even the cheaper ones come with two plugs so you can control both tanks with the same unit. The more expensive units have space for up to 6 heating elements.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by displacedinbc

Ok all:

I have picked up a couple of dimmer switches to use with the UTH's. My big question now is that when I cut and hook up the dimmer switch ( 3 wires) inline to the 2 wire power cord of the UTH, do I have to hook up the green ground wire from the dimmer switch and how and where....or can I just disregard it. I know little about electrical wiring so I don't want to cut the 2 wire UTH cord (lose warranty) and short the UTH out without even using it.

thanks again....

:)

---

No no no. Here is what you do. Go to a hardware store or Walmart. Buy an outlet for a wall. Right next to that they should sell a box that goes in the wall and holds an outlet or switch.

Buy one that is two wide. Put an outlet on one side and the dimmer on the other. Then cut the end that you plug something into off. Then you wire that all up so that you have a cord you can plug into the wall going to a box the extension cord goes in the back and wires up to the dimmer and outlet. Then you can plug both UTH's into the outlet. Message me if you need more info, I can post pictures.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egapal

No no no. Here is what you do. Go to a hardware store or Walmart. Buy an outlet for a wall. Right next to that they should sell a box that goes in the wall and holds an outlet or switch.

Buy one that is two wide. Put an outlet on one side and the dimmer on the other. Then cut the end that you plug something into off. Then you wire that all up so that you have a cord you can plug into the wall going to a box the extension cord goes in the back and wires up to the dimmer and outlet. Then you can plug both UTH's into the outlet. Message me if you need more info, I can post pictures.

---

Why would you want to wire a whole dimmer outlet when you can just buy one for $10 that does the exact same thing, sans wiring?

Ok:

Wow! Thanks very much for the help. I'll stop after work today and see if I can find a couple of the tabletop lamp dimmers and return the others before I get into any cutting of the wires on the UTH's. That's always good for warranty purposes plus way less work I would think. That would be the best plan if I can find them. Either way though, it will be done quickly.

I have a day off starting this afternoon so I should be able to finally get to sorting the tanks out later today and tomorrow. I'll let you all know how it goes, thanks again.

:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

Why would you want to wire a whole dimmer outlet when you can just buy one for $10 that does the exact same thing, sans wiring?

---

Well there are a few reasons. The first reason I can think of is if you have already purchased a standard dimmer switch that is normally put in the wall and you are considering cutting the cords off your UTH's like the original poster was. I would much rather spend 2 more dollars on a box and outlet and wire it up. Not everyone is comfortable wiring though and you can certainly get a pre wired dimmer and hook it up to a power strip for pretty close to the same price. Personally I did it because I work in IT (have access to surplus computer power cables), have an electrician tool bag in my hall closet, had a box with some spare outlets, switches, dimmer switch and wall boxes in my basement. It was just easier for me to wire one up when I needed it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egapal

Well there are a few reasons. The first reason I can think of is if you have already purchased a standard dimmer switch that is normally put in the wall and you are considering cutting the cords off your UTH's like the original poster was. I would much rather spend 2 more dollars on a box and outlet and wire it up. Not everyone is comfortable wiring though and you can certainly get a pre wired dimmer and hook it up to a power strip for pretty close to the same price. Personally I did it because I work in IT (have access to surplus computer power cables), have an electrician tool bag in my hall closet, had a box with some spare outlets, switches, dimmer switch and wall boxes in my basement. It was just easier for me to wire one up when I needed it.

---

A dimmer should be a quick fix for controlling the UTH heat. Really, the OP should get a thermostat, so why waste time wiring up a dimmer that will only be temporary. If it easy and convenient for you, then have at it, but the OP had no idea what to do. Rather than make his life harder, I provided him with the simplest solution.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

A dimmer should be a quick fix for controlling the UTH heat. Really, the OP should get a thermostat, so why waste time wiring up a dimmer that will only be temporary. If it easy and convenient for you, then have at it, but the OP had no idea what to do. Rather than make his life harder, I provided him with the simplest solution.

---

Sure the OP should get a thermostat.
Wiring up a dimmer takes about 10 minutes. I would rather waste ten minutes on a patch then have my snake not have heat or have to much heat.
The OP had no idea what to do. Now the OP has a couple options.
You provided what you consider to be the simplest solution. You and I have no idea what other factors are at play for the OP.
The OP bought dimmer switches and was asking how to wire them. I was not making the OP's life harder. I was answer a direct question. You know....like we do here...on the forum.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egapal

Sure the OP should get a thermostat.
Wiring up a dimmer takes about 10 minutes. I would rather waste ten minutes on a patch then have my snake not have heat or have to much heat.
The OP had no idea what to do. Now the OP has a couple options.
You provided what you consider to be the simplest solution. You and I have no idea what other factors are at play for the OP.
The OP bought dimmer switches and was asking how to wire them. I was not making the OP's life harder. I was answer a direct question. You know....like we do here...on the forum.

---

For someone who is experienced, yes it wouldn't take much time at all. But the fact that he was even asking means he was struggling. I am not trying to start a fight. I know you were just trying to answer his question but personally, your answer made no sense to me. I figured if I didn't know how to wire a dimmer, and neither did the OP, he would also not understand your answer. So I gave him a different solution.

I don't understand why you are trying to achieve by arguing about this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

They sell piggy back dimmers that you can just plug the uth into. No wiring involved. They look like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...10000003+90401

---

This is THE way to go until you can get a T-Stat. I have used them, and still use them for some applications. Cutting and rewiring a UTH is not a safe option unless you have some electrical experience.

Personally, I have a strict rule about messing around with stuff I can't see...electricity falls into that category;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

For someone who is experienced, yes it wouldn't take much time at all. But the fact that he was even asking means he was struggling. I am not trying to start a fight. I know you were just trying to answer his question but personally, your answer made no sense to me. I figured if I didn't know how to wire a dimmer, and neither did the OP, he would also not understand your answer. So I gave him a different solution.

I don't understand why you are trying to achieve by arguing about this.

---

I am not arguing. You are attacking my post and I am defending it. I think you and I just interpret things a bit different. I took the fact that the OP was asking as a sign that they wanted to learn. The fact they are posting on an internet forum shows they have the whole web at their fingertips. I understand that my answer made no sense to you, but I was not answering your question. If you don't know how to wire a dimmer its because you don't want to know how. The OP was asking, I gave the general idea and said to contact me if they need more info. I think your solution is great and apparently so did the OP. The reason we are still talking about it is because I believe that my answer was a perfectly logical answer to an asked question. You had already covered the one option. I was just giving another. Why do you hate my solution so much. Take a look at how its done. You might recognize this site. http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ghlight=dimmer

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

This is THE way to go until you can get a T-Stat. I have used them, and still use them for some applications. Cutting and rewiring a UTH is not a safe option unless you have some electrical experience.

Personally, I have a strict rule about messing around with stuff I can't see...electricity falls into that category;)

---

I have the utmost respect for electricians and what they do. That being said. Its not exactly brain surgery. Of course no one should play with electricity without giving it the respect it deserves but it does not take a lot of education to learn how to safely wire a dimmer switch.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egapal

Its not exactly brain surgery. Of course no one should play with electricity without giving it the respect it deserves but it does not take a lot of education to learn how to safely wire a dimmer switch.

---

With age comes wisdom, and I have learned my limitations over the years. While wiring a dimmer switch may not be up there with launching the space shuttle, it's not something I feel is with-in my capabilites. I'm sure I'm not alone in that feeling. I'm happy that you have these skills, I'm sure they serve you well; not everyone is so blessed. It pays to keep that thought in mind when giving out advice to others.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

With age comes wisdom, and I have learned my limitations over the years. While wiring a dimmer switch may not be up there with launching the space shuttle, it's not something I feel is with-in my capabilites. I'm sure I'm not alone in that feeling. I'm happy that you have these skills, I'm sure they serve you well; not everyone is so blessed. It pays to keep that thought in mind when giving out advice to others.

---

Slim I see a picture of you holding an automatic rifle. They don't hand those out to people who don't know how to use them. If you can clean that gun, you can wire a dimmer switch. These are not skills that were hard to come by. If you have the desire you can obtain the skills. I am surprised how little credit we give others. So are you sticking by the statement that you are incapable of wiring a dimmer switch? If you had to wire one up tonight or your snake would die you are telling me your snake would be dead in the morning? You don't think you could look up the info you need on the computer you are reading this post on and figure it out. Electricity can be dangerous when not respected. I learned how to wire up simple switches and light bulbs in middle school shop class along with a whole lot of people that later went on to prove they are not all that bright.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Egapal

Slim I see a picture of you holding an automatic rifle. They don't hand those out to people who don't know how to use them. If you can clean that gun, you can wire a dimmer switch. These are not skills that were hard to come by. If you have the desire you can obtain the skills. I am surprised how little credit we give others. So are you sticking by the statement that you are incapable of wiring a dimmer switch? If you had to wire one up tonight or your snake would die you are telling me your snake would be dead in the morning?

---

To paraphrase a quote from "Kill Bill", I'm a :cens0r:ing surgeon with an automatic rifle! I can also calculate the impact velocity of every air to surface weapon in the DoD inventory, in my head, based purely on initial release speed, release altitude, and slant range. However, that doesn't make me qualified to mess around with electrical wiring. I'm not trying to say a lot of others are in my boat, but I'm sure some are.

Could I wire up a switch if my snakes were gonna' be morts in the morning if I didn't, sure, but I really think that's taking your point out to edge of the cornfield.

Hey Guys:

Relax please, no one needs to be a hero here. If you read what I posted, my concern was the ground wire. I have hooked up many light switches for walls as they all had receptacles for ground wires and 3 pronged plugs. My concern was whether I needed a ground wire hooked up to the UTH as it only has a 2 prong plug. I was concerned about electrical shocks as I was unsure if the dimmer needed to be grounded.

Anyways, I'm working on getting the 2nd tank set up as I type this.

And again, thank-you for all your help guys

:)

i greounded my home made dual socket dimmer. its ALWAYS a good idea to ground. even if the devices you're using are not. if there is an internal or external short the outlet and dimmer being grounded out can prevent a fire.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by displacedinbc

Hey Guys:

Relax please

---

I'm cool as a bucket of ice...just talkin' amongst the boys;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

To paraphrase a quote from "Kill Bill", I'm a :cens0r:ing surgeon with an automatic rifle! I can also calculate the impact velocity of every air to surface weapon in the DoD inventory, in my head, based purely on initial release speed, release altitude, and slant range. However, that doesn't make me qualified to mess around with electrical wiring. I'm not trying to say a lot of others are in my boat, but I'm sure some are.

Could I wire up a switch if my snakes were gonna' be morts in the morning if I didn't, sure, but I really think that's taking your point out to edge of the cornfield.

---

No I think that was my point. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by displacedinbc

Hey Guys:

Relax please, no one needs to be a hero here. If you read what I posted, my concern was the ground wire. I have hooked up many light switches for walls as they all had receptacles for ground wires and 3 pronged plugs. My concern was whether I needed a ground wire hooked up to the UTH as it only has a 2 prong plug. I was concerned about electrical shocks as I was unsure if the dimmer needed to be grounded.

Anyways, I'm working on getting the 2nd tank set up as I type this.

And again, thank-you for all your help guys

:)

---

All of my do it yourself wiring projects are with romex or heavy duty computer cables if I need a male plug. Since I have the ground there I use it. When you can ground.

Everything is cool. We just all really love our animals. Some of us get a bit passionate at times that's all.

Hey All:

Well I finally got the new tank set up for the female and put her in today. Its covered on 3 sides with background vinyl. I have a small UTH and its set at 92*. It only covers about 1/5 of the corner of the tank ( I am concerned that it is not big enough). I have placed 1 hide over it and 1 other hide on the other side of the tank by the water dish. Lucy did a quick tank check out and then went into the hide over the UTH. She has stuck her head out a few times and then went back in (happy BP is a hiding BP?).

I will get to the male and his tank tomorrow ( redo it from original post) but I am really concerned about the UTH size. What do you all think about the UTH size, maybe should be a bit larger? He will also be covered on 3 sides so I can place the tanks side by side but give them a GOOD separate life.

I am concerned in the humidity tho, we are at 50% now but will get up to the usual 65-75% when it warms up (-19 C and -32C with wind chill right now)....

Also its time for feeding and I have access to hoppers tomorrow so what do you think on trying to feed both, the male ate 1 week ago and the female hasn't eaten because she wasn't finished shedding ( she's done now on her own).

Also after tomorrow, when both tanks are done I'm going to go to complete
natural day/night light cycle, good idea I think?

And BTW, I handled both of them today with no strikes, bites etc. Monty and Lucy are way to cool!

Again, thanks for all your help everyone!

:D

Sounds great!!! Good luck with the feeding.

50% humidity is fine, just try to boost to 70% during shed.

Sounds like you are on the right track! Good work!

Hey Guys:

Just asking a question again that you all never answered for me....Do you think the UTH I'm using is ok? As I said it only covers about 1/5 of the tank in the corner and Lucy seems happy in her hide which is placed over it on 1/2" of Aspen substrate. That is the only heat that is used for the tank and the other hide is over at the other end of the tank by the water dish.

thanks....

Usually the rule of thumb is that the under tank heat source cover no more than 1/3 of the bottom of the enclosure. If yours covering 1/5 is giving you the right warm and cool side temps in the particular room in your home it's in then you're good to go. If you find it's not doing it's job then you either need to go to a bigger footprint on your heat source or up the room temps that affect your snake's enclosure. Also remember the lid is affecting how much heat stays in that enclosure for the snake to enjoy. Glass tanks with mesh lids tend to let heat and humidity very fast. You lose the heat you are putting in as well as dryer air in the enclosure caused by the humidity lose is hard to keep temps stable in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by displacedinbc

Hey All:

First off, 1st time here....I gotta say this is a cool sight....

Anyways I just acquired 2 young ( 6-8 months) ball pythons, male and female. Both are healthy, male fully shed recently and just digestlng his mouse and the female has just finished shedding with a bit left on the head area and eyes and waiting to be fed.

They came with a 10-12 gal aquarium tank for them and they have a Aspen substrate of about 2.5 to 3.0 inches. I know that I should separate them but that will be a bit ( month or so....$$ ).

All I have is the tank, a UV light on the top ( does throw some heat) and the Aspen substrate ( they burrow it seems when cold or?). There is NO hiding place or what do I do for a water dish

They also have been fed live grown mice and seem ok with that.

The previous owner said everything has been great and the pythons do seem very healthy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated....thanks

---

first off all i'd like to say welcome to the site!!!!

the female that still has shed on her could be becuase of a humidity problem, it should be around 50% all the time and close to 60%-70% during a shed, retaining shed isnt a great thing but its not that big of a problem to solve, i do suggest you make sure that the shed around her eyes is taken care of, snakes that retain shed on their eye caps could eventually go blind but thats if u let it get really bad . . . there are a few ways to rid of retainin shed i prefer to let my snakes soak in water for about 20 mins then take a q-tip and gently rub it along the stubborn shed.

i would try to get them in seperate enclosures right away, you can keep track of them better (shed, poop, etc..)

i would suggest you get rid of that heat lamp and get an under tank heater, ball pythons require belly heat and spend most of there time in burrows out of the daylight, not to mention they come out of those burrows at night to hunt so the regular lightin in ur house is enough for them. you also need a hiding place on both the hot side(80F-90F and the cool side(75F-80F) this will avoid stress, which could eventually lead to eatin problems down the road . . a relaxed stress free snake is a healthy snake IMO . . . a water dish is easy you dont have to spend $20 on some water dish shaped like a rock from the pet store i use little containers i found at the dollar store and for my bigger ones i used small plastic dog water dishes also from the dollar store, make sure that the water dishes are filled about half way with fresh water everyday (i say half way becuase when the snakes get in to soak they dont overflow it)

good luck with everything and there are tons of people on here that are willing to help you out!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by displacedinbc

Hey Guys:

Just asking a question again that you all never answered for me....Do you think the UTH I'm using is ok? As I said it only covers about 1/5 of the tank in the corner and Lucy seems happy in her hide which is placed over it on 1/2" of Aspen substrate. That is the only heat that is used for the tank and the other hide is over at the other end of the tank by the water dish.

thanks....

---

I think this will be fine, and if u are havin problems with humidity you can always place the water dish over the heat pad