New to the forums - First BP!

Hello all,

So I just took the leap and got my first snake - a normal BP from Petsmart. The girl said they had him for a few weeks with him feeding regularly on F/T mice with no problems.

My setup: 20 gallon long glass aquarium, a hide for each side, green "reptile carpet" for a substrate, water bowl, thermometer and hygrometer, and they talked me into getting a lamp for heat... Temperature-wise, everything was seemingly in the "normal" zone from everything I have read on here. Low 80's on the cool side and upper 80's to low 90's on the hot side. Humidity ranges from 45%-55% throughout the day.

When I moved him in (on Saturday), he did some exploring, then went straight to the hide on the cool side. All day Saturday and Sunday he never left the cool side hide. I read more on here yesterday, and found that most people suggest using UTH... which is what I thought, but got talked out of at the pet store. Anyway... I took "your" advice and purchased an UTH and rheostat yesterday. He let me handle him with no problem yesterday evening while I was fixing up his enclosure, so that's a good thing. Last night, I noticed him moving from the cool side, over to the warm side and back a couple times. That tells me he is effectively regulating his temp better with the UTH than he was with the lamp.... However, being an admitted noob, I could be reading more into this...

One other thing, he ate on Wednesday (last week). Given that I moved him in on Saturday, then rearranged his furniture yesterday, when should I first try to feed him? I was thinking I'd give it a shot tomorrow since it would have been a week.... but wouldn't be too disappointed if he didn't eat due to being moved around a few times.

So I hope you all see I'm doing my homework and plan to provide great care for my new family member. Looking forward to learning on here and getting any and all advice! (I'll attempt to post pics tonight after work)

Welcome and be prepared for TONS OF INFORMATION. Many good Guys here.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...ad_wo_pics.gif

:welcome: :)

I agree worthless without pics :P

I hope it's a healthy petsmart one.. often times they are not. :rolleyes:

What are you using to control the temperatures?
You should not have a wide range like that.. warm side should be 90-95F constantly and cool side 80-85F.
Pictures of the enclosure would be a good idea so we can run down some tips if theres anything that needs adjustment.

Thanks for the replies! I can take the sarcasm! :) As requested... pics are posted below.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9/p1010115.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9/p1010113.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9/p1010119.jpg

Don't mind them, we're all crazy for snake pictures. You'd think we'd get over this obsession but apparently not LOL.

Congrats on the lovely snake. BP's really are a wonderful pet if you understand their needs and the way this particular species likes to live it's life in captivity.

Just a few suggestions of things to think about.....

The green carpet stuff while nice to look at is going to drive you insane. It's a real bugger to keep clean, tends to let nasty stuff start growing in your enclosure and is close to impossible to really disinfect properly. You might want to consider a nice aspen which will still give you a lovely look to the enclosure but be much easier on you, better for the snake and very cost effective. Just remember to avoid pine and cedar when it comes to natural beddings.

The stick on dial thermometers tend to be sold at pet stores but also tend to be wildly inaccurate. Consider a reasonably priced digital (something like an Acu-Rite perhaps). Keeping steady temps and humidity is a must with this species.

I didn't notice if you had metal lid locks on that tank. Even with a tight fitting lid I wouldn't trust a snake to not sneak out. If you don't have some you can find them at any pet store. They are sold usually by the pair, are rated for the size of the tank and are generally less than $5.00 a set. For that tank I'd go with 2 pair just to be safe.

Welcome to the world of ball pythons! :)

Scrap the rugs for either paper-towels, newspaper, or aspen. The reptile carpets are a breeding ground for mold and bacteria.

Get yourself some thermometers with probes, and stay away from dials (they are extremely inaccurate).

I see a rheostat which is good, but useless without proper thermometers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Don't mind them, we're all crazy for snake pictures. You'd think we'd get over this obsession but apparently not LOL.

Congrats on the lovely snake. BP's really are a wonderful pet if you understand their needs and the way this particular species likes to live it's life in captivity.

Just a few suggestions of things to think about.....

The green carpet stuff while nice to look at is going to drive you insane. It's a real bugger to keep clean, tends to let nasty stuff start growing in your enclosure and is close to impossible to really disinfect properly. You might want to consider a nice aspen which will still give you a lovely look to the enclosure but be much easier on you, better for the snake and very cost effective. Just remember to avoid pine and cedar when it comes to natural beddings.

The stick on dial thermometers tend to be sold at pet stores but also tend to be wildly inaccurate. Consider a reasonably priced digital (something like an Acu-Rite perhaps). Keeping steady temps and humidity is a must with this species.

I didn't notice if you had metal lid locks on that tank. Even with a tight fitting lid I wouldn't trust a snake to not sneak out. If you don't have some you can find them at any pet store. They are sold usually by the pair, are rated for the size of the tank and are generally less than $5.00 a set. For that tank I'd go with 2 pair just to be safe.

Welcome to the world of ball pythons! :)

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Haha, you said the same stuff as me.. your just a faster typer..
But I'm pretty sure that lid is a slide-on. ;]

Ok, thanks for the fast replies... so Aspen it is! Maybe I'll wait until after I (attempt) to feed him first before I go replace the carpet with Aspen.

I do have one of the zilla digital probe thermometers, it had just fallen off when I went to take the pics, which is why it wasn't on there. It seems pretty accurate (better than the stick-on).

The tank does have the slide on top. It has 2 plastic clamps on the back that keep it in place, and just to reassure myself, I have a small clamp through the two holes in the front of the enclosure.

My ball python escaped 3 times, from me forgetting to lock the clips back onto the lid :O

Oh and more plants (plastic) would make your bp feel much more secure, plus make it pretty and I have a ton of fun decorating all my herp cages lol it's an addiction. :)

Aw. What a cutie!! I think normals have the most adorable puppy dog eyes. :D and :welcome:

Firstly, welcome to the site!
Seems like you are off to a pretty good start, and the advice that has been given will get you the rest of the way. The top of that cage is good because it's a slide top and not the normal pop off type. Once you have the aspen in there maybe think about some fake leaves (Walmart) so he can come out and still feel secure. Try to leave him alone for a few days to get settled and you should be in good shape. Enjoy!:)

First off, congrats! Your BP is very nice. Here are a couple photos of my 20 gallon long setup. I have a young Pastel female (you can see part of her going into the hide) and while I don't believe my setup is perfect, it works pretty well.

I have on the hot side: a UTH, a plastic hide over the UTH. I use the plants in the back and she likes to lay in that back corner under the plant more than the hide. I use a basking lamp to keep the ambient temp up around 90 during the day and 80/85 at night. I have found that I need 2 bulbs, a 50 watt and a 100watt. The 50 watt is what goes in on the hot days when my house is open. The 100watt is for the colder days like today. My hose is kinda cool.

I have a big water bowl, some branches, aspen substrate, and for the hide on the cool side, I use a plant with a wood base. I spread the leaves over the back corner of the cool side and she loves it.

I use the dial temp gauges and keep them low so i get a reading of what the temp is down by where she is. I use a humidity gauge in the middle and keep the humidity at 55-60, 70 during shed. To keep humidity up, I reduce airflow by covering the majority of the screen with a damp towel. Works like a million bucks :)

I hope this helps a bit. She just shed and seems happy, so I'm happy.

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...0galpastel.jpg


http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...galpastel3.jpg

Here's an update for those interested... I gave his home a makeover today while I had him moved out for feeding. The best part is he took a F/T fuzzy right away! This was my first time feeding him, so I hope this is a sign of good things to come. I did realize a fuzzy was a little small for him, but I thought it would be ok this time after reading how you don't want to feed too large, and given that he might be a little anxious with this being his first feed here.

I have am using aspen substrate and have 2 digital probe thermometers... one under the substrate on either side of the enclosure. Given that they are under the substrate (and the one on the hot side is between the UTH and the substrate), what temps should I be looking for? and should I be using both the UTH and the lamp? (guess it depends on the temp, right?)

So... I know the thread is worthless without pics... :) Here are a couple more of him in his new home. Enjoy!

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9/p1010122.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9/p1010124.jpg

First of all, you have a beautiful normal there!! :D

Your new setup looks much better except for the half log hide. A lot of people don't recommend using them for most snakes because they don't make them feel as secure (even with it up against the back of the tank like you have it).

I saw that you had 2 of the rock cave hides in your first setup picture...I would continue to use both of them :)

Other than that it looks great and congrats on your new baby!! :D

hey whats up,,take it your in orlando as well?,i shoot for temps on hot side around 88-89,using those as a guide(got that range from people such as vpi,and snake keeper),if you can reach that from the uth,i would ditch the lamp,if you insist on having a light,get a light bar with an aquarium light,not the hood,the open bar,so it doesnt shoot as much heat in there,,plus it make the enclosure look awesome(redlights at night make them cool as hell too,and blue lights)


and just a warning,,proof read everything you say,people like stratus like to put your mis heard quotes up in the out of context thread:):D