My new addition

Here she is approximately one month ago. In the picture her substrate is paper towels but now she is on reptile carpet. Should I switch to aspen? Because she was hatched in mid April of 2009 I have not handled her much and have been feeding her inside her enclosure so she can get comfortable in her new environment. Thus far she has eaten well on a weekly basis. Please give me some advice on what needs to change if anything.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../5/8/4/446.jpg

I wouldnt use the carpet personally. Seems very tough to clean. I use paper towels..very easy to clean when there is a mess. What else are you using in her tank? Very cute, also!!

Stick with paper towels dude.

I was also thinking about switching to aspen but nothing but mites appear both here & on google! :O

Under her cave (underneath the enclusure) is the zoo-med under the tank heater. On the right side is a water dish. That particular dish is no longer in the enclosure as I replaced it with a larger one. On top there is a 40 watt household light bulb. Other than that she is in a 10 gallon aquarium.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eMonk

Stick with paper towels dude.

I was also thinking about switching to aspen but nothing but mites appear both here & on google! :O

---

I clean her tank once a week and replace the carpet with another piece. I take the carpet and wash it in the washing machine and allow it to air dry. By the following week I use it again. This is not a good idea?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Reptile King

I clean her tank once a week and replace the carpet with another piece. I take the carpet and wash it in the washing machine and allow it to air dry. By the following week I use it again. This is not a good idea?

---

I've been reading lots of bad things about carpet as of late. Enough to keep me away from it.

I use marine carpet in 2 of my BP enclosures and use unprinted newspaper for the others and I like both of them for seperate reasons. I can't see how the marine carpet would be an issue unless it was deteriorating or somehow ingested which by that point I would have replaced it. I prefer the marine carpet to the reptile one because it can be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed off much better, which is probably due to the way it's made with larger spacing between weaving.

If I might make a few suggestions,

1. If you want a simple and easy way to clean the tank, I would use newspaper, I use it and it is the easiest so far.

2. Get another hide, an identical one. The hides are important in an open tank like that so the snake does not have to chose between the hot an cool sides to stay safe. It can feel safe on either side while regulating its temps.

3.You dont need a household light above if the UTH is doing its job, the light is just going to suck the humidity right out. If you must use a light to maintain temps then thats a different story but its not a must if temps are where they should be.

Just my observations... Great Looking snake!

Cute baby :)

I use newspaper because it is virtually free and abundant. I use paper towels if I suspect I have mites because the little black dots show up really well against the white. Using them constantly can get a little expensive though, depending on how often you clean.

I've had some of that carpet briefly and it stunk, there's just certain areas that smell or get stains no matter how many times you wash it.

And yea, having a heat lamp is overkill if you have a UTH. It will drain the humidity and can possibly cause her to have incomplete sheds.

Whatever substrate you use, make sure you pile more over the heated side to prevent burns. And always keep your temperature checked; I find the digital ones with the probes work well. Good luck :snake:

She is housed in a 10 gallon aquarium. She has a hide and a water bowl. There is not much room for anything else. I suppose I could get an identical hide and a smaller water bowl but then she would have to get outside her tank to change her mind.......okay that was a poor attempt at humor.

If I use aspen or reptile bark would that be safe for her to eat if she accidentally injests some with a mouse?

Going to pet store today.

Reptile bark is not as good as Aspen IMO, the pee will go right to the bottom and nothing gets absorbed by it.

I use Aspen for both of my current snakes and the mice I breed, a big bag (114 liters) only costs about $16. With weekly replacement for the mice and monthly replacement for the snakes (+ spot cleaning replacement), it lasts about 2-3 months. No issues for mice or snakes so far :gj:

She is now on aspen and has a tropical background (I'm not sure if that was a good idea or not. I don't want her to think she is about to get eaten from something in the "jungle".)

Because I use a dimmer switch to monitor the temps I have scattered the aspen bedding away from the heat source. In essence she is still laying on reptile carpet while receiving the required 90-92 degrees.

Next week, if she has completed her shed, I will try feeding her in a different enclosure such as her rubber maid shoe box.

Just curious...if you are using the carpet plus the aspen, and you have the thermometer on the outside of the tank between the tank and the heating mat, and it is reading 90 degrees, I bet it is alot cooler inside where the snake actually lays. What do you think?

As for the tropical backround, dont worry about her thinking she will get eaten :)

Id def go for two smaller identical hides, I keep reading such positive things about doing that.

Goodluck!

The dimmer switch is plugged into the wall. The heatpad is plugged into the dimmer switch.

The heatpad is located on the bottom of the outside of the aquarium. Directly above the heatpad on the inside of the enclosure is the reptile carpet. On top of the reptile carpet is the aspen bedding scattered throughout the enclosure. I have, for the most part, removed the aspen from under her cave.

According to my temp gun (at point blank range) the temperature of the basking surface where her belly touches is 90 to 92 degrees.

This is how her enclosure is now. Sorry for the poor quality the picture was taken with my cell phone. She is currently in a shed as well.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...4/img00059.jpg

I would go for some smaller hides. Upside down cereal bowls (the opaque plastic kind) can be found at the dollar store and work very well. You just need to cut out a small opening. I think if you get smaller hides you will be able to fit two.

Make sure your humidity is at least 60% so your snake sheds completely!

Although the hide appears large on the outside it is much smaller on the inside. Although she can get all the way inside she can barely "ball up".