Help with getting tank proper

Hey guys. I recently got a bp off craigslist and need some help. I have a 50 gallon tank, I have a heat pad and a light on the side with the heat pad. I can't seem to get the cold side to ever get above the low 70s. And the thermostat on the hot side will say 80-90 depending on what light I'm trying. ( have a repti-glow, sun glow, and a standard 60 watt)

The thermostat on the hot side is slightly above the ground, above the hide, so I'm not sure if that factors in the heat from the heating pad that's covered by a hide????

I also have a problem with the humidity. With the light on it sucks out the humidity. So it in the 25-30% range on the hot side during the day and 45-55% at night. I'm not sure about the cold side, since there is no hydrometer on that side.

I also have tin foil on the top of 2/3 of the cage to try to keep heat/moisture in.

The snake also has some rough looking eyes that appears to be eye caps. He hadn't eaten for 3 weeks when I got him which was a month ago. He still hasn't eaten. I tried a live rat ( which he was fed before) that I have since gotten rid of. But I think I will switch to frozen since I don't want to keep a rat around in case he doesn't eat it. Also I noticed he whistles when he breathes some times. Respiratory infection???

Anyways that's my list of issues so any help I can get would be great. Ill try to upload some pics of my tank soon and his eyes. Since I'm sure that will help you guys.

FUnny. there's a guy near by that has the same issues and I've been coaching him through text messages. Big tanks= big problem. For humidity, I know you already have the foil, try using plastic + foil. First layer plastic and then foil on top. Should help a lot. Also get a bigger water bowl.Tanks have heat escape real easy thru the glass so you might want to insulate that as well. Ive heard styrofoam and cardboard used. For eyes, I dont know what's going on but it could be eye caps or dehydration. For eating, it's a 50 gal tank man...that's a lot of stress. More hides, better temps, less handling until settled and you should be ok in no time.

Oh and sphagnum moss is good too. It's cheap and is reusable, so a bag will last a while. Just moisten it the first time and put it in, and mist it daily or as needed after that.

Please please please read the caresheet and stickys, they can answer a lot of your questions :)

for respiroatory problems try increasing the temp to 95* keep the temp higher and humidity little above normal is your bp ready to shed anytime sooon? make sure u clean the water bowl daily and for a 50 gal u should have alot of trees, shrubs, caves, hides dont leave it too open your BP might stress out

I totally missed that part. If you think there's an RI, take him to a vet. You should take him anyway to make sure he's in good health.

Ok, lets see...

1- take the snake to the vet to rule out RI

2- The largest tank even a big adult female should live in is a 40gal breeder. Most adults live well in 30gal breeder tanks. Long and low is the best. I suggest selling that 50 and getting a 30 breeder. Craigslist is a great source for buying and selling tanks. :) If you just can't manage to get a new tank now, then follow the remaining suggestions keeping the added size in mind.

3- Insulate the back and both sides with foam board, or at least cork board. As was said, glass loses heat fast and the insulation is necessary.

4- By thermostat, I'm guessing you mean thermoMETER. The thing that reads the temps. Because you say it's above the hide, I also guess it's not a digital with probe, which is really what is needed for snakes. Make sure you have a digital thermometer with a probe and set the probe UNDER the substrate on the glass right above the heat pad.

5- In some places, a second UTH (and second thermostat to control it) is needed for the cool side. You might need this to get the cool temps up to where they should be, especially in a larger tank.

6- The foil treatment should cover ALL of the screen top EXCEPT a square on one side for ventilation. The more screen that is covered, the more humidity stays inside the tank. Also, lights suck tanks dry so getting rid of the lights would really help.

That's all I can think of for now. See what you can do to get a new tank or fix up your current one and get back to us. :D

hmm...how do I post pictures?

You either upload them from your computer to the gallery here and then paste the link from the gallery into the post, OR you upload pictures to a site like Photobucket and paste the IMG links in the post. There's a sticky tutorial on how to do it...somewhere on the site. :oops:

Hi,

Well the first thing is to get them hosted somewhere online.

You can put them in your gallery here - this tutorial is a bit old but the basic procedure is the same I think.

And here is another one in video form that might also help.

You can also use a site like http://photobucket.com/

They should also have tutorials to help you.

If you still have trouble just ask any member of staff and we will do our best to get you sorted. :gj:


dr del

I would agree with whoever said get rid of the big tank and get something smaller and easier to control the temp and humidity (not to mention less stress on the animal). I am STRUGGLING to get proper conditions maintained as well in a large tank and I have done all of the insulating and stuff. So switch tanks or get plastic.

UPDATE:

-I'll post the pics next time I'm at my girlfriends.
-The tank is actually like 33 gallons or something? It's 3ftX1ftX1.5ft. I was told it was 50 but on second thought its probably a 30
-I wrapped insulation board around the tank. I also changed his hides to smaller ones since the other two where pretty big and I noticed he was always going into a paper roll tube I put in there.( can they get stuck in those?)
-The temp is like 80/92. But My thermometer on hot side, above the UTH and just a bit above the ground so I'm not sure if I'm suppose to factor in the UTH or something??? I'd love if someone could clarify that for me.

So, yea hopefully he will eat soon. I want to feed him live since he was fed live before but I don't want/can't keep a live rat if he won't eat it. So I will probably try frozen.

http://s667.photobucket.com/albums/vv32/red_herbs/

alright, I think that should work.
-tank temp is about 80/92-94 in the day and 76/82ish at night.
-two new hides.
-tin foiled all the top except a circle for the lamp

I'll post more updated pics when I can. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi,

Change the light bulb to a red one and avoid the night time drops alltogether. :)

They are only really used for stimulating breeding and the snake will get all the day/night cycle it needs from the ambient light in the room. :gj:


dr del

Hm, Ok. Would anyone else second that or have any other opinions? I'm basically using a 60 watt normal bulb right now. Just want him to start eating, he is think. I can see his spine stick out.

as long as your humidity and temps are in order, you should be all set for now. like Dr. Del said, a red bulb at 60 watts should be good for ambient temps. I would also get a digital thermometer with a probe like Argentra sugested because they tend to be more accurate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Red_Herbs

Hm, Ok. Would anyone else second that or have any other opinions? I'm basically using a 60 watt normal bulb right now. Just want him to start eating, he is think. I can see his spine stick out.

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The temps should not drop at night, if this means keeping the light on 24/7, then you need to switch to a bulb color or a CHE that won't make him stressed out at night.

alright, sounds good. Any suggestions where I could find a red 60 watt bulb. I could only find fluorescent at home depot/home hardware/ rona/ wal mart/ zellers.

thanks

Any pet store should sell the red bulb you need. (PetCo, Petland, Pet ware house, anything like that)

Actually, blue bulbs are much better than red. They don't put out huge amounts of heat, and they are much softer as far as light output. :)

I used red bulbs for a while and my snakes didn't want to roam at night like they usually did (not to mention my BF called them Sith lights). I switched to moonlight bulbs and things were much better. :)

UPDATE: So I bought a 50w infrared red light. And I'm going to leave it on all the time I think so the temp will be 80/92 with a 45% humidity. That's the highest I can get the humidity with that light. I'm going to buy a rat soon and hopefully he will eat. I'll let you know what happens.

I put a frozen rat into his tank and got him to eat it :). Thanks guys. Can anyone give me some pointers on how much to feed him now?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Red_Herbs

I put a frozen rat into his tank and got him to eat it :). Thanks guys. Can anyone give me some pointers on how much to feed him now?

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http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=30763

that should help :P