more questions!

[rockhardchick666]

OK. So after reading a lot off this forum I've done a whole bunch to his tank.

He's got proper digital thermometers, a probe over the UTH aswell.

I got him the same hide for both sides, but moved the old one he was living in before to the cold side because I was concerned about not having a gauge for my UTH and didn't want him to get burned.

Now he hasn't left his cold side hide for three days, so from what I've read here that's either he really likes it, or he's mad at me and wont come out. Is there a point where I should be concerned about him not leaving his hide? (stretching his legs isn't quite the term, but you know what I mean... moving, at all) I fed him Thursday and he is in shed. I have the tank specs up to what is expected. (except I'm sure the heat pad spikes more than I'm aware it does) I'm just really new to what I'm supposed to expect

Also, I am going to have to get a control for the UTH, with every crafty way I could try to figure out how to get it to stay regulated, I give up.
I can't find a thermostat around in any of our reptile stores or pet stores, meaning I'd have to order it. When people say dimmers, what are they doing to make the dimmer work? Am I rigging up a whole new SCR or are there such things as plug in dimmers?

[maria1232]

hat are your temps and our hmidity level??

[rockhardchick666]

Humidity is at 72% right now and the temps are 25 C (77F) cold side and between 30 - 35C (85 - 95F) hot side.

[maria1232]

try to keep his hot side temp no more than 93, it might be he just doesn't like it so hot.....you just said he's in shed, so it might just be that his vision is not very good and he is preferring to stay hidden until after the shed, im thinking he'll got back to normal after he sheds, if not he might be stressed out for some reason, check his husbandry again and play with the temps until you see that he becomes a little more active, also remember that they are nocturnal, it might just be that he comes out when you are sleeping and you just cant see him, i hope this helps =]

[rockhardchick666]

Thanks, and the avg temp it isnt generally up that high. But it does spike up that high sometimes. The old hide used to be on the hot side before and he was always in it, untill I noticed that he started sleeping outside of his hide on the hot side, then out of the hide on the cold side. So I atleast have the UTH on a timer to shut off for two hours and on for two hours which keeps it in that area until I know what to do with thermostats.

Im using crushed coco husk so i would see his trails... he's just staying put.

He and I had a little intense moment the other day when I was putting in his new hide and thermometer. He would hiss and bite everything, I wasn't done cleaning the tank yet so I just sat down and watched him So I could continue when he went into his hide. He wouldn't budge until I had the screen top back in place. Very odd to me. I assume this is once again because of the shed vision thing. So maybe he's just mad at me still?

[maria1232]

well he's probably not mad at you, im going to go with the whole not being able to see theory, other than that, how long have you had him for?..

[Kaorte]

Ball pythons are very shy and secretive animals often not leaving hiding places for weeks. If your ball python is hiding, it means it is happy. If he was wandering around or laying out you should be concerned. Cruising around at night is normal since they are nocturnal.

If your snake is in shed it will be more inactive. Shedding is a sensitive process and they are very vulnerable during it.

Thermostats are hard to find in pet stores. Your best bet is to order one online. The reptitemp 500r is a good thermostat for single setups. If you want to get a temporary dimmer, home depot and lowes sell a piggy back dimmer that you can just plug your UTH into and then plug it into the wall. Test it out on a light first to make sure you are dimming in the right direction. Also, make sure you have your thermometer probe right on the glass where the UTH is under the substrate so you know the hottest point the snake can reach.

[rockhardchick666]

Maria I've not had him long at all. He's a rescue and unfortunatley was rescued by someone who knows as much as she could gather in the week prior. But I'm trying to keep up and attempt to get this guy not to bite me. Please. I'm just changing your water.

and Kaorte, I have live plants in there and there's a significant ammount of substrate above his hot side.... should I put the prob to the glass still, or perhaps an inch under the substrate?

Thanks!

[Kaorte]

Since you have so much substrate, mid level in the substrate should be fine. The concern is that ball pythons will sometimes move the substrate around exposing them to the hot glass.

[rockhardchick666]

There's a good 4 inches or so with a small layer of rocks on the bottom... he'd have to try really, really hard. I'll move the prob down half way and I'm just going to go with the thermostat right away. Thanks again.