Need Some Help

[codymchenry]

Hey Guys so i was wondering can i get complete supply list for my ball pythons cage. Like how to set it up what exactly i need, whats the absolute best for a ball python? I want him to be as happy as possible and I am so confused because of all the different answers i am hearing. Like what brands and everything, what temp and humidity, what size cage, whats the best substrate. Please be specific if you got the time and thanks alot!

[jackiechan]

This is my setup:
-30x12x12 glass tank
- 2 UTH (under tank heater)
- 2 thermostats ( one controlling hot and another cool)
- Acurite digital thermometer/hygrometer
-2 hides (one on each side)
- cypress mulch substrate
- 1 water dish
- 1 CHE (ceramic hea emitter)
- 1 100w light fixture (holds the CHE)
- 1 dimmer ( controlling the CHE)
- 1 lemon pastel ball python

I think thats all

[The Serpent Merchant]

How big is your ball and how much money do you have to spend on this?

I really like "Animal Plastics" enclosures. I use their 4'x2'x1' (LxWxH) T8 Enclosure for my ball pythons. I got the Flexwatt heating option which heats the right side of the cage and I keep my snake room at 78 degrees so the cool side of the enclosure does not need any additional heat. I use butchers paper as a substrate and have 2 Reptile basics hides (one on the hot side and one on the cool side). I have a large water dish (ceramic dog dish) in the center of the cage. The Flexwatt heating is controlled by a Herpstat.

[Daybreaker]

Can't help with a tank personally because I don't use them for my balls, but I can help you with a tub setup:

Sterilite Tubs from Walmart, $5-$10: 6-15qt for hatchlings (I use 28qt for the littles and it works for me), 34-41 qt for adults.

Binder Clips ($2 Walmart) or Luggage Straps so he can't get out.

UTH (I get mine on eBay for $16.75 -20 gallon sized- with free ship, but they're in petstores too). I use the 20 gallon sized ones for my 28-34 quarts.

Dimmer ($10 at Home Depot) for the UTH so it doesn't get too hot or a good thermostat (easily $70+)

Heat Tape to attatch the UTH to the tub as it might not stick by itself (varies by price, I think I paid ~$10 for my roll).

Temp Gun to check hot/cold spots (~$30, I got mine at Lowes)

Thermometer for ambient humidity/temps ($8 at Walmart, Acurite brand). I like ~50% ambient humidity and ~90-92 hot side surface temps and ~80 for cold surface temps

Cage decor, hides, water bowl, etc of your choice. Paper towel substrate for me.

This is just what I do/use personally: everyone does their own thing which you'll see when more people post.

[mattchibi]

Here's the main important things you will need to know the brand / exact specifications whether youre using a tub or tank setup. It would also help to mention how old your bp is/what size he is.

Undertank heater- Go with the ZooMed ReptiTherm undertank heater.. it works like a charm. For a hatchling, you could get the 10-20 gallon, but they make them kind of small. I use the 30-40 gallon one on my 20 gallon tank (30x12x12) and it works perfectly.

Thermostat- You can choose to use a dimmer to control your uth, but its not the best solution. Best solution would be to get a thermostat. There are cheaper on/off thermostats, that just turn on when it hits a cool temp, and turns off when it gets too hot. Ranco is a good on/off thermostat that costs about $80. If you want to spend a little more for something that will last you a lifetime, Herpstat (by Spyder Robotics) makes a proportional thermostat. This means that it will proportionally raise or lower the heat ouput from the UTH to control the temps more accurately. The cheapest model they have is $109, but its definitely worth it.

Temperature gun- on top of having a thermometer (accurite is the best thermometer, it measures two temperatures inside an enclosure as well as humidity), it is adviseable to have a temperature gun. Reptile Basics Inc (google them) sells very reliable temperature guns, any of the models work fine. I use the cheapest one they have and its been working for me so far.

Everything else is pretty standard / doesnt require a specific brand.

Tank: Get a 10 gal for a hatchling, 20 gal for a juvenile, 40 gal for adult.
Tub: 15 qt for hatchling, 28 qt for juvenile/adult males, 41 qt for adult females.
Substrate: Anything meant for reptiles in a pet store will work fine. I personally use ZooMed's Forest Floor Cypress Mulch, its not the most economical but it works.
Hides: just get one that fits your snake snugly, it should be able to hug the sides of the walls to feel more secure.
Water dish: anything that doesnt tip over

If youre using a glass tank, you may have problems keeping temps and humidity: (not necessarily though, depending on your location)

To help keep ambient temps up, you can use an infrared bulb with a heat lamp. Try to buy the heat lamps at pet stores that have a dimmer attached. And a 60 Watt bulb should be more than sufficient. The heat lamp may not be necessary though, depending on if you live somewhere hot or not.

Good luck, let us know ifyou need more help.

[maczurry]

If starting out with a young Ball (because I prefer aquarium heavily over shelving type housing) I recommend a 20 gallon long however some BP are shy or easily stressed by environments too large or too open but that's what I started my current BP in. No undertank heater they can easily burn your snake well more so the heat rocks are dangerous. All I used was a 50 watt heat bulb with a UVB lamp during daylight and night glo about 50 watt cuz it burns cooler than the day bulb. A snug hide box I put mine on the warm side because my BP likes to chill in his water bowl (not sick just loves swimming.) I don't feel multiple hides are a necessity but mine is just very social. Never use softwood bedding as many are toxic to snakes cedar is the very worst, aspen is the way to go. It's gentle to snakes inexpensive and easy to spot clean. Lastly of the essentials a metal screen for the top and compatible clips to hold down the screen. The heat lamps will not bother a metal screen I have never had an escape out of an aquarium. And for when u get your python they are picky eaters if they eat frozen consistently keep doin it but everyone pushes frozen and there isn't an advantage to it and there's no disadvantages to feeding live if you do a few things: feed in a separate feeder cage so then won't become cage aggressive because they don't associate you're hand going into the cage for dinner time, DON'T LEAVE UNSUPERVISED WITH MOUSE OR RAT! they can harm your snake. When my BP was 6 months old he quit eating frozen for months and vets said push it for awhile if they're hungry they'll eat. Fed him live ate immediately and has not missed a feeding in a year and a half and eats all the way through winter. That's the best advice I can give I've read dozens of books and spent hours online I know how it is tryin to find info for pet BP and no 2 ppl agree on anything live/frozen, aquarium/beware, undertank/heatrock/heat lamp. Once you get to know you're snake he'll tell u what he wants
Sent from my ADR6325 using Tapatalk

[mattchibi]

If starting out with a young Ball (because I prefer aquarium heavily over shelving type housing) I recommend a 20 gallon long however some BP are shy or easily stressed by environments too large or too open but that's what I started my current BP in. No undertank heater they can easily burn your snake well more so the heat rocks are dangerous. All I used was a 50 watt heat bulb with a UVB lamp during daylight and night glo about 50 watt cuz it burns cooler than the day bulb. A snug hide box I put mine on the warm side because my BP likes to chill in his water bowl (not sick just loves swimming.) I don't feel multiple hides are a necessity but mine is just very social. Never use softwood bedding as many are toxic to snakes cedar is the very worst, aspen is the way to go. It's gentle to snakes inexpensive and easy to spot clean. Lastly of the essentials a metal screen for the top and compatible clips to hold down the screen. The heat lamps will not bother a metal screen I have never had an escape out of an aquarium. And for when u get your python they are picky eaters if they eat frozen consistently keep doin it but everyone pushes frozen and there isn't an advantage to it and there's no disadvantages to feeding live if you do a few things: feed in a separate feeder cage so then won't become cage aggressive because they don't associate you're hand going into the cage for dinner time, DON'T LEAVE UNSUPERVISED WITH MOUSE OR RAT! they can harm your snake. When my BP was 6 months old he quit eating frozen for months and vets said push it for awhile if they're hungry they'll eat. Fed him live ate immediately and has not missed a feeding in a year and a half and eats all the way through winter. That's the best advice I can give I've read dozens of books and spent hours online I know how it is tryin to find info for pet BP and no 2 ppl agree on anything live/frozen, aquarium/beware, undertank/heatrock/heat lamp. Once you get to know you're snake he'll tell u what he wants
Sent from my ADR6325 using Tapatalk

Im not discrediting you... but you are saying some things that dont quite make sense and might not be the best advice for someone new.. No undertank heater because they can easily burn your snake? Really? This is only true if a proper thermostat or dimmer isn't used to regulate the temps. In fact, an undertank heater controlled by a proportional thermostat is by far the best way to provide heat to your snake. Just FYI if you didnt know.

As for the UV day glo bulb, BP's dont need light, especially not UVB light. Constant overhead light creates stress in ball pythons. Ambient room light is sufficient if you want to provide your snake with a 12 hour day/night cycle. If you want/need to use a bulb to increase ambient temps, I suggest a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE for short) or an infrared 60 watt bulb. Both of these can be used with a dimmer and you can keep it on top of the tank 24/7 . It will drain the humidity though, so dont use it unless you have to (if your house is super cold)

And as for the multiple hides. You are right, it does not need multiple hides. It does need at least TWO though. One hide on the cold side, one on the warm side. Reason being so your snake can thermoregulate. DEFINITELY provide it with two identical hides on both sides so that your snake does not have to choose security over temperature. There might be a reason why your snake is so "social"...

And last, as for the feeding in enclosure linked to cage agression thing.. thats a myth. Snakes are super-predators. They can use their tongue and their jacobsons organs to "smell" their prey. Unless you smell like rodents, you wont get bit. Just wash your hands before and after handling your snake and you should be fine. Of course there are some naturally aggressive ball pythons, but once "tamed", as long as you dont smell like a rat you wont get bit.

[Maixx]

A lot of good info so far.
Only thing I wouldn't do is use a 10 gal, they are too small and tall to create a good thermal difference between hot and cold sides. A 20 may be to big for a young one, but you can clutter it up good and make them more secure until they grow into it (not a long time).

Another thing I do with all my tanks is to paint the outside of the sides and back, helps them feel less exposed.

[Evenstar]

So you've still gotten some different answers and points of view here! I must say I do agree with Matt on some of these things: UTHs are the BEST way of heating for BPs, they do not need UVB light, you do need at least 2 hides for security, and you most certainly can feed your snake in his enclosure if you choose to do so. Matt explained the reasons for these things very well and he's absolutely right about them.

As far as what to use, some of this is going to depend on personal choice. Do you want to use a tub or a tank? Are you getting a baby or a young adult? What is the ambient temp of the room you plan to keep him in? If it's cooler, you may need additional heat sources but if you can keep the ambient temps in the room up around 74ish or higher, then a single appropriately sized UTH should be enough.

When deciding on the particular items, you'll have to pick the brands that you like. For a UTH, ZooMed is ok, but I prefer the Ultratherm from www.reptilebasics.com. They don't get as hot. There are several good brands of the thermostats too - rancos, herpstats and vivarium electronics are all really good. DO NOT skimp on the t-stat! This is probably the most important piece of equipment you will ever get. There is a reason no one here will recommend a cheap version. But the good ones will last a lifetime with proper maintainence. Substrate is a matter of preference too. Some like to use newspaper or paper towels, some use aspen, some use coco fiber, etc. Do what works for you. I like cypress mulch because it isn't "dirty" and it holds humidity well in my tanks but I use paper towels in my quarantine tank and in my rack.

Good luck and share pics of your baby when you get him!

[maczurry]

Im not discrediting you... but you are saying some things that dont quite make sense and might not be the best advice for someone new.. No undertank heater because they can easily burn your snake? Really? This is only true if a proper thermostat or dimmer isn't used to regulate the temps. In fact, an undertank heater controlled by a proportional thermostat is by far the best way to provide heat to your snake. Just FYI if you didnt know.

As for the UV day glo bulb, BP's dont need light, especially not UVB light. Constant overhead light creates stress in ball pythons. Ambient room light is sufficient if you want to provide your snake with a 12 hour day/night cycle. If you want/need to use a bulb to increase ambient temps, I suggest a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE for short) or an infrared 60 watt bulb. Both of these can be used with a dimmer and you can keep it on top of the tank 24/7 . It will drain the humidity though, so dont use it unless you have to (if your house is super cold)

And as for the multiple hides. You are right, it does not need multiple hides. It does need at least TWO though. One hide on the cold side, one on the warm side. Reason being so your snake can thermoregulate. DEFINITELY provide it with two identical hides on both sides so that your snake does not have to choose security over temperature. There might be a reason why your snake is so "social"...

And last, as for the feeding in enclosure linked to cage agression thing.. thats a myth. Snakes are super-predators. They can use their tongue and their jacobsons organs to "smell" their prey. Unless you smell like rodents, you wont get bit. Just wash your hands before and after handling your snake and you should be fine. Of course there are some naturally aggressive ball pythons, but once "tamed", as long as you dont smell like a rat you wont get bit.

I don't fell disregarded like I said no 2 ppl agree when it comes to BP you rarely find multiple sources be it books, internet, owner, or herpetologist that are consistent. Snakes have diff personalities and prefer different things. My BP I referred to refused constantly to use the cool side hide as more than a bathroom(easy cleanup but still) refused it while identical the the warm hide and preferred a swim, a dry off bask on top of his tree and then a nap is his warm hide. He also often prefers to remain exposed while napping wrapping around and through the roots of his ceramic tree which is on the coolside everyday he's got a morning and evening routine and I was mistaken when I said undertank I meant ceramic heating rocks are bad as snakes in general can not detect heat accurately on their bellies and can't tell too hot my dads ball from when I was young was purchased by a exotic pet store and as follow up a week later my dad went in to hear his snake was dead on the heat rock the morning after he sold it. And they don't require UVB but is helpful in production of vitamin D, also brings out color of balls very well and is needed for the light schedule as I use infrared lighting and nightglow and without visible light for roughly 12 hours(which is what they have in their natural habitat which is not a tuberware

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