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[First_time_herp]

Well so far I'm pretty close to getting my snake. Here's what I have so far:

1. A 90qt. sterilite tote

2. Two heat pads one on the warm side and one on the other

3. A substrate of mixed coconut bark and bed-a-beast

4. A water bowl

5. Two hide boxes

6. A hygrometer/thermometer

Now of course this is just to start off with. While my snake is living in the 90qt I'll be saving up to buy:

1. A T3 animal plastics cage

2. Two thermostats

3. Two large heat pads

4. Two specially made hide boxes from reptiletubs.com

So, is there anything else I need besides mice?

[Marla]

It's always a good idea to start with newspaper or paper towel as your substrate for the first 30-90 days to help you keep an eye out for mites, ticks, or unusual-looking feces, so you might want to pick up some of that. Also, you may not need two heating pads at the same time -- I've not needed two for any enclosure so far -- so one may be your backup instead. Also, spray bottles of peroxide and vinegar are very useful for disinfecting and should only run you about $4 altogether. Other than that, it sure looks like you're set.

[led4urhead]

Ball Python? Looks like you got it pretty much covered. Might want to look at some fake vines. I use them in my bp enclosure to provide some more cover.

[First_time_herp]

Cool thanks, and marla, right now my enclosure is in a basement and it gets cooler down there at night so I think two might work. So far their at 90-93 hot side, 87-85 cool side. I think the cool ide might need to be cooler. And as for the newspaper, don't the companies dis-infect the stuff before selling it?

[Marla]

Cool side should definitely be cooler for proper thermoregulation, you're right. Is that with one heat pad or two? How healthy the snakes are largely depends on where you get them from, but it pays to be cautious, and you can always pickup throwaway papers at clubs, stores, etc., so the temporary use of newspaper doesn't have to cost you anything. If you buy from Petco or somewhere similar, you should absolutely be very cautious (I was given a Petco bp with mites and parasites in December), but if you're buying from a reputable breeder, you might do fine with skipping the newspaper step.

[First_time_herp]

I'm buying from Alex Hue, he breeds captive bred bps and he has a 5 day garentee.
and i'm hoping to get a thermostat to keep the cool side about 77 is that ok? And its about 85 with two heat pads yes, but without a heat pad on the cool side its like 7 degrees. Is that ok?

[Marla]

I'm sure that 7 degrees is a typo, but I'm not sure what it was supposed to read. Alex Hue definitely has a good reputation, but it still wouldn't hurt to be cautious and start out on paper. Your target should be around 80 for the cool side, though a few degree temperature drop at night time is fine and 77 is well within that, but aiming for 77 could very well get your air temp into the low 70's at night on the cool side and that's a bit too cool outside of breeding season.

[First_time_herp]

I meant 77 normal day time temp. Thats why I'm worried. The house cools down at night I'm afraid that it could get into the high 60's. Thats why I was using two heat pads.

[Marla]

Sounds like you have it covered. I would make a thermostat a high-priority purchase, though.

[First_time_herp]

Really? That temp is acually good? Cool!