New Ball Python Owner, Looking For Help and Advice!

[ian_mersereau]

Hey everyone!

I know you're probably looking at this post going "It's so long!!" Yes, it is, but please still read it and give me any help/advice you can. It's for the sake of mah snake . So a couple days ago I finally went out and bought myself a ball python. While I love my new baby Z, I'm beginning to realize I maybe wasn't as prepared for this new adventure as I thought I was. Let me start from the beginning; I hate buying pets from places like Petco and Petsmart. Honestly, I feel like a lot of the time the employees there aren't really experts on pets, and simply say what they need to in order to make a sale (I've worked in retail, so I know this happens. Unfortunately). I managed to find this cute little petstore near where I live that sold juvenile ball pythons for pretty cheap, the staff was friendly, and really seemed to know what they were talking about. I went back 4-5 times, asking questions, taking notes, putting together a budget, etc. Finally, the day came and I bought myself little baby Z. Here's where things get hairy...

At this little petstore they sold me a Zilla tropical reptile starter kit, which came with:

• A 20G Long Reptile Terrarium (Z is only about 1.5 feet long so they said this would be a good size)
• A blue daylight heat lamp
• A reptile carpet (which I'm not using since I'm using a different substrate)
• A thermo/hygrometer
• UTH mat

In addition to this, I also bought:

• Coco husk bedding (Because it retains moisture better, apparently)
• A water dish larger enough that Z could completely submerge herself in, if desired

The associate at the pet store then directed me towards Petco since getting a hide and accessories for the tank would be much cheaper there. Unfortunately Petco was closed by the time I got there, so Z spent the first night with a waffle box as her hide. Before I left the petstore I was given a bunch of other instructions that I will omit. The reason for omission, is that when I went to Petco the next morning, the guy helping me there told me to ignore everything the other associate had told me, because it was completely wrong. He then redirected me to Petsmart, because Petco did not carry what I needed. At Petsmart I was then told again that the information I was given from the guy at Petco was incorrect (see why I don't like Petco and Petsmart?). At this point, I had given up on petstores. I bought the couple things I new I needed from Petsmart, went home, and consulted the one source of knowledge that has never let me down: THE INTERNET! So here I am, and here is the current lay of the land:

• I have a 20 Long terrarium with a coco husk substrate
• I have a single synthetic log hide (I was told to get synthetic since real wood rots) on the warm side of the tank.
• I have a climbing branch in the middle of the tank
• I have the water dish on the cool side of the tank
• I have 2 thermo/hygrometers in the tank: one on the warmer side, one on the cool side
  
  • The warm side reads 60% humidity and 90 degrees F
  • The cool side reads 60% humidity and 80 degrees F
  
  
• I have a heating bulb set up, but not the mat (I didn't attach it since I thought I was going to get a heating rock. Then I was told those kill snakes, so I decided that wasn't a good idea)
• I'm using a plastic bag on the mesh cover to help regulate heat and humidity.

At this point I bet I can guess what most of you were thinking: "That poor snake?!" "What were you thinking, going into this so unprepared?!" "Why didn't you do more research first?!" "You should have put the tank and environment together first, THEN gotten the snake!" Yes, I know. I made a booboo. But I've invested too much and come too far to back out now. So now that we've established the damage, let's talk about how to fix it.

• I've seen a lot people saying that it's better to ditch the heating lamp and just go with a good UTH pad. I'm all for this, but I know I need some way to regulate the heat pad. Any cheap but reliable ways to do that? And yes, I know I should look into a helix or herpstat, but right now I can't afford those. Also, should I keep the UTH on 24/7?
• Next, I need some better thermo/hygrometers. I'm thinking 2 thermo/hygrometer combos (one for each side of the tank), and one probe thermometer to monitor the pad temp. I've heard acurites are pretty good. Suggestions?
• I know I need to go pick up another hide for the cool side of my tank

If you have any other advice to give, I'm all ears. I know ball pythons are pretty tough snakes, but I want to get the best setup I can as quickly as I can. Thanks so much!

[maausen]

....UNPLUG YOUR UTH PAD RIGHT NOW...

You need some sort of thermostat to regulate that pad. They can reach 140F and burn your snake. If you do not have the money for the thermostat like herpstat; get a hydrofarm one off ebay for 35$. I recommend saving your next paycheck to get at least one of the basic herpstat or equivalent thermostat. The safety of a pet is always the first priority. Next I would check out the How to Set Up a Tank tutorial. This is important as well..
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ighlight=aaron

I also recommend buying an acurite thermometer from walmart for the hydrometer/thermometer. The ones you have are probably inaccurate if they are analog. With this thermometer you can measure both of the temps on each side of the tank as well as humidity. These are cheap for 15$.

For humidity, I found this extremely helpful. http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...tment-Tutorial

You should post a picture of the setup when you fix it all!

[BCS]

You said it, not us, but I would not say poor snake or that you have not done your research a so on and so forth. Many people do their research differently and believe me, the internet can let you down just as much as anyone. That article you may be reading could have been written by a petsmart employee for all you know, so do not trust the internet solely. The biggest problem about EVERYONE not just pest stores is we all have experiences that are different and have different ways that work for us, be it environment, substrate, tub/tank size... so there is a possibility that both petco and petsmart were right in their own experiences and what they have been taught. Pet stores do tend to lack the better half of knowledge but its an example.

Ditching the heat lamp is again personal. Many people use them, many people do not. The problem with heat lamps is they suck out the humidity, however, if you have a naturally cold room, it never hurts to have a second resource for upping ambient temperatures. I use a snake rack system so obviously I do not use heat lamps. With my boa I do simply because his cage is so large it needs more heating resources to keep his environment at the proper temperature. But take my corn snake for example who is in a tank but because they do not need such a high temperature, she is not given a heat lamp. So the use of heat lamp depends on your home's environment and how much heat is needed.

As for a thermostat, you can always use a dimmer switch. I bought one from home depot for $10. It is a lamp dimmer switch but much better then nothing. The only issue with this is you constantly have to adjust it to keep the temperature from going to high as the day heats the room and from getting too low as night falls cooling off the room. I personally use a herpstat but I have four snake racks full of snakes and using dimmer switches for every single rack would be a waste of my time and little too much to risk. But that is about your only two options.

I use a digital hydrometer and I check the humidity about twice a week. I have to manually move the hydrometer, which is a bit of a pain but I really do not want to spend $5 x 50 on hydrometers... as for the thermometer I use a temp gun. I simple expense and very accurate and takes a split second to check the temperatures daily. (Doing it this way also means no loose cords (probes) inside my snakes cage that they could possible wrap themselves in). Again it is totally up to you how you want to monitor these types of things.

I highly recommend you use a heat pad. NEVER use a heat rock as they cannot be adjusted like a heat pad. They can burn you snake and pretty severely if not noticed soon. I recommend a heat pad before a heat lamp any day. ANd yes, the heat pad should be on 24/7, but do not plug it in until you get your thermostat or dimmer switch.

[Monty's_Mom]

You are pretty close to getting it right, further ahead than some to be honest. A thermostat to regulate the UTH is needed but a Hydrofarm bought online isn't much money and many here use them. They regulate only one heat source but that's fine for what you need. A lamp dimmer switch from a hardware store for the bulb and a Infrared heat gun and you should be set. If that takes up all the money, a plant pot bottom from a dollar store or even a cardboard box with a hole cut into the side will work for a cool hide until the next paycheck comes in. If you can't get the thermostat yet, then buy just one digital thermometer that measures both the cool side and hot side along with the dimmer switch. Most prefer to use a dimmer switch for the lamp because the constant on/off or fluctuating can make the bulb burn out faster.

The UTH stays on 24/7/365 but it must be regulated. A heat lamp is good to have and $12-15 to regulate that with a dimmer switch is not a big deal. Depending on climate and room temperatures, it may not need to be on for a month or three but it is good to have, just in case. It is better to buy a IR heat gun than a separate thermometer with probe to monitor the UTH. This instantly and accurately measures all areas of the tank.

I suggest switching the plastic on top of the tank to tin foil. A heat lamp close to a plastic bag is bad news. Cut a cardboard box so the cardboard covers 80% of the top and wrap in tin foil. 10 seconds to check thermometers and hygrometer and you can move the tin foil wrapped cardboard an inch or three around. I hung my heat lamp from the ceiling with a large hook and decorative chain meant to hang cheesy 70s style lamps. I can adjust the height from the tank easily and nothing touches the hardware cloth top.

[ssg150102]

i researched for a few weeks before i bout my first BP, and i can say i was as lost and confused as i could be once i got him because he did the exact OPPOSITE of everything i read and everything i was told by the pet store employees. after a week of being lost in the sauce with my BP i joined this site and i lived on it for about 2 weeks. i just think you can read all you can, but nothing beats expirience.

[bcr229]

I'm rather gobsmacked that the first pet store doesn't stock even basic thermostats or appropriate cage decor if they stock the starter kits, as there's a lot of markup in that stuff. From a purely business standpoint they're leaving a ton of money on the table by sending their customers to the competition.

[ian_mersereau]

Thanks for the help, everyone! Any suggestions for specific Acurite thermo/hygrometers? There seems to be a lot of them and I want to make sure I get one that actually works haha.

[garth]

I just snagged this one off of amazon and it's been working fine. It doesn't have the best reviews on amazon, but it's the one that I've seen the most around here.

http://amzn.to/1hDqXqG

[ian_mersereau]

I use a digital hydrometer and I check the humidity about twice a week. I have to manually move the hydrometer, which is a bit of a pain but I really do not want to spend $5 x 50 on hydrometers... as for the thermometer I use a temp gun. I simple expense and very accurate and takes a split second to check the temperatures daily. (Doing it this way also means no loose cords (probes) inside my snakes cage that they could possible wrap themselves in). Again it is totally up to you how you want to monitor these types of things.

Thanks for all the info, man! So I went out and bought an IR temp gun (my guess is that substrate temp is more important than air temp, so I figured I'd grab one), but I also bought an acurite thermometer/hygrometer. I figured I might as well get one that did both since the thermo/hygrometers I have now are analog and apparently don't work well. Both analog thermo/hygrometers in my tank were reading between 50-60% humidity, I threw that acurite in there and it said I was around 70%. This made me worried for 2 reasons: 1) either my analogs were wrong this whole time and I've had my humidity way too high, or 2) my acurite is broken and I'm about to screw up my humidity. I'm going to trust the acurite for now, but any recommendations on a solid digital hygrometer? I figure I'll buy a couple of very precise hygrometers so that way I know I'm getting the correct humidity (apparently acurites are notorious for have incorrect humidities. Temps are apparently almost always spot on, though).

Also, I got myself a hydrofarm, and I'm gunna set it up with a zoo med UTH. Even thought the UTH has a sticky part that is meant to stick the pad to the glass, can I still put the probe between the pad and glass, or is there a better method?

Oh, also, the acurite I bought measures surrounding air temp (I placed it on the cool side), as well as it has a probe that I was going to stick underneath the substrate above the UTH pad to measure that temp of the bedding beneath his warm hide. Should I get another thermometer to measure air temp on the warm side, or is keeping the substrate temp in check enough? Thanks again!