Help With First Snake, Juvenile Ball Python!!

[ZacDamon]

So I got my first snake ever, a ball python, two days ago. She was born 4 months ago and I got her from a local breeder who owns a shop. The first day she was surprisingly active and friendly, and today she doesn't seem the same. She is not moving, yes to breathing tho, and doesn't want to come out of a curled up ball. She isn't moving or hiding under things right now either. She seems very stiff and won't come out of the ball. I don't know if it's my setup or just her getting used to the home. So the first part of the set up is a plastic moving tub, around 15 gallons, it's the long style so only around 6 inches tall and a few feet long. I have it sitting on two wood logs in my room, so it isn't sitting on the carpet, with the heating pad stuck directly to the bottom of the "tank". For bedding I used brown paper towels, kind of rough, and soft white paper towels. The watering dish is a black bowl I used to eat out of. Now this whole setup was told to me by a past classmate of mine who works at petsmart. He says it was the easiest setup as well as the cheapest and his ball python is doing great. I trust the guy since his experience is far greater than mine. But I'm worried that Im missing something or screwing up. Am I doing something wrong or does it just need more time to adjust? Btw I live in Wisconsin and the apartment usually sits around 70 degrees and I keep my window closed. I don't have a thermometer or a humidity detector. Please can someone give me some tips. Thanks!

zac

[Yodawagon]

Forget what the pet smart guy says. You need a thermostat to make sure the heat isn't too hot, which it probably is, and get a DIGITAL thermometer and hygrometer. Tub sounds a little big too. You also need to get a couple hides. Find a care sheet on here. Your pet smart pal doesn't know as much as he thinks he does.

[John1982]

Smaller tub, thermostat, leave the snake alone until it's eating regularly. I know it's tempting to always mess with her but you can literally kill these things with kindness. Once you have your setup dialed in and she's eating well, then handling is fine.

[ItsAllNew2Me!]

The tub isn't too bad if you clutter it and give her many places to hide. If you have her in a well lit location she may be really stressing so give her a bit more darkness with a blanket or sheet. Also you need to leave her alone as she needs to acclimate to her new surroundings. Get a thermostat a.s.a.p. I know when i first started out i wasn't told this from the petstore i bought my first snake from. The thing that probably saved me from trouble is I didn't listen to the petstore and by that repticarpet. Instead i bought coconut fiber bedding which looked better and common sense said it held more moisture. I packed the fiber down about a half inch thick and kept on testing it to make sure it held the correct temp with a temp gun. I actually was lucky for about a year when i found out the dangers of unregulated heat. I immediately went out and bought a t stat and dimmer combo for it. Been happy ever since. You definitely need a thermometer or temp gun preferably both. You can get both cheap from both walmart or amazon. I live in Wisconsin also with about the same ambient temps so it is possible to get your proper temps. I make hides out of bowls from dollar tree and cut holes with soldering iron (make sure you smooth edges). Clutter it up, leave her be, get your temps controlled and right and she should be fine.