New ball python owner, DIY tank in the future

[PhaneSoul]

Hello, im new to these forums. I am a saltwater person myself, I have 3 saltwater tanks and enjoy nature as well as doing stuff myself and researching. Sadly my brother passed away last week and I wound up with his bumblebee ball python. I believe its about 2 years old, its 40in long and about 1in in girth, maybe slightly bigger. He has the tank setup (55gal tall aquarium, 2 1/2ft long by 18in wide and 2ft tall) with a heat pad underneath the tank and a heatlamp from above, both heat sources on the same side, 2 hides, a water bowl that's about 4in x 6in oval and about an inch of cypress mulch. the temp stays at around 80 degrees and humidity at 40 (which I see I need to fix, but need to know what to do to fix this). What can I do to make this enclosure better? is there a better substrate I can use?

Here in the coming months I want to build a larger enclosure as I see recommended tanks shouldn't be aquariums, should not have open tops and should at least be 2/3 as long as the snake, which means im right about at that limit.

My ideal tank would be a 4ft long by 18in wide tank and maybe 20-24in high. I would like to also make this a planted tank, not too heavy though, just a few live plants to give everything the correct feel and a very professional look while providing an excellent habitat for my cool lil reptile dude. I also feel caring for the plants will help me keep the humidity in the proper range. Being a saltwater guy Ive gotten the knack of coming up with creative ways to keep everything simple and easy and live by the phrase "if its easy you are more likely to do it" and with that I need to figure out a good substrate. There is a reason why my saltwater tanks do not have sand in them, I don't want to clean them. I know this is a totally different situation here, but is there a more feasible and cost reductive strategy for a substrate then just to pitch the old and bring in the new?

What I am thinking about doing is lining the outside perimeter with some live plants. the full backside and 1/2 of the sides, so half of the whole perimeter will have plantlife thus refered to the grow zone from here. is it feasible to have the entire substrate soil? I was thinking either all soil or I would line the 'grow zone' and have a 4in partition separating soil from the proper substrate. the grow zone will have a automatic waterer plumbed in. for heating ill have ceramic heaters, 1 or 2 whatever I may need controlled with a heater controller, and for humidity an auto mister. heat from the lighting for the plants wont be a big deal as im very experienced with led lighting and plan on building a led fixture to focus on the plants, this lighting system will run off my aquarium controller and will include white, red and blue sections of the color spectrum, it will also coincide with the light cycle in figi as well as moonlights that correspond with the moon phase. The water bowl will also be plumbed in, since I don't like the idea of a automatic mister (then id have to clean the glass a lot -.-) im going to create a small water fall, more like a stream somewhere in the tank (the mister will be added if humidity doesn't stay where it needs to). then have 3 hides, a hot, cold and a wet (don't know how to make a wet hide yet but ill look it up one day). I would also like a branch or two or something for the snake to climb on for his amusement as I understand pythons are not the climbing type.

It should be understood im not looking to have a tank full of plants. Id like to keep it rather open and neat, the plants are moreso there as a background and to add a little zing.

How does this all sound? and first things first, what can I do to help raise the humidity for my not so lil pal?

Thanks for any help or advice! Im looking forward to this as its a different beast then my glass box pieces of the ocean.

[wolfy-hound]

Covering the top mostly with foil will help hold in humidity. Using undertank heaters on themostats rather than lightbulbs on top will also help. Those lights dry the tank out faster than anything else.

Thermostats for the heaters are essential. Also, balls don't need tons of open space, since they prefer to hide. Plants would help that indeed and you mention the three hides.

A good humid hide is a tupperware type bowl with a entrance cut into it, stuffed with dampened spagnum moss. There's a lot of ways to decorate the bowl so it doesn't look like a plastic bowl and if you've done saltwater stuff you probably know a lot of them. A hide on either end, and the temps should of course be a bit higher than 80.

A tool you'll find super useful is a temp gun to get accurate temperature readings. If you have those dial ones, just pitch them out, as they are notoriously unreliable.

If you look around, there's a sticky that gives some tips on how to make a tank better for ball pythons. I will say if you're going to use plants, you'd better find sturdy ones as the python will probably do his darnest to squash them.

The key is to think of what the snake would want, versus what a human thinks is great. So small dark tight hides, nicely warmed up with a cooler and hotter side to choose from and a secure environment is best. Don't fall into the trap of thinking like a human where you'd want a big open well lit pasture to live in. Ball pythons live in termite mounds and like privacy and security above all.

And very sorry to hear of your brother's passing. It's never easy to lose family.

[distaff]

My condolences.

BP's don't require a big enclosure. If he imagines he is tucked into a termite mound, he will be content; just needs some extra room to stretch out. The temp and humidity numbers are more important. T-stats are needed for ball pythons because they won't notice a dangerously hot surface temp, and will burn their scales.

A digital thermometer at each end of the enclosure is useful, as well as a temp gun. A temp gun is handy and quick for measuring surface temp.

Mulch is a matter of preference, no cedar, and pine is generally discouraged.

A humid hide is an easy to provide humidity in a dry climate.
____

Now, get this in place first. Let hem settle in and get used to him.

I am planted tank enthusiast myself. If you haven't read them, I suggest two books: The Art of Keeping Snakes, Philippe de Vosijoli, and Natural Terrariums, Philip Purser. I also find the info at New England Herpetoculture to be the most informative. Josh's frogs has some good tutorials too. Most planted viv information comes from dart frog and geko keepers, but it is a good way to keep snakes (why the de Volijoli book is so important)

[distaff]

You will find at least two other keepers here who do this, and have more experience with it than I do. (Also, they actually keep BP's, I have kings.)

You can get a head start on a planted tank now however. The plants do better if they have a couple months to get established before introducing the snake. You may decide to incorporate cultured springtails and sow bugs into the substrate. You will need a gravel base of at least one inch, and a fast draining soil-like substrate - ABG, or similar. Don't just dig up some garden soil; just won't work. You can spend more than $50 on this part alone, but the plants won't grow well if the soil mix is too heavy. I know that from my own experience.

I prefer to order from New England Herpetoculture, but I would call before placing the order to make sure they are not out of what you want. Also, plant inventories everywhere are low in winter. Plants ship fine with heat packs if the weather isn't too cold.

[Snake Judy]

I've been running a planted enclosure for about 7 months now. Here's what it looks like at the moment:



I recommend doing some research into bioactive set ups. That's what this type of enclosure is referred to in the reptile community and there are a lot of good resources around.

I used a mix of plain top soil, peat, coco coir, shredded sphagnum and a bit of charcoal for my substrate (about 4-6 inches deep), with a bunch of dried leaf litter on top. A lot of people like to include a bit of sand in their mix. The idea is to get a balance that will provide good drainage and stay aerated but also aid you overall humidity. Beneath the substrate I used a couple of inches of growstones for drainage. Hydroton/leca or plain old gravel are also options. For heating I've got a radiant heat panel connected to a thermostat, and for lighting I'm using a 6500K LED from Reptile Basics, but if I had to replace it I'd probably go for something a little more powerful like a Jungle Dawn.

The plants that thrive best in mine are the dracaenas. They're sturdy enough to stand up to any trampling and love the climate inside the vivarium. You mention wanting to keep the enclosure neat and open, but like another poster said, ball pythons really do best with a lot of cover, so don't hesitate to plant it up well and provide a lot of visual barriers for the snake.

I think you might find a water feature to be more of a hassle than anything. Some ball pythons have a charming habit of pooping in their water sources and I imagine that wouldn't be fun to clean. But if you can make it work go for it!

[distaff]

That is such a beautiful tank, Judy.

Plus one for Jungle Dawn. I have their smallest size running in an Exo Terra 12" hood, and have ordered another. I'll get a third Jungle Dawn in a larger size when I plant the bigger 30" tank. The one I have produces no discernible heat, and is very bright. Can't remember its energy use - 15 watts maybe?

Thanks for the tip on Drachneas (I always have to think a minute - I get them mixed up with dumb cane, dieffembachia ((spell?)), which IMHO should be avoided in all situations.) I'll order some for the big tank. My most successful plant so far with snakes is a sturdy potos(?)/philodendron(?)/epipremum(?, spell?)/scandanthus(?, spell?)... I get the fast growing heart shaped leaf vines hopelessly mixed up. The cuttings grow in water, and they don't care much about light levels, or humidity at all. A BP might snap some vines on occasion, but the plant just grows more from elsewhere. (The one I have was a rescue, and is now about 10 feet long - I keep cutting; it keeps growing.)

[Snake Judy]

Thank you!!

Yeah, I have a couple Dracaena fragrans and what I think is Dracaena warneckii. I also have a Dracaena marginata but will probably pull it out since I think it's a little too big and spindly for the space. All species in the genus get very large, but they grow slowly so I figure I'll just swap them out when they get too big.

Pothos is always a great choice for an easy to grow plant in practically any environment, good recommendation. I have a little cutting in mine too.

[PhaneSoul]

Thats an amazing setup judy, i really like it. Thank you all for your input. Like i mentioned i still have several months before this happens, im in the middle of upgrading 2 of my saltwater tanks now, they have to come first.

I was thinking of a neat enclosure because thats what the snake would want, but i like a jungle too and can make it look appealing.

How long do you expect the substrate to sustain Judy? And what does your maintenance routine consist of?

[Snake Judy]

How long do you expect the substrate to sustain Judy? And what does your maintenance routine consist of?

It should last years, though it may need to be topped up annually with more substrate and leaf litter as it breaks down. It's populated with isopods and springtails and whatever other microfauna has established itself. They keep it clean by eating mold, fungus, waste etc., though since ball python waste is pretty substantial I spot clean the bulk of it and stir the substrate around a bit once in a while. Aside from that my only real maintenance is caring for the plants. I like to give them a misting once a day or so and water them more deeply every few days as needed.

[PhaneSoul]

That sounds fantastic and definatly doable with all my other maintenance. I already have to top off the tanks once a day so misting would only fit in. I planned on picking up bulk waste after feeding anyways, that just seemed obvious to me.

Judy do you have a build thread of sorts? If not would you mind giving me a bit of detail on your substrate as far as what and how much you used, layered or mixed and any organisms you seeded it with? I know you mentioned a bit of this earlier but not in too much detail.. Thanks