First snake, is my setup ok?

[Ivyjoe69]

Hi, i am a proud owner of a baby ivory ball python name Odin.

He currently lives in a 24(l)x13(w)x16(h) glass enclosure with a screen top. He is on forest floor with a corner of new zealand moss. He have a hot and middle temp hide with a large enough water bowl for him to fit in at the cold side of the tank. He also have a heat pad and a 50w red bulb on the hot side, also a thermo/hygrometer with a prob in the middle that reads between 27-30 celsius and 49-62% humidity in general. He shed once since i have him and had a little bit of difficulties since the lady at the store told me not to worry about humidity at all with those guys in the first place if he had a large enough water bowl, so he was more around 30% at the time. I had to gave him a bath and help him a little but the problem is that now he have a retain eye cap. Do i try to remove it or wait till next shed with humidity adjustments?

Which brings me to my other question, can i spray the tank every morning and sometimes afternoon with warm water (2 drops of aquatize in it) and put moss in his hot hide to prevent drops of temp and humidity or is it dangerous for bacterial growth? At what point do i have to worry about the ''wetness'' of the tank since i have read alot of terrible things about respiratory infections and scale rot? How to prevent it and keep humidity high at the same time?

Last question, i have a 48x18x24 terrarium for him so i was wondering when he will be big and secure anough for me to put him in without stressing him too much?

So sorry for this :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r:load of questions but they are so many different version on the internet and i am a bit lost, and sorry for my english btw...

I ll try to post a picture of the enclosure in my gallery.

[JodanOrNoDan]

Start here. There are other ways to do things but if you follow the sheet you will get it right the first time.

[Ivyjoe69]

Thanks there s a lot of care sheet out there, good to know that s a reliable one =). Do you have any answers for the other questions?? =P

[tttaylorrr]

Do i try to remove it or wait till next shed with humidity adjustments?

correct the humidity and wait for the next shed. once you start seeing signs of him going into shed, try to keep the humidity around 70%.

Which brings me to my other question, can i spray the tank every morning and sometimes afternoon with warm water (2 drops of aquatize in it) and put moss in his hot hide to prevent drops of temp and humidity or is it dangerous for bacterial growth?

daily misting is okay. as long as you're not soaking the entire enclosure it should not allow bacteria to grow. you should try to get your enclosure to the point where you don't need to mist daily, though. if it has a mesh top, cover it with tinfoil or clear plastic wrap to keep humidity inside. personally i find a wet wash cloth laid over a hide keeps humidity around 65-70% for a few days without misting; maybe try that out.

At what point do i have to worry about the ''wetness'' of the tank since i have read alot of terrible things about respiratory infections and scale rot? How to prevent it and keep humidity high at the same time?

you should not be completely soaking the enclosure; light misting until you see the substrate start to get darker from the water. as long as nothing is soaked it will be fine.

Last question, i have a 48x18x24 terrarium for him so i was wondering when he will be big and secure anough for me to put him in without stressing him too much?

when he's ready. you'll know when he's ready.

[JodanOrNoDan]

Unless you have experience I would leave the eye cap alone. Fixing the humidity will take care of it next shed. The heat pad needs to be regulated if it is not already. I do not and have never kept ball pythons in anything other than tubs. Tubs are easier to manage but can be considered ugly. For a size reference adult balls are often kept in 42 qt tubs. They do not require a lot of room and actually prefer to be "cramped". I consider a female to be of an adult size at about 1200 grams. They can reach that size in a year. Some grow slower some faster. Many of my girls are in the 3000 gram plus range. Boys tend to be much smaller.

There are others on here that are experimenting with tanks. I'm sure someone will chime in with specifics.

[Ivyjoe69]

thanks guys! I am relief to tell you the truth I was really worrying about this eye cap and bacterial thing.