Swimming BP?

[Flyheight]

How heavy is a T8?

[Flyheight]

Note to self, frozen rats keep for at least 6 months according to some other forum members.

[jonarnold85]

Need to figure out where I'm going to source my f/t rats from.

I can vouch for Big Cheese Rodent Factory, as another member mentioned. I'm fortunate enough to live 10 minutes away from their location so I don't have to pay shipping charges, I just schedule a pickup. Their prices are very good (don't ever buy from a place like PetSmart or PetCo unless you're desperate!) and their quality is fantastic. They have a lot of very large clients (zoos, large scale breeders) but have always treated me with respect, even if I'm just showing up to buy $20-$25 worth.

[Flyheight]

I've paid for the snake (breeder is holding it for me) and ordered the T8. Before everything arrives and before I go pick up the snake I'm putting together a cheatsheet/caresheet for myself of everything I'll need to buy and some general tips to know.

Am I missing anything?

My BP Care Sheet

Tools:
-T8 (glass doors, with cage lock, got basking shelf too though I understand it may not be necessary; guesstimated weight 20-30 lbs)
-shims to keep T8 off table surface
-UTH (11" Flexxwatt comes with T8, is it enough?)
-RHP (http://www.reptilebasics.com/40-watt-radiant-heat-panel)
-Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer w/ probe (accurite)
-Herpstat 2 Thermostat plus fuses (comes with 2 temp probes)
-Water dish x2 (weighted on the bottom to prevent tipping)
-Hide x3 (entrance on top? All same style)
-Foliage/cover (fake, not live; e.g. log, suction cup plants)
-Climbing apparatus (optional)
-LED cage light
-Outlet timer for cage light
-temp gun
-hot glue w/ gun (for securing temp probes to cage floor)
-mini freezer
-platform/plastic floor mat to keep freezer off carpet
-sealant (non-toxic) for cage floor (what kind? recommendations?)
-rats (size?)
-Ziploc bags (2 Sizes, one for storing, one for thawing and poopies)
-tea kettle (no hotter than 110 F for thawing)
-rat thawing container
-hand sanitizer
-lint roller (for removing cat fur prior to handling)
-feeding tongs
-newspaper (substrate)
-scale (for weighing snake and food)
-notebook (for tracking snake feedings, weights, and poops, and any other observations)
-Temporary holding box to place snake in while changing cage substrate (can't use just snake bag b/c want this to also be a soaking box for stuck sheds)
-snake bag
-Power strip (don't put it on a switched outlet)
-table to set cage on
-chair (probably collapsable) to sit on while cleaning/reaching into cage
-Vinegar (combine 50/50 with water to wipe out the cage each time you change the substrate)

Resources:
-Herp Vet (Stahl Exotic Animal Veterinary Services)
-The Complete Ball Python, by Kevin McCurley
-Ball Pythons, by Catherine Sutherland
-Big Cheese Rodent Factory or Perfect Prey for buying f/t rats
-https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?165571-How-to-set-up-a-PVC-cage-(AP-T8)-With-Pictures!
-https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?31102-Ball-Python-FAQs
-https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?127203-Ball-Python-(Python-regius)-Caresheet
-https://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?30763-BP-Husbandry-FAQs
-http://www.slitherinsisters.com/ball-python-care.php
-http://reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Snakes/Ball-Python/

practices:
-cool side ambient 80-84 F
-hot spot 90-94 F
-Humidity 55-65%
-lighting 8AM-8PM (12 on, 12 off)
-when first acquiring the snake, give it at least 3 days of non-interaction before attempting to feed for the first time.
-thaw rats to 100 F, to ensure completely thawed, press belly to check if still frozen inside
-do not smack frozen rats on a surface to disentangle them, they will explode into a mess
-attempt to feed once every 10 days
-do not hit snake in the face with the rat, it will scare him, hold it a ways out and if he is hungry he will strike out
-don't let snake drag prey into water, when in feeding frenzy snake may drown itself
-if food is rejected, refreeze first time, wait a week and try again. if rejected second time throw out rat, wait a week and try again. Can also try leaving rat in overnight (place in front of hide entrance), but if left in do not refreeze. Can also try feeding at night.
-Do not handle snake without washing/rolling any fur off of hands first
-do not handle a snake for a few hours prior to feeding
-allow 48 hours after feeding before handling snake
-change water every other day (always close the cage completely while changing water so no escapes occur)
-change bedding weekly, when soiled, and 48 hours after feeding
-for a stuck shed, put snake in water that only comes halfway up the snake, let soak and then roll the shed off. Can also peel,but if peeling don't pull too hard b/c the shed may not have released fully so if it resists too much make sure you actually wetted that part of the shed. Instead of soaking can also try spraying with a squirt bottle
-off feed snakes can be checked for returning to feed once every 3 weeks
-don't need to worry about snake refusing food unless it starts to lose weight, or if it sits in the water dish constantly, or if it starts exhaling bubbles

Questions for breeder:
-How heavy is the snake (he told me once and I forgot)?
-What size rats does he eat?



In addition I have some final questions:
-Is the 11" strip of flexxwatt that comes with my T8 enough for a hot spot?
-Is there a recommended cage sealant?


Thanks much!!

[Flyheight]

Sorry for the searchable questions in the previous post, I was in a hurry and wanted to get what I did have saved to the thread.

1)It had better be enough, it was $35, comparing to how much you get on other sites for a given price that should be plenty
2)AP cages come with sealant
Tip for sealing: apply sealant after installing the RHP. Once the sealant is applied turn on the RHP and it should be cured in a a day or two

Addendum/Modifications
-Snake Hook (no need for gloves witha BP)
-Squirt bottle (for misting, helping with stuck sheds, and deterring unwanted feeding strikes)
-paper towel roll (for gently deterring unwanted feeding strikes)
-Wet wipes
-Water container (used/cleaned 1 liter bottle should be fine for carrying water from sink to room)
-hide size: aim for low height, light weight, one hole
-chemical hot packs or rubber hot water bags (for when the power goes out)
-spare UTH and RHP in case a prime goes out


-Snake weight: hasn't gotten back to me on that yet
-Feeder rats: gets feed one small rat every 2-3 weeks


Ugh, Firefox crashed while I was still writing this and I lost my progress. It may not look like much, but I was writing stuff down as I researched it. That said I THINK I remembered most of it.

[Flyheight]

Much progress has been made and I'm ALMOST ready to accept my new boople, Roll (formerly known as Kane).

But I'm hesitant about the status of my RHP. I have the 80 Watt (22.5" long) from RBI in my T8. I discovered that my room temp (~70 deg F) is too cold to support having the RHP all the way over on the warm side. In that position in order to get the cool side up to my 80-84 target my hot side was over 100. To fix that I moved the RHP to the middle of the tank, but unfortunately it's still not ideal. I get 80-82 on the cool side, 82-84 on the hot side (with a UTH provided hot spot surface temp of ~92), but in order to achieve that the air temp in the middle of the tank is 90, with a measured floor surface temp of 96!!! I used my IR heat gun to measure that surface temps. I have 4 different digital thermometers that I'm using to verify the air temps inside the tank during setup right now (I've double checked them against each other and they're all pretty consistent).

Given the temp variations I'm planning on getting a bigger RHP. I was debating the 120 Watt (32.5" long), but then I realized that these are the temps I'm getting in summer, so I'm thinking of going up to the 160 Watt (42.5" long) in case my room temp drops in winter (even though we JUST replaced all the windows in our house to be more energy efficient, I'm still in a corner room on the second floor with 3 windows).

With all that information my question is this: Is it ok for the air temp gradient to be almost exclusively decided by the UTH? Yes the UTH is primarily for spot heat, but a little bit will still convect out into the air from the hot spot. The 160 Watt RHP will cover almost the entire length of the T8 and thus should provide fairly uniform air temperature as far as input from that heat source is concerned.

[Trisnake]

Whether the temps are primarily designated by the RHP or the UTH does not matter, as long as you reach proper ambients and hot side temps and everything is thermostat regulated to prevent burns.

I think turning the RHP off for now and setting the heat mat at the temp it needs to be to meet minimal basking temps would help a great deal, then turn the RHP on (start with the lowest setting) and play from there to see what combination of settings gets you the temps you want.

Instead of focusing on meeting minimal cool side temp requirements I would focus on not exceeding a healthy basking area temp.

I have a somewhat similar set up for one of my snakes, as far as heating is concerned. I put most of the pressure of heating the cage on my UTH and let the radiant heat (in this case, coming from a bulb) take care of the ambients. I played around a lot with how to best get the temps I want and this is the set up that has worked best for me, but the enclosure is primarily glass, not melamine or PVC like the one you have, and may be easier to heat with the UTH than yours would be.

[Flyheight]

So, armed with Trisnake's very helpful information I have tried another configuration: I put the RHP all the way over on the the cool side and let the UTH handle the temp for both the hot spot and the air temp on the hot side and it WORKED!

Sort of.

By that I mean that I got the air temps that I wanted, but I've run into another problem, that I could use some advice on:

In order to get the air temps that I want (82 deg F) my RHP heats my newspaper substrate surface to ~96 deg F at the hottest point directly under the middle of the RHP (according to my IR heat gun). The floor below the substrate is only in the mid 80s so it's not like there's an awful lot of this heat energy at the high temp, but I'm a newbie so I'm concerned.

Is an above acceptable substrate temp (with a very low mass substrate) on the cool side ok so long as the air temps are fine??? Mind you these temperatures are all being generated from an RHP so it's not like I'm generating scorcher temperatures underneath the snake that would burn it's belly if it sat there. Is there anyone else on here who uses newspaper with an RHP? Or even just an RHP? Do/did you experience this higher surface/substrate temp than air temp situation? If so what did you do?

[Dawntup]

Hi, did you ever figure out the substrate temp/ambient temperature with rhp issue? Or if it is a concern? Curious about this...

So, armed with Trisnake's very helpful information I have tried another configuration: I put the RHP all the way over on the the cool side and let the UTH handle the temp for both the hot spot and the air temp on the hot side and it WORKED!

Sort of.

By that I mean that I got the air temps that I wanted, but I've run into another problem, that I could use some advice on:

In order to get the air temps that I want (82 deg F) my RHP heats my newspaper substrate surface to ~96 deg F at the hottest point directly under the middle of the RHP (according to my IR heat gun). The floor below the substrate is only in the mid 80s so it's not like there's an awful lot of this heat energy at the high temp, but I'm a newbie so I'm concerned.

Is an above acceptable substrate temp (with a very low mass substrate) on the cool side ok so long as the air temps are fine??? Mind you these temperatures are all being generated from an RHP so it's not like I'm generating scorcher temperatures underneath the snake that would burn it's belly if it sat there. Is there anyone else on here who uses newspaper with an RHP? Or even just an RHP? Do/did you experience this higher surface/substrate temp than air temp situation? If so what did you do?

[Flyheight]

Hi Dawntup, sorry for the long wait on the response. I never did get an explicit answer from anyone else about this, but my background in engineering leads me to believe it shouldn't be a problem.
The amount of heat energy held by the paper is just so low that it should be impossible to harm the snake.

I mostly asked because it caught me by surprise. I didn't expect the paper to be warmer than the base of the enclosure, but if I stop and think about it I have an idea about how it happened.

If you'd like to hear more about the physics behind it I'm more than happy to try to explain, but the short answer is no.