Another noob coming out of his hide.

[DavidNDC]

Leo had his 1st shed and unfortunately it wasn’t the best. But humidity adjustments have been made so the next one is hopefully better.

He was able to get most of it off on his own but I used the technique discussed in the sticky thread and it worked perfectly! Still just a tiny bit stuck on his head but his eyes are clear. I’ll help him out with that after he gets a chance to let this meal settle down. Like most snakes I’m assuming, he’s not a big fan of his head being messed with.

Really looking forward to that T10 to ship so I’m not battling winter humidity issues with a gas furnace. But I’m hopeful the damp moss I’ve added along with the larger water bowl will help things while we wait.

Overall he’s doing great, it’s fun watching him observe us as we observe him!





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[savora]

That's such an adorable photo of Leo! He looks ready for the holiday dinners

I'm sure you already have done this, but I have the top of my tank covered with aluminum foil (save for a circular hole for the UTH to sit) and it does wonders for the humidity. Additionally, I have sphagnum moss strewn randomly on top of the Eco Earth substrate. I fortunately only have to mist (minimally) whenever I open the tank! Otherwise, I could leave it alone for days and the humidity wouldn't fall below 55%, it's usually around 60% to 65% though.

Ah, and my water bowl has a lot of surface area. I believe it's 7.5 inches in diameter?

I'm sure Leo appreciates the help with getting off the extra shed though! He's looking great

[DavidNDC]

That's such an adorable photo of Leo! He looks ready for the holiday dinners

I'm sure you already have done this, but I have the top of my tank covered with aluminum foil (save for a circular hole for the UTH to sit) and it does wonders for the humidity. Additionally, I have sphagnum moss strewn randomly on top of the Eco Earth substrate. I fortunately only have to mist (minimally) whenever I open the tank! Otherwise, I could leave it alone for days and the humidity wouldn't fall below 55%, it's usually around 60% to 65% though.

Ah, and my water bowl has a lot of surface area. I believe it's 7.5 inches in diameter?

I'm sure Leo appreciates the help with getting off the extra shed though! He's looking great

Thanks!

Yeah, for the 1st week or so everything was fine. Clearly that had a lot to do with the cypress mulch retaining a bit of the moisture from the bag. I've since added foil bubble insulation to the 3/4 of the top screen secured with foil HVAC tape and a bit of damp sphagnum moss. That along with the larger water bowl seem to be helping quite a bit. I've got some Eco Earth that we use for the Leopard Gecko that I'll mix in with the cypress if I run into any more issues. That stuff seems to retain moisture very well.

Other than that, things have been going great. Leo has turned into quite the celebrity in the neighborhood. My son has had a steady stream of friends over to check him out, many of which were deathly afraid of snakes prior to meeting Leo. I suspect there will be quite a few Ball Pythons asked for this Christmas within his circle of friends, I'm sure the other parents are thrilled.

He's been eating like a champ, up to 94g from the 70g he was at when we welcomed him home.

[savora]

Ah! My bad, I meant, CHE sits on top of my tank, not the UTH

Aww! Good for them! Let those parents know that if they need any advice with keeping their new pet, they can use this website (or even you!)!

When I was younger, my dad kept a few small herps--garter snakes, anoles, and salamanders. (He even let me, as a seven-year-old, play with the garters unsupervised! ) He'd done it since I was so young, I never even considered it a weird or awesome thing. Until I was bringing my friends over and they were amazed that we kept snakes!

Props to you for being the awesome dad of the neighborhood!