New Royal, have some questions/concerns

[Bogertophis]

From the mid-body size you gave, I'd guess that your snake can move up a little in the size of your next feeders. I judge the proper size to feed much the same
way as Lord Sorril has already posted. The reptile shop staff obviously mis-spoke when calling them mice...& since they deal with both, it's not a big deal as long
as they know what YOU want, and as long as YOU know what you're buying. As already mentioned above, ask them for the next size up, as what sources call the
sizes can vary quite a bit. Many online sources (of frozen) go by weights for just this reason...if you have a small accurate scale, you can do that too, if the shop
also weighs theirs.

[sur3fir3]

Since this post is about housing in a wood enclosure I will ask here. Can you use a UTH on wood?

[wnateg]

Since this post is about housing in a wood enclosure I will ask here. Can you use a UTH on wood?

With a thermostat, yes.

[Bogertophis]

Since this post is about housing in a wood enclosure I will ask here. Can you use a UTH on wood?

I personally wouldn't...wood is a great insulator...heat doesn't travel thru it & into the cage very well, plus it dries out the wood over time, making it a potential hazard.

[wnateg]

I personally wouldn't...wood is a great insulator...heat doesn't travel thru it & into the cage very well, plus it dries out the wood over time, making it a potential hazard.

While possible, this does make sense. Imagine trying to heat through 3/4" hardwood plywood. I don't know, doesn't sound too optimal.

[sur3fir3]

I personally wouldn't...wood is a great insulator...heat doesn't travel thru it & into the cage very well, plus it dries out the wood over time, making it a potential hazard.

These were my thoughts exactly, but some people say its ok. Im still on the fence on whether or not I would do it. I mean we do use it on melamine, but the difference is i'm not trying to heat up the melamine.

[Bogertophis]

While possible, this does make sense. Imagine trying to heat through 3/4" hardwood plywood. I don't know, doesn't sound too optimal.

Not only does the heat not rise into the cage efficiently, but it can also wear out the UTH faster, due to overheating in a confined space.
I also think this question belongs in a thread of it's own though...it's a bit off-topic.

[Epheli]

Thank you all for your replies, I just wanted to mention that my viv base is wood of some kind, about 15mm thick - in this case would it be better to put a heat mat inside the viv, underneath the substrate or is that just asking for a burnt snake?

[ballpythonsrock2]

Thank you all for your replies, I just wanted to mention that my viv base is wood of some kind, about 15mm thick - in this case would it be better to put a heat mat inside the viv, underneath the substrate or is that just asking for a burnt snake?

On this website we will give you a definite do NOT put the uth inside. And yes that would be asking for a burnt snake. Forget the UTH with the enclosure you have it would be a bad idea. I don't have a UTH and my snake gets along fine. UTH's are more necessary for snakes like Corn Snakes that in the wild lay on warm rocks or roads or objects. I don't think Ball Pythons depend on them like Corns. Just keep your ambient temps. where they need to be. Which in Celsius I personally haven't a clue.

In my opinion your pet store is (even though some who work there don't know as much) is leading you in the right direction. I think you can trust they got you started right. I use aspen but I change it out once a month. Never had a mold problem yet. Coconut Husk products are little better and can go longer. When you mist do it very lightly and not so much.

As far as feeding goes, yes it's a good thing to be started on young rats. You want to keep feeding weekly for now. And a good measure to go by is the biggest or thickest part of the snake needs to match the thickness of the rat. Or you can use the weight of the feeder equals 10-15 percent of what the weight of you snake. You said 297 grams so stay with rat pups till your snake reaches 350 grams then try and get weaned rats or something around 35-50 grams total. I personally like to try to hit the 10 percent mark. But no more that 15 percent max.

When your snake reaches 500 grams go to small rats. ( 50-89 grams )