A few questions about my new baby ball.

[cmore09284]

I just got a new ball python a few days ago, 3 days ago to be exact, and I just had a few questions. She is kept in a 10g glass aquarium:

-My temperature and humidity readings are: 91F warm side and 81F cool side, and the humidty is 67%. Are these ok?
-I have two hides: one on each warm side and cool side and a humid box sitting in the middle. I've only seen her in her hide on the cool side, should I be worried? I rarely see her outside of her shed.
-She also has "used the restroom" on the paper towels, but since it has been only 3 days, is it ok if I change them out, or should I wait for a week so she can get adjusted.
-One last question. She is kept in my room, and I usually do all my work up here with the lights on at night. Should I move her considering I usually stay up til about midnight-1am, or is it ok if I have the light on at night? During the day she only gets ambient lighting from the window. If anything, I was planning on moving her into my closet.

I know its a lot of things, but I'm just trying my best to give her the best possible and comfortable living arrangements. Any suggestions or anything would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for such a long entry.

[Smulkin]

Welcome to the site - I trust you'll find us a useful community/asset.

~If your temps are digital they sound fine. Also ensure you are taking the temp readings at the floor level (not midway up). Humidity could stand to come down a bit though.

~No worries they will go where they need to thermoregulate and being nocturnal you may not actually see the bulk of the action.

~I would swap out the messy towels as unobtrusively as possible - especially with the humidity being up where it is.

~Constant light will stress these animals out. If you are not planning on breeding they do not need to be on a strict lighting schedule but do keep in mind that they are by nature nocturnal - try not to burn the midnight oil too often or too late.

Have you checked the caresheet yet?

[cmore09284]

Yes I have, and thanks for the suggestion. I am going to try to clean up her mess, but she's always in her hide and on that side, so I don't want to stress her out by moving her around. What do you think?

[Smulkin]

As unobtrusively as possible- I would - clean when you have to and replenish water if needed.

[cmore09284]

Thanks for the suggestion. A black light at night will not hurt her right because she is blind to that part of the light spectrum? Anyways, I want to use one so I can see what she is up to when it is pitch black in my room. Thanks again.

[Smulkin]

Those work - depending on the cage setup/colors you might get better visible contrast at night with one of the red infra-red bulbs (don't buy the cheap coated ones as the red coating burns thin and you're left back at exposing your snake to the visible spectrum). They are not as fun or freaky as the black lights, I know - but in the event you need some auxilliary heat during a cold snap they do well in that department too.