Does my BP hate his substrate?

[JoshuaRStacy]

First time poster here. Me and my wife got our first ball python a little over a month ago. We had been keeping him in a fairly small tub with paper towels and just recently finished converting our bottom dresser drawer into an enclosure for him.

It seems like he doesn’t like the coconut husk substrate that we got for him. Every time we try to put it in his enclosure he pushes it away and sits on the bare floor of his enclosure and doesn’t move from that spot.

The substrate isn’t wet and his humidity and temp are where they are supposed to be. Could it be that he just doesn’t like it or am I doing something wrong.

[Bogertophis]

What kind of heat? (-if using UTH, maybe he's after the heat that's rising thru the floor?) Does he even have hides?

What are the actual temps.- lowest & highest? & how are you taking these measurements?

Housing a BP in a dresser drawer: what about light? Snakes need a day-night light cycle. (aka a proper photoperiod) Did you water-proof the wood or is this some other material?

[JoshuaRStacy]

I am using a heat pad. He was on the cool side when he was just sitting in one spot. I moved him closer to his warm hide and he is inside his hide now.

Warm side temp is 75.3 F and the cool side is 73 F. Right now his Heat pad measures about 92 F

I don’t have a light cycle yet. That is the next thing I wanted to tackle. Any tips on doing that in a dresser drawer would be great. How is it done in a rack system? I don’t believe this is the problem though because we have always kept him in this drawer just in a tub that fit into the drawer instead of the converted enclosure. He is usually much more active unless we put the substrate in his enclosure.

Also, he does have hides and some plant cover. And we have waterproofed his enclosure with a material that I found online is good for use in reptile enclosures. His Heat pad is under the waterproofing material.

[JoshuaRStacy]

Also he did finish shedding yesterday. I don’t know if this could have something to do with it. We have tried giving him coco husk substrate before and he seemed to avoid it the first time too.

[Bogertophis]

I am using a heat pad. He was on the cool side when he was just sitting in one spot. I moved him closer to his warm hide and he is inside his hide now.

All heat equipment belongs OUTSIDE an enclosure for safety (water & electricity don't mix!- water bowls get spilled sooner or later), so your heat pad is UNDER the drawer I hope? What we call "UTH" ("under tank heat")

Warm side temp is 75.3 F and the cool side is 73 F. Right now his Heat pad measures about 92 F

Way too cold! No wonder he is pushing substrate away & hugging the floor! (Are you taking the temps of the floor inside, where he touches? He needs roughly 78* cool side, 90* maximum warmth spot, & warm side ambient about 86*) Please fix this before you have a sick snake, & he won't be able to digest this way either. He'll be regurgitating food given.

I don’t have a light cycle yet. That is the next thing I wanted to tackle. Any tips on doing that in a dresser drawer would be great. How is it done in a rack system? I don’t believe this is the problem though because we have always kept him in this drawer just in a tub that fit into the drawer instead of the converted enclosure. He is usually much more active unless we put the substrate in his enclosure.

Might try installing some LED strip lights, but remember, BPs do well with normal room light from windows- they hate being under bright lights. And again, he's more active without substrate only because he's too cold, & substrate is keeping him from the warmth he requires & craves.

Also, he does have hides and some plant cover. And we have waterproofed his enclosure with a material that I found online is good for use in reptile enclosures. His Heat pad is under the waterproofing material.

BTW, you should have had his home completely set up & tested (heat, humidity, light & all) for not less than a week prior to moving him in. BPs tend to refuse food when stressed, as he surely will be this way. No offense to your creativity, but so far this isn't up to speed.

When snakes are in shed, they tend to prefer the cool side of their homes, btw, but afterwards, they need more warmth to digest, function & remain healthy.

[JoshuaRStacy]

He has access to his basking spot. He is on it right now. I cleared the substrate out of his warm hide so that he could have access to warmth. So although my ambient temps need adjusting, he is able to warm himself up on his basking spot.

Any tips on increasing the ambient temp?

The UTH is under the Polythylene liner in the drawer. I have a temp gun that I use to measure his basking spot and some digital thermometers that measure ambient temp and humidity.

[JoshuaRStacy]

When we got him over a month ago we had him in a smaller enclosure that I had up and running about two weeks before we received him. He always seemed comfortable and has eaten 3 times now without refusing. I will say that even though the temps haven’t been quite as high as you said in your reply they are lower in this new enclosure.

He has grown a few inches in the past month so we wanted to go ahead and set up his new enclosure so that he had room to move around a bit more.

Although I in no way think I’ve got it all figured out, I did not go into this blind and did do quite a bit of research before we got him. I am just trying to give him an upgrade and it seems like he is acting different. The biggest change was his substrate so that is what I thought the problem might be.

[Bogertophis]

...Warm side temp is 75.3 F and the cool side is 73 F. Right now his Heat pad measures about 92 F...

It's unclear how you are taking the reading for his heat pad, but fyi, it needs to be taken in the enclosure, & on the surface where the snake may touch, as temps. much over 90* can cause harm.

If the "warm side" is only reaching 76*, your heat source is inadequate for the size of enclosure. A BP cannot remain on a basking spot 24/7- they need to thermoregulate & do best at the temperature range suggested, not simply hot or cold with nothing in between.

And a big question: is your heat controlled by a thermostat?

Probably best your BP remains in his smaller (initial) set-up while you make adjustments, especially since he was eating for you while there. Hatchling BPs like small quarters anyway, & too large without adequate shelter or "clutter" makes many of them go off eating, as do low temps.

[JoshuaRStacy]

Yes I am measuring the temp of the basking spot from inside the enclosure right above the UTH. And yes, I bought a UTH with a thermostat built in. I have read that the UTH should cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the enclosure. That is what I have done.

I just moved him back to his smaller enclosure.

So how should I tackle the ambient heat problem? The enclosure measures 31”x 15” x 7” or 12 gallons (according to the online calculator I used) would a CHE suffice? Also last time we measured him he was about 22 inches long and 181 grams.

[Bogertophis]

Yes I am measuring the temp of the basking spot from inside the enclosure right above the UTH. And yes, I bought a UTH with a thermostat built in. I have read that the UTH should cover about 1/3 of the bottom of the enclosure. That is what I have done.

It's also going to depend upon other things, like how cold the room is, or how insulated the enclosure is. Every situation is different, so not seeing yours (much less being in the room with you), it's hard to advise. Most BP set-ups require individual tweaking- maybe you'll need a second UTH, set a bit lower?

I just moved him back to his smaller enclosure.
Good.

So how should I tackle the ambient heat problem? The enclosure measures 31”x 15” x 7” or 12 gallons (according to the online calculator I used) would a CHE suffice? Also last time we measured him he was about 22 inches long and 181 grams.

I don't see how you're going to make a CHE work in a drawer that's only 7" deep? Honestly, I don't see that working- the CHE would need to be caged so the snake cannot get burned by touching it, & you also don't want to set your furniture on fire- I'm assuming? (Remember that even regulated heat, over time, will dry out wood making it more flammable- I just can't picture that being safe?)