Young BP Husbandry/Enclosure Questions

[D-.No]

First off I want to say thank you for everyone who is been helping me out during this process. Roxanne will soon be 4 months and has been eating great, when I do pick her up she’s a doll but for the past 10 days or show she’s showing a lot of signs of shed preparation. But as a concern pet owner sometimes I am blaming myself for the odd behavior so here are the details of her home and if anyone has an opinion that I’m doing something wrong don’t be shy as long as you know what you’re talking about lol

The warm side on top of the (aspen) substrate stays at 85 to 88° (warmer if she wants to bury herself - 95 to 102°) cool side consistent 78°
Ambient temperature mid 80’s
Humidity is at 50 to 60 % but I raise it often as I always think she’s going into shed but never more than 75%
Usually more focused on keeping her humid hide nice and moist since she spends a lot of time in there. It’s not only Warm and moist but it’s a store bought hide where she can really anchor herself in and feel secure.
I have a couple basking areas (One suction branch on a heat pad, behind her hide and behind half her hidey log) and that go up to 100 to 105° which she occasionally utilizes.
But considering she’s cold blooded when I use my temperature gun she is almost always 80° (78 to 82°) which It’s hard especially when she is all up on the heat.

I’ve been managing probably not the best enclosure (too tall and no flat bottom/Contours in the mold) and our living area (basement) is probably more challenging than most rooms/houses to keep a tropical pet. But until we move I feel like it’s OK because this is temporary and I am home often. Aside from minimal work (I operate a business but cannot physically work at the moment so I’m doing less than 5% of what I will be doing after recovery) healthcare and physical therapy she’s my only responsibility. She get a lot of attention, more than she would need if the enclosure/space was more easily controlled. I actually have two heating pads (total of 4!) stuck on the vertical ends of her warm side as well to maintain the proper ambient.

Before every cleaning I debate about rebuilding a new home for her but by winters end she should be in a fancy 4 x 2 x 2 acrylic permanent home.

Am I doing OK in this?

Or should I use my newfound knowledge in trial and error and make her a new home no matter the cost/effort. I know they’re tough robust creatures and we’re not too far off from having a luxury home for Roxanne But her health/well-being is the priority here.

[D-.No]

Here are some photos




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[D-.No]

I know it’s ugly and very makeshift (it was much prettier & efficient before) but I made it several weeks before I got Roxy and this was the best I had and was tired of buying and drilling up things that I didn’t need. Late August the night before surgery I gave it a major cleaning but foolishly I did it alone and it fell apart. The UTH was caulked as well as the probe inside the enclosure, it was a disaster and I did my best and as quick as I could in my condition to rebuild.


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[Homebody]

The warm side on top of the (aspen) substrate stays at 85 to 88° (warmer if she wants to bury herself - 95 to 102°) cool side consistent 78°
Ambient temperature mid 80’s

I have a couple basking areas (One suction branch on a heat pad, behind her hide and behind half her hidey log) and that go up to 100 to 105° which she occasionally utilizes.
But considering she’s cold blooded when I use my temperature gun she is almost always 80° (78 to 82°) which It’s hard especially when she is all up on the heat.

I actually have two heating pads (total of 4!) stuck on the vertical ends of her warm side as well to maintain the proper ambient.

Am I doing OK in this?

The answer is no. Your enclosure is too hot. The maximum temperature in your enclosure should be 94 degrees. See our care sheet.

[D-.No]

She doesn’t burrow in her substrate ever. I started boosting the temperature because I noticed she was starting to push her body against the vertical heating elements so I told those down and upped the UTH.
There are some conflicting information out there even on this board about basking areas going up to 105° (she only has one branch that’s usually high 90’s
I can definitely try to lower the UTH but since my enclosure is a little on the tall side I fear that her ambient temp will drop.
So I’m not contesting your advice but if she is utilizing the entire space isn’t there something positive about that?
Also if I do take your advice and start lowering the temperature is should I do it gradually? Except for the neurotic shed behavior she seems pretty well acclimated to everything.

[D-.No]

And personally I don’t like the UTH That high but it’s the only way I can get a comfortable temp on top of the substrate. Again not having a perfectly fat base on the enclosure Is messing up a more evenly control 10


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[D-.No]

Also if I drop the temperature the cool side struggles to get to 74. I’ve read multiple times that under 75° can lead to health issues more than temperatures around 100. Any other opinions?


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[Homebody]

She doesn’t burrow in her substrate ever. I started boosting the temperature because I noticed she was starting to push her body against the vertical heating elements so I told those down and upped the UTH.
There are some conflicting information out there even on this board about basking areas going up to 105° (she only has one branch that’s usually high 90’s
I can definitely try to lower the UTH but since my enclosure is a little on the tall side I fear that her ambient temp will drop.
So I’m not contesting your advice but if she is utilizing the entire space isn’t there something positive about that?
Also if I do take your advice and start lowering the temperature is should I do it gradually? Except for the neurotic shed behavior she seems pretty well acclimated to everything.

First you should absolutely feel free to contest my advice. I kept a ball python for a couple years before he died of cancer. I'm no expert. Most of what I know I read on this forum.

That said. In my non-expert opinion, you need to lower those temps because you're risking a burn. Just because she hasn't burrowed in the few months you've had her doesn't mean she won't. Ball pythons can get burned by surprisingly low temperatures. Burns can kill. Even if it doesn't, you don't want to have to treat a burn. It'll be miserable for both of you.

Maintaining ambient temps using UTHs isn't going to work in a cold basement. I suggest you either move your enclosure somewhere in your house where the ambient temps are higher or start using a heat lamp. Setting up a heat lamp in a plastic enclosure isn't easy but it can be done.

Whatever you decide to do, I want you to know that I'm rooting for your success.

[Homebody]

And personally I don’t like the UTH That high but it’s the only way I can get a comfortable temp on top of the substrate. Again not having a perfectly fat base on the enclosure Is messing up a more evenly control 10

I know what you mean. I kept my bp in a plastic tub when I first got him. I used a UTH that was smaller than recommended so that it would fit in the contours on the bottom of the tub. My bp promptly got a respiratory infection. The vet recommended a larger UTH. It didn't fit neatly in the contours but it did clear up the infection.

[Albert Clark]

You do have the right idea but as Homebody said, ceramic heat lamp would be a better choice to help with ambient temperature. Heat mat does nothing at all for ambient air temperature. It’s only to have a warm spot on the floor of the enclosure where the animal can retreat to. If your reading 105F in areas of the enclosure I'm sure the temperature is even higher than that directly over the heat mat. Absolutely you have to tweak the thermostat and consider alternatives for ambient air temperature.