habitat setup questions

[Whodinidunit]

Ok I want to make sure that I have my setup proper for my BP. I am first using a kitchen cabinet as the frame of it. I took the doors off and replaced it with plexi glass front. and a heavy gauge screen top. For bedding I am using cypress mulch. the cabinet has a upper level and lower level. on the upper level I have his hide rock right uner his heat light. The lower level I have his water bowl. The upper level by his heat rock the temp is aroung 90-95 degreeswhen heat light is on. drops to mid 70's when it is off.

Here are some pics of the tanks I built for him.










oh and here is my boy on the floor


so any hints, tips, trick are welcome, and also are the you're fine for now

[Nikki0326]

Ok I want to make sure that I have my setup proper for my BP. I am first using a kitchen cabinet as the frame of it. I took the doors off and replaced it with plexi glass front. and a heavy gauge screen top. For bedding I am using cypress mulch. the cabinet has a upper level and lower level. on the upper level I have his hide rock right uner his heat light. The lower level I have his water bowl. The upper level by his heat rock the temp is aroung 90-95 degreeswhen heat light is on. drops to mid 70's when it is off.

Ok as for the whole two level set-up I've never seen anything like it for what people have, I would think that its kinda big and the snake won't feel very secure though. Most of the people on here just have plastic totes as they are very affordable and easy to maintain temps/humidity. For the ones who use glass tanks it can be a little more difficult to maintain constant temps/humidity which is why the majority of the top needs to be covered. So while the tank you made looks very nice, it doesn't serve the needs of the snake. And heat rocks are a major no-no they can easily have hot spots and cause burns on the snake. Besides a heat lamp, you can either use a UTH (under tank heater which you can buy online or at a pet store) or flexwatt. And temps need to be about 95 on the hot and 80 on the cool. You dont want them to drop much lower than that or you increase the odds of your snake getting sick (i.e. RIs which will lead to a vet visit and some sort of meds), humidity should be about 50% when not shedding and about 60% during shedding (bump it up basically when you see their eyes start to cloud over). There are a few different stickys on shedding, temps/humidity and all that if you want to read more in depth about it.

[Whodinidunit]

it's actually not a heat rock, sorry it's a clay rock with a cave it was used when i had my beardie. the tank i am using is also the tank i had built for a mangrove monitor that passed away in June unknown reason why. it was fine sat and sun it was lifeless. I know I need another 1 or 2 hiding rocks/logs for him but i never thought the tank was too big. I figured he'd want room to move and not be cramped

[Nikki0326]

it's actually not a heat rock, sorry it's a clay rock with a cave it was used when i had my beardie. the tank i am using is also the tank i had built for a mangrove monitor that passed away in June unknown reason why. it was fine sat and sun it was lifeless. I know I need another 1 or 2 hiding rocks/logs for him but i never thought the tank was too big. I figured he'd want room to move and not be cramped

Ball pythons like to feel "secure" so they like smaller cages. It might work for a different type of snake (not 100% sure as I don't know much of others), but for a ball python it will probably just stress them out which could lead to feeding problems down the road. And I would imagine it would be a major hassle to keep the temps and humidity at what they need to be. Maybe you could look into getting a different pet that would be better suited for that type of enclosure (and make sure its cleaned very well if you had a pet die in it from an unknown cause), and look into just getting a tub. It might not be the prettiest to look at, but if it keeps the snake happy and healthy thats all that really matters. Im not sure what exact sizes are recommended, but they really don't need anything big. If you want something that looks a little better you can go with a glass tank just be aware its going to be more of an issue to maintain the temps/humidity. I believe a 20g is a good size for a younger ball while a 30g will basically be good for life.

[dr del]

Hi,

They actually prefer it a little snug from our point of view it seems.

Here are a few links to give you an idea of the way most people setup their enclosures.

Glass tank setup sticky

Plastic tub setup sticky

Ball python caresheet

Couple of questions if you don't mind.

What is the temperature inside the hot hide? What do you use to measure the temps at the moment?

Oh and what is the cool side inside its hide there?

We don't really recomend changing the temps on a day/night basis - was that what you meant when you said it drops to mid 70's when you turn the light off? It might be better to keep the cool end temps around 80-83 if you can.


dr del