Heating Questions

[TanyaL]

I hope I'm not asking a stupid question, if it is, please forgive me for I only have the bp's best interest in mind.

It's going to be super cold here tonight (mid to low teens in central Florida), and our central heat/ac is out. BP was in the coldest room of the house so I moved her to the living room where we have a gas fire place. She is sitting on the table out of view of the dogs with a towel wrapped around three sides. I've got foil covering the top of the tank where the lamp does not sit. I'm the only one awake so it's quite with little light. (20L tank, UTH, red heat bulb, repti-bark, two new hides, foilage, branch and lg water dish).

Since she was hanging out on what was intended the cold side, I moved the heat lamp to help bring up temps to 85 and humidity in low 50's. Right now, the "warm side" (where UTH is) is at 77 with 38% humidity. So, basically, I've switched the two sides. Is that ok or do you think it might cause problems? Because she is coiled up under the branch and among the foilage, I wrapped a dark cloth around that corner to offer more security since she has yet to use either of the new hides (small white plastic containers). Acutally, since i put the foilage back in, she has not gone in her hides (even the original one which she used to hang out in often). If I had to make a stupid guess, I'd say she likes the foilage and the branch! LOL

Because of my personal medical condition, I can easily go without sleep, so staying up to keep an eye on this is not a problem if I need to. I'm really worried about the temp dropping if I turn the FP off or the humidity getting too far out of whack if I leave the FP on.

Also, I don't have an accu-rite yet since our Walmart didn't have them so I have one of those analog therms on one side and a digital on the other. I'm not super comfortable with the accuracy of either, but I'm sure they can't be too far off. As soon as walmart has the accu-rite, I'll get one. (Or, if anybody can send me one, I'll gladly send paypal payment.)

So, is there anything that I can do or change? Moving her to a tub is out of the question!!

Thanks,
Tanya

[bender29]

Well, if you have a Lowes in your area, they also carry the Acu-Rite thermometers.

So the temps are at 85 through the cold night? That isn't bad. Just keep those towels around the tank.

[TanyaL]

Yeah, right now the temp is about 85 but I think that is only because the fire place is on. Surprisingly the humidity is pretty stable. I'm about to die so I don't know how much longer I can stand it. But, I'll tuff it out as long as I can for the bp's sake.

The real question was it ok to switch the sides like that. We have not had her too long so I thought it might be ok. And, thankfully, it looks as if she might be accepting the new hides (white plastic dishes). I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I don't know why I didn't think about Lowes....DUH!! I'll make a run tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up.

One more question, totally unrelated.... how often do they shed? Is there a general time frame or does it differ from snake to snake?

[Chuck]

Shedding occurs anywhere from one to three months apart. How often they shed can depend on how much they are fed and age and other factors. generally first signs of an animal going into shed can be see on the snake belly and it skin appears milky looking. It is important durring that period that humidity be increased through the durration of the shedding process. Hope that helps

Chuck

[TanyaL]

Thanks, Chuck!! I read a lot about the shedding process, the different phases, the signs to look for and about increasing humidity but I had no idea how often they shed. Honestly, I didn't know they shed that often, but I guess it goes along with them growing, doesn't it? I'm just amazed at how much there is to know/learn about snakes. I had no idea!!

I'm sorry to ask such stupid questions....Some of you are probably getting a kick out of them but I really don't know a thing about snakes and since we now have one, I want to know as much as possible. If I am going to give a snake a home, I gotta give her a good one. In a nutshell, I don't want to be an irresponsible pet owner, like my sister!

[rabernet]

Tanya, we all started out with no experience with ball pythons, and we all had questions. The fact that you are here asking questions for the best interest of the animal is what's most important. It's clear to me that you have been using this forum to it's fullest potential, using the search features and asking questions when you were unable to find the answers on your own. We LOVE members like you!

[Hotshot]

rabernet dont love me im a pain in the a$$ lol