Newbie here with introductions and a couple questions!

[atoms]

Hello all! We are proud new parents of a baby ball python! I have some experience with reptiles but never a ball python in particular. I have a few basic questions that I didn't see in a faq or in recent posts, so I'll post them here.

We have Darwin in a 20 gallon long tank for now with a large water dish, hiding spot and aspen bedding. We have 2 lights. One is a 60 watt daylight bulb on a 12 hour cycle and the other is a 60 watt ceramic we leave on 24/7 to keep it warm at night. I read they enjoy up to about 90 on one side during the day and not below 70 at night. Our 60 watt bulb seems to get one side of the tank (measured against the back wall) at 95ish. Is this too hot? He has a place to hide out if he wants.

Also, he has mites. Whoop-de-doo. We bought Mite Off and it was a joke. I returned it and ordered some Provent A Mite hoping it will actually kill the mites. What do you use/recommend for mites? Will Provent A Mite be a permanent fix?

Thanks in advance!

[AliCat37]

Congrats on your new baby!

First off, the lights and ceramic heater are going to dry him out, so you'll want to switch to an undertank heater. Make sure you cover the screen top with something unless you live in a very humid area. You can still use a light for viewing purposes though. 95 is a bit too hot, you usually will want it at 90 on the warm side.

Thankfully, I have never had an issue with mites on my snakes, but I had a lizard once who was full of them and broke-college student me at the time was told that baby oil or vegetable oil would do the trick, as it suffocates the mites. It worked for us! I'm sure other people here can lend you help with your new buddy's mite problem too.

Welcome to the forum!

[llovelace]

Welcome to BP.net
Read over this http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

If the snake has mites, just follow the directions on the PAM, you will also need to clean the snakes tank, and surrounding area really good.

[AtlasStrike]

You mentioned that the temperature was measured on the back wall of the tank. With a light and a heat emitter the temperature of the substrate could be MUCH higher than the air temp on the side. Grab a digital thermometer with a probe and put that on the substrate. I try to keep the air temperature at about 80F and the hot side hide at 91F. My cool side is about 80F on the substrate. UTHs are great, but if your house is cold, they won't heat up the ambient temp in a glass tank enough for a BP. It's a bit of a sticky situation, so you can play around with it a bit once you have an accurate way to monitor temperatures and humidity.

[atoms]

Here's what I am trying for now: Since there's adequate ambient light from outdoors, I removed the 60 watt full spectrum bulb and will just leave the 60 watt ceramic on 24/7 and see how that does. Humidity is about 30% right now, so that's the next thing to tackle. I'll try covering part of the tank lid.

Thanks again!