Newbie from FL

[bigball23]

Well, this is my first post and first snake ever. Last month I bought my ball out of impulse and I couldn't be happier with it. I have known people with snakes and always thought they were fun animals; always wanted one. So anyways, I hope to learn a lot from this forum, I already have just from browsing. Here is my normal , (male i assume) I have yet to weigh or measure it.

The day I got it 4/11/13



Tank Setup




Feeding: 1 every 5 days. I think these are too small

Today




Thanks For Looking!

[Tonytheliger]

Thats a fun themed setup!! i like the carrots (:

[Gerardo]

Cool normal. I think he needs a different hide. Two hides with more privacy.

[Inarikins]

Very pretty boy! How are you heating your setup? The substrate is much too thick to provide any belly heat and those stick-on thermometers are completely useless.

[bigball23]

I'm not really providing any belly heat, I need to grab an under tank heater. But as of right now I'm just using the heat lamp. And which type of thermometer should I get?

Thanks

[Inarikins]

You're going to need an appropiate-sized UTH that will cover 1/2-1/3 of the bottom of the enclosure, a thermoSTAT to regulate it, and a thermoMETER to measure both your temps and humidity.

Budget thermostat:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...ords=hydrofarm

High-end:

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html (A Herpstat Basic is perfect for a single UTH and is definitely what I would recommend if you can afford it)

There's really only one thermometer that most people on here will recommend. It's a single unit with a probe, that will measure your hot spot, ambient temps, and humidity. Best part, it's available at Walmart.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Acu-Rite-I...mometer/896347

Here's a good topic that will help you get your tank set up so your little one will be happy and healthy:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...p-w-pics-*DUW*

[Inarikins]

Fuzzies are also much too small. I'm going to say your snake can take small adult mice or rat pups. To know for sure, you'll want a digital kitchen scale that will measure in grams. A perfect meal for your baby will be a feeder that is 10-15% of your snake's body weight. So if your snake is 100 grams, feeding a prey item that is 10-15 grams every five days will more than keep them satisfied.

[bigball23]

Wow, I definitely need to get a lot of things. Had no idea that this little snake would be so pricey. Haha thanks for all the information, definitely a huge help.

[bigball23]

I'm leaving for vacation in 3 days. that's not enough time to get a thermostat off of amazon to control that UTH. My substrate is very thick, but he could burrow down. So my question is, should i use the UTH or leave it off. i will be gone for 3 weeks.

Thanks

[Pythonfriend]

3 weeks?

what is the snake going to drink during that time? No food for 3 weeks is no problem, but no water for 3 weeks (if it dries up quickly), i dont know.

in that case i would go for less heating. slower metabolism, and the whole enclosure, including water bowl and the python, wont dry out so quickly.

with only 3 days left to test the UTH and then 3 weeks of absence, i dont know. Do you have someone to check on the snake maybe once a week, replacing water and checking temps and humidity?