Hello all. I have been wanting a BP for a couple months, and finally purchased one on Saturday. I am near $350 dollars in, and want to make sure I am doing the best I can for my new BP -- even if that requires a bit more money.

He's only a couple month or so old (not exactly sure). He's about a foot long currently and housed in a 10 gallon terrarium...right now it is a good size for him, but I plan on upgrading sooner rather then later to a 30gal tank (Or maybe a plastic storage system, as I read those work much better).

I have covered +90% of the screen top with foil in an attempt to lock in some of the humidity and heat. I have thin carpet on the bottom with a thin layer of aspen substrate on top of that. I have terrarium moss scattered around to try help with the humidity.

On the 'hot side' I have a "night" heat lamp running 24/7. I was alternating the day and night bulbs, but I think the bright light overhead was too much, so I just run the night one now. I have a UTH also on the hot side, underneath one of the hides (A hallowed out fake rock). The UTH is regulated by a R-Zilla thermostat. My second hide is on the cooler side, and is a fake 'tree'.

I have a couple questions and concerns, and want to make sure I am on the right track to keeping my BP happy and healthy....

The last 24-36 hours, my BP has stayed curled up in the tree hide, into the tightest spot possible at the top. I read this is good if they are hiding, so I guess that is nothing to be concerned about? Is it a bad sign that he is hiding in the hide off the ground, instead of staying in the one on the ground, or using the lower base of the tree hide?

He ate on Sunday with no issues, and will be fed again next Sunday. If I plan on getting him out for feedings, and for occasional handling, should I remove the tree hide (even though he seems to like it) and replace it with another hide without a bottom? I don't want to stress him out, but I see no way of getting him out of the tree, as he is wedged in pretty good near the top. (I haven't tried, but it just seems near impossible if I wanted to)

I bought an infrared temp gun and scanned around all the areas. Originally under his rock hide (where the UTH is) the temp was 104.5 which I knew was too hot. After replacing the day heat lamp with the night heat lamp, and adjusting the thermostat, the temp dropped to around 93.5 on my last two hours later. The ambient surface temperature is anywhere between 86-90 on the hot side, and the cool side the lowest temp I measured was 76. Do these temps seem okay? And if I am not scanning the surfaces all the time, is there a very big problem with the temps running abit higher or lower for several minutes depending on if the thermostat has the UTH turned on or off?


Humidity when I first wet the moss is around 60% and by morning it is near 40%. How dangerous is it for the humidity level to dip down? Should I be misting more often? And also, do I take a big risk with mold by misting the terrarium moss and aspen shavings daily? Would I see mold on the ground and moss before anything like belly rot would set in?

And last but not least....how often should I be changing the water and the substrate/moss? I have seen a lot of variables there.


Any advise would be great! I have read some the stickies and tons of online information, so hopefully we're moving in the right direction.

Thanks!