So I finally got my very first ball python Saturday, and I've already fallen in love! The pet store I got him from is one that I'm familiar with and felt safer going to than, say, Petco. They sold me the entire tank as well, so transporting him was simply a manner of putting his tank in the car, driving him home, and setting the tank up on its stand.

However, a few issues became apparent once he was all set up. The tank glass is very dirty and the screen top has unidentified gunk on it. He had recently shed and I could find his shed strewn around the tank. In fact, the tank in general seemed filthy. His poops hadn't been cleaned up, and I highly doubt that much cleaning is done judging by the fact that I have found TWO SPIDERS WITH WEBS COMPLETELY INTACT LIVING IN THERE.

Now, what really concerns me is that not only are there two spiders living in opposite corners of the tank, but when I lifted his hide to try to see if I had missed something while handling him at the store (god forbid, like mites) I spotted a small bug crawling up it. Now, I'm very new to keeping snakes, so I have never before seen mites and don't exactly know what they look like, but this thing was about the size of a gnat and black.

He eats Wednesdays so I was thinking I'd handle him Friday to see if there is anything I missed the first time. He seemed perfectly healthy at the store but the condition of his tank really worries me. I'm also planning on completely cleaning his tank (new bedding, washing the dust off of the fake plants, cleaning the tank glass), but I don't want to upset him while he's still getting used to not living in a noisy pet store.

The store that I went to is widely known for its fish, but they do keep other animals, and (I'd like to stress this) I felt okay buying from them since I've had good experiences on working with them. This comes as a total surprise to me that the tank was so dirty.

I would be devestated if it turns out my ball has health issues, or mites, or doesn't feel comfortable in his tank. It's only been a few days and I've already fallen in love with his little eccentricities and the way he came up to sniff/boop my hand while I was in there. I should probably also mention that he's pretty grown (around 2.5-3 feet, I think) in what looks like around a 100 gallon (my estimate) tank. He doesn't seem too scared of the space, so I'm fairly sure that the tank isn't too big for him. But I haven't seen him completely leave his hide, only stick one or both ends out of it. He also doesn't seem very sluggish or sick, he was actually quite inquisitive and sniffed around like a puppy after I moved him in.

If anybody could please give me advice on what to do or how to proceed (or even just how to clean his tank- it looks like a monster of a job) I would be extremely grateful.