Hey friends, I just recently purchased my very first ball python. I had done a ton of research on temperatures, humidity, etc.

After first using this inexpensive set-up, I was concerned that it was too easy and I had done something wrong. So, I emailed BHB reptiles (online snake market and YouTuber that many of you probably know about) with a description of my set-up. I got a reply from an executive verifying that this set-up was perfectly safe and reasonable for a ball python.

My albino ball python, Casper, is a little over one year old.

I began by purchasing a Rubbermade bucket from Walmart. No matter what the size, most Rubbermade buckets at Walmart will cost around $12. I bought one for this price with a locking lid to ensure Casper wouldn't escape. I'll let y'all figure out what size you need based on the snake. You will want to poke some holes in this container to allow for ventilation. I put holes in my cage ever 1.5 inches. Each hole is 0.5 inches in diameter. I don't own a soldering gun, so I used an electric drill. Make sure and clean out any plastic shards that fall into your cage. You don't want your ball python to ingest them.

I then purchased a small, white plastic basket. These can be found in the container section of Walmart as well. Mine is a little under a foot long and 6 inches wide. With scissors (strong ones) I cut open a doorway in this basket. Then I used duct tape to cover up the holes on the outside so that the enclosure would be dark (ball pythons like dark, closed spaces). Make sure if you have to cover up the holes on the outside with duct tape that you put duct tape on the inside as well. Otherwise, the sticky side of the duct tape will show on the inside of the cage and you risk your snake getting stuck. It's not dangerous, but cover it as a courtesy. Again, y'all can decide how large you want your plastic basket, what color, what style, etc. But my plastic basket cost me $2.

Now, that covers the cage and the hiding spot. Some people say that ball pythons need two hiding spots. I'll explain why you don't need two in a moment.

On to the substrate. At first, I was using some of the coconut dirt mixtures. While this substrate is perfectly fine, I highly recommend newspaper instead. It's much easier to clean and replace. Newspaper is also cheap or even free in most cases, whereas a bag a substrate will cost about $10.

Casper generally is in one of two places. He is either in the hiding spot, or he is hiding in the newspaper on the other side of the cage. This is why Casper doesn't need two hiding spots. The main reason that people say you need two hiding spots is to give your snake one hiding spot that is heated, and another that is on the cool side. Newspaper substrate provides the perfect cool side hiding spot. Your ball python will find a way to get under it easily. It provides an enclosed space for your ball python that covers him and will make him feel secure. No reason to purchase another hiding spot.

Now onto the stuff that y'all are probably most wondering about: Temperature and humidity.

Let me start by clearing up a common misconception. When I first bought Casper, I knew from research that one side of the cage needed to be hot, and the other needed to be cold. I didn't know the best way to do this, so I bought a heat pad to put it under the cage.

After setting up the cage and putting Casper in it, I noticed after a few days that the over-all temperature had stayed at 75 degrees. Anybody who has researched ball pythons knows that this could be a dangerous temperature for ball pythons to live in. That being said, my heat pad was set to 94 degrees. Casper seemed to regularly be resting in his hiding spot (over the heat pad) comfortably, and still explored the rest of the cage without looking like he was freezing. So, my question was, if Casper has a spot he can rest on whose ground heat is 95 degrees, does the over-all temperature need to be high, or does it matter?

I emailed BHB reptiles to ask about this issue. They told me that the temperature gradient I had heard about doesn't necessarily refer to a hot "side" and cold side. They told me that the most important thing is to have a heated ground area of between 88 and 95 degrees that the snake can rest at. While many snake owners will say that ball pythons need light to bask in, most of the heat that ball pythons get in the wild comes from the rocks that they lay on. Heat pads serve that function perfectly.

This saved me from spending an extra $30 on a heat lamp that I could not have even set up efficiently in my Rubbermaid cage.

So as a reminder, surface heat is different from over-all heat. If one half of your cage has a surface (ground) heat of 88-95 degrees, the overall temperature doesn't really matter. Just try not to let it fall below 75 degrees. Otherwise, your snake will always be hiding to stay warm. The heat pad was $17. I've added links to all of the Amazon purchases at the bottom. The size is up to you. I bought a large.

You MUST make sure that your heat pad is monitored. Un-monitored, the heat pad will heighten to temperatures of 110 degrees. This is dangerous for two reasons: 1, it could potentially burn through the plastic. 2, it could potentially hurt your snake. However, if you have a thermometer to keep your pad at or below 95 degrees, I guarantee neither of these things will happen. I don't know the highest temperature that the plastic would burn at, but there's no reason to test it out. Just purchase a thermometer. These are easy to purchase and plug into your heat pad. I just plug the thermometer into the heat pad and set it to 95 degrees. I place the thermometer probe inside the cage (poked through one of the holes) and place it under the newspaper, directly over the heat pad. This will give you an accurate reading of the temperature that is reaching your ball python's underbelly. The thermometer cost me $19.

To ensure your plastic doesn't burn, I would prop your cage up on rubber feet to allow for some heat from the heat pad to escape. I tapped my heat pad directly to the underside of the cage on the outside, and there is about a half an inch of space between the bottom of the cage and the area where the cage sits on. If you don't have the cage propped up, you risk heat getting trapped and burning the plastic. The instructions that come with your heat pad will reference this. I bought some rubber feet for $3.

On to humidity. Humidity is very easy to maintain in this plastic cage. Humidity for ball pythons should stay between 60% and 70%. To measure humidity, I purchased a thermohydrometer (link below). This is a device that measures both temperature and humidity. You don't necessarily NEED the temperature feature on this device, as your thermometer will maintain the proper heat pad temperature. It is, however, helpful for making sure your cage doesn't fall below 75 degrees. I mainly use it for humidity control, so if you want to just buy a hydrometer, that's ok too. The device I purchased was $10.

As far as decreasing/increasing humidity, I just use a plastic spray bottle. If humidity is low, I give a few misty sprays into the cage. Newspaper holds the water well. I try and spray in the area over the heat pad as well, since the heat mists the water and increases humidity. If humidity is too high, I just leave the cage lid off for a few minutes. It doesn't take long for the humidity to go down again.

And there you have it! All of that together costs only around $60! The snake itself is a cost you'll have to figure out yourself. Ball pythons run between $40 to $2,040. That choice is yours.

Feel free to ask any questions! I hope I covered everything. Amazon links to all the products I bought are below. Happy herping!

- John


Thermohydrometer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thermometer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Heat pad: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rubber feet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1