I keep my considerably new ball python in a 20 gal glass tank. At first, I had her on a 75 watt white light for heat, but would only heat up her cage to 80° F, which obviously wasnt cutting it. I needed it to be at least 90. With more research being conducted each day, I learned that ball pythons would rather NOT have light, as they don’t like it. But I need a light, as the heating pad wasn’t doing enough for her. I decided to switch over to a red, 100 watt light and it’s been heating up the tank perfectly. She’s extremely active at night and somewhat active sometimes during the day. She loves to explore her tank. Therefore I think that the red light does not bother her. I only keep it on a 12hr cycle, and even then, the tank does get a little cold at night considering I keep my house cold, but unfortunately a red light is still visible to snakes which is why I turn it off at night. Should I keep doing this? If so, what changes should I make?
Because I keep her in a glass tank with a screen top, it is harder for me to have the correct amount of humidity, but I’ve finally stabilized that with putting wet towels on the screen and occasionally I spray the enclosure if it’s just too low. I enjoy seeing her explore, so I’d rather not place her in a bin. I’m focused on giving her the best life possible and she seems to be perfectly healthy and fine with what I’ve established for her. But because she can’t talk, I’m not sure if she’s completely comfortable. I keep the humidity about 50-60% but occasionally it gets lower than that, again of course because she’s in a glass tank with a screen top. I do my best to handle this and within a few hours the humidity is back to where it should be. The hot spot seems to stay at a steady 92°F when her light is on. She has 2 water bowls and 2 hides, along with many fake plants. She doesn’t seem stressed, as she eats like a champ. I believe that the substrate I used, which was only pure coconut fiber and some sphagnum moss, is not soaking up the moisture like other substrates can. One lesson learned so far.