Everyone here has been so friendly and helpful with helping out about my habitat dilemma, so thanks right off!

But, me being me... well I want to make sure I know as much as humanly possible before I bring home my baby, (some how about 16 years of research no longer seems adequate to me now that it's so close to home time!) but I have a few general interest questions left... Most likely silly ones. Also aggravated by the fact I had my enclosure set up for 3 1/2 days, but then had to tear it down to lend to a friend as a weekend emergency for two rescued pine snakes that couldn't be housed together until another enclosure could be properly snake proofed! (Get it back tomorrow, so it can be disinfected and set up for a day and a half to get temps right, and I have previous stuff all recorded).

1. When handling a new arrival, is it best to wait till they come out of their hide on their own while you're around... Or to just take them out of the hide? Wait about 48 hours before attempting to handle at all a good time frame?

2. 5% bleach solution to disinfect enclosure then rinse well, but can things like Lysol Disinfectant Wipes be used as well then thorough rinsing? Asking out of general interest as even the 5% bleach mixture leaves my nose burning, but I don't want to use anything that isn't going to be healthy for my girl.

3. Is windex okay on the glass surface? Rinsing would defeat the purpose, I have a custom set up with glass on only one side, but again... ??

4. Substrate that is *best* for lowering humidity, or should I just start with paper towel to ensure no mites etc? (Present ambient humidity in my house is 60.1 - when I tested the set up with exact settings and no substrate at all for two days it was hovering around 60.4)

5. I have to use bottled water because the water here is *extremely* hard (If you leave a glass of water out for a day and a half, there is a nice thick layer of calcium and lime deposit on any part of the glass that's evaporated - even I try not to drink it) is there anything specific to look for or avoid with bottled water? Does water have to be at room temp before putting in (as with fish), or if we decide to go with a water cooler can I get away with making sure it's just not freezing?

6. Does anyone know where an Acurite can be found in Canada? I've been looking everywhere to no avail and settled to test the temp using 1 regular combo digi therm/hum and a combination of three different precision analogue (two zoo med and a generic one) and two analogue zoo med humidity monitors... I put them all in the same spot and recording the readings on all three every 2 hours for 2 days (and yes, over night as well, horray for being a night hawk!)... Figured if I used the three and they all stayed within 2 degrees of one another it would be fairly accurate till I could find a good one..

7. My house typically stays between 70 and 80, but occasionally does go up to 90. What is the best cooling method for a custom enclosure with a 3'x3" screen at the back? Put a small fan on the one side or is there something more reliable? (I already bought a thermostat for the UTH, however found that it worked best if I attached it to a timer that only turned on at night for about 4 1/2 hours when the house drops to 65 and only on intermittently during the day).

Thanks so much to everyone for all their insight and experience... I've wanted a ball since I was 8 but had a mother terrified of them and mice, and then did not want to get one while I was still living in student housing. Now, at 25 after 17 years of waiting and planning I'm finally getting it and just feel so unprepared!

Sorry my posts are so long!!!! I talk on the phone for a living, it makes me ramble when typing!