Hi all!

Last night I aquired my first ball python. Now, I'm not new to reptiles but this is the first snake that I personally have kept. I had friends with snakes in high school but none of my own until this point. I have to admit, this one has stolen my heart. I'm a member of our local herp society and last night was our monthly meeting. I came home with Zoe (whom I named) who is supposedly 2 years old. I don't have a weight or length on her yet but she does appear healthy. After she settles in I'll take her to the vet for a ultrasound just to be sure that she is not pregnant as she was housed with a male.

I have her in a tub that is 28"x16"x12". I am using a uth on a rheostat for heat, newspaper with eco-earth on top of it. I'm still playing with the temps but we've almost got it spot on. Cool is 79.7 and then hot is 89.5. I'm using a acu-rite digital thermometer with a probe and a temp gun. The digi is more for the humidity than anything as it's a hydrog/therm combo. The tub is simple, I don't want to overwhelm her. She's got 2 hides, one on the cool side, one on the hot side and a tupperware water dish in the middle of the tank.

I live in Seattle so humidity is generally not a problem but I am having trouble raising the humidity in her enclosure. I looked for some s. moss but couldn't find any. I am really concerned about it. How can I raise the humidity?

I'm also getting some seriously conflicting advise on lighting. The only thing confirmed is they don't need UVB. So, do they need a spot light in their tub/tank or not? There's a large window in the room that she's in and I also leave the light on all day. Is this adequate? If not, I can accomodate this.

Thanks a lot for your help.