Hey all, Ive been spending the last week or so reading through different ball python forums and i decided to join this one.

I also new to owning a ball so please do flame me, or what not. im just here to get some ideas/opinions to making my ball live a long and good life.

anyway, i have a 40 gallon breeder tank that i had bought with the intentions of making a fish tank. i never got around to it, and since i always wanted a python i got one. i had spent some time looking around my area for breeders so i could get a captive one but i had no luck finding any. i started going to my local petco, and i would look at the snakes there every couple days or so. after spending a week looking at one and holding her several times she looked like a good one to get. when holding her, she was very attentive, flicking the tongue around and had a nice somewhat firm grip when checking me out. she had no visible signs of ticks, or mites, no bad scales or discolorations, didnt seem to have any breathing problems, so i figured it was a good buy.

anyway, i have her in the breeder, i know its a very large tank but i have it covered with tons of hides, about 6 to be exact. i have a half log in her cool side, and she really loves it, i also have 2 medium size flowerpots, one in the cool side, and one in the warm, and i made a humidity retreat for her as well, taking a little tupaware container and cutting a decent size hole in it and inning it with damp paper towels. my last hide is in the hot side, and its a medium size coconut that i put some beaked moss around and in the hole in the top so no light would get through. she also has a paper towel tube that allows her to sneak out of her half log and be somewhat concealed as she wanders around the tank.

for substrate i put in repti-bark and just a little beaked moss that i dampen to try to keep my humidity up. she also has a pretty big rock type waterbowl, that i change every day. it sits under one of my two lamps that i use to keep the temp up.

for temp, it varies from 79-82 on the cool side, to 87-91 in the hot side. the ambient temp is 83-85. i had a under tank heater, but it stopped sticking so i was gonna buy a nice one with a temp control in a few weeks from walgreens to put under there.

for humidity, it never falls below 40, i spray around the hot side and middle of the tank with my little 8oz spray bottle once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and then 2 times at night, once around 830, and then 1130 b4 i go to bed. the humidity usually hovers around 50 to 60 percent, and like i said never falls below 40. i was having some problems at first keeping it up, then i used tin foil, shinny side down and covered about 3/4ths of the tank and duct taped it shut. on top of that, i put my 75w basking light over the water source, and i use damp moss as well. i make sure to look at the moss everyday to make sure that its not molding. in addition to my 75w, i have an infrared light that i keep on 24/7, it helps regulate my temps, especially at night when thats the only light on.

now for the snakes behavior. when i brought her home from the pet store sunday, and put her in the tank, she seemed to be ok. she spent the first 10 min seeing how high she could climb, then she just wandered around the tank, flicking her tongue and just checking the place out. after about an hour of this she found the half log on the cool side, and she went in. later that night when i shut off the 75w basking light and just had the infrared one on, she came out slowly and did some more exploring, she found the water and i guess got a little something to drink. she just put the tip of her head in and it looked like a animal trying to drink. i also saw her yawn when she first came out of the log. after about 15 min of exploring she went back to the half log and didnt come out till round 615 that night. it seems she likes to come out right b4 dusk here, 615ish and what not, she spends about 20 min exploring and the she goes right back to her half log hide. ive only held her once since getting her. i reached in lifted the hide log and picked her up. she seemed to be a little nervous at first, coiling into the ball, but she was fine after about of min of me holding her. i gave her a few pets and she seemed to feel a little better about me holder her. after about 3 min. i put her back, and she went back to her hide log, not coming out till around 6 again.

so thats just a little info. i have a few questions and any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

1. is her behavior normal for a new python being in a new cage. will she start coming out at night more often once she gets used to the surroundings. i know the breeder tank is big, but ive been told by alot of people who have ball pythons that the tank can work as long as i add tons of hides, and places she can feel safe in. it seems she just really likes to spend most of her time in the half log hide on the cool side.

2. i know humidity should be somewhere around 50 to 60, but is it ok, if just for a little bit it falls to 40-45, it usually falls that low when i go to bed around 1130 and wake up round 7. i go to bed with the levels at 60-65 and the spend most of the time at night around the 50-60 level, when i wake up it typically is around 45. i guess what im asking is that ok, i dont want her to die on account of that.

3. are my temps good. daytime hotside is 87-91 cool side is 79-82, ambient around 83-85, night temps, hot side is 85 and cool side is 79-81. im gonna get a nice uth in a few weeks so that should help with the belly heat although the repti bark feels pretty warm from the lights.

4. lighting, i use both lights from 8am to 830 pm and then after that i use only the infrared one. is it ok to have that one on at night, i enjoy seeing the her when she does come out at night but will she come out more if i have turned the light off. also, what are the rules with tv light, and ambient room light. so far i just turn my room light off when her basking light goes off, is this necessary? or can i leave my room light on a little longer after turning her basking light off.

thanks for your time, and sorry for the spelling errors, i know college students should be good spellers, but im kinda typing this quick.

also again, i appreciate any advice and help, but please, i only ask that you do not attack me or throw verbal insults or any of that kinda stuff, im hear for help not to hear a bunch of people start fighting over different ways to raise snakes. ive been browsing quite a few different boards these past couple weeks and one thing i like about this place is i didnt see any downright nasty fights break out. some of these boards, people just go nuts as if their way is the only to raise a snake, and then the thread becomes of place of fighting instead of helping the original poster out.

with that said, lol, ill get off my soapbox, and eagerly await all your thoughts on helping me keep my little girl healthy and safe.