New to the forums - First BP!

[DPOrlando]

Hello all,

So I just took the leap and got my first snake - a normal BP from Petsmart. The girl said they had him for a few weeks with him feeding regularly on F/T mice with no problems.

My setup: 20 gallon long glass aquarium, a hide for each side, green "reptile carpet" for a substrate, water bowl, thermometer and hygrometer, and they talked me into getting a lamp for heat... Temperature-wise, everything was seemingly in the "normal" zone from everything I have read on here. Low 80's on the cool side and upper 80's to low 90's on the hot side. Humidity ranges from 45%-55% throughout the day.

When I moved him in (on Saturday), he did some exploring, then went straight to the hide on the cool side. All day Saturday and Sunday he never left the cool side hide. I read more on here yesterday, and found that most people suggest using UTH... which is what I thought, but got talked out of at the pet store. Anyway... I took "your" advice and purchased an UTH and rheostat yesterday. He let me handle him with no problem yesterday evening while I was fixing up his enclosure, so that's a good thing. Last night, I noticed him moving from the cool side, over to the warm side and back a couple times. That tells me he is effectively regulating his temp better with the UTH than he was with the lamp.... However, being an admitted noob, I could be reading more into this...

One other thing, he ate on Wednesday (last week). Given that I moved him in on Saturday, then rearranged his furniture yesterday, when should I first try to feed him? I was thinking I'd give it a shot tomorrow since it would have been a week.... but wouldn't be too disappointed if he didn't eat due to being moved around a few times.

So I hope you all see I'm doing my homework and plan to provide great care for my new family member. Looking forward to learning on here and getting any and all advice! (I'll attempt to post pics tonight after work)

[RichsBallPythons]

Welcome and be prepared for TONS OF INFORMATION. Many good Guys here.

[llovelace]

I agree worthless without pics

[blackcrystal22]

I hope it's a healthy petsmart one.. often times they are not.

What are you using to control the temperatures?
You should not have a wide range like that.. warm side should be 90-95F constantly and cool side 80-85F.
Pictures of the enclosure would be a good idea so we can run down some tips if theres anything that needs adjustment.

[DPOrlando]

Thanks for the replies! I can take the sarcasm! As requested... pics are posted below.

[frankykeno]

Don't mind them, we're all crazy for snake pictures. You'd think we'd get over this obsession but apparently not LOL.

Congrats on the lovely snake. BP's really are a wonderful pet if you understand their needs and the way this particular species likes to live it's life in captivity.

Just a few suggestions of things to think about.....

The green carpet stuff while nice to look at is going to drive you insane. It's a real bugger to keep clean, tends to let nasty stuff start growing in your enclosure and is close to impossible to really disinfect properly. You might want to consider a nice aspen which will still give you a lovely look to the enclosure but be much easier on you, better for the snake and very cost effective. Just remember to avoid pine and cedar when it comes to natural beddings.

The stick on dial thermometers tend to be sold at pet stores but also tend to be wildly inaccurate. Consider a reasonably priced digital (something like an Acu-Rite perhaps). Keeping steady temps and humidity is a must with this species.

I didn't notice if you had metal lid locks on that tank. Even with a tight fitting lid I wouldn't trust a snake to not sneak out. If you don't have some you can find them at any pet store. They are sold usually by the pair, are rated for the size of the tank and are generally less than $5.00 a set. For that tank I'd go with 2 pair just to be safe.

Welcome to the world of ball pythons!

[blackcrystal22]

Scrap the rugs for either paper-towels, newspaper, or aspen. The reptile carpets are a breeding ground for mold and bacteria.

Get yourself some thermometers with probes, and stay away from dials (they are extremely inaccurate).

I see a rheostat which is good, but useless without proper thermometers.

[blackcrystal22]

Don't mind them, we're all crazy for snake pictures. You'd think we'd get over this obsession but apparently not LOL.

Congrats on the lovely snake. BP's really are a wonderful pet if you understand their needs and the way this particular species likes to live it's life in captivity.

Just a few suggestions of things to think about.....

The green carpet stuff while nice to look at is going to drive you insane. It's a real bugger to keep clean, tends to let nasty stuff start growing in your enclosure and is close to impossible to really disinfect properly. You might want to consider a nice aspen which will still give you a lovely look to the enclosure but be much easier on you, better for the snake and very cost effective. Just remember to avoid pine and cedar when it comes to natural beddings.

The stick on dial thermometers tend to be sold at pet stores but also tend to be wildly inaccurate. Consider a reasonably priced digital (something like an Acu-Rite perhaps). Keeping steady temps and humidity is a must with this species.

I didn't notice if you had metal lid locks on that tank. Even with a tight fitting lid I wouldn't trust a snake to not sneak out. If you don't have some you can find them at any pet store. They are sold usually by the pair, are rated for the size of the tank and are generally less than $5.00 a set. For that tank I'd go with 2 pair just to be safe.

Welcome to the world of ball pythons!

Haha, you said the same stuff as me.. your just a faster typer..
But I'm pretty sure that lid is a slide-on. ;]

[DPOrlando]

Ok, thanks for the fast replies... so Aspen it is! Maybe I'll wait until after I (attempt) to feed him first before I go replace the carpet with Aspen.

I do have one of the zilla digital probe thermometers, it had just fallen off when I went to take the pics, which is why it wasn't on there. It seems pretty accurate (better than the stick-on).

The tank does have the slide on top. It has 2 plastic clamps on the back that keep it in place, and just to reassure myself, I have a small clamp through the two holes in the front of the enclosure.

[rainglow]

My ball python escaped 3 times, from me forgetting to lock the clips back onto the lid

Oh and more plants (plastic) would make your bp feel much more secure, plus make it pretty and I have a ton of fun decorating all my herp cages lol it's an addiction.