Advice for a New Owner

[Lachrimae]

This past March, I was given a female ball python from someone who could no longer keep her and as a new owner I have some questions that have been bugging me. I've researched the matters but there are conflicting opinions and "facts" about them on various sites, so here goes...

I know she's minimum 7 years old or more because that's how long the previous owner had her and she was also given to him before that but he didn't indicate how old she was at the time.

I'm not sure about the setup she came with. The terrarium is glass with metal mesh top, and based on pretty much everywhere it seems to be lacking in both humidity and heat. The heat source is a ceramic heater, which I've been told can cause the humidity to drop and various places seem to have different theories on increasing the humidity. I'm worried she isn't warm enough because she has a tendency to hide under her "hide" and against the glass near the heater. She has one hide, a cardboard box, a flat rock and a large ceramic water dish that I refresh daily.

She's calm and gentle and has no problems being held and prefers me to anyone else in the house and likes to drape around my neck, but I'm worried about stress as well since her temporary place until we finish preparing the new one is in the front room of the house which constantly has people moving through it.

I'm also unsure about feeding, though I've done research but it hasn't helped much. She has NOT eaten since I got her, though she had, I'm relieved to say, perfect shed just a week ago unlike the first one she had when I got her which took me a few days of carefully handling her and a warm gentle washcloth to remove completely and an unpleasant experience trying to carefully remove a stuck eye cap with clear tape when she wouldn't sit still. Many places have said they should not want to eat until the weather is warm (around may in my climate) and should usually be ready to eat soon after a shedding cycle is finished.

All in all I'm worried about her habitat and general care. I love snakes, she's the first one I have ever owned and she is incredibly sweet and has a fondness for my hair. I want to take good care of her but we don't have the money for some of the more expensive "solutions" some sites suggest, so what I'm asking is this:

What kind of general care advice can you give me?
How can I improve her habitat setup?
What is the best kind of heat source I can set up for her at a reasonable price?
Anything else helpful?

[Spaniard]

What kind of general care advice can you give me?
How can I improve her habitat setup?
What is the best kind of heat source I can set up for her at a reasonable price?
Anything else helpful?

General Care : Check out this care sheet if you have not done so already, it should give you some great insight into general care.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=43936

Habitat Improvement : You will want two identical hides for the snake, reason being you want the snake to thermo regulate properly. If the hides are different the snake may pick the security of one hide over the other instead of thermo regulating.

You will need to regulate any heat sources you are using with a thermostat or rheostat (dimmer switch). The rheostat will be the most economical solution but they do not fair well in houses that have unstable day/night temps. It can be done but will require constant adjustment and attention. Next step up from a dimmer switch would be a Johnson/Ranco on/off thermostat.

You may want to consider switching the CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for a UTH (under tank heater). Most commonly used UTH is flexwatt, and can be purchased at www.reptilebasics.com.

[Lachrimae]

Oh thank you!
The UTH looks perfect and affordable and the care sheets are much better organized and useful than the ones I've found elsewhere.

[Spaniard]

Most importantly...Welcome to the Site!

If you have any questions feel free to ask, and post a picture of your scale kid The folks here get a little rowdy without pictures

[kc261]

I would stop handling her until you get her eating.

I would go out an get an acu-rite or other digital thermometer/hygrometer so you can be sure what the temps & humidity levels are at. The one that seems to be the most bang for the buck is pictured in the link below, and can be found at most Walmarts for around $12. It will display 2 temps (one measured at the unit and the other with a probe) as well as humidity. Similar items are also available at Home Depot and Lowe's.
http://www.partshelf.com/acu00891.html

Once you have a way to accurately measure your temps & humidity, then it will be easier to determine what steps you should take to fix any problems. However, a good start would be to get a UTH and preferably a thermostat, but a rheostat (dimmer) is an acceptable less expensive alternative, as long as you are diligent about adjusting it as necessary. Also, to keep in humidity, most people partially cover the screen top. A few layers of aluminum foil works well and is inexpensive.

[Lachrimae]

Oh I never would have thought of the aluminum foil but that is easy.
As soon as I can I'm definitely getting a UTH and a thermo/hygrometer for her and we're almost finished setting up the place for her in a much quieter room. Hopefully with some quiet and adjustments she'll start eating.

As soon as I can find our camera I'd be happy to post a picture of her, and thank you all for the help I've been trying to sift through all the information that "professionals" recommend but we really can't afford their setups so its really nice to get some cheap and effective solutions from people who know what they're doing.

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Thanks for giving her a good home!

[Lachrimae]

I'm extremely happy to say that after moving her to her new place in a darker, quieter and much warmer room and giving her peace and quiet for a few hours she eagerly devoured 2 medium sized mice and settled down wrapped up in a fresh bowl of warm water for a while before retreating into her hide. I'm incredibly relieved to see her eating and happy to see her enjoying her water bowl instead of hiding like she was in her original room.

[Spaniard]

Glad to hear that she ate for you. A low traffic area is always a plus for their cages; they are shy creatures by nature and will often hide most of their days away. A ball python that is roaming its cage constantly during the daytime hours is most likely stressed, just as a side note. I hope you have continued success with her

[juddb]

My only advice is, to fire up that credit card and be ready for addiction to kick in