New to snakes

[ballmom]

Hello all, I have been lurking for some time now trying to all the knowledge I can to ensure that our new addition would be well taken care of.

Little history, my 7 year old goes to after school care with a ball python breeder/hobbyist who on occasion brings them up to the school. So of course he wanted one. After about 6 months of him asking for it we decided that this was not just a fleeting thought that he really did won’t one. We made him read 2 separate books on BP's and tell us everything that they would need. I also made him watch videos of snakes eating to show him just what feeding them involved.

Well her name is Chrissy she is a female pastel and she has the sweetest temperament. She lives in a 20L with several hides (mostly to use up the space and make her feel more at home) I have used several suggestion that I found on this website on how to keep up the temp and humidity in her enclosure.(thank you all that have posted about glass tanks).

I will post pictures of her and her setup as soon as I get to work tomorrow (this computer is so slow with upload).

Again, thank all of you who have tried something found it to work and then told the rest of us.

I do have one question that I have not been able to find an answer for.

? Do you put the water bowl on the hot or cold side? and if it is on the cold side how do you keep the water warm?

Thank you
Amanda

[Danounet]

There is no need to keep the water warm. The water can go in the cold side just fine. If you place a water holder on top of something hot is not a good idea. specialy if your enclosure is glass, it will crack.

Your BP wont drink that much water unless is dehydrated and too hot in the hot side. She will drink occasionaly. The water is mostly to keep the humidity up.

[Karbon]

Always awesome to hear about parents like you making sure their young child is educated and knows what he or she is taking on! Kudos to you!

As for the water bowl question;
I have a 20gallon long glass tank for my BP as well. I put the water bowl over half of the UTH (it's a big water bowl) and the other half of the UTH is under the BP's hide on the warm side. I have a good layer of Aspen between both the hide and the water bowl so the snake won't burn himself. This way I get good temps on the warm side and good humidity at the same time. The water in the bowl gets warm, but never too warm.

If you're not having humidity problems, I don't think there's a need to put it on the warm side. The inside of the BP's enclosure shouldn't dip below 75 at any time anywhere in it. Preferrably not dipping below 80.

Hope this helps, i'm no expert, but I learned enough here to help out a bit. If I missed anything i'm sure someone else will fill you in!

[iCandiBallPythons]

It doesn't matter where you put the water bowl.. For instance in my racks the heat tape is in the back but I keep the bowls upfront. But when using a tank you can place the water bowl on the warm side if the humidity needs to be uped a bit.

[ssballow]

My youngest daughter turns 7 today! She loves our BP and frequently holds her. I hope you have a great time with your new snake.

[Kaorte]

There is no need to keep the water warm. The water can go in the cold side just fine. If you place a water holder on top of something hot is not a good idea. specialy if your enclosure is glass, it will crack.

Your BP wont drink that much water unless is dehydrated and too hot in the hot side. She will drink occasionaly. The water is mostly to keep the humidity up.

I don't really think this is true. I have to refill water bowls at least twice a week because they drank all the water.

Pretty sure they drink on a regular basis.

[ballmom]

My youngest daughter turns 7 today! She loves our BP and frequently holds her. I hope you have a great time with your new snake.

Tell her Happy Birthday

[seeya205]

Good job Ballmom! He will learn to respect the snake and treat him right!