I Need Help...

[greg728]

I just rescued a baby ball yesterday, the old owner couldn't care for it anymore and needed to get rid of it. I've had 1 BP in the past, so I'm not exactly an expert here and need some realistic advice/suggestions as I'm not swimming in money here but I can definitely care for the little guy. The snake was given to me (just the snake) and here's what I conjured up pretty much on the fly:

10 gallon tank, zoo-med uth, newspaper substrate, home-made hide from empty and washed out margarine tub, and a rock (NOT a heat rock) I used for my old BP

I have a shirt covering 1/2 the screen top to up humidity a little, but I have no thermometers or anything to measure humidity. (I had all this stuff but lost it and my bp due to a house fire)
The hide is light in weight and the little guy keeps moving it around; I'm trying to keep in on the warm side of the tank.

Is there anything I really need to know/do here?

I'm going out on friday to buy some more stuff but I'm on a $50 budget.

[L.West]

You can purchase an Accurrite Hygrometer at Walmarts for like $12.00 - this will allow you to monitor the hot side and the cool side temps plus humidity levels.

Sounds like the other stuff you have will suffice. You can add damp spaghum moss to the tank if you are having issues with keeping the humidity at a 50% range.

Thank you for taking this little guy in - I'm sure you will give him a good forever home.

Best of luck to you.

[Inknsteel]

You need to get something to regulate the UTH, so on your budget, go out and pick up a lamp dimmer from Home Depot, Lowes or Walmart. They're about $8.

Don't worry about the snake moving the hides around. I have one who just moves her hide wherever she wants to be in her tub. You may want to add a second hide on the other side of the tank though.

You can also pick up an Accu-Rite Weather Station from Walmart for about $12. That will measure cool side and warm side temps as well as humidity. It's a digital one and much more accurate than those sticky dial types you can get at the pet store.

Not sure how much a shirt laid on the tank is gonna do for humidity. I would recommend covering 2/3 of the screen with tin foil and use tape to hold it on (outside the enclosure of course).

[youbeyouibei]

IR temp gun, thermometers x2 (warm & cool side) and ditch the ZooMed UTH for a T-Rex Cobra Heat Mat or something similar. The ZooMed's are junk, from what of them I've used/tried. A thermostat or dimmer switch to run the heatmat would be a top priority.

As to keeping the hide on one side of the tank or the other, the little guy knows what he needs as far as temperature. If he's moving it, I wouldn't worry about it. Mine are in a rack and have two hides per tub but still move just the one from cool to warm side, so I wouldn't stress that part of things or if nothing else, just give him another identical hide so you have the same thing on the cool and warm sides. This will give you a rundown of what you might need:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

Hope that helps and good luck!

[AtlasStrike]

Do you have anything monitoring or regulating the temperature of the UTH? Those things, even the little ones get well over 100F. If not, that should be you #1 priority. Go to walmart and pick up an accurite digital thermometer with a probe and grab a lamp dimmer from a hardware store. Total, that should run you about $25. Get your warm side to an acceptable temperature of 88-90F. Until you have it regulated, let your little guy wiggle off that heat mat all he wants. Better a cool snake than one with burns in the short term.

Good luck!

[Aes_Sidhe]

What is your temp in room where You keep your ball ??
Zoo-med uht directly on the glass and just paper substrate could be too much You can easily burn him... (that could be rason why is is playing turtle and moving togetjer with hide what is totally normal) If You cant afford thermostat buy light dimmer so You can regulate temp of UHT.
Accu-rite temp/hygrometer is around 10 dollars and is fairly accurate... I't measuring temp in 2 pots ( placement of unit and you have additional probe) and humidity... If moving hide really bother You... exo-terra rock style hide is between 6.99 for medium to 9.99 for big. I dont see water dish in your description... You dont need nothing fancy.. regular round crock dish will do... It helps to keep humidity in right level... Make sure to change water at least every 2-3 days..

make sure that temps are around 87-90 on hot side to 78-82 on cold... humidity 55-60% (bumping to 70-75% during shed) and you Should be good to go..

Edit: Dang I'm slow writer... got ninja-ed by 4 persons

[AtlasStrike]

Aww, I like zoo meds. I've had some of them running for over 4 years. Never had any problems. I usually switch them out at around 4 for new ones, but so far they have been nothing but reliable for me.

[JLC]

Do you have anything controlling how hot that UTH gets? That's the biggest issue you need to be concerned about at this time.

Don't worry about the lightweight hide...let the snake move it around to wherever it seems most comfortable.

On your budget, I would suggest going to Lowes or similar hardware store and getting a dimmer switch for table lamps...it's like an extension cord that has a dimmer switch attached to it. Plug that into the UTH. It's not nearly as simple or consistent as a thermostat, but it'll do in a pinch until you can save up for a reliable t-stat.

Also, get yourself a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. They often measure humidity as well. They can be found at the hardware store or at places like Walmart. Place the unit itself in the corner of the cooler side of the enclosure, and put the probe over the UTH so you can make sure it's not getting too hot. Then dial in the best setting with the dimmer switch. You may need to keep an eye on it as the ambient room temps fluctuate....but at least you'll know it won't get TOO hot.

Lastly, if you get some coconut husk bedding from the petstore, that will help maintain decent humidity levels in a glass tank. A bit messy to set up, but good stuff.

You should be able to get all of that with your $50.

Welcome to BP.net!

[greg728]

Wow.... thank you so much guys. Okay, tomorrow I will pick up a dimmer switch and a digital thermometer from walmart. I'll look for one that can measure humidity as well. I laid down 2 or 3 sheets of newspaper at the bottom of the tank and doubled the amount on the warm side. Not sure if this will make a difference but I figured it was worth a shot. The temps around a good 70 degrees in the room it's in. Thanks again guys I really appreciate it!

[aldebono]

Saran Wrap works wonders for sealing!