New Ball Python

[Skittles1101]

I'm sorry that you were so misinformed by the pet store. It's good that you came here, so welcome.

Start off by reading this caresheet thoroughly.

After that, please order some Provent-a-mite (PAM for short). It is in my eyes, the only mite treatment that is pretty much guaranteed to work. Until the PAM arrives, change the bedding to newspaper or paper towels. Take out any other substrate, and scrub the tank in a bleach/eater solution. Be sure to rinse it well. The snake should get luke warm baths daily, with a drop of Dawn dish soap in the water. Put the Dawn in after the snake, in case he/she starts drinking the water in the bath first. Soak her daily for 20 minutes or so.

As far as your husbandry, ball pythons are from Africa The hot spot should be at 88-92 degrees. The cool side should be at about 75-80 degrees. To achieve these temps, you should use an under tank heater (UTH for short) with a thermostat. If you are on a budget, this one will do until you can afford a better one. Until that arrives, (you can get the UTH from any pet store, it should cover 1/3 of the bottom of the tank) you should go to Home Depot, or other hardware store and buy a $10 plug in lamp dimmer to control the UTH.

You should have two tight fitting hides, one on each side, and a water dish.

These are the basics, can you describe your set up a little better? I know this is a lot of info all at once, but I really want to help you...