New Ball Python Owner

[martin82531]

Hello,

I'm a fairly new ball python owner, and was wondering if I could ask some people who have a greater expertise than I, to give me some feedback on my current setup. I have also attached some pictures.

I originally purchased the snake on 05/05/2012 from Petsmart. The only issue I have had with the snake is during the first shed. The bottom part of the snake seem to shed completely but the top part I had to do some soaking in a tupperware dish for about 25-40 minutes a day for 3 days to get all the skin off.

The snake has had a wonderful appetite, just recently switched from fuzzy to small mice. I actually fed the snake his/her first small mouse today (first feeding after shed), the snake ate without any problems.

The only issue I think I'm having is the humidity. I have a water dish in the tank, and consistently keep a wet pillow case above the cage (please see pictures). I can usually keep the humidity between 40-55.

As far as the temperatures go, I'm currently switching out two different lights. I have a day white light (150 watt) and a night black light (100 watt). The left side of my cage is my cooler side which is usually around 78-83 degrees and the right side of my tank, the hot side, is usually around 87-91 degrees. I also have a UTH tank heater I have attached to the side of the tank. The stand I have now, the UTH would have zero space to let out the extra heat so I put the heater on the side.

Any feedback would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you,

Greg

[mschmied]

Everything looks pretty good. If you're having trouble with humidity try putting a humidifier in the room.

[Mike41793]

You wanna get yourself a thermostat to make sure the heating elements dont overheat the tank and burn your bp.
If you get a thermostat then you can attach the uth to the bottom of the tank and it will be fine. Once you do that you can ditch the bulb because that is whats sucking the humidity out of your tank.
Im not sure what kind of budget you have for a thermostat but this is a great one that will do everything you need:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/ve-200

This is what i have and it works great. Also its nice because once you become addicted to bps and need to convert to a rack then this t-stat will be able to run that for you too, no problem.

Other than that everything looks good to me!

[Daybreaker]

I would personally put that UTH on the bottom of the tank when you get your thermostat but I'm partial to belly heat vs. back heat.

If your bp ever has security problems (ie starts to become a fussy eater) I would keep in mind that you could black out 3 sides of the tank with construction paper, add more fake plants or crumpled up newspaper (not as pretty), and/or get some cave-like hides where there's not two open ends on each side since BPs like to be squished into their hides to feel extra secure.

I would ditch that analog thermometer as well as they've always been very inaccurate for me and get a digital thermometer (I like the Accurite brand, they're ~$10 - $12 at Walmart).

[martin82531]

You wanna get yourself a thermostat to make sure the heating elements dont overheat the tank and burn your bp.
If you get a thermostat then you can attach the uth to the bottom of the tank and it will be fine. Once you do that you can ditch the bulb because that is whats sucking the humidity out of your tank.
Im not sure what kind of budget you have for a thermostat but this is a great one that will do everything you need:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/ve-200

This is what i have and it works great. Also its nice because once you become addicted to bps and need to convert to a rack then this t-stat will be able to run that for you too, no problem.

Other than that everything looks good to me!

I really would like to get rid of the bulb, because like you said, it seems like that is sucking out my humidity. Do you think my UTH, that I have on the side is enough to keep the temperature were it needs to be? I guess the only way to check would be to not use the bulb? I would just hate to subject the snake to a sudden drop in temperature . Here is a link to my UTH.

http://zoomed.com/db/products/EntryD...=2&EntryID=113 (RH-6 model)

[Chained]

you may not be having a problem with humidity at all, if what im seeing is one of those cheap analog hygrometers in the middle of your tank. those things are not very accurate. try getting an accurite thermometer/hygrometer combo at walmart, mine cost about 10$.

Also, you could always try putting some little pieces of wood under your tank to raise it up enough to use the UTH on the bottom. putting it on the side will work, but it's very ineffective. heat rises, so most of your heat is 1)staying outside of the tank, and 2) what does make it thru the glass is just going straight up.

also, you dont really need the lights, as long as you have a window in the room, ambient light works well for BPs.

and dont forget a thermostat for the heat pad, those things can get mega hot if unregulated =)

[martin82531]

I would personally put that UTH on the bottom of the tank when you get your thermostat but I'm partial to belly heat vs. back heat.

If your bp ever has security problems (ie starts to become a fussy eater) I would keep in mind that you could black out 3 sides of the tank with construction paper, add more fake plants or crumpled up newspaper (not as pretty), and/or get some cave-like hides where there's not two open ends on each side since BPs like to be squished into their hides to feel extra secure.

I would ditch that analog thermometer as well as they've always been very inaccurate for me and get a digital thermometer (I like the Accurite brand, they're ~$10 - $12 at Walmart).

I do have digital thermometers, there not shown very well in the photos though. I actually have two, one for the cooler side and another for the hotter side. What your seeing is my humidity gauge, which is analog. I will look at getting a digital humidity gauge tomorrow.

The only issue I have at the moment with putting my UTH on the bottom is, my stand is too small for the cage and won't allow for any escape of the excess heat.

[martin82531]

you may not be having a problem with humidity at all, if what im seeing is one of those cheap analog hygrometers in the middle of your tank. those things are not very accurate. try getting an accurite thermometer/hygrometer combo at walmart, mine cost about 10$.

Also, you could always try putting some little pieces of wood under your tank to raise it up enough to use the UTH on the bottom. putting it on the side will work, but it's very ineffective. heat rises, so most of your heat is 1)staying outside of the tank, and 2) what does make it thru the glass is just going straight up.

also, you dont really need the lights, as long as you have a window in the room, ambient light works well for BPs.

and dont forget a thermostat for the heat pad, those things can get mega hot if unregulated =)

If I can manage to get the UTH on the bottom, do you think that is sufficient heat?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Check out this thread on cage heating:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...04#post1845904

Under tank heaters do not change the air temperature of the cage, because of this additional heat source(s) will be needed if the room the cage is in gets below 75 degrees. The thread I linked to above goes over all of this in detail.

[Chained]

If I can manage to get the UTH on the bottom, do you think that is sufficient heat?

As long as (and i can't stress this enough) you get a thermostat to go with it.

but yes, it will be plenty of heat. your BP will move from the cool side to the warm side as it needs, to thermoregulate itself.



i use this
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...ords=hydrofarm

you get a 1 degree up/down variation, but it's good enough, and works well if you are on a budget =)