First Time Snake Owner

[Talae]

I took a couple of pictures. The lighting in this room isn't great so I had to use the flash.

The temps/humidity are pretty consistent now:


You can see in this one that the thermometer was knocked over and he uncovered some of the probes wiring:


On the hunt:

[Talae]

What is a normal fluctuation in temps? My cool side only changes by a degree or so, but the hot side goes from about 88-96.

[AK907]

What is a normal fluctuation in temps? My cool side only changes by a degree or so, but the hot side goes from about 88-96.

How are you controlling your temps on the hot side? What is your heat source. You really shouldn't be going over 92 for a hot spot. 94 at the max!

You'll want to up your humidity during shedding. Your snake has quite a bit of stuck shed on it and you might need to help him off with the rest of it. Your snake should shed in one whole piece and this can be achieved by simply bumping your humidity up to 70-80% during the shedding process.

[Talae]

I have a UTH on the hot side that is regulated by a thermostat. I currently have the thermostat taped under the tank right next to the UTH, but would love a good explanation of how that probe should be affixed (an image would be even better). The thermostat is set at 87 degrees and is currently reading 87.2 degrees. The thermometer is reading 93.2 degrees. That makes me think that my problem is in the location of the thermostat probe.

[RoseyReps]

From what I have seen, you should place the probe directly in the middle of the heat mat. (using tape on the cord, not the metal probe area) and then secure the UTH to the bottom of your tank (foil tape works great here). So that it's layered from the bottom up UTH->Probe->outside bottom of tank.

[Talae]

Should I remove the UTH and reapply it in order to put it the way you suggest? I thought that once they were stuck on they should not be removed.

[RoseyReps]

Alrighty, well let me start by saying I'm a newbie too, and this is entirely based off of forum stalking and reading other's replies etc.

There are some people who put the thermostat probe inside the tank, on the glass bottom, under the substrate. My personal issue with this is the fact you should NEVER use tape inside of the enclosure, and as such this system lends itself to having a probe knocked around and not doing much good. I've heard some people reference using hot glue to keep probes in place, but I will not give advice to or not to do that as I have no idea what the pros and cons are etc.

There is a thread about removing a UTH
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Remove-a-UTH!
And also in that thread it shows you how to cover the sticky part with foil tape for re-using it.

I'm sorry I'm not more experienced / helpful, basically just mimicking replies I've read. I hope someone with more knowledge on this subject can interject for you.

[Talae]

Thanks for the info. I haven't done anything yet, but haven't seen the temps go over that 93.2 that I posted before. I will foil/tape the screen in hopes of increasing the humidity.

I am going to move his tank on Monday to the school and will move the probe in that process.

[Talae]

I gave him his first bath. He didn't like the idea of being picked up (he hissed at me), so I gave him a few minutes and then used the cloth to grab him. I covered him inside of one cloth while using a second to rub him and slowly remove the skin. He seemed content with hiding inside the cloth and only came out once to see what I was doing. I haven't been struck at again (yet), but to be honest, I am probably being overly cautious. The previous owner said he was VERY tame.

I took some pics:

Fibonacci trying to escape his bath



Some of the stuck shed


After


How often do you suggest holding him to get him to be used to me? Daily for a minimal amount of time (5-10 minutes) and build up from there, or is that too often?

[Kaorte]

In regards to probe placement: Keep the thermostat probe on the outside of the enclosure. Tape it to the middle of the heatmat. You can leave the heat mat adhered to the tank, it's really hard to get them off once you've stuck them on.

Make sure your thermometer probe is under the substrate right in the middle of the heat mat. You can use hot glue to secure it.

As for handling, I would keep it to a mimimum at first, then slowly build upon that. Maybe start with short 10 minutes every few days, then increase to every other day after a week or two. Always remember to stop handling on feeding day and for at least 24-36 hours after he has eaten.

He looks great now that he doesn't have that pesky stuck shed on him!

I'd love to see some pictures of him in action in the classroom (once you get them). I always wished my teachers had more animals in the classroom.