New and first BP

[NewBP]

So last weekend I purchased a BP at a local herp expo. I had done a little research beforehand so I knew somewhat of what I was getting into. He is about 20in long and 59g. I bought him from someone who seemed to be a reputable breeder. When I got him home I put him in his new enclosure and he seemed to be fine. I have had trouble keeping it at a good temperature. I orginally placed a heating light over the screened side of the lid and a heating pad on the back side of the tank. (I had placed it on the underside originally but it got too hot and didn't heat the tank properly.) He seemed to be happy for the most part (or so I think) spending most of his in his hide and sometimes coming out to bask under the bulb. The humidity though was only about 50%. With the heat pad on the back wall temps were 82 ambient on the cool side, 91 ambient on the warm side and about 88 on the floor of the warm side. However the part of the log on which he liked to bask was about 98. So my plan was to ditch the heating light (60w purple) and just put the heating pad under the warm side. I have done that but the cage is ambient at about 78 on the warm and 76 on the cool while the floor under that pad is about 90 (I have it on a dimmer and have turned it down all the way.) He has also spent the past 5 hours, since I made the change, just moving around his cage so I am guessing he might not be happy about something. Would it be best just to put the heating back the way it was? or maybe something different?

One last thing he has not even yet for me and I have heard this can be normal. I bought him last weekend and the breeder told me that she had fed him a week before I got him. I tried to feed him f/t(what the breeder had been feeding him) last weds and he didn't eat so I tried again last night, still didn't eat. He hasn't eaten in two weeks and given his size when should I start worrying and when should I try to feed him again next?

Here are pictures of him and his enclosure before I moved the heating pad. After I removed the heating pad from the back I did cover it with black foam core. Also anything else you notice that I should change please let me know.





Here is the place he liked to sit which got to about 98.
This last pic he seems to like doing this but he fell a couple of times so I attached it lower should I worry about him hurting himself doing this.

Thanks

[Gene Collins]

Definitely put the UTH under the warm side but get a thermostat. You will see it said many many time on here...UTH hooked to a thermometer is not optional it is a must!! The thermometer probe you have measuring the warm side should be affixed directly to the glass above the UTH. Not with tape. Most people recommend hot gluing it down. It can burn and possibly kill your BP unregulated. You can get decent cheap one on Amazon. Avoid the overpriced garbage you find in pet stores. He sounds under fed as well. Hard to tell from those pics but I would say he is looking a little skinny. 20inches long and only 59g.....feed the poor fella!!! lol

Welcome to the world of BPs and good luck not getting bit by the bug that makes you wanna keep buying more and more of them

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

This is what I use until I can possibly afford one of the fancy HerpStats

[The Serpent Merchant]

It would really be best to get the UTH regulated by a thermostat.

UTH's don't effect the air temperature in the cage, so if the air temps drop below 75 degrees you will need to use a heat lamp to raise them.

Here are some good thermostats, stay away from the junk sold in pet stores:

Budget: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

High Quality: http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

You should feed your snake on a schedule (and stick to it even if he refuses) I would recommend every 5 days or every 7 days.

[KMG]

UTH's do very little for your ambient temp. You need to get it hooked to a tstat and still use the heat lamp. A 60 watt may be alittle much. Put it on a dimmer or try a lower watt bulb to get the right temp.Put the UTH under the tank onthe warm side.

You want a warm spot at 90-94(surface temp) and the rest of the tank around 80(air temp). Having an ambient temp of 90 probably means the surface temps are to hot. This may be an inaccurate number though because it appears your probe is mounted near the top of the tank. Your probe for the surface temp should be on the surface you wish to know the temp and your ambient probe should be about an inch from the substrate at snake level.

You should have one hide on each side of the tank and I can't see the water, where is it?

When it refuses food wait about four days before trying to refeed. You can refreeze the f/t once after a refusal as long as it has not been thawed for hours, I personally don't let it go more than an hour.

I like to use a IR temp gun to make sure the surface temps are where I want them.

[Kaorte]

Have you tried sticking that digital probe directly on the heat source in the tank? That is the temp you want to measure. The hottest possible the snake can get to.

Do yourself a favor and get a thermostat. It will save you a lot of trouble.

Cruising around the tank is normal for a new baby. Especially when you make changes to the enclosure and especially if it is too hot! Everyone else has made great suggestions so far. With a little bit of tweaking you will have it down

[NewBP]

The water bowl is in the center between the hide and drift wood. I actually forgot to include the pic which showed it and the second thermometer, which is about an inch off of the substrate on the warm side. It currently reads 79.4 (to cold?) the first thermom is about 2in off the cold side and reads 76.3 (to cold?). What you saw near the top was the hygrometer which reads 54% right now. Also I did buy an IR gun and the current reading of the substrate above the UTH is about 90. Are these numbers good? I guess my main concern with the heat lamp is the part of the log which he likes to bask on gets to about 95-98 according to the IR gun. Thanks for the help.

I will be ordering a thermostat tonight.

Edit: Here is the pic with the water bowl. On the second hide...does it need to be the same as the first because I read somewhere that it does...is this true?

[The Serpent Merchant]

76 is too cold, you should shoot for air temperatures around 80 degrees (78-82) with a hot spot of 90

That tape is on the outside of the cage correct?

[Kaorte]

76 isn't that bad. I keep my house around that is the ambient in my tubs. 90 is a good hot spot, but I urge you to leave a probe under the substrate, right over where the UTH is on the glass. This will tell you the hottest point the snake can get to. This temp should not exceed 95*.

Also, maybe it is just a reflection, but is there tape in the enclosure at all? If so, I would suggest removing it before you have to remove it from your snake. It'll happen eventually and it is no picnic.

[NewBP]

That is not tape. I think what you might be seeing is residue from stickers that I had placed on the cage when I was little. When I was young I had a tree frog that I kept in this. Anyways they are on outside so no worries. I read the care sheet and saw the no tape part. Thanks for the help so far. Just ordered the thermostat. So in trying to keep him to a weekly feeding schedule is it ok to wait another week before trying to feed him again given that once next week arrives he won't have eaten in 3 weeks? Also should I just keep trying the f/t?

[KMG]

The second hide can be different. Mine are.

Like said above near 80. I don't let mine get below 77. Once it settles in you will probably not see it basking on the log. That's not really a ball python trait if they have the proper temp in their warm hide. They seem to explore after you change things around though.

Your off to a good start.