Interesting beginning to owning a ball python, help???

[The Serpent Merchant]

Congrats! I don't know what that woman was talking about, he doesn't even look especially underweight. Good on you for taking him in. He was probably just lethargic from being too cold and poorly cared for. Definitely read through the threads (and switch him to belly heat, esp in a glass cage those bulbs won't quite do the trick), and in no time he should be all the way back to 100%.

What do you mean those bulbs won't quite do the trick? Heat bulbs provide belly heat just as much as UTH's do. Their only downside is that they are hard on humidity (but that is an entirely different matter). Heat bulbs heat cages better than just about anything. In most cases they make the cage slightly too hot (but that can be fixed with a simple light dimmer). UTH's come with their own set of issues. For one they don't heat the air inside the cage so if the room that the cage is in drops below 75 a heat lamp will be required anyway and the added cost of a thermostat which is not optional.