BP Terrarium and Beginner Questions

[The Serpent Merchant]

Hey all! New to the forum but I used the care-sheets provided for some tips/advice. I was hoping to make sure I am prepared before I get my first BP in early February (so excited!). Attached are some pictures of my set-up. Thermostat with UTH on the right, red heat bulb on the left, two separate light switches controlling [one 2UVB 26W light (back right) and two 25W night lights (back left)], Baked Repti-bark, two water bowls, two hide boxes, and a Thermometer/Hygrometer combo.

My main concerns are that sometimes my hot side (left in the pictures) will get up to 92 F during mid-day (85 F at night) and my cool side (right in the pictures) ranges between 79 and 83 F. Also, even with spraying, two water bowls and a towel/plastic combo, my hygrometer readings sometimes get down in the 40% range. Stupid arid Colorado humidity. Are these significant problems?

And yes, I am very sorry that I did not take the plastic tub advice but I am hoping for just one pet as I am in grad school. Yes I heard that snake owners are notorious for not being able to have just one

Another question is should I buy food for the snake before I pick it up at the Denver Reptile Expo? A lot of posts recommend purchasing prey slightly larger than the diameter of the snake (but I won't know how large that is). I am planning on buying a female hatched in the past year or so feeding on F/T.


Thanks for any help/comments!










Extra Info: I have vinegar for cleaning the tank, plenty of baby wipes, combo lock, large hand sanitizer, and a great attitude! I also know I should let the snake chill for the first week, feed it, and then wait maybe two weeks before handling.

What are your temps normally? You want the hot side to be between 88-92 degrees and the cool side to be between 78-82 degrees 24/7. No part of the cage should ever get above 95 or below 75 degrees. Humidity should be between 40%-60% normally, and 70%-80% during shed.

BP's don't need UV light. Fluorescent lights can be used for viewing, but watch out for compact fluorescent bulbs as they are known to be harmful in some species.

Your pictures didn't work, you will need to upload them to a site like photobucket, then copy and paste the "IMG" code into a post here.

This thread goes over the process step by step: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...with-pictures)

Here are 2 good thread that you should checkout if you haven't already:

care: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

cage heating: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

Can you tell us exactly how you have your heating set up? (like what each heat source is doing for the cage)

For cleaning your cage I would ditch the vinegar and other stuff you mentioned. What you want is chlorhexidine, or F10 vet disinfectant. Both are safe to use around reptiles/animals, and will kill just about any bacteria in the cage:

http://www.reptilebasics.com/cleaning-products