I am new to the snake world....Be Gentle

[Ranger13]

I work at a pet store. I am a dog trainer. And lover of all animals. I noticed 2 baby ball phythons hadnt eaten and had lost 10 % of their body wght. So I took them to the vet. One is now on antibiotic injections.I am adopting her! Am totally in love and have a 40 gallon and lights and everything I need to house her(mostly donated)
I am super worried that I am gonna do wrong by her in trying to help.
I have read so much and talked to so many people I am mindblown! lol
She is not here yet as I gave her an injection today and thought itbest to leave her due to stress. My tank is staying at 80 degrees with no heater or lights. The basking light makes it about 92 in the basking area. Is that okay?
Only have newspaper as substrate right now, is that ok? looks uncomfortable? lol
You can see that I am serious, I hope. Any help or encouragement would help
Thanks

[Epic-Fang]

The temps seem about spot on, don't let the hotspot get too much warmer though. Newspaper works great as a substrate if your not going for looks. However you did mention that you adopted a baby BP, and a 40 gallon tank is going to be 'way' to big. Generally you can keep babies comfortable in a 6 qt plastic tub, might want to step it up to a 16qt or so depeding on her size. Adult males can be kept in a 32qt comfortably for pretty much their entire life, while females can usually fit in a 41qt. Also be sure that you have tight fitting hides for her too, the more snug she'll be in them the better. Also do you have a way to measure the humidity in the tank/tub you'll be keeping her in?

Anyway hope this helps alittle, and good luck looking after the new BP! Hope she'll start eating once she feels more secure.

[Ranger13]

Thank you for responding. I may need to keep her in a smaller.space. The humidity is 60 right now. I am hypervigilant at this point. She is about 5 months old but is small and very dark. She is active in the 40 but maybe I should get her a smaller s pace . I appreciate the advice! Im sure I will need more. I dont wanna have to force feed her again as I am reading how stressful it is on her!
Never thought Id be in love with a snake.

[Epic-Fang]

If you don't already, it's best to have two hides for her. One on the ambient the other over the hotspot. BP's will most always choose hide over temp anytime, so it's best to give her the option. Also I'm not 100% sure on this, but I hear a lot of back and forth over using heat lamps. Being the Ball Pythons are naturally nocturnal, the more commonly used methods are either a heating pad or heat tape. 60% humidity is alright, just recommend bumping it up to 70-80ish during the shedding process as it will help out a lot.

Always good to hear more people getting into this hobby, just be warned they're very addictive. I never thought I'd get a snake as my next pet let alone 9 of them within a 5 month period. Though totally worth it. If you have any other questions that need answering this is a great site for it.

[Mephibosheth1]

So, heat lamps tend to heat the air temperature, the substrate directly below, and lower the humidity.

Heat pads/Under Tank Heaters/heat tape tends to heat the substrate, but not necessarily the air.


I would recommend using a UTH. I peel the adhesive off, and then apply aluminum foil tape (not duct tape, but the actual metal foil tape) sticky side-to-sticky side. I then use smaller pieces of the same metal tape to affix the heat pad to the bottom of the outside of the tank. this way I can reuse the heat pad if the snake requires a new environment.

However, UTHs can be VERY unreliable in terms of temperature. I purchased a Hydrofarm thermostat from Amazon for about $35. The temperature probe is sandwiched between the UTH and the glass of the aquarium.


If you chose/prefer to use heat lamps, they should also be attached to some sort of controller. Lamp Dimmers work well, as they allow for the light to be toned up or down to provide the proper amount of heat.

Good Luck on your snake endeavors, and Welcome to the World of Reptiles