New BP, first snake. Thought I was prepared. Heavens no! Lol.

[Yaaeee]

Hello all (: I'm Yae & recently made the jump to purchase a ball python. I've wanted a snake for as long as I can remember. After moving out of my mothers house I was able to acquire one. I did a fair amount of research and decided a ball python would fit my needs. Because I work at PetSmart I was able to see all of our BPs when they came in. Awaiting the perfect one. & 4 days ago I found him and brought him home. I THOUGHT I did all my research but now that he's here I find myself overwhelmed.


He's in a 10 gal aquarium (the Zilla tropical starter kit)
Out of it I'm using the tank, screen, clips, heat mat, spacers, and the temp/ hydro gauge
im not using the repticarpet, heat lamp, or the dome
Yoshi is on ReptiBark substrate
He has two hides. One on the cool end and one on the warm end
The cool end has moss inside of his hide and around the back corner to help keep humidity up (given I live in the desert)
he has a water dish (plastic dog dish) in the center of his tank
i mist his tank daily or anytime I see his humidity drop below 40%
i offered him a small mouse once, but he refused so I'm holding off for four more days.


He is REALLY active, even during the day which I've heard could be good, or bad. Either he's healthy and hungry, or uncomfortable & something's wrong. Which is correct?
Sunday I pick up an accurite thermometer and a probe therm to keep a better eye on his temps than the dial gauge. I know I need a thermostat to regulate the heat mat temp, can anyone recommend a good one? Until then I covered his warm spot with an inch + of ReptiBark & unattached it from the tank, plus added the spacers. I won't feed him until I can regulate the temp better.
I brought him home on the 18th when should I try feeding again? I feed f/t btw. Also would switching to a 20L be a bad idea? He seems to roam & explore, but then 10gal is so small. Plus I think I could get a better thermal gradient if the tank was larger but I don't want him to feel insecure. ANY & ALL advice is welcomed. Ill post pictures ASAP. Don't wanna handle until he eats (:

[steve_r34]

im thinging hes a hatchling so 10 gal is fine and it also is the reason y hes prob not eating f/t to switch him over u need a good feed response witch will only get better in time as he grows u should try and feed live the 1st 3 or 4 feedings to get his response up .. as a hatchling he could eat anything from a mouse to a rat pup .. if the humidity is a problem u can cover some of the screen with a towel or plastic wrap whatever works for u .. hes gonna roam hes ina new place .. when he gets comfortable he will live in his hide all day

[hypnotixdmp]

OK, to go ahead and help you with humidity and gradient heat. Cover the lid about 80% of the way, this will hold the humidity in and hold heat in better. You can use stuff like yin foil or a damp towel to do so.

Next, he is still getting used to his new home. It can take 5 days or more for them to get comfortable, this should be waited out with very very minimal handling. Once he is comfy in his new home, you can try feeding once more. Do not for get to wait at least 24-48 hours after feeding to handle him!!

Also, as for the thermostat, check out spyder robotics or herpstat!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[greenacid]

Hello all (: I'm Yae & recently made the jump to purchase a ball python. I've wanted a snake for as long as I can remember. After moving out of my mothers house I was able to acquire one. I did a fair amount of research and decided a ball python would fit my needs. Because I work at PetSmart I was able to see all of our BPs when they came in. Awaiting the perfect one. & 4 days ago I found him and brought him home. I THOUGHT I did all my research but now that he's here I find myself overwhelmed.


He's in a 10 gal aquarium (the Zilla tropical starter kit)
Out of it I'm using the tank, screen, clips, heat mat, spacers, and the temp/ hydro gauge
im not using the repticarpet, heat lamp, or the dome
Yoshi is on ReptiBark substrate
He has two hides. One on the cool end and one on the warm end
The cool end has moss inside of his hide and around the back corner to help keep humidity up (given I live in the desert)
he has a water dish (plastic dog dish) in the center of his tank
i mist his tank daily or anytime I see his humidity drop below 40%
i offered him a small mouse once, but he refused so I'm holding off for four more days.


He is REALLY active, even during the day which I've heard could be good, or bad. Either he's healthy and hungry, or uncomfortable & something's wrong. Which is correct?
Sunday I pick up an accurite thermometer and a probe therm to keep a better eye on his temps than the dial gauge. I know I need a thermostat to regulate the heat mat temp, can anyone recommend a good one? Until then I covered his warm spot with an inch + of ReptiBark & unattached it from the tank, plus added the spacers. I won't feed him until I can regulate the temp better.
I brought him home on the 18th when should I try feeding again? I feed f/t btw. Also would switching to a 20L be a bad idea? He seems to roam & explore, but then 10gal is so small. Plus I think I could get a better thermal gradient if the tank was larger but I don't want him to feel insecure. ANY & ALL advice is welcomed. Ill post pictures ASAP. Don't wanna handle until he eats (:

Search amazon for Hydro farm thermostat. 32 bucks. It's perfect. 20 gallon is fine. I have a 5 month old in one and he loves it. Being active during the day is ok, I noticed with my boy if I hold him in the afternoon, he will be active less in the evenings. As long as he eventually retreats to his hide, he'll be OK. Also make sure you have small hides for him. They need to touch all sides of it when curled inside.

[MsMissy]

Putting him in a 20l won't hurt him at all of you think he 'needs' more space. He doesn't at all but eventually you will bump him up to one anyway unless you go a diff enclosure route. Since you work at Petsmart, aren't they still doing the $1 per gallon sale? I know here that ends in the 27th. If you do that though, add some plants etc to clutter it up. They like to hide a lot and will feel more secure.

The hydrofarm thermostat is good for a starter; easy to set up and inexpensive. If money is tight, it is the way to go. If money is not such an issue, a herpstat from Spyder robotics is the way to go. Given the margin for error on the hydrofarm <+\-4> if you go that way, start saving your pennies and try to upgrade to the herpstat later.

I too live in the desert, thankfully have had thunderstorms come through to naturally bump my humidity but it is a pain. The foil/tape trick is a godsend. The 20l will also allow you the space for a larger water bowl which will help as well. Until then, a spray bottle and/or a damp towel laid over 75% of the top will help you out.

Once set up, leave him alone for a while to get settled in before trying to feed. I too suggest live for your little guy, switch to f/t after he grows up a bit.

[Samii]

Also, when it comes to humidity I've found that using a cypress mulch helps keep it up. Originially I tried reptibark and aspen shavings and was finding that they were just too dry and I was having to most way too often. But cypress is a moister wood but not actually wet or moist to the touch so you dont have to worry about scale rot. Since making the switch my humidity is consistently up 10% more than the others. I don't even have to mist anymore. Because I do I have a screen top I leave damp towels on top to help with humidity. Just make sure there is room for air flow.

[vangarret2000]

Depending on what your climate is like you don't always need to worry about humidity as much as people do. Except during shed. You can always bump up humidity to help for shed. You don't want to be over misting either. Hydro gauges aren't always accurate either. Most of them are crap. I can't remember which ones go with the kit but I they are the little circle ones or the plastic strips they are junk. And don't use the temp gauge of those at all. You need to know the temp right above the heat mat, not on the side of the glass. The heat mat can burn your snake not the ambient temp.

If your Bp is small the 10g will work but thy do grow out of them pretty quick too.

If you bought him on the 18th you shouldn't have tried feeding him yet. When you get a new snake you let them settle in for at least a week. No touching and you don't need to feed either.

Don't have damp moss in his hide unless he is in shed. Such an included area could have humidity 90% in there.

You are on the right track. Just need a little tweaking and a little more research. You already said you are getting a new thermometer which is good. Do that ASAP because you gauge now might say 90 give or take but your mat could be 120 or more and that is bad. Even with extra substaright on it the snake can always burrow down. Keep up with how you are going and you'll get it perfect pretty quick it sounds.

[Yaaeee]

im thinging hes a hatchling so 10 gal is fine and it also is the reason y hes prob not eating f/t to switch him over u need a good feed response witch will only get better in time as he grows u should try and feed live the 1st 3 or 4 feedings to get his response up .. as a hatchling he could eat anything from a mouse to a rat pup .. if the humidity is a problem u can cover some of the screen with a towel or plastic wrap whatever works for u .. hes gonna roam hes ina new place .. when he gets comfortable he will live in his hide all day

Thank you!! He is a hatchling, I haven't got a weight or a length because I don't want to stress him out. I have not handled him at all, except initial examination at the store. He was doing fine on f/t at the store. I figured the stressful move I'd what caused the non-responsive attitude to his dinner. If I can't get him to eat after 2weeks, I will switch to live. Glad to know bring active isn't always bad lol! I saw a post on here where a guy made foul covered cardboard tiles which allowed him to remove sections as needed to adjust humidity. I plan in doing that when I get my Accurite.

[Yaaeee]

Putting him in a 20l won't hurt him at all of you think he 'needs' more space. He doesn't at all but eventually you will bump him up to one anyway unless you go a diff enclosure route. Since you work at Petsmart, aren't they still doing the $1 per gallon sale? I know here that ends in the 27th. If you do that though, add some plants etc to clutter it up. They like to hide a lot and will feel more secure.

The hydrofarm thermostat is good for a starter; easy to set up and inexpensive. If money is tight, it is the way to go. If money is not such an issue, a herpstat from Spyder robotics is the way to go. Given the margin for error on the hydrofarm <+\-4> if you go that way, start saving your pennies and try to upgrade to the herpstat later.

I too live in the desert, thankfully have had thunderstorms come through to naturally bump my humidity but it is a pain. The foil/tape trick is a godsend. The 20l will also allow you the space for a larger water bowl which will help as well. Until then, a spray bottle and/or a damp towel laid over 75% of the top will help you out.

Once set up, leave him alone for a while to get settled in before trying to feed. I too suggest live for your little guy, switch to f/t after he grows up a bit.

Thats what I figured. A girl at my job has one with a sliding screen she's willing to give me. So ill have one for as he grows. & Petco is having a 1gal sale. His tank is pretty cluttered atm, I'm hoping he feels secure (:
ill definitely check out both of those. Better to go with the more expensive than to have to upgrade and pay that anyway lol. I live in the AV too! I was thinking how the passing storm helped a little, but it's dried out somewhat again. Grrr! I'm going to do the foul on top, I've heard that helps wonders. He currently has a small water bowl, though it doesn't seem to raise it too much. & I haven't touched or handled him since he's come home im giving him at least two weeks no handling to settle in. He did fine on f/t at the store, but if he refuses food longer than 2wks, ill try live.

[MsMissy]

Thats what I figured. A girl at my job has one with a sliding screen she's willing to give me. So ill have one for as he grows. & Petco is having a 1gal sale. His tank is pretty cluttered atm, I'm hoping he feels secure (:
ill definitely check out both of those. Better to go with the more expensive than to have to upgrade and pay that anyway lol. I live in the AV too! I was thinking how the passing storm helped a little, but it's dried out somewhat again. Grrr! I'm going to do the foul on top, I've heard that helps wonders. He currently has a small water bowl, though it doesn't seem to raise it too much. & I haven't touched or handled him since he's come home im giving him at least two weeks no handling to settle in. He did fine on f/t at the store, but if he refuses food longer than 2wks, ill try live.

I have a spare 20 with the sliding lid as well and the foil/cardboard top all made up. I didn't like it because it's the short 20 so I grabbed a new one and oh darn, have a spare for the inevitable emergency rescue. These storms are helping us big time, you will see about a 20% drop in humidity in the tank once they go away. I'm on 2 hydrofarms since this is my expensive time of the year but will be 'requesting' herpstats for xmas. *grin* I don't mind having the spare hydrofarms since I'm a sucker for a snake on sale... just gotta get it past my husband. Which Petsmart are you at?? The one at 10th & Rancho or over in Lancaster?

If you end up needing live prey, the only good source for them now is High Country feed at Q and 20th East. Nice ppl, clean store.