Questions From a New BP Owner

[Vayra]

Hi everyone! I've been wanting a snake for almost a year now and last week I was finally able to get one. I have a question or two about her tank and food that I was hoping you guys could answer.

I bought her a 30x12x12 tank, the temp on her warm side stays about 82. She has two hides and store bought tree limbs for her to climb on along with a water dish that seems about the right size for her. I don't know exactly how old she is, but she seems a healthy size and she's about 16 inches long. I know bright light is bothersome to them, I was curious about keeping them on a day/night cycle. I have two lights, a bluish one for 'day' that is brighter and a low light, reddish, one for night. Generally the only light that is on in that room is their lamp. Will the bright light during the day be stressful to her or is this setup alright, alternating between a bright and dim light for day and night? Also, is it a problem if the humidity isn't consistent throughout the tank? Her cooler side has 50-60% while her warm side generally is 30-40% as a result of her light. Also, she seems (that I have noticed, I don't watch her a whole lot during the day) to spend most of her time during the day in her cooler hide and at night, she'll curl up on the branch/ground right under the lamp or over the under tank heater (she doesn't just curl up there, she explores and climbs around the rest of her cage too). The temperatures, for as far as I can tell, stay the same within a 1-2 degree difference. Does this mean her tank is either too hot or to cold or is this behavior normal?

Also, I got her just over a week ago, just after she'd eaten, and today is feeding day. I haven't fed her yet, but I was looking at the frozen mice I bought for her. They are fuzzies and the lady at the store says she eats 2-3 at a feeding. They seem kind of small for her, honestly, and from what I've read people only talk about feeding ball python's 1-2 mice a feeding. What size food should she be on? And if I make a guess as to size, for her food, and it's too big will she hurt herself eating it or would it just be a case of she refuses to eat (and of course I'd have something smaller to offer her after if this was what would happen)? I will be feeding her the mice I have this week, but I didn't know if I should maybe buy bigger for next week.

Sorry for the long post and excessive detail, but I've never owned a snake before and I'd really like to make sure her new tank and everything is good for her.

Edit: Also, as a note, her under tank heater and heat lamp are on the same side of the tank, which I assume is correct? If I'm wrong, please let me know.

[Cissin]

First off you need a hot and a cold side. Not just an average temperature in the tank. The hot side should be about 90-92, and the cold side should be about 80-82, and the humidity in the 60's. Also feed prey items about the same size of the widest part of the snakes body. It might look like there is no way the snake would be able to swallow it but they will. Also try to get it onto Rats if it's not already. You need a thermostat to regulate the UTH's temperature. The Zilla 11939 Temperature Controller is a great thermostat and it's pretty cheap. You can find it on amazon. I got mine for 21$ shipped. Also how are you measuring the temperatures? Wal-Mart carries an AcuRite Indoor / Outdoor Thermometer. It measures 2 temperatures and humidity. Costs about 12$. You place the probe on the hot spot and the actual unit on the opposite side of the tank to get the cold side. It's a must you fix your temps because snakes need to be able to regulate their body temperature. Without the right heat the snake will not be able to digest it's meal correctly.

[Vayra]

I am a bit confused about that, because most care sheets (including the one here) says low 80s as opposed to 90 for the warm side? I'm just using the Zilla Humidity and Temperature Gauge but digital would probably be better, I'm going to walmarts soon so I'll pick one up. I'll look into getting her on a rat that seems the right size soon instead of multiple mice, then, that does seem to be the recommendation on most sites I'm looking at. I'll look into getting a thermostat for my heating pad soon. Thank you for the help!

[Cissin]

Also I just saw where you saw the 80 degree thing. That's the ambient temperature. That's the temperature basically all inside your enclosure. The 90 degree thing is the basking spot where your snake will spend the majority of its time. Snakes need that belly heat. The care sheet on here is just fine, you just read it wrong.

Hot side is for sure 88-92 degrees. The cool side is 80-82 degrees. You really need to buy a thermostat to to control the temperature of the heat pad. The Zilla one I mentioned is just fine and is pretty cheap. You plug the heat pad into the Zilla thermostat and you set it to a temperature. It basically turns the heat pad on and off by itself to keep the heat pad at the temperature you want. So you use that along with the thermometer I mentioned to get the temperatures just right.

Check out this site. Will help a whole bunch.

http://www.worldofballpythons.com/py...us/care-sheet/

[Cissin]

Personally if you have the receipt I'd take the tank and the lamp back. Tanks are hard to control temperature and humidity. You can save yourself a ton of money by just buying a Rubbermaid Or Sterilite tub from Wal-Mart or Target. The majority of people use these over tanks. Yes they are not as pretty but they work so much better and are great at controlling temperature and humidity.

[Crazymonkee]

I am a bit confused about that, because most care sheets (including the one here) says low 80s as opposed to 90 for the warm side? I'm just using the Zilla Humidity and Temperature Gauge but digital would probably be better, I'm going to walmarts soon so I'll pick one up. I'll look into getting her on a rat that seems the right size soon instead of multiple mice, then, that does seem to be the recommendation on most sites I'm looking at. I'll look into getting a thermostat for my heating pad soon. Thank you for the help!

Actually the care sheet here states warm side 88-94. Not sure where you were reading.
If you can't get a thermostat soon Home Depot sells light dimmers for $11 I'd get one of those til you can get the thermostat.
Agreed on the bigger meal
Enjoy your new buddy!

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[Vayra]

Okay, and here I thought his 'cool' side being at 80 was too cool and I was worried. XD Okay, I feel a bit better. I don't have the receipt anymore since I got the tank a little over two weeks ago, getting ready to get her. I think I'd prefer a tank anyway, even if they are a little more hassle. I have a digital thermometer now, so I'm going to go see if I can't rearrange her tank a bit and get this thing set up to get a better idea of what I need to do next with the temp/humidity in my tank. I will order a thermostat as soon as I can, but I might get a dimmer anyway since they're cheap. Thanks!

[Cissin]

http://www.amazon.com/Zilla-11939-Te.../dp/B002CZ0J3E

Only 21$ right now. It's well worth it over the dimmer. Ships fast too. But yeah. What you can do is cover the majority of the screen lid with anything from a damp towel to plexiglass. It will help keep the humidity in. Also cypress bedding is great at keeping humidity up. Not sure what substrate you are using but if you are having issues try the cypress.

[Crazymonkee]

My girl is in a tank... it's not that hard... the humidity can get finicky but there's things ya can do. I keep part of her screen covered with a towel... my infrared lamp is above the water dish and I occasionally have to mist.
The dimmer is good til you can a t stat... but I wouldn't use it as a permanent fix

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[Vayra]

Okay! Update, with the more accurate thermometer, placing the sensor under her warm hide, it is 94 (well within range, I believe), while the temp everywhere else is 82. So I believe I'm good in that respect? Still getting the thermostat, I'll be ordering it tonight or tomorrow, just to be on the safe side. I normally keep the cage covered with a towel, but while I was shifting things around, I'm sure the humidity went down. I'm going to cover it again and wait a few minutes, see if the humidity improves, but at the moment it is reading at 40%. I will also be moving her water dish closer to her light source, so that should help with the humidity as well. If her temps are staying consistent without the lamp, do I need it?

Edit: Also, my substrate is aspen. If I see humidity becoming a problem, I'll try the cypress.