Need help. First timne BP owner.

[shadowhaven]

I just purchased a ball python (male) from petsmart for my birthday a few days ago. He is a great size (very big about a foot long or more so far, I don't know the weight yet, he's about 6-7 months old) and healthy so far. I have a few questions and I'm hoping someone can help me out. I have him in a ten gallon glass tank, going to up the size next month to a 20-30 gallon. I am using a 100 watt red heat lamp and a UTH from Zoomed but it seems that it gets too hot and he wants to stay on the colder size, should I use a 75 watt instead? Temps range from 90 to 98 on hot side with the 100 watt, with the 75 watt it ranges 80 to 90 hot side, cool side says at 75 to 80. Heat lamp stays over the hot side with the UTH. Humidity wise, his tank stays at 40-65 %, I keep a damp towel over 1/3 of the tank and mist three to five times a day. I use Zoo Med™ Eco Earth Loose Reptile Substrate http://www.petsmart.com/reptile/subs...pfm%3Dcategory. Also, he is a picky eater, petsmart told me they were feeding him pinkies frozen but when tried to feed him on his feeding day he refused to eat frozen, he only ate after we offered him a live "hopper" mice, would it be better to feed him the live "hoppers" for now then try frozen later? This is my first snake I've owned and I want to try to provide the best I can for him. Any other advice is welcome. I'm hoping I can get him into a PVC cage in the near future, I heard it is a better habitat for snakes instead of glass.

[shadowhaven]

I forgot to mention when I run my ac in the house, average temperatures are 70, without AC temperatures are at 80/81 in the house. it's been a crazy hot summer so far in Texas.

[xFenrir]

First off, congrats on your new little guy! I know he's probably still settling in, but do you have pictures?

I would definitely take out the 100w bulb, as it's way too hot for a 10gal. Having both the UTH and the heat lamp are going to sap the humidity in the tank very quickly (I see you're misting 3-5 times a day - that might over time create too damp an environment for your new guy and cause other problems like scale rot and such). Do you have your UTH on a thermostat? That's the best way to ensure that your UTH is putting out the correct temperatures, and could eliminate the need for the heat lamp altogether.

Eventually when you move him into a PVC enclosure you'll have a much easier time, glass tanks can work but they take a lot of tweaking to keep everything in the correct ranges.

As for feeding, if he will eat live now, I would keep him on that until someone here with advice on how to switch to F/T (I've heard of a lot of methods, such as scenting the F/T prey with other smells and such, but both of my snakes ate F/T from the get-go so I don't have any first-hand experience to offer you about that). I know some people say that some snakes will never eat F/T (and vice versa), and while it's a topic of debate you might just end up with a snake that eats live for the rest of its life. The important thing is he'll eat something!

[thegamejr]

im new as well and started out with a higher wattage bulb in a 10 gallon ha, but i went down to a 50w and it keeps the temps between 84 and 86 on the hot side and 76 to 78 on the cold side, also i use a piece of cardboard cut to half the tank lid size covered with saran wrap to keep humidity up, and it maintains at 51% most of the time. . . good luck

[shadowhaven]

Yep, I have some pictures of him. I just took out the 100 watt and switched it with a 75.[IMG][/IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

[shadowhaven]

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[shadowhaven]

Right now I just have analog dual thermometer and humidity meter, I will be buying a digital this week.

[BrandyL1193]

Do you have a thermostat for the UTH? If not, you need one asap. He is gorgeous btw!

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[Solidus106]

Get him another hide for the cool side , in case he wants to chill there and not sacrifice security.


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[NH93]

NEED a thermostat for that UTH!! That is a MUST. If not, burns happen.
Go on Amazon and look up Jumpstart thermostats. Cheap and reliable.
The cool side should be around 80F with the hot spot around 90F. Don't let ambient temperatures drop below 75F.

If you want to see your snake out and about, cover 3 out of 4 of the sides with black paper (or even white paper) and add some more hides and/or decor. They like to feel safe and secure a 10 gal that you've got her/him in now should be comfortable for several months yet. Your snake is still just a wee baby! If you do up the tank size sooner than later, make sure you add in a TONNE of hides and decor to make her/him feel that much safer.
The safer they feel, and the more spot-on their environment (which includes proper temps with thermostat and humidity - humidity can be helped using a damp sphagnum moss hide) the more likely they are to eat; thus being less stressed.

All the best! And congrats