New ball python owner. Sorry for the long post.

[ijacobz]

Hey everyone, sorry for the long post, but i want to be sure I do everything necessary to get this snake living comforatbly with me.....

I recently inherited a ball python I'm assuming it's about 2 years old. It's got to be about 2 1/2 - 3 feet long.

He was kept in his enclosure without a heat lamp, only the heating pad that covers about 1/3 of his terranium for about 3 days before I got him, his cage was filthy and two mice were left in there with him(alive). There was no hygrometer or temp gages of any sort....

I have since cleaned his glass terranium and the hide, water bowl, etc. with a 3% bleach solution, triple rised to be safe. I replaced the bedding with a terranium mat I was assured was safe and a better option. I also bought a 50W heat bulb that is infra red. I got him a little climbing piece of drift wood (store bought) and some nice green vine type (synthetic not real) and draped it around 3 sides. A bigger water dish for him I was hoping for it to raise the humidity.

Heat pad is under the tank covers about 1/3 of the bottom, as I said. The terranium matting is over the entire bottom. The hide is placed over the heat pad section, I also keep a piece of damp paper towel under it for a more humid spot for him to chill out. The driftwood is in the middle and ascends over his water dish. The water dish is a large exo terra once, nice and heavy holds lots of water, the heat lamp is over that side. I have covered about 2/3 of the mesh lid with tinfoil and a piece of paper towel under it that i soak every morning. I have done this for about 6 days now.

First of all, hows my set up sound? The tank is only about 28 inches long, 20 wide. It seems too small for a snake thats almost 3 feet long.... should i upgrade to a 40 gallon tank (not meaning fish tank but one about that size, I would obviously go for an exo terra made tank of something of the sort.)

My issues are the humidity, lighting, and feeding.

Humidity can drop as low as 40 when I'm away for 13 hours at work. I aim to keep it about 60 by misting a couple times a day but he doesn't like the sound and/or room temp water being sprayed in his home. What bedding is easy to clean, holds moisture, but also won't mold easily as I think this would fix my problem. I know to avoid any bedding that could contain phenol. He really likes soaking in his water dish for long periods of time I'm guessing it helps him stay comforatable when it gets dry? His belly was kind of scaley when I got him, now is nice and moist most of the time.

Can I keep the infra red on all the time for heating. I've pretty much nailed the bedding temp at 26 C (79F) on the cool side with his hide. The basking spot about 33 C (91.4 F) on the floor. On that note, whats the best way to check ambient temp?

He hasn't eaten for 2 weeks which the owner said is really wierd of him, I'm guessing the days without the heat and humidity plus my tank changes have stressed him out. Should i just wait a week and see how it goes? Would it be ok to handle him to get him comfortable with me or should I just let him be and adapt to his environment?

One last thing, when handling how long do you keep him out with you before he gets too cold? My house is usually about 22C (71.6 F).

Hopefully this isn't wayyy too long for all of you, thanks in advance. I'll be sure to check in often to help if with questions if i missed anythng.