Quote Originally Posted by Eric Alan View Post
Why the pitchforks here? The OP has obviously done a fair amount of research in order to provide their new addition with the proper overall environment - see this post above: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...=1#post2485070. Just because there's one successful way to keep these animals, doesn't mean that it's the only successful way. Making sure their needs are met is the primary concern - I'm confident the OP is well aware of that and will adjust if necessary as they get to know each other. Sheesh...
While I can respect that many people have many different ways of keeping their animals, there is a difference between successfully keeping an animal in a new or experimental set up, and an animal adapting successfully to a sub-optimal setup. Enduring and thriving are not the same things. I don't believe there's any way to make a screened cage an optimal environment for a ball python, not even a good one, unless the majority of it is covered to retain humidity and maintain a stable temperature gradient. The house humidifier is not enough, and the temperature will swing with day and night-time temps because there is no capacity of the enclosure to hold heat. This is why he animal sits on top of his hide close to the lamp for heat and has to choose between security and thermoregulation. I don't deny that OP did some research, but I don't think he did enough, otherwise the screen cage would be a major red flag bad idea to him just like it is to most of us.