New to herps

[Hlow87]

Howdy im new to the herp field, we recently purchased a black eyed leucistic ball python(3 1/2wks ago)..she ate the 3rd day (1st attempt),she's been eating great (small pinkie every 5days,shes small dk grams though)..she's in a 40gal glass zoo med snake aqaurium that has a mesh locking lid,i know..not the best but it was all we could find local without ordering..my problem has been heat and humidity..the heat was ok but her humidity every morning id get up would be right at 40 😔..i read to cover 90%of the mesh with aluminum foil to help hold the humidity in,woke up this morning and humidity was almost 70..too high?how do i lower it just enough? And everywhere ive read says bp are very shy and dont move a whole whole lot,our girl moves A LOT,the longest ive seen her sit still yet was 6hrs but through the day shes out roaming around checking everything out and trying to get to the lid,shes very friendly (my 5yo son handles her a good bit) but shes constantly on the go..is that unhealthy or mean shes not happy or feel secure? Fyi her enclosure has a small log hide on the warm side,a small rock hide on the cooler side,a climbing "twisted " looking limb in the middle,2 suction hanging plants one in each side of the tank,water bowl,bowl with moss,2 slate rocks,an alligator skull with palm plant beside it and a few other plants tucked near the hides..tooo much??its not crowded or anything..sorry im a first timer and just wanna make sure shes set..i would load pictures but cant figure out how (&the vottom of this forum says "do no have permission to post attachments" so ??? Thanks for any input 😊

Snake:
Lucy-black eyed leucistic ball python
Birds:
JoJo-blue front amazon parrot
Donald & Daisy-white pekin ducks
Dogs:
Rebel-boxer/mastiff mix
Pecan-jack russell terrier
Fish:
20+ Koi

[Mangiapane85]

1) are you saying small pinky MICE? Even pinky rats would be too small. Even a 70-80g hatchling can do HOPPER mice.

2) 70% humidity is fine. Perfect in my opinion. That's what I keep all of mine at, give or take 1% or 2. They shed perfectly.

3) I use tapatalk for posting pics. It's super duper easy.

Good luck with your new baby!


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[Hlow87]

Yes,she eats frozen/thawed..i figured i would up the size of her meals because i had read the prey can be as big as the middle section of her body?the pinkies are half that so i figured the going bigger part..tapatalk?is it an app i can download? & thanks for the input on the humidity i get a ton of ranges when i google it! Thank you thank you thank you! Be lookong for pics of her soon 😊

[WintertimeLea]

I am somewhat new to herps as well, and I was concerned about this in the beginning too. I used the aluminum foil and was misting the cage. Eventually we noticed her hacking or wheezing. Figured out the humidity was too high. After that I just kept the water bowl in the center and kept the top covered with a blanket. No more wheezing and perfect sheds...but I also live in the deep south so It's always humid here. Basically, listening for those sounds could also help?

I've also read that if your ball is very active during the day it could mean they are trying to find somewhere comfortable..I noticed when given the choice my ball prefers being snug in an enclosed hide to a half log most of the time. So if you have room maybe try adding an enclosed hide on the warm side(A tube for a scotch bottle was a favorite at my house). Hope this helps!

And I dont have a humidity gauge. (Bad i know). I kept trying to find one that was reliable, but continued to find mixed reviews. Any budget friendly suggestions?

[Hlow87]

I use the one that came with my ZooMed setup i dont know how good it is..&she has 2 hides she goes to one mosre than the other (she likes the warmer one &#128522 im gonna try to post a pic!

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