New BP owner, enclosure help!!

[mccymegan]

Hey everyone!

So, I'm sure I'm not the first person to do this, and I'm sure that everyone is about tired of teaching newbies how to do things properly, but I need some help.
I recently adopted a baby male ball python from a friend who couldn't keep him anymore (long story, don't get me started). He came with a 20G Long glass tank with a screen top, a water dish and one hide. Now, I immediately started doing research and I have probably read everything on the internet about how to care for BPs and how to set up their enclosures, but I have just about worried myself sick over the little guy, because I am honestly just guessing over here. Every website says something different, and every person has a different opinion about how these fellas need to be kept. So, I just decided to bite the bullet and start my own thread, and ask you guys what ya'll think about his current setup.



Alright, so here is his enclosure. I've read a lot of mixed reviews about using glass aquariums as BP enclosures, but I did the best with what I was given, and what I could afford to replace. I did go out and buy black foam core and covered all the sides except for the front, and I think he likes it much better than when he was all exposed) His substrate is Cyprus which seems to do well with keeping the humidity up, considering the screen top. His humidity usually stays around 55%, though today it dropped to 50% for some reason, so I decided to give the "wet towel" method a try. (seems to be working, it's already started rising a bit)

His cold end (the left side with the half tree trunk hide) temp. usually stays around 77-79 degrees. (when this pic was taken, it was 77.4) His hot end (the right side with the branchy piece of wood thingy) usually stays right at 90-93 degrees. (93.2 when this picture was taken) I have 3 digital probe thermometers, one probe is located underneath the cold side's hide, and two placed in the branchy piece of wood thing. I'm somewhat obsessive over the temps on his hot side because I had some trouble keeping the temps up when I first got him, so now that the temps are reaching the 90's I'm paranoid that I'm gonna fry him.
I realize that if I bought a thermostat, I wouldn't have to worry so much about the temps, but I truly don't have any more money I can spend on this fella (besides his food, obviously).

His lighting/heating took me some time to get right, as I mentioned. Right now, I have his 40w daytime heat lamp on (the light on the left), and a 60w ceramic heat emitter. I bought a 100w CHE with the wire cage lamp, but I really think that's way too hot, considering how short his tank is. (maybe I'm wrong, someone let me know?!?!) I have the heat lamp on a timer to shut off at 8pm, and come on at 8am. This, in turn, causes the temps to drop about 5 degrees every night. Is that bad for him? I was using the red nighttime lamp, but it just wasn't producing much heat, so I figured it was a waste of my time. His tank does have a UTH, but again, I don't have a thermostat and I can't afford to buy a decent one, so I just unplugged it because I read too many things about people's snakes getting burned.

I don't know guys, I think I'm doing okay, but I still can't shake the feeling that I'm doing something wrong. I've had him for about two weeks now, and he's eating great, and all that, I just worry about it.

Does anyone see anything that I should fix, or have any suggestions or really ANYTHING. I need to be sure the little fella is doing okay.
(btw, in the picture, you can't see him at all because he was hiding beneath his little tree thing. that's his favorite spot)

Anyways, thanks in advance for the help! Seriously, you won't hurt my feelings, tell me how it is.

[Sonny1318]

One concern I would have is the reliability of your gauges. Looks nice, all I use is red bulbs.

[mccymegan]

One concern I would have is the reliability of your gauges. Looks nice, all I use is red bulbs.

Yeah, I originally bought the cheap-o "ZooMed" gauges, and since then I've upgraded to the digital probes. I haven't upgraded the humidity gauge, but I haven't heard anything very negative about ZooMed as far as that goes, either.

He hasn't had his first shed with me yet, so I suppose when that happens I'll be able to tell if the humidity has actually been at 55%, or if the gauge is way off.

I still have my red bulb, but again, I lose like 5 degrees with that thing compared to the blue daylight bulb, and now that I've got the temps to stay consistent, I'm afraid to mess with anything. :/ eek.

[FNG]

im super new too but my girl seems to really like hides that wrap all the way around her with small openings. she had a half log to start but when i added a full hide (some cheap starter one from petco) she took to it pretty quick. now she only uses the log sometimes to bask on (she's got a uvb since I'm in a cold climate).

also I'm saving up for a thermostat too but in the mean time i bought a 15$ zoo med rheostat (you can find cheaper on lowes or home depot online) dimmer type switch for the UTH and i just put a thermostat prob over it to monitor temps. it isn't fancy but it keeps the temp below the dangerous 100F until i get a legit thermostat. [im paranoid so i also bought a 9.99$ temp gun so i know the temp doesn't get too high]

I'm with you on the glass tank struggle lol. i plan to save up for a T8 that my baby can grow into and will better keep heat and humidity in. anyway I'm sure you'll find some great help on this site by some more experienced keepers, i know i have!

[CALM Pythons]

Great job.. But one of the most important things is a Tstat. A "Jumpstart thermistat" on amazon is $28 and you cant go without it. Your going to have this snake up to 20 years if you do this right... A UTH is a great heat source considering if all else fails the snake can lay on the uth and be 100% good. I used one alone for 20 years back in the 1990's..
For the CHE on the Cool side LOWES sells a Dimmer cord (looks like extenion cord with dimmer switch) And its only $14.95. You can use that to tune down the CHE if you need to but first things is first, get the UTH a tstat asap. You cant be wondering 24/7 if the snakes cooking or not..
https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP.../dp/B000NZZG3S

Dimmer : https://m.lowes.com/pd/Lutron-Creden...Dimmer/4462387

[Mike17]

Your viv looks great!

I am also very new so not long ago I had the very same issues and concerns. If you can't go control and automatization crazy ($$$) for any reason, a surge protector will prevent voltage spikes that can get any heat emitter too hot or too cold...
http://www.monsterproducts.com/Core-...rge-Protectors

The next thing is to get some of the lowes dimmers... Connect all the dimmers to the power bar and all the CHE to the dimmers, play with the power of the dimmers to set temp as you like and bobs your uncle! try to set it at a warm day because viv temp will vary with room temp but it will still be higher. Someone gave me an advice: BP can handle much better cold temps than hot. so if you miss, better be on the cold side.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Slither Seeker]

I don't know what you have in all the lights, but three seems like overkill if they are all emitting heat. the classic canundrum that seems to come around every day like it's ground hog day on this forum is how to heat using heat lamps while at the same time not loosing too much moisture out the screen top that is required for using heat lamps. the question often comes down to what can be done with someone's set up without making them go start from scratch. I've found ways around heat lamps but it's involved. so looking at what you have, a simple adjustment would be to add tin foil to the top, mostly sealing up around the lamps (make a cut out in the foil for the lamps), maybe cutting back to one lamp (depending on what type of bulb you are using), using a nigh time heat lamp. there is no need to alternate between day and night bulbs. you want to hold in more moisture and some of the heat, but not too much. buying a heat gun is the best way to nail down the temp. for a nocturnal ground dwelling snake, surface temps within the hide and the surface temp of the snake'd body is what you really need to be aware of. probes are problematic, they get moved, they tell the temp of the air right where they are and if they get peed on or pooped on, it can throw them off, especially humidity probes. 80 degrees on the cool end, 90 on the hot, two identical hides, one on each end, these things give the snake a chance to choose for the ideal temp. with this kind of temp gradient my temp gun shows a body surface temp on the snake of about 82-85 f most times I check. I get annoyed when I see a temp below 78 or above 92.

it's important to get that what we all are compelled to do in terms of placing decorations in the tank is mostly for our own enjoyment. if these snakes feel safe, have food in their belly and are well hydrated and at the right temp, they prefer to stay hidden, ideally in a burrow, ideally a burrow in a termite mound, a burrow made by another critter, perhaps the one it ate. most of the space that we most readily monitor is space it won't occupy much of the time. the most important place to monitor the temp and humidity is in the hide(s), IMHO.

it looks like you put a lot of good work into your set up and with a few adjustments will likely be a happy home for your snake in short order, nice work!