New BP Owner

[hopelessopus]

I'm completely new to snakes and BPs. I just adopted my little guy on Tuesday. I'm a little unsure of how to regulate his humidity and make sure he's happy and healthy. I had a thermometer but I'm going to go out and buy a digital one tonight or tomorrow. I'm also worried about regulating the temperature of his enclosure as I know their environment should be more or less stable when it comes to temperature, but my home tends to be very cool. I don't like leaving the lamp on either, especially since I don't want him to bask so much that he ends up being burned. He does have a UTH. I placed it on the side of the enclosure as it seemed to be the only place I could put it that wouldn't prompt any potential issues. I started putting a flannel over the top so that the heat is kept in the enclosure better (it's not a fish tank, however it does have a screen––I plan on putting a latch on it soon so he doesn't have the ability to make a grand escape), and just the other day I put the light on here and there so that it peeked through the flannel and he could selectively choose where to migrate. He has a nice little tree hide and he went up to the top of it where the light peeked through and hung out for a bit. Temperament wise, I haven't seen any indication of him being stressed or ill. He goes out and about sometimes and other times he'll just relax inside his hide. I had him out for about a minute the other day just on my arm and he was totally fine.

I'd also love any other advice or of the sort. I'm still planning on getting him a lot more leafy stuff and hides. My friend thought he was a pastel? Is that right?

[hilabeans]

Hi! Welcome to the forum! This is an awesome place to learn, so please stick around.

You'll need to (quickly) acquaint yourself with the basic husbandry needs of ball pythons as you're a bit of a mess right now. And I say that with love, because we all start somewhere!

For starters, BPs need belly heat to digest their meals. Your UTH needs to go under the tank to provide that belly heat. You must also have the UTH on a thermoSTAT to regulate it as an unregulated heat source can spike and severely burn your snake. Most of us use Herpstats (on the high end) or Jumpstart (moderately priced) thermostats. Hot side temps should read 88°-90°, nothing over 90°. ThermoSTAT probe goes between UTH and bottom of tank, not inside the tank. Measure surface temps inside the tank with a temp gun.

Cool side temps should read 77°-80°. Ambient air temps should be high 70s to 80°. You may need a Ceramic Heat Emiter (CHE) to get your ambient temps right if your house is cold. CHE needs to also be on a thermostat to keep in range.

Humidity should average around 55%-60%, but bump it up to 70% during their shed cycle.

Get a hygrometer to measure your humidity. Get a temp gun to measure your temps.

Identical hides on each side of the tank, one on hot and one on cool.

This is a ton of info, but husbandry is the most critical element to your snake ownership, so it must be dialed in.


Nearly forgot one MAJOR point! Many newbies use those zoomed stick-on thermometers in their tanks. Never, never, ever, never, ever put anything adhesive inside your tank. Never. Nothing remotely sticky ever. Your snake can and will find it and the injuries caused can be horrific. Google if you're brave.

[Sunnieskys]

Can we gat a pic of your entire set up enclosure. Also what are your temperatures on hot side, cold side, and ambient. Your uth should be under the enclosure regulated by a thermostat.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and welcome to the forum! Congrats on your baby.

[MD_Pythons]

First off, welcome to the forum. I see you have heat sources running without thermostats, you should unplug it as unregulated heat sources can get too hot and burn your snake. As an immediate fix I'd put that light on a dimmer and get a heat gun to measure surface temps. You're gonna need order or pick up a thermostat, I like the Herpstat line. Not really sure what placing the UTH on the side will really do. Since you're using a glass tank, I'd give your snake two identical hides. This way he won't have to choose security over thermoregulation. Blacking out the sides will also help with helping him feel secure, just make sure there isn't any tape on the inside of the enclosure.

[hopelessopus]

I'm aware it should be under the enclosure, however my friend who has owned multiple BPs, bred them and is well-rehearsed in veterinary medicine said he always put his UTHs on the side and his BPs were fine. I did a lot of reading so I was aware they are generally put under, but with the advice of my friend and having read a few posts, I decided it was best on the side.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now lol. I did my best to buy all that he needed and I know he needed more hides and we would need the thermostats and otherwise but nonetheless.

Doing my best.

Thank you for all the advice.

[Sunnieskys]

Is he versed and have a degree in herpetology? Specifically in snakes? I can take my snake to a regular vet and get care it doesn't mean it is correct? Also if your friend has bred snakes what type of enclosures does he keep them in? Racks? Different set ups. They need the heat under them for digestion In your type of setup. I know you are over whelmed. There are dozens of breeders here with decades of experience. Listen to the many and not just your one. Please listen to the help we are here to give.

[Craiga 01453]

I'm aware it should be under the enclosure, however my friend who has owned multiple BPs, bred them and is well-rehearsed in veterinary medicine said he always put his UTHs on the side and his BPs were fine. I did a lot of reading so I was aware they are generally put under, but with the advice of my friend and having read a few posts, I decided it was best on the side.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now lol. I did my best to buy all that he needed and I know he needed more hides and we would need the thermostats and otherwise but nonetheless.

Doing my best.

Thank you for all the advice.

First off, welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping.

I'm not trying to discount your friends experience, but the knowledgeable keepers and breeders on this forum who have decades of experience with thousands of snakes should probably be considered more valuable than what one person said.

Of course, there's more than one way to do things, but years of experience among many people should Trump one person.

It's called an UNDER tank heater (UTH) for a reason. Its not called a STH. The UTH is there solely to provide a hot spot to aid in digestion and not for ambient temps. For ambient temps you will need an additional heat source.

VERY IMPORTANT: ALL HEAT SOURCES SHOULD BE REGULATED BY A THERMOSTAT. Heat sources left unregulated can result in heat spikes which can cause serious burns or worse to your snake. This will also regulate the temps, which you said was a concern.

You said you did a lot of reading, but are overwhelmed and your setup is inadequate. I highly suggest reading the "husbandry 101" stickies and the "how to set up an enclosure" srickies.

We're here to help, so ask any questions you may have. But I would basically start from scratch and read the very basic stickies I suggested. They answer a lot of questions all in one convenient thread.

Don't be discouraged, we were ALL new once...

[Zincubus]

Hi! Welcome to the forum! This is an awesome place to learn, so please stick around.

You'll need to (quickly) acquaint yourself with the basic husbandry needs of ball pythons as you're a bit of a mess right now. And I say that with love, because we all start somewhere!

For starters, BPs need belly heat to digest their meals. Your UTH needs to go under the tank to provide that belly heat. You must also have the UTH on a thermoSTAT to regulate it as an unregulated heat source can spike and severely burn your snake. Most of us use Herpstats (on the high end) or Jumpstart (moderately priced) thermostats. Hot side temps should read 88°-90°, nothing over 90°. ThermoSTAT probe goes between UTH and bottom of tank, not inside the tank. Measure surface temps inside the tank with a temp gun.

Cool side temps should read 77°-80°. Ambient air temps should be high 70s to 80°. You may need a Ceramic Heat Emiter (CHE) to get your ambient temps right if your house is cold. CHE needs to also be on a thermostat to keep in range.

Humidity should average around 55%-60%, but bump it up to 70% during their shed cycle.

Get a hygrometer to measure your humidity. Get a temp gun to measure your temps.

Identical hides on each side of the tank, one on hot and one on cool.

This is a ton of info, but husbandry is the most critical element to your snake ownership, so it must be dialed in.


Nearly forgot one MAJOR point! Many newbies use those zoomed stick-on thermometers in their tanks. Never, never, ever, never, ever put anything adhesive inside your tank. Never. Nothing remotely sticky ever. Your snake can and will find it and the injuries caused can be horrific. Google if you're brave.

As above ^ !

The only time I put a heat mat on the outSIDE of a viv was for two of my climbing , tree dwelling critters namely a Crested Gecko and a Rhino Nosed Ratsnake ..... even then those side mounted heat mats were 'extra' heat sources added to an existing UTH .


One single side mounted heat source is just not enough as it just warms up the area of glass where it's stuck and the AIR around it .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GoingPostal]

UTH don't raise ambient temps at all, that will warm up the side of the glass but how is any of that heat getting to the snake? The point of them is to create a hot spot your animals can lay on.

[hilabeans]

Don't be overwhelmed. It seems like a lot at first, but once you get all the settings right - you're done! Then it's just a matter of monitoring and slight tweaking where needed.

All you have to do is look at the basic biology of the ball python to know heating the enclosure from the side does nothing for them. That's not how it works for them in their natural habitats and it's illogical in captive habitats. They will search out a ground hot spot after a meal because their instinct dictates this must be done to digest properly. They can't get their underside curled up on the side of the tank, and a UTH doesn't radiate enough heat to do anything for your ambient air. So it's just pointless for this species. As Zinc mentioned, it is done for other species, just not for balls because that's not how they work.

Your friend's setup may work for him. But who knows what other variables are at play? What his home temps are like, what environmental circumstances may allow his snakes to get along fine kept in inadvisable ways.

Do you want your snake's environment to just work (and that's a totally subjective term), or do you want it to be ideal?

If you want his habitat to be optimal - and who wouldn't? - then please listen to what you're being told here. Make a shopping list, hit up Amazon, do all the things, and watch your new pet thrive.