Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Rising View Post
Dakski, thank you so much for the feeding info.

For Nyah I have a 30 gal tank, 36" x 18" floor. I use an under tank heater on one end. It has a thermostat. I also have a temp and humidity monitor in the center of the tank. In the tank I have a bowl of water and I have a plastic container with sphagnum moss in it and keep it wet. Actually has about an inch of water in the bottom. The cover has a hole in in about 1 1/2" in diameter so it releases moisture and Nyah can crawl into it if she wants to. The thermostat that is directly over the heating pad is registering at degrees. Humidity varies of course but I mist it a couple times a day starting with hot water. Currently her tank is 94.8 on the hot side with the temp right over the heating pad. Cold side is 67. Humidity is 54.

Imani has a 20L tank. Again, he has an under tank heater on one end. I messed up and got a rheostat instead of the thermostat. I have the latter on its way from Amazon now. He also has a digital temp and humidity monitor. The probe is over his heating pad. I have another cheap strip thermometer on the cold side. It will be set up like Nyah as soon as the thermostat gets here. His temps run 105 on the hot side right over the pad. Cold is 70 and humidity is 41. I'm going to mist both as soon as I get this written.

Nyah shed last night. Both are snuggled in one of their 3 hides available in each tank, the one right over the pad. I do not have lights up for them yet but plan on doing that. I think you saw more info about them and the near future plans for their habitats in my original post.

Hope I'm at least close to what I need. Thank you for the feeding guide. I have been researching a LOT on as much as I can. My biggest challenge will be feeding them. Actually, that is why I have not gotten a snake up till now. I'm TERRIFIED of mice and rats. Nightmare petrified. It's the only critter I feel like that about. BUT... I decided I will NOT let that stop me from fulfilling a dream. At my age, it's now or never.

Thank you for any and all advice you can give me and thank you for accepting me to this forum.
Maggie
First, DO NOT feed tonight. You absolutely need to get temps and humidity right BEFORE you feed. Things are definitely off and feeding can do more harm than good right now.

Secondly, temp guidelines for BP's: Hot side: 88-90F Ambient (middle of tank temps): 82-84F Cool side: 78-80F

Too cold is bad and equal poor digestion and illness. However, too hot can equal really sick really fast or even death.

105F can cause neurological damage and death quickly. Sounds like there are other options in the tank, but that is a big no-no.

You NEED a thermostat for all heating elements. Glad you have one on the way and you know this. I am saying that for others as well. Not to beat you over the head.

You should be checking temps with a temp gun. If you don't have one, you need one, and get one cheap on amazon or at home depot. You want to know what temps are on the ground, where the snake is.

Humidity should be 55-65% most of the time, with a bump when in shed.

If you are struggling with humidity it's probably because a) you don't have proper enclosures - glass tanks are not ideal with screen lids and b) if your tanks are too hot it's sucking humidity out.

We can answer questions on what enclosures you should ultimately get for when the little ones are bigger.

However, in the meantime.

Get a temp gun and get proper temp readings.

They need clean water to drink. If you want a small bowl with moss to keep humidity up, that's fine, but they also need a clean bowl of water to drink from.

Get temps down on the hot side and up on the cool side. If you need a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), etc. for each tank (low wattage probably), that might be a good idea, but again, that will need a thermostat as well, unless you got a thermostat that can run multiple devices.

Please ask any questions or points of clarification. I might sound preachy or stern, but I want to help. Young snakes can get sick quicker than adult snakes. At 4 months old they need to eat soon and they won't, or won't digest well, or worse, if your environment is what you say it is.