New Ball Python Owner!!!! Need Help and Advice Pleaseee!!!!

[christineho]

Hello there, I am a new Ball Python owner and I need a tonnnn of advice. Obviously I did my own research before I got him but Ive noticed that Ball Python care can be quite controversial. So I guess here's a little back story. About 2 weeks ago I purchased my first Ball Python from a breeder online and he was shipped to me via overnight shipping. He is around 6 months old so he is quite young. I have him in a 40 gallon tank. Yes, I know that is big for a baby but I have made sure to clutter the tank quite a bit so he feels secure. As of right now I have cypress mulch as my substrate and plan on switching to coconut husk as soon as I run out of the cypress mulch because they did not have coco husk at my local pet store. He has one hide on the warm side of the tank and one hide on the cool side of the tank with his water dish on the cool side along with a branch and some faux vines to add clutter. For heating I have a UTH with a thermostat. The thermostat probe is placed between the UTH and the glass. The thermostat is set to 95° F so the hottest the glass gets on the inside of the tank is 94° F. (I mainly use a temp gun to check temps) I tried doing half an inch of substrate under the warm side hide but even with only half an inch the substrate was only about 78° F so because he doesnt appear to be a burrower instead of half an inch he has a very thin layer under the hide which he can move very easily just by slithering into it. I think this should be okay considering the glass doesnt get hotter then 94° F. But for the substrate outside the hide is about half an inch on the warm side and an inch on the cool side. I also have a 60 watt CHE on a clamp lamp placed on the back of the tank in the middle facing down. I do not want to place it directly on the screen because I dont have a dimmer and I have no way to get a dimmer and Im worried that if I place it on the screen without one my snake will burn himself if he gets too close so Im regulating the temperature by using a clamp lamp which seems to be working well. The CHE is being used for cool side temps and ambient air temps. My warm side UTH is around 94° F, my cool side temp is around 80° F and my ambient air temp through out the whole tank is 80° F. At night my cool side temp and ambient air temp do not drop below 77- 76 ° F. In order to maintain this I have to keep my house at around 75°F. I do have a 100 watt CHE as well but because I dont have a dimmer on my one lamp (the one without the clamp that would have to go directly on the screen) and my clamp lamp recommends only using up to 70 watt bulbs, so I figure it would be quite dangerous to use. I also have 2 layers of tinfoil placed over the screen (to help keep in heat and humidity) except for a square where the heat lamp faces in which also doubles as ventilation. I have a temp gun I use to check temps as well as an analog thermometer/hydrometer inside the tank. I do have a digital thermometer/hydrometer with probes as well but I dont have it set up because I dont want to deal with the wires but I have dangled the probes in there once or twice just to double check temps and humidity lol. Which speaking of humidity mine is usually always between 50 and 60 and within the past 2 weeks Ive only had to mist once. For feeding I feed my guy f/t medium mice (they are as thick as the thickest part of my snake) and he hes been fed twice. So far, technically speaking, he hasnt refused a meal. Although the first time I attempted to feed him he struck at the mouse and constricted, but I walked by his tank and he got scared and dropped it (no not regurgitated, he barely had it in his mouth) so that was completely my bad. I pulled the mouse out with tongs after my snake went back in his hide and tried again but he had lost interest and I was not aware I could leave the mouse in there with him overnight (again its f/t not live) so I threw it way. 4 days later, I tried again and made sure to leave him alone and he ate just fine. He also ate fine again 6 days later. (I plan on feeding him every 6 days) Now let me just say he is extremelyyyy skittish and shy. Which is understandable because hes so young and has never really been handled. But Im still kind of worried. He neverrrrr comes out of his hides during the day ever. I know he comes out at night sometimes tho. And when being handled he'll curl up in a ball at first then try to get away as fast as he can. I waited about a week until I handled him. I got him on a tuesday and tried to feed him on a thursday and he dropped it so I tried again on a monday which he took then waited til Wednesday to handle him. Ive been trying to handle every other day except feeding day and 2 days after to try to get him used to me but Im not sure if much is changing so I think I may just leave him alone for 2 more weeks and just feed him and do maintenance and then try handling again. Also another weird thing, I think he may like his cool side more (the hides are not identical) He usually stays on the cool side but after handling Ill place him closer to the warm side and he'll go in the warm side but then at night or the next day at night he'll go back to the cool side and has only gone to the warm side on his own once and then went right back to the cool side the next night (again he doesnt come out during the day) I dont like repeatedly try and move him to the warm side or anything but when I handle him Ill set him a but closer to the warm side when I put him back and thats where he goes and then at night he'll move. He also does this thing where when it starts to get even the littlest bit dark he'll poke his head out. Im not quite sure if he moves out of the cool hide at night but I know he moves from the warm side to the cool side at night. So I honestly not sure if hes active the way he should be or not. I also dont think its because the temp is too hot on the warm side because again it only gets up to 94 ° F on top of the glass. Maybe he just prefers the cool side? I did get him from a breeder and ik breeders usually only provide one hide in a tub. I usually go to sleep before hes active but I have woken up super late and seen him out (again usually after he was in the warm hide and moving to the cool side not quite sure if he comes out of the cool hide. Ive only caught him exploring out of the cool side once but again he could be doing it while I sleep. I know I didnt really ask any specific questions but I just need some advice on my husbandry, (I can't really buy anything new right now so some advice without making any purchases pleaseee) feeding schedule, my snakes shyness fiasco, handling recommendations, and anything else will help soooo much.

I'd love to see a picture of your setup -- I'm curious how exactly you cluttered a 40 gal enclosure because you're right, it's way too big for a 6 month old bp. A branch and some vines do not sound like enough. As TurningStar said, 94 is TOO hot for the hot side. You should be reading 88-90 with the IR gun on the glass on the hot side. I'd also suggest moving the CHE over the hot side, which should still keep the ambient temperature up but allow him to escape to the cool side in order to thermoregulate. Him liking his cool side is not weird -- it's just what he likes.

Ditch the analog thermometer/hygrometer and use the digital probes. If you have a glass 40 gal, there's usually a divot on the back right side to allow for the wires. It's also not uncommon for him to be in his hide all day. He's nocturnal, so it'd be like saying getting up multiple times throughout the night to randomly explore your house is normal.

It's also not unusual for him to seem like he's "trying to get away" once he starts to trust you...he could just be exploring but we can't really say without seeing it ourselves. Fix the temps on your hot side, use the digital probes for measuring temperature/humidity, and please do attach a picture of your setup.