Rehome to new habitat - how soon?

[TrishTheTerp]

Hello friends!

Backstory: I am a new ball python owner and I acquired my scaly roommate as a rehome off of Craigslist. He came with a pretty good but small bin setup and he's a growing boy (a little over a year) and needs to size up. Plus the humidity in his bin is ridiculously high (I think the only thing I could do is drill more holes, which I'm not sure is a good idea for temp control given the amount of ventilation it already has) and I'd like to get him out of there as soon as possible. I got him a week ago yesterday, I fed him two days ago (awesome eater!), and I haven't touched him yet since he was first settling in and is now digesting. Since he came with his home it only took him two days before he was calmly roaming/chilling out of his hide at night and seemed to have adjusted to the new outside view.

Question is, since I just got him, do I need to wait a while to move him over to a new habitat? Or is he well-adjusted enough already since he only moved locations, not habitats, before? I don't want to stress him out too much, but I would really love to get him into a better environment as quickly as I can. I won't be able to get the terrarium until the middle of this upcoming week and I'll give it a couple days to make sure the temp/humidity is good before moving him in, so it would likely be a week or so before I can switch him over anyway.

Follow-up question: if it IS okay to move him over as soon as the new place is set up, do I need to then wait an addition 1-2 weeks before handling again to let him get used to the new habitat, or is he good to go since he'll already be partially accustomed to me and to his outside environment by then? Planning to handle him for short periods of time starting tomorrow night and every evening up until his better setup has arrived/has been bp-prepped.

Thanks!!

[Bogertophis]

Hi-

While I agree with you that's less stressful being re-homed with his original home, I'd still make changes slowly, just in case. I'd suggest waiting until he's had a couple (2 or 3) meals before handling him OR before moving him into another home. Personally I prefer that a new snake keeps eating & digesting- that shows they're adjusting well.

The humidity in his current set-up is based on 2 factors, either of which you can alter: first, the air holes, & as mentioned, you could drill more ventilation (& you can always tape over them on the outside later on if it's too much), or the substrate- keep in mind that some kinds hold much more moisture than others, so if it's too high (or over-saturated?), that should be an easy fix also.

[nikkubus]

I sounds like you want to make some pretty drastic changes from what he is used to. I would advise against changing from tub to terrarium in the first 90 days unless he is ridiculously cramped. The smaller and more simple the setup, the easier it will be to notice disease. If you move him, and he starts behaving drastically different, is it because he is ill or because of his new surroundings that he just needs to get used to? Generally a brand new snake gets a brand new enclosure when it is purchased or adopted right from the start, but people who have some experience will generally tell you, it's better to start with a simple tub setup for quarantine and move to a roomy enclosure later on.

If the humidity is a problem, what are you using for substrate and how big is his water dish? What is the humidity like outside his tub?

[TrishTheTerp]

Thanks for the advice, friends!

I'm concerned about adding holes because the bin already has two rows of holes drilled along both of the long sides, and the temp is on the low side of good already even with his UTH thermostat turned up pretty high.

He's in either a cypress mulch or coconut; I don't have enough experience to tell by looking, but it's lot of large dark brown chunks of wood. And yes, it is holding moisture like crazy; you can see the water beaded up under it through the sides of the bin. Outside the bin the humidity is somewhere around 30-40%, but inside the percentage fluctuates anywhere in the 90s. What would you guys suggest as a humidity-lowering substrate? Or should I just replace the soaked stuff with new substrate? I bought a bag of coconut husk a few days ago.

I would guess that his water bowl is probably an 8" diameter; I'm not home to check right now.

Thanks again!! And Mobius thanks you too.

[Bogertophis]

Personally, I'd be inclined to remove half the overly-soaked substrate & mix in the same amount of your coconut husk that's dry. Mix well- that should help a lot.
(doesn't really matter if it's not the same exact substrate, btw)

A smaller water bowl might be used also- the larger surface area allows for more evaporation, especially if it's over the UTH or under a heat source.

[TrishTheTerp]

Thanks so much! I'll definitely try your substrate trick. What is the best time to do something like that? Do I wait until he's ready to be handled and do it while he's out of the bin, or do I replace the substrate with him in there? If the latter, should I do it at night so I don't wake him up, or during the day so he stays in his hide the whole time?

Thanks for letting the newb pester you with questions!

[Bogertophis]

BTW, if the damp substrate you remove is clean, you can let it dry out & re-use it later if you want. And of course, if the substrate is too "dry" after mixing more in, just mist it a bit to adjust.

[Bogertophis]

Thanks so much! I'll definitely try your substrate trick. What is the best time to do something like that? Do I wait until he's ready to be handled and do it while he's out of the bin, or do I replace the substrate with him in there? If the latter, should I do it at night so I don't wake him up, or during the day so he stays in his hide the whole time?

Thanks for letting the newb pester you with questions!

Since you just got him & it's too soon to handle him, I'd do this during the day (that's when HE sleeps ) & when he's hopefully in a hide- I'd just put something in front of the doorway to the hide, so he's contained & not frightened by seeing what you're up to.*

Then just change out some of the substrate & mix in the dry as best you can- don't worry about "perfection"-you can pick up the water dish or other things to mix the substrate by hand, but don't take all day- try to be fast & the least disruption possible. Put his furnishings back as they were & remove his temporary "door" on his hide- okay?

He'll probably poke his head out at some point afterwards, but he shouldn't be very bothered by this. Any more than if you just did a "spot clean" to pick up feces he might leave. Good question, btw.

*For future reference- you can also do this (cover the door of the hide a snake is in) when you have to change the water bowl, & don't want a hungry snake coming after your motion thinking & hoping you might be "edible", lol. Cardboard is a bit too lightweight (easily moved by the snake), but many things can be used- I have large & "enthusiastic"- not "shy"!- rat snakes for which I use a ping-pong paddle to block their doorways- it has a nice weight to it- & they respect it- never push it out of their way. But eventually they would- it gives me just enough time to tidy up or clean their water bowl before they start wondering what they're missing, lol.

[TrishTheTerp]

That's brilliant, thank you!! And yes, I meant that he would already be awake at night and I didn't want to disrupt his daytime snoozing. This sounds like a great plan. Going to do this when I get home this afternoon!

[Bogertophis]

That's brilliant, thank you!! And yes, I meant that he would already be awake at night and I didn't want to disrupt his daytime snoozing. This sounds like a great plan. Going to do this when I get home this afternoon!

And don't worry about mixing the substrate under the hide he's in- it will all even out as far as moisture. I've lived with snakes for many years now, I guess it shows?