Glass tank setup

[cassandra]

Housing and Caring for a Ball Python in a Glass Vivarium
continued post 4 of 4

Special considerations
• Shedding

When you see your snake turn "blue" (dull skin, opaque eyes), it is time to increase the humidity in the vivarium from the normal 60% to 80%. Moisten some spagnum moss and place it around the vivarium; on, in or around the hides is good. Don't worry about being neat with it or placing it in a tub, you'll discard it after the shedding is over with the used substrate from the vivarium.

Mist the vivarium using the spray bottle. It is recommended that you fill the spray bottle with hot tap water (not boiling, just hot tap water). The misting action quickly cools the water, so if you start with hot water then you will be misting warm water. If you put warm water in the misting bottle then you will be misting cool water, if you put cool water in the misting bottle then you will be misting COLD water. Your snake will appreciate you using hot water in your mister.

• Feeding

This guide is not the time nor place to discuss the many ways of feeding a snake, however I will describe here how we feed our Ball Python in our vivarium.

You have a loose substrate base in your vivarium, and if you feed in the vivarium then there is the chance that the food item will pick up some substrate on it's fur, or that your snake will get some substrate in its mouth while feeding. While a small amount of substrate consumed is nothing to worry about, obviously it is better that you snake sticks to eating more rodent and less wood. To accomplish this, we feed as follows.

Our Ball Python is generally in one of her hides when we come to feed her. We open the vivarium and remove the hide she is not in, and the plants and branches on that side. We then lay a piece of clean cardboard, cut to fit in that side of the vivarium, to cover the substrate. We feed live, but we don't give the mouse any chance to fight back. To do this we hold the mouse by its tail using hemostats (long, blunt medical-type scissors) and hold it at the base of the tail on the cardboard. Being as our Ball Python is a piggy-python, it doesn't take her long to pick up the scent, come over to that side, strike and consume the mouse. We then put the vivarium lid back on and wait until she goes back to her hide to digest her meal. Then we remove the cardboard, and replace the hide and plants we took out. This has proven to be a very easy and successful feeding process.

- Written by Rick L., aka krynos

(p.s. 10000 char limit in posts sucks! *wink*)