Quote Originally Posted by eyeownvango
Hey all, I am new to this forum, and pretty new to owning a ball python. I recently purchased a ball about 4 days ago. She is said to be roughly 6 months old. I was told by the breeder that he was feeding her hopper mice. The hopper mice seem to be a bit too small. I just fed her yesterday and I cannot tell that she ate. I'm not sure if I should feed her another hopper, or try adult mice next time. Any suggestions?

Also, I have been monitoring her viv. The warm sides seems to be staying at about 79-80 degrees depending on my house temp. I use a UTH but was told to put cardboard between the substrate and the glass so the snake doesn't get burned, but it seems the temperature is too low. I use a digital thermometer and it seems the cold side is roughly 71. The humidity is reading 22% and I'm not sure that's right. I don't know what to do. I can't seem to get the temps right. Should I buy a heat lamp, should I remove the cardboard, what should I do? The temperature in my house is currently 72 degrees. Any advice that anyone could give would be great.
Well welcome and congrats.

The warm side is way off it needs to be between 90 & 94 degrees and it is possible obtain this with a UTH but you will need to remove the carton board for that.

First before you remove the carton board you need a thermostat no matter what heating device you chose, it very important since any device producing heat can overheat the cheapest ESU 1 outlet or 3 outlets start at 25 dollars (Of course you get what you pay for but for). I would highly recommend to invest in a Ranco ETC-111000 or Herpstat Digital Proportional Thermostat they are more expensive but they are worth it. (here is where youcan find some reptile supply ReptileSupply.com & BeanFarm.com, ReptileBasics.com)
It is important to get a thermostat because without thermostast you will not achieve the required temp and your BP is at risk for burns.

For the cool side you have couple of options

1 Space heater in the room where your BP is kept to raise the ambiant temp

2 Second heat mat with second thermostat set between 80 & 84 degrees

Glass enclosure are harder to control but it is possible

For the humidity you need an acurate reading since you are not sure I would recommend you get a digital thermometer / hydrometer from walmart

Your hmidity needs to be 50% and 60%

You ca mist your enclosure
Have a substrate that hld humidity better
Add a humid hide
Put a water dish above the UTH

Finally for the feeding your BPP should be fed a preya little smaller then the girth size once a week that way your BP will be eating with consistency