New BP owner!

[StangGirl07]

I just got my very first BP today, I think it's a female. She is only about a month old (according to the pet store guy) so I am not sure yet. After reading up on BP's I think I am right, her tail portion is short. She's about a foot long and 1 1/2 inches around at her largest part. She is in a 20L with a screen top (with lots of clips holding it on!!). I had a baby corn snake but he got out after two weeks becasue I was stupid enough to think he wasn't strong enough to push up the top. WRONG!!! He's been missing for over 2 weeks. I couldn't stand the empty cage so I decided to get a BP. I have a thermostat, UTH, basking light, water dish and a temp/hydro. I think I need a better light bulb as the temp on the warm side is only 82 with a humidity of 50%. Any ideas on improving my set up?

[Kagez28]

tons... i don't know what you've read up because you can't sex a ball python by its tail size... so going on that it sounds like you havn't been given good material so start here: http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

this is a great place and i am sure lots of people will be willing to help you set up everything so you can enjoy your new pet.

...and just wondering is your corn snake still missing? cause by the way you said you got your ball python because you "had an empty tank" doesn't sound that responsible. snakes are not disposable pets. i just hope, for the ball pythons sake, that you really know what you are doing, or are willing to learn proper care.

[jessie_k_pythons]

count me in on trhe helping part. I love to help when I can

[StangGirl07]

Response to Kagez28: No I have not found my corn snake yet but that does not mean I have not stopped looking for it. It has been missing for almost 3 weeks now and I have looked everywhere and tried all kinds of traps with no luck. I have a feeling he got down one of our floor vents into the heating system and if that is the case I have no way of getting him out. No pet is "disposable", I have several animals that I take excellent care of and many of them are rescues that no one else wanted. I just made the same mistake that lots of new snake owners make in underestimating the strength of a baby snake. I have learned from it and have taken extra precautions to make sure that my BP does not get out. I did tons of research before I even considered getting a BP and even before getting the corn snake. I also work at a local pet store part time and have several friends that have BP's who are helping me as well as this site. In fact, alot of my research was done by reading the stuff on this site.

[jhall1468]

...and just wondering is your corn snake still missing? cause by the way you said you got your ball python because you "had an empty tank" doesn't sound that responsible. snakes are not disposable pets. i just hope, for the ball pythons sake, that you really know what you are doing, or are willing to learn proper care.

Wow... why don't you jump all over her? She made a mistake, and clearly she rectified that mistake by ensuring it wouldn't be repeated. I see that you also own corns, and as such, should know they are masterful escape artists. More corn snakes are LOST each year than DIE in captivity.

I imagine the great majority of us have made mistakes when we first started out. I know I did (I had two WC Balls that I was WAY overfeeding).

On that note, welcome to the board Angie . As for your temps, 82 should be your approximate ambient temp. You'll want to bump that up to ~90 degrees for the warm side. What's your thermostat set to? I usually place the probe right on the heat tape (or UTH in your case) and set it at 92 degrees. However, you may have to play with yours a bit since you are using a viv as opposed to plastic.

To get things up and running, stick your therm on the bottom of your "warm side" of your tank. Start kicking the temps up a few degrees at a time until the belly heat reaches about 90 degrees.

As for your humidity, I typically like to stay between 58-60% inside the cage. There's directions on this site for a home made humidifier which will probably do the trick for you. If you have any questions, let us know .

[StangGirl07]

Thanks for the support, jhall1468! I did feel attacked by that other post. Also, thanks for the tank set information, I will try some of those ideas. I did get a different heat bulb and changed the substrate to Bed-A-Beast to help with the humidity. I was using the aspen bedding that works good with corns but they don't need the higher humidity. I put my therm under the heat lamp and will check it tomorrow. We are having pretty humid warm weather here lately so my house is warm and humid from all the fish tanks running!! Anyway, thanks again!

[sweety314]

Angie, where are U in OR (PM if you wish). Maybe I can visit and we can share ideas. ? I use both tubs and tanks.


Pics of the setup would be helpful, but:

The Bed-a-Beast will be a good one to help boost the humidity with the heat lamps. Heat lamps or CHEs are notorious for drying out the tank. Do you have the screen top covered at all? U can use either Glad/saran wrap or tinfoil or a piece of plexiglass over the top to help hold in the humidity. Leave a spot about the size of a 50cent piece in opposite corners for ventilation.....

Some ppl use moist towels, but those have to be changed VERY frequently in order to prevent bacterial growth.

BTW, if your corn has gotten into your heater ductwork and has been gone 3 weeks, as hot as it's been (depending WHERE in OR you are) you'd probably be smelling him by now. Maybe we can PM about some ideas where he might be.

Welcome to the site!

[adizziedoll]

tons... i don't know what you've read up because you can't sex a ball python by its tail size... so going on that it sounds like you havn't been given good material

Just to let you know, Kevin from NERD talks about tail and spur size in his book (a very GOOD piece of material) and even displays pictures - no, it is not a sure-fire way of telling, but it can give an idea about sex. She just said she thinks it is female, not it IS a female.

[frankykeno]

Welcome to BPNet Angie and don't mind the other post. It's very upsetting to have a snake lost like that and it can happen to anyone. We have a fair few BP's and I like to think we have learned a lot over the past couple of years of caring for them but we lost a lovely 06 a few months ago and it was flat out heartbreaking for everyone. You can only do your best, learn from the good and bad of experiences snakekeeping and just keep moving forward in your level of experience.

[python.princess]

just one thing.... i didn't see in your setup description that you have any hides? if this is true, you should get two identicle ones right away. one on each side of the tank. and if you do have them and forgot to mention it, forget i said anything. welcome to the wonderful world of balls! lol