Ralph says 'Hello!'

[coolcasemods]

Hey guys... I'm new here as you can see.. I am posting here to check how i am doing because this is my first ball python and i am really excited.

I bought Ralph (Not sure of his/her sex, but i suppose i could change the name to "ralphieatta" hahah) On a whim the other day because i have always appreciated these creatures and have researched them before but had never bought one.

I have a friend who is pretty experienced and he is helping me throughout the process, but i'd like you guys to critique/ make recommendations as well.

So here is the info

I bought the python at a flea market and apparently they did not know much about snakes because i asked questions like "is he eating well" and how old he was.

They say he is about two months old and that he had been fed recently (they didn't know when)

he is about 14/15 inches and is currently staying in a 10 gallon aquarium with cypress mulch, a hide on the hot and cold side... both filled with reptile moss , a big water dish, a UTH, and a bulb over the warm side.

i went out and bought a digital thermometer/humidity gauge and the current levels as of now (its 9:30 PM) with only a UTH on the hot side and no overhead light...

temp: 80 F
Humi: 54%

The digital gauge is located on the warm side of the tank

Humidity is a bit low due to I bought a new lid today which is mesh and i haven't done the foil trick yet.

I heard you guys like pictures, so , enjoy!


gauge

over head of tank

close

Ralph says Hi!

[sg1trogdor]

sounds good but i dont think you would need the light unless u live in a cold environment. I got rid of my lights once i put in my UTH. thats personal preference though. Lights just dry out a tank quicker lowering humidity other than that looks good and nice snake. looks like my little Ziggy. lol.

[Kagez28]

you want to get the warm side up to about 92-94 and the cool side about 82-84. foil trick should help the humidity, which you want at about 50-60%. i am sure you have found/read the caresheet. just follow that as ask questions of what you are unsure of, there are tons of people that would love to jump in and help ya out.

and welcome to the forum.

[coolcasemods]

you want to get the warm side up to about 92-94 and the cool side about 82-84. foil trick should help the humidity, which you want at about 50-60%. i am sure you have found/read the caresheet. just follow that as ask questions of what you are unsure of, there are tons of people that would love to jump in and help ya out.

and welcome to the forum.

thanks, but these are night time tempatures i thought they could lower some

Anyway, i need the light for heat and light during the day because its in a dark area of room and its for the basking area. i leave the UTH on all night

I did the foil trick on a different lid but i bought a new lid that has a folding top opening to make things easier for me

[Purrrfect9]

thanks, but these are night time tempatures i thought they could lower some

Anyway, i need the light for heat and light during the day because its in a dark area of room and its for the basking area. i leave the UTH on all night

I did the foil trick on a different lid but i bought a new lid that has a folding top opening to make things easier for me

I understand about needing the light for extra heat, I have to use both a UTH and an overhead heat source to keep my glass enclosure heated at the right temps. Do you have anything to control the amount of heat that's going into the cage like a thermostat or rheostat? I know that with my CHE and UTH combined that it gets too warm, but I have a Helix thermostat to keep things at the right temps.
Also, once you get things situated, Ball Pythons don't require any source of light, they would actually prefer it to be dim. The natural light cycles that occur in your room should be enough for him/her.

[coolcasemods]

I understand about needing the light for extra heat, I have to use both a UTH and an overhead heat source to keep my glass enclosure heated at the right temps. Do you have anything to control the amount of heat that's going into the cage like a thermostat or rheostat? I know that with my CHE and UTH combined that it gets too warm, but I have a Helix thermostat to keep things at the right temps.
Also, once you get things situated, Ball Pythons don't require any source of light, they would actually prefer it to be dim. The natural light cycles that occur in your room should be enough for him/her.

my mom likes a cold house ( I have no idea why) and so im having a hard time keeping my daytime temperature with the light around 90 (even though i live in texas)

My ambient room temperature is probably 72 24/7..


my friend said i can have his CHE.. should i just replace my bulb with that?

ugh i just checked my temperature and the Warm side is 79...

i need to get a thermostat but as of now i have a heat pad 24/7 and a timer for my light which is about 12/12

[Purrrfect9]

You need to have a lamp that would be safe to use with a CHE, because they can get extremely hot and can potentally damage the lamp, by melting, etc. If you're not 100% positive that your lamp can be used with a CHE, they sell some at Petsmart/Petco for around $20-$30. If you look on the box it should say somewhere that it's compatable for CHE's. Then of course you need to know what the wattage of the CHE bulb is, and the max watts that the lamp can sustain.

[coolcasemods]

You need to have a lamp that would be safe to use with a CHE, because they can get extremely hot and can potentally damage the lamp, by melting, etc. If you're not 100% positive that your lamp can be used with a CHE, they sell some at Petsmart/Petco for around $20-$30. If you look on the box it should say somewhere that it's compatable for CHE's. Then of course you need to know what the wattage of the CHE bulb is, and the max watts that the lamp can sustain.

he has a lamp connected to it.

If i get it from him should i leave it on 24 hours?

and if yes should i do this schedule

heatpad 24 hours
CHE 24 hours
Light 12 hours



Ambient light in my room will not be much as he is in a dark corner with no window and i barely ever leave my light on to save money on the electric bill. if push comes to shove i could hook up a fluorescent light instead of incandescent which fluorescent barely gives off any heat

[jeffjr464]

i'd say top priority is to get a thermostat, if your uth or something goes on the fritz your in for trouble, everything else is trivial for now, as long as your temps stay above 75 your snake will be fine, but 92-94 hot, 82-84 cool are where you should be aiming to be, it will take some dinking around to keep them constant, have fun!!

[coolcasemods]

i'd say top priority is to get a thermostat, if your uth or something goes on the fritz your in for trouble, everything else is trivial for now, as long as your temps stay above 75 your snake will be fine, but 92-94 hot, 82-84 cool are where you should be aiming to be, it will take some dinking around to keep them constant, have fun!!

ok thats all i needed to hear... i was getting worried that the temp was too low at night and i tried to pick him up (he was leaning on a rock looking odd) and he was seeming weird in my hand so i turn on a heat lamp right away and held it over him for a while until he became active

i guess im just worrysome