I'm new to the forum, I just got a female Ball!

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Lets see your setup so we can make sure everything looks good!

[ZinniaZ]

Hi,
I am a friend of Paradox-- in fact I take the pix. Here is a photo of our setup for Paradox. We bought her at a reptile expo and this is the setup we were advised to get. It's a 20 gallon with sliding doors and a lock, which I thought was crucial. Paradox is a really nice girl. There is a heating pad underneath her rock, and the water dish is over on the right. We added some crumpled up papertowels which she is moving around because the person who sold us to her thought she might need extra places to hide. Not sure if we should get another more solid hiding place for her. Our book on ball pythons says we should not handle her for five to fifteen DAYS because of the stress of moving. Have you all found this to be true? And it also says that we can work up to handling her just 15 minutes per week. That seems very low. I would like to hear if that is true.

She was born in may of 2007.

[ZinniaZ]

I am also worried about temperature. The room is the warmest room in the house and it is about 75 or 80 if we keep the door closed. Her heating element keeps her little rock warm, but I am not sure if that is enough. I am also worried about humidity. We will have to go buy gauges. Should we buy something else to heat with?

[rabernet]

I am also worried about temperature. The room is the warmest room in the house and it is about 75 or 80 if we keep the door closed. Her heating element keeps her little rock warm, but I am not sure if that is enough. I am also worried about humidity. We will have to go buy gauges. Should we buy something else to heat with?

Don't waste your money on pet store dial gauges, they are known for being wrong most of the time. Instead, go to Walmart in the hardware department and buy a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer. The brand most people use is AcuRite and it's about $12 (it takes AAA batteries, not included).

There needs to be belly heat to aid in digestion (NO HOT ROCKS!). That can be achieved using a UTH (Under Tank Heater) and a thermostat. Don't run a UTH without something that controls the heat output like a quality thermostat, or you can burn your snake.

There need to be identical SNUG hides (touching the snake on all sides when its inside the hide) on the warm side and cool side.

Your warm side should be 90-94 degrees and your cool side should be 80-84 degrees. Humidity should be about 50% at all times, bumped when in shed process.

We have a great caresheet here that covers all the basics. Welcome to both of you!
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=59

BP Husbandry FAQ
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=30763

[ZinniaZ]

Ok, for the time being, (today) she has an UTH with no thermostat and only one hide and I think the hide is too big. So I moved it to be half on and half off the heater with plenty of substrate beneath so that she hopefully won't get burned. We are making her nervous. She struck at me when I moved her rock. I don't mind as I think this is just too much change but I want to help her get comfortable and settled. I covered two thirds of the top to keep heat and humidity in and it feels warmer in there. I checked out your guide and we'll be doing some changes asap.

[Paradox]

I'm at school right now, but i just thought id check in, so, hows Paradox doing at home?

[fishmommy]

you guys have very good attitudes toward this new adventure you're off to a great start - just a few changes that people have recommended and you'll be all set

indeed you'll need hides on the hot and cool sides so your snake can feel secure enough to seek the temperature it needs at any given time.

not handling the first week is pretty important, and better yet don't handle until two or three days after you have your first successful feed.

[Paradox]

I just got home, and shes sleeping in her hide, but ZinniaZ keeps moving the hide and stuff around, I'm not sure this is a good idea, since it might hinder the process of my ball getting used to her home, is this bad?
Edit: Oops, she moved the hide because it was on the heat pad, i feel rude, but i understand why she moved it, sorry!

[fishmommy]

you should do what it needed to get the setup right (two hides, the newspaper wads are good too) and correct temps, and then disturb the enclosure as little as possible after that. Your snake needs time to get used to the way things are set up.
snakes are creatures of habit, and changes are always potential stressors.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

Now we don't want to start a fight between you two! did you get the digital thermometer yet? that is the must have item that you need to get IMMEDIATELY!