Rescue BP-Tank setup

[sweety314]

Your best and most reliable means of sexing your ball python is with either popping, or probing. Tail and spurs isn't the way to do it with balls.

Getting into your questions....

Hides? Brands don't matter. Don't even need petstore stuff, if you don't want to. Helping the snake feel secure is the key. Logs aren't effective. I've got black, to-go salad dishes w/cut-outs for the babies, I've used margarine tubs and lids for the sub adults. For the very small and when my balls were hatchlings that I bought, I have a bunch of the rodent "igloos". My adults are under the plastic dog bowls with holes melted in them. Some ppl use the drip pans to ceramic planters, but I didn't want to take the chance of cracking them when putting a hole in them. Also rubber feeder pans. Baby corns are under the 1/2 coconut shells that were given to us, but Crystal the LTR uses nukeable soup containers that I've blackened w/permanent marker to make them darker.

For my smaller boas, I cut a cat litter box in half, and added a hole on one end, tucking them along the back or end of the tank.

Main point, secure and identical for both hides.

Bowls...Anything HEAVY so they can't tip it over and is easy to clean and sanitize is good

UTH? Most will recommend flexwatt. U can get it in different sizes. For a little extra U can buy it "plug and play". I've got Flexwatt AND the Ultra Therm (made in Scotland). I like those two brands best. I also have the EctoTherm and ZooMed ones. They're all on t-stats or (the UltraTherm) rheostat.

If you want natural bedding, I'd recommend either the aspen (but for humidity issues, Bed-a-Beast type bedding would probably be best). I've mixed the B-a-B with the aspen at about 50/50, 60(a)/40(b-a-b) to help boost the humidity in the tank. If U cover your screen lid (using clips to keep it securely attached) with saran wrap, leaving only a couple small spots for ventilation, you'll be able to control temp and humidity better.

U can set up your larger tank. If he feels insecure and won't eat, even w/the two identical hides (one cold side, one warm) then you can ball up newspaper for cover, gradually removing it piece by piece.