You'd be surprised. Ball pythons are not meant to be arboreal and are not built for it. If something scares them and they ball up while on top of that structure and it causes them to fall, well it's just a non-needed risk.

Quote Originally Posted by mooingtricycle View Post
i keep ALL of my animals at 85-88 hot side 75-78 or so cold side. No problems with this setup at all!

I use racks, and have them heated by back heat with two strips of 11" on my big ones hooked to T-stats, and one strip of 11" on my smaller one ( which is getting extra when i feel like moving it out from the wall before winter)

Never had a problem with this setup, and i do not think ball pythons need 90 degree hotspots. I also feed every other week or so.

Half log is fine, some will tell you they are not, there are always new Fads that go along with keeping reptiles. They pass in time. what people did 20 years ago may not be IN now, but maybe in another 10 it might come back. its just how things go.

So long as the animal feeds for you, and remains healthy and active ( for a ball python, of course) I wouldnt sweat it.

Enjoy your new critter!
I don't understand where your going with this 'fad' thing your talking about. Log hides aren't a good hide for ball pythons because they don't touch them on all sides and are very open and insecure. Ball pythons stress out very easily, and this may cause problems from stress in the future.
Your temperatures are not healthy for your snake. Other snakes, like corns and kings would do fine in that temperature range. Ball pythons are a completely different species and need the higher temperatures to digest their food properly.

Quote Originally Posted by FIREball View Post
Does it eat every week?

Does it poop regularly?

Does it shed fine?

If you answered yes to all, than you are fine. Dont let "stickys" tell you what to do, there are a lot of diffrent ways to do things. As long they eat, poo, and shed you are fine.
As I quote a few other people on this site.
These are all elements of a surviving snake and doesn't take all of the precautions for a snake that you want to thrive in your care.