just needing some info

[blackcrystal22]

hello again, thatnk all for your help! i just wanted to tell you that BOTH of my temp/humidity gauges ARE digital. one a proble one not. do you guys have any idea what he coulda died from? i was just wondering. the new one looks SO much more healthy and rounded and i even got a feeding demo!

and do reguges look like half poo sometimes?

Regurges are half digested so yes, they can look a bit like feces. You can't really tell what the snake died from, unless you get an autopsy. It could have been parasitic problems or a whole lot more. I hope you washed out the enclosure well before introducing the new one, or the new one could get something transferred from the old one.

First of all, I don't think with your experience you want to deal with the difficulties of a 30 gallon enclosure. I suggest getting a 15 or 20 gallon long instead.

Big water bowls are a waste of space. Replace it with one big enough to drink from. A small dog bowl or ceramic cooking bowl (2in diameter) work perfectly and are easy to clean and replace. Ball pythons do not need to soak, it isn't required.

Couple of other tidbits that I want to point out from the caresheet for you. What do you intend on feeding him? When you choose food items, make sure they are about the same thickness as the thickest point on the snakes body. Give or take a little more or less.

Aspen is a good bedding choice. Make sure to stay away from things like pine, cedar, or sand. You could always use newspaper or paper towels too.

Heres the big part.

You need to make a proper temperature gradient.
To do this, have the UTH (undertank heater) hooked up to a thermostat or a rheostat for controlling the temperatures, and put this under the warm side.
You can use the lamp as a little bit of extra heat for the ambient temperature but NOT as a main heat source! Put it in the middle-warm side depending on where the temperature is needed. The warm side should range between 90-95F.
The cool side should have a water bowl and be about 80-85F which should also be the ambient (air temperature).

Do you have two hides available?
For a new ball python, they will be stressed and afraid. Offering two hides for comfort is very important important for security. They need to be small tight hides that fit around their body with no space between them and the hide. Log hides are not recommended as they are very open and do not provide very much security. One hide should be on the warm side, and one on the cool side.

To help humidity, cover up the screen top with foil, leaving a hole for the lamp and such, and making sure no tape comes in contact with the inside of the enclosure.

Good luck!