Quote Originally Posted by Jessi3825 View Post
My boyfriend and I are about to go pick up our first BP. Are females or males better to start with? Or does it not matter? Input please?


We've also already set up the cage. Its a 55 gallon tank. We had troubles with the heat, so we added a heat lamp along with our under tank heater. We've finally got the heat to about 72F on the cool side, and 85F on the warm side. But now we're having troubles with the humidity(48% on the warm side and 73% on the cool side). We have water in the dish already, but it doesn't seem to help. Would this be okay with frequent mists, or as is? Any suggestions?


Thank you.
As was mentioned, females take longer to grow into breeding age, so a lot of people start with a female~ just in case!!

The tank you have will be WAY TOO BIG for a baby ball python and will lead to stress and feeding issues. A 10g or 20g long is fine. In fact, it will always be too high and you will struggle with humidity issues Here is a very good information sheet for setting up a glass tank: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846. Remember that temps for a wee baby need to be around 92F and the cool side ought to be about 82F. Ambient temps need to be about 82F.

Lots of people use the Acurite thermometer/hygrometer to measure temps and humidity inside the cage and heat sources need to be controlled by a thermostat (Ranco, Johnson, Helix, Herpstat...) Uncontrolled heat sources get too hot and can cause thermal burns.

Bumping humidity by using damp sphagnum moss is a good idea. A bowl of it near the heat source ought to help a lot You could also put some into each of the two hides.

Welcome to the forum and share pictures of your snake when you get her or him!! Be sure to ask questions as they arise and do check out that link-- it'll help a ton!!!