Newbie here with BP that has RI

[juiceman2k7]

Ok I bought my son a BP for Christmas and go the aquarium along with a mesh lid, its a 10 gallon aquarium and the BP is about 14". The breeder I purchased him from told me all I needed was to put a heating pad under one side where his hide is and his water onthe other side, I noticed he has had a hard time shedding for the past several weeks so I spoke to a guy from my local PS where I get my pinkies from. He said just put him in luke warm water in the tub "very shallow" and let him sit in it, and also if that didnt fix it the humidity might be off. I knew nothing about the humidity and today we took him out to handle him and he is showing signs of a respiratory infection "keeps opening mouth wide open, foaming, and bubbles from the mouth" so I started really doing some reading and noticed that both the breeder and PS never told me I needed a thermostat nor a humidity gauge. I know its pretty stupid on my behalf for not checking into him more before getting him but I am taking him to the vet tomorrow, now what do I need to get to correct this? I have the 10GL aquarium with the shavings in the bottom and an under the tank heating pad which I think is a zoo med, I need some help with what to reasonably purchase to finish this to make sure his heat and humidity is right.

[blackcrystal22]

Ok I bought my son a BP for Christmas and go the aquarium along with a mesh lid, its a 10 gallon aquarium and the BP is about 14". The breeder I purchased him from told me all I needed was to put a heating pad under one side where his hide is and his water onthe other side, I noticed he has had a hard time shedding for the past several weeks so I spoke to a guy from my local PS where I get my pinkies from. He said just put him in luke warm water in the tub "very shallow" and let him sit in it, and also if that didnt fix it the humidity might be off. I knew nothing about the humidity and today we took him out to handle him and he is showing signs of a respiratory infection "keeps opening mouth wide open, foaming, and bubbles from the mouth" so I started really doing some reading and noticed that both the breeder and PS never told me I needed a thermostat nor a humidity gauge. I know its pretty stupid on my behalf for not checking into him more before getting him but I am taking him to the vet tomorrow, now what do I need to get to correct this? I have the 10GL aquarium with the shavings in the bottom and an under the tank heating pad which I think is a zoo med, I need some help with what to reasonably purchase to finish this to make sure his heat and humidity is right.

First and foremost, with an RI you have no choice but to take the animal to a vet as soon as possible (within the next day or so) otherwise you will not be able to properly cure the problem. It's going to need injections of a special type of medicine that you can not get over the counter. IMMEDIATELY get to a herp vet.
Secondly, up the humidity to about 70%. Paper towel or newspaper substrate, two small tight hides on both sides of the enclosure, cover 3 of the 4 glass sides with a dark paper or cover. Cool side (water bowl) 80-85F, warm side 90-95F. Don't guess, get a couple probe thermometers.
You need to get a thermostat to regulate that UTH. It WILL get much too hot without one, so run to the hardware store immediately and temporarily get a light dimmer to control it so it isn't too hot and burns your snake.

Only soak your snake if has already started to shed and is having trouble. Pre-shed soaking can actually make the shedding process more difficult.

Also, read everything on this caresheet and make sure you have everything spot on. :]
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59
Good luck!

[starmom]

Well....
A reasonable purchase would be a thermostat, 2 hides, an Acu-Rite thermometer/hygrometer, some foil and duct tape to cover the screen mesh lid, a small water bowl, and maybe some sphagnum moss.

-Reptile Basics (http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html) has a good selection of thermostats.
-Lowe's carries the Acu-Rite digital thermometer/hygrometer (it is not reptile specific).
-Hides can be made from lots of things (planter bottoms, bowls turned over with a door cut and melted in, etc.)

If the room the snake is in is chilly, you might want to put some cork board or insulation around the sides and back of the tank to help hold in the heat. At any rate, you'll want to darken the sides and back of the tank with paper so that the ball python feels more secure.

This is a great info sheet for glass tanks: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846

Good luck at the vet

[MDball0918]

First and foremost, with an RI you have no choice but to take the animal to a vet as soon as possible (within the next day or so) otherwise you will not be able to properly cure the problem. It's going to need injections of a special type of medicine that you can not get over the counter. IMMEDIATELY get to a herp vet.
Secondly, up the humidity to about 70%. Paper towel or newspaper substrate, two small tight hides on both sides of the enclosure, cover 3 of the 4 glass sides with a dark paper or cover. Cool side (water bowl) 80-85F, warm side 90-95F. Don't guess, get a couple probe thermometers.
You need to get a thermostat to regulate that UTH. It WILL get much too hot without one, so run to the hardware store immediately and temporarily get a light dimmer to control it so it isn't too hot and burns your snake.

Only soak your snake if has already started to shed and is having trouble. Pre-shed soaking can actually make the shedding process more difficult.

Also, read everything on this caresheet and make sure you have everything spot on. :]
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=59
Good luck!

Not much more to add to that...pretty much hit it all... the only thing maybe to help keep humidity is if you're using the screen top, cover half of it with a heavy cardboard(that's what I use, I know there's other things out there that are probably better suited but I'm sure one of the veterans on here will give better examples). Good luck!

[juiceman2k7]

Thanks for all the info guys, I work 3rd and plan on taking him 1st thing this morning. I just hope my ignorance doesnt end up killing the poor BP "Vader" or my 9yo will kill me, I was reading somebody on the board painted a few sides with flat black paint to make it feel more secure. I have 2 different hides and two different water bowls, at first I had a hide shaped like a rock with one entrance and when he started to shed I both what looks like a half-hollow log so he could crawl on it to help with the shedding and at that time I put a bigger watter bowl in it in case he wanted to soak. I assume I need to put both hides in it "one on each side" and the small water bowl back in, I will also get the temperature control as well as humidity reader.

[dreese88]

Thanks for all the info guys, I work 3rd and plan on taking him 1st thing this morning. I just hope my ignorance doesnt end up killing the poor BP "Vader" or my 9yo will kill me, I was reading somebody on the board painted a few sides with flat black paint to make it feel more secure. I have 2 different hides and two different water bowls, at first I had a hide shaped like a rock with one entrance and when he started to shed I both what looks like a half-hollow log so he could crawl on it to help with the shedding and at that time I put a bigger watter bowl in it in case he wanted to soak. I assume I need to put both hides in it "one on each side" and the small water bowl back in, I will also get the temperature control as well as humidity reader.

get 2 hides(not half logs) that are the same so the little guy can thermoregulate while feeling safe. half logs just really dont provide good security. The acurite they speak of is ~$12 and it is a hygrometer and thermometer and is a really useful tool and should be located either near the paint/misc hardware in a wal-mart or in the garden section at lowes. also the light dimmer(should run between $5-10) until you can get a better thermostat online

[juiceman2k7]

get 2 hides(not half logs) that are the same so the little guy can thermoregulate while feeling safe. half logs just really dont provide good security. The acurite they speak of is ~$12 and it is a hygrometer and thermometer and is a really useful tool and should be located either near the paint/misc hardware in a wal-mart or in the garden section at lowes. also the light dimmer(should run between $5-10) until you can get a better thermostat online

Explain how a light dimmer works to regulate the temperature, and is there anything in particular I need to look for in one?

[dreese88]

Well...I've never had to use one, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

You plug the UTH into the dimmmer then plug the dimmer in to the wall...the slider on the dimmer will adjust the amount of power going to your UTH. So say you have a 70 degree house and the dimmer is adjusted to about 3/4 of the way up and it gives you 95 degrees in your tank. Then if your house goes up a/b 5 degrees your tank would be 100. All you really should need is the sliding type of light dimmer and a digital thermometer with a probe BTW these aren't real measurements at all, just examples...please do not use them and expect said results.

[starmom]

A dimmer will only work if the room temp is pretty darn stable; like within a degree or, at most, two degrees over the course of each 24 hours. If the room does not have this type of temp stability, you will be forever tweaking the dimmer and will more than likely run into problems and wind up getting a thermostat.

Cut your losses and just get the thermostat

[juiceman2k7]

I cant get the humidity to go up, I have the temp stable but Humidity is being a pain to get up. I have the aspen bedding.