New tank and ball python owner

[zhang317]

-I put the basking lamp on top of the water bowl, that seems to help keep it at 40%. i scrapped the tin foil idea, and im trying just putting a damp bath towel on top of screen for about 3/4ths of it. i had really good humidity levels when i put about 3 layers of damp paper towels, so im gonna try this, if it doesnt work, ill go back to the paper towels and make sure to keep them damp, and change them daily, i know it sounds like alot of work, but i really dont mind.

The thing about spray bottles and damp papers towels is that you have to constantly monitor it. Its best if your setup is self-sufficient. Like what frankykeno said, you can try switching to only UTC, which do not suck the humidity. Or if you don't like the tin foil idea, you can use duck tape. However, you do have a humid hide, which is the Ziplock container with damp paper towels. Some keepers have found this to be sufficient when the over all humidity is lower than 50. Since you already know what the humidity is supposed to be just try around these different technique and see which works best.

I have 2 temature gauges in the care, unfortunalty they are the cheap dial ones everyone seems to hate, they seem to work alright, but i do plan on in a month or so, going out and getting some nice digital ones. im trying not to mess with the inside of the tank while shes still new to it. the infared light and the basking lamp provide the hot end at a nice 88 to 91 degrees, as well as keeping the cool side around 79 to 81. they pretty much stay at these temps during the day, it depends on if a nice cool breeze is coming through the window or not, but i always keep a close eye on the temps, and adjust my surroundings if needed. the bulbs rest about an inch off the top of the screen inside their fixtures, do you think thats far enough to make sure she wont get burned, she really cant get up too high in the cage yet.

Yah, everyone does hate those, lol. Its just because probe ones are far more accurate. But no, she will not get burned if the lamp is on top of the screen. As long as she does not have direct contact with the bulb, its fine.

the temps seem to stay pretty consistent through out the day and night,
daytime, 88 to 91 on the hot end, with 79-81 on the cold. Night time is more like 85 on the hotend, and still around 79-81 on the cold. ambient temp is always above 80

Your temperatures are good during the day. But, they should not drop at night; its not necessary or desired. In the wild, ball pythons spend most of their time in burrows, which do not change much in temperature through the day. Try to keep the temperature the same at all times to avoid difficulties.

yea i kinds bought that hide log based of some advice i have gotten, but i have also heard a few people tell me the same thing you did about it. I have it back in the cool side of the tank in a corner, do you think i should take it out, she seems to like it and spends alot of time in it. also, should i take out the other hides, or just leave them in there and she can use them if she wants to. i dont mind the extra work of cleaning out the tank and moving things around. also, i put a paper towel tube in there as well, should i take that out? Of the all the hides i have in there, the 1 hide log, 2 flower pots, a clear small ziplock container that has a snap on lid which i cut a pretty decent size hole in the top and put damp paper towels in, and a medium size coconut shell in the corner that i put some moss in the top to stop light from coming in, which ones do you recommend i take out?

The minimum in terms of hides is two identical ones, one at the hot side, one at the cool. ITs very important that the snake does not choose security over temperature. If you want additional hides, thats okay too, just make sure they are the same as the main two. And as for the ziplock as a humid hide, thats good if you are having problem with humidity, but it should not substitute as a main hide.

Aside from that, I cant stress enough how important it is to get a heat monitoring device. If you can't get a thermostat at the moment, at least get a dimmer. If you have a thermostat, you dont have to worry about a breeze coming in and changing the temperature, because the thermostat will apply as much power as needed to maintain the set temperature.

Also, dont stress too much about your tank size. Yes, a larger tank will be harder to maintain temperature, humidity and the sense of security, but its not impossible.

Your are very welcome. Your enthusiasm and patience is really good. It seems you know the main requirements about care and setup and you are just tidying things up. Keep the questions coming, everyone here is willing to help.

Oh, if you post pictures of your setup, we will able to get a really good sense of what we are working with.