Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings all,

I am aquring a Ball Python in about a month so up till then I am trying to gather as much information as possible and have its home fully setup for when it arrives. Right now i've got a fresh 20G long tank with screen top. I had some basic questions however..

How much undertank heating material will i need? Flexwatt seems like the way to go, but i'm not sure for that size tank how much will be right. My plan was to use underside heating for general heat and an IR lamp for the basking area.

2 modified terra pots for hides, 1 large water bowl. Do BP's enjoy having simething to climb onto (I was thinking something mode from PVC)

Is astroturf an acceptable substrate? My idea was to cut it into squares and clean and replace as needed.

I've got lead time so i want the snake to have a stable home right away. Thanks in advance for any and all help!

i have two bp's in a 40 gallon long. in my opinion repti bark is the best substrate because it holds moisture pretty good. i don't use any undertank heating because i have about four inches of substrate so it doesn't really make a difference. my bp's really like to climb so i have a lot of branches and other things in there for them to climb. i hope this helps and good luck with ur bp.

I agree my BP loves to climb to but thick fat branches like driftwood stuff and its nice to watch.

How do you heat with overhead heat on one side of tank?

I use low watt overhead on one side of tank for my male (30 long tank)and UTH cobra under his hide area in that same side as shut off overhead heat at night and all spring,summer .

You can use a tank; I use them, though I admit they are a big pain to lug around at cleaning time; many people opt for a Rubbermaid container. They are lihgt and easier to just carry into your bathtub to clean..
My main concern with my tanks is, an escape-proof lid. I have those locking clips that you can buy at a pet store for mine; the other tank is a "reptile type" aquarium with thinner glass and a slidig lid with a lock attached. You don't want to rely on books or rocks on top, to keep the lid on; snakes, especially strong little guys like BPs, can easily push that off. Make sure the locks work and keep that lid on there tight before getting your snake; my rule is, you should be able to lift the tank up by holding the lid! Yes, I am that demanding; I had an escapee years ago who died and it about killed me to find her frozen in my basement.
Substrates are all about preference. I like using paper towels for new snakes, to check on any presence of mites or ticks (easier to see there.) For heat tape, flezwatt on a thermostat is great. I would recomend covering a third of your tank floor with it to create a "hot spot" where you can put the hide on top of.
They really don't need anything to climb on; most things either present a danger (say, getting stuck inside a crevice of driftwood) or are just unnecessary. I do put a large, flat, rough rock in with each of mine; it helps to weigh down the paper towels and also acts as something "natural" for them to rub on in a shed.
There are so many little things about caging and keeping these guys; any other questions, please ask!
One mroe thing though; I would never recommend caging them together, except if you're breeding two healthy adults. I would bank that any reputable breeder would back me up on that factoid.
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2.3 Ball Pythons
1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.1 albino Cranwell's horned frog
1.1 breeding Clawed frogs
1.0 black cat
0.2 paint mares, 1.1 paint foals
Also have fancy goldfish, african cichlids, and rats.

Why carry the tank to clean it. I just remove the snake clean out substrate,etc and clean the inside and outside with paper towels hot water no need to carry it.

I use ESU heavy mesh screen top with the round safety metal clips . Its impossible for a snake to push that open and any snake that can open that I will run out of the house lol.

I loop a family member into helping me carry out my 55 gallon outside to hose it off and let it dry in the sun. Sunshine will kill most, if not all, harmful germs, which is why it's great to lug it outside.

I also like the reptibark, but I mix it with dry forest bedding so that I don't have to put in quite so much to not be able to see the bottom.
I side-mounted my "undertank" heater, and it's working extremely well as to creating a very warm end and a cool end. I've had a problem before with my snake burning her belly on the under-tank heater, and with the side mounting it's pretty hard for her to sit on it long enough to burn herself.

If you can, avoid the astroturf. I adopted a male from a family who was keeping him on something similar and it stunk so bad I had to pull over and throw the stuff away at a gas station a few miles down the road. It's much easier (and less smelly) to just spot clean a regular substrate and replace it when needed.

~jenny
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1.1 normal ball pythons (Cindy and Darwin)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
2.1 betta fishes (Vicious, Killer, and Butters)
3.1 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
2.0 horses (Buddy and Sam)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
2.25 chickens (Jacques the rooster and his harem)

but what I really want is more ball pythons!