Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK. So I have my 10 month old ball python in a nice ten gallon tank, shredded aspen bedding, UTH, blacklight heat lamp on the same side as the UTH, two hiding places (one over the UTH and one not), water dish surrounded by damp moss to keep the humidity up.

Temperature reads 87 degrees under the heat lamp, 78 degrees on the other end. Humidity generally between 60-70%.

He came from a reputable breeder and has a solid feeding history. He has eaten once since we got him two weeks ago, and is due for another feeding tonight (last one was ten days ago, no problem).

Lately, he has taken to burrowing and hiding under his water dish on the cool side of the tank, spilling water all over the area under the water dish in the process.

So now he spends most of his time in the cold dampness under his water dish. When I pick him up, he is wet (from the water/dempness) and cold to the touch.

Is this OK? I am worried about scale rot, although no signs of it yet.

Any thoughts as to whether my concerns are misplaced (I mean, he ought to know what makes him feel comfortable, no?)

Ball pythons don't really take to basking lights. They need under tank heat. If your UTH is underneath the water dish, he's probably trying to get warm in a secure location. I would get rid of the basking light, put in a ceramic heat emitter if necessary, to keep the air temp up, get a human heat pad or increase the heat of the UTH so it's over 80F. The damp moss is fine, but I would put it in a hide, instead of around the waterdish. There should be two hides in the tank, one at the cool end, the other over the UTH. 10 Gals is also rather small for a ball python, I would get something closer to a 20-35 gal.

Scale rot usually is seen in tanks that have too damp substrate (that is damp all the time, n ever having a chance to dry out) bacteria/mold in the substrate or moist hide and general unclean conditions.