Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all, first off I want to say thanks for the great ball python community on the web - been reading up, asking questions, and researching for the last 8 months or so (until last Friday, when I finally got my first snake, a ball python), and everyone's been most helpful.

I did have some questions though now that I have him that someone should be able to help with. Three to be exact (but I'll give some background info first). This is probably going to be a long post.

I'm up in the praries in Canada, so it's cold and dry (at least now that Fall has started). Bowen (the ball) is in a larger enclosure for a young snake (it's about 3 feet long, 2 feet deep, 1.5 feet high), but I've observed to make sure he's moving from the warm to cool side to thermoregulate. The enclosure also has several hides, as well as a section that's obscured from view (with a fake plant) for him. I have a mister set to 15 seconds of mist every 3 hours (and pointed at the warmer side of the enclosure, since when I had it pointed at the cooler side it didn't always evaporate before the next mist, leading to a very wet side). I also have a substrate heater mounted underneath the tank, a substrate heater mounted on the wall (on the warm side), a heating light, and an infrared light. Everything but the lights is on an on/off thermostat, set to 85*. That all does a pretty good job, but these last couple of days have been a lot colder, and I found the substrate (astroturf) which before was OK (around 85*F - 90*F depending on warm/cool side) is now too cool (70*F).

Therefore I've installed some heat tape underneath the warm side's astroturf (and connected it to the same thermostat), and that's boosted the temp of the surface up again. Which leads me to the first question:

1. With the thermostat set to 85*F, the floor gets to about 95*F on the warm side (the thermostat sensor is about 1/4 inch off the ground on the warm side). If I turn it down to 80*F, the floor gets to about 90*F (which is approximately right), but then the air temperature would only be 80*F. Which one is the better solution? Or any other suggestions?

2. With the humidity dropping because of the cold, his enclosure is now at about 50%. He does have a humidity hide (a tub with some moist moss in it), but he doesn't seem to like it. He also has a water bowl large enough for him to fit in, but again, he hasn't done that yet. Should I be concerned, or is humidity only a bigger issue during shed?

3. Unrelated to the last two, the first time I fed him was on Monday (as per the breeder's instructions). I tried first in the morning, and he didn't seem interested, but when I tried again that evening it took all of 30 seconds before he grabbed it. Since then I haven't handled him (to give him some time to digest). This morning he was exploring around his enclosure and I thought I'd try and handle him, but when I put my hand in slowly he very quickly recoiled, and snapped at the air (I wasn't close enough). I left, came back 15 minutes later, and tried again, and this time just left my hand unmoving in the enclosure. He did recoil again, but then after about 5 minutes he slowly made his way back to his favourite hide. I touched him before he went in, and he seemed to be OK with it, but I thought it best to leave him for a bit (since his head was already in the hide). From my reading, he should be done digesting by now... Is he just nervous (seeing as he's not used to me yet in the first place)? Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help, and hopefully I haven't rambled too much!

Congrats on your new addition! Kudos to you for doing your homework first, too.

As far as your first question, I would measure the temps on the substrate, since that's the temp that the snake is experiencing. Air temperature is less important, IMO. I actually have the thermostat probe underneath the tubs in my racks, so you could probably put yours on the substrate or under it and adjust the set temperature accordingly.

Now for the humidity... what type of enclosure do you have him in? If it has a screen top, you could try covering about 2/3 of the lid. This will help hold in the heat, too, so you may have to adjust your t-stat to compensate. You might find that you don't need the heat lamp anymore, too. Heat lamps tend to dry out the air, so if you can do without one that will raise the humidity. 50% isn't too bad, though, if you mist when he's in shed.

Hey all, first off I want to say thanks for the great ball python community on the web - been reading up, asking questions, and researching for the last 8 months or so (until last Friday, when I finally got my first snake, a ball python), and everyone's been most helpful.

As far as why he struck at you, he's probably still stressed out from the move. I would give him time to settle in before you handle him. I usually don't handle new additions until they've had 3 or 4 meals. Sometimes hatchlings are just defensive since they're so small.

Hopefully all that makes sense to you. Keep us posted on how he does (and post pics). Good luck!

Thanks,
Shelly

Thanks Shelly,

It's a terrarium, so glass and mesh top. About 1/2 of the top is already covered (I've had it a month or so and had tested around with covering to get relatively good humidity when I got it) - I hadn't thought of adjusting that again.

I'll move the sensor right onto the substrate like you suggest.

I'll get some pics up sometime soon too .

Thanks again!
- Kurtis

I'm by no means an expert but here are some things I have found. If you use a substrate that holds air well (i.e. wood chips) it will hold the heat well and you will have less dramatic temperature swings. Also, if you go to home depot they will cut a piece of plexiglass that you can put over the top. It will look nice and hold heat/humidity well. Hope this helps.