Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I recently purchased 2 100% pied Het's at the (formerly known as) Lee Watsons Reptile Swap in Illinois. I bought them from a very great guy named Tom Furr.

I know this is bad, and feel free to judge me, but I went in expecting to buy Bearded Dragon because I am familiar with their care, and came home with two ball pythons that are 2 1/2 months old.

Here is my setup, I currently have them in a 20 gal breeder with a sliding screen top in our dining room. I have split the 20 gal down the middle, and have the male on side, and the female on the other.

They currently both have only 1 hide, and it is on the warm side. I am using cocunut husk substrate, and they both have a water bowl that they can fit in if they'd like. I have the water on the warm side as well.

A temperature reading on the warm end that I did by poking a thermometer in the substrate over the Zoo Med Heating Pad showed 89 degrees on the warm end. My problem is that the cool end is around 70 degrees.

Should I get a different heating pad, like a cobra heat pad or a custom made one? Also, I have been thinking about getting ceramic heat bulbs in order to raise the temps and give an ambient warmth as well.

The male is very reclusive, and stays in his hide most of the day. The female is all over the place at night. When I take her out, she is very inquisitive and loves to explore.

I am going to the pet store again today, to pick up another 20 gal tank, two more hides, and a spray bottle. Do ya'll think the 20 gals are bad investments? They are 60 dollars at the pet store.

Ok, as you can see, I'm loaded with questions. Please help me out.

Take Care,

pidge

oh, and in regards to feeding. Should I pick up two mice today? Or wait... I have had them for a week tomorrow.

Personally I suggest going to Walmart and buying to small shoebox sized rubbermaid or sterlite containers, one for each snake. Drill a few holes on the side for ventilation, use papertowel for substrate and get two hides and a small ceramic water dish (or use what you have now).

Set up your ball pythons in these and leave them alone for a week. then buy fuzzy rats and offer these first. Hopefully both will take frozen thawed off the bat... if not then you will have to go with live fuzzy rats. If you can't get live fuzzy rats, then use mice and get the snakes eating a few meals of adult live mice then try pre killed till they are eating these regularly then switch to rats, maybe present with the mice first.
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PHLdyPayne

I've been recommended this by a few people... but my question is how do you heat plastic enlcosure? I understand that traditional undertank heaters aren't meant to heat plastic?... also, when I was using a large rubbermaid (meant for sweaters and blankets), I drilled holes all over, and I found it was a bit to humid... maybe i just need more holes, or a screen top?

Alot of ball python breeders have specific recommended instructions for housing and caring for ball pythons. I recommend doing your research on care sheets. You can heat your plastic tub with a human heating pad at minimum. If you check constrictors, rdr, etc... You will findall the info needed.

The plastic does heat up quicker, so get a rheostat (can be from ZooMed, cheapo rheostats are fine but THERMOSTATS should cost you at least $60 and be a Ranco, Johnson Control, Helix, etc or you should just stick with the Rheostat). That way you can control how much the heat pad is on and prevent it from getting too hot. A temp gun (they're sold around here somewhere specifically for reptiles, run about $20 and you need only one) or an indoor-outdoor thermometer from Walmart (so you can use the probe to be at the warm side) will help to tell the temps.

I also agree with the paper towel substrate. Sure it looks horrible, but it's easy to clean and not half the trouble of anything you'd find at petsmart. All 3 of my snakes are on simple setups with dogbowls for water (some come with the little holes in the side that they can even hide in which my smaller snakes love), plastic ziploc food containers with holes cut in them and paper towels inside for hides, and the occasional paper towel or toilet paper roll as well (for my big guy I only use this to leave mice in the cage overnight, it's routine by now that toilet paper roll means f/t mice inside).

As for feeding, having them on f/t would be great. If you get a pair of kitchen tongs (and never use them for human food again, haha) you can dangle them in front of the snakes and if they're good feeders they should be okay. Give them at least 3 days to a week from when you get home before feeding.

Congrats on your new pair, and thanks for being honest. Hey, it could've been much worse too, you could've said that you plan on keeping them together and I'd have to pull out my old picture of cannibalistic balls. In the future, feel free to post no matter how stupid you think your question is, the people here have heard it all and it's better to look silly than to let a problem go unchecked. Good luck with your pair!
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Danne
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1.0 '07 BRB "Monroe"
1.0 '08 BRB 66% het Anery "Ace"
1.0 '08 Pastel BP "Sebastian"
1.1 Leos "Bowser & Peach"
0.2 Dumbo (non-feeder) rats "Josie & Holly"

Email = dshoback@eden.rutgers.edu

Thanks everyone for your information...

A friend of mine just contacted me (after I put the word out that I was looking for tanks) and she is donating me a 4 foot long, by 1 foot wide glass tank. I am going to the local hardware store where I know most of the people, and I'm going to ask them to help me build a screen top for it that is snake proof.

I will feel better about having them both in a 4 foot tank with a divider down the middle, than a 20 gal. Also, I think it will be easier to heat properly (in terms of the gradient) that way as well..

I have a question about rheostats and thermometers... what is the difference? Also, to check temperature, I have been using a manual metal thermometer that I used to test the temperature of water for photography. Is that good enough, or should I get the temperature testing gun Danne was talking about?

And Danne, when you cut holes into tupperware for their water/hides, do you do anything to soften the edges of the plastic where you cut? I worry that it might be sharp for them?

Ok, I figured out the thermostat/ thermometer/ rheostat difference,

now my question is this. Does anyone know where to be a high quality thermostat in Chicago? Do they sell them at the reptile swaps? Or should I get them online...

also, how many things can you plug into one thermostat...

is there a thread somewhere about the best rheostats/thermostats?

The large tank sounds good, as long as they were kept together before then they should've be able to pass anything to each other that readily and will be less stressed when kept separate. Keep either one large heat mat at the middle or one at each end of the tank, I'd vouch for the middle one.

I also looked up the shows, apparently there's one right by Chicago on the 21st, you can always get discount stuff there. Whether it's 30% off a ZooMed rheostat or getting a Ranco without paying shipping, that's definitely your best bet. Plus you'll get to see all of the awesome morphs and other kinds of snakes and lizards, and pieds that you may someday produce! Plus there will be tons of guys there to talk snake with, I find that random breeders are always willing to lend a hand and give out advice. Just make sure not to make any impulse snake purchases
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Danne
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1.0 '07 BRB "Monroe"
1.0 '08 BRB 66% het Anery "Ace"
1.0 '08 Pastel BP "Sebastian"
1.1 Leos "Bowser & Peach"
0.2 Dumbo (non-feeder) rats "Josie & Holly"

Email = dshoback@eden.rutgers.edu

correct.
The babies need to be in shoebox containers, not a big tank. I have 6 08's that are kept individually in Sterlite 6qt shoeboxes and they feed like crazy and are secure and don't seem to be stressed. They won't be moved out of those for a while. Ball pythons are often found in burrows and ant hill mounds, they LOVE the security that a cramped dark place provides.
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In Loving Memory of the best Brother God gave me
Sgt. Arnold DuPlantier II
(Army National Guard, Charlie Rock Co.)
06/03/1979-(KIA)06/22/2005
Support And Remember Our Troops

baby ball pythons need small cramped cages just big enough to allow for a temperature gradient. These are shy reclusive snakes and putting them into a big cage will only stress them. Save the big tank for adult snakes.

The kinds of rheostats and thermostats mentioned a few responses ago are the best. If you are good with wiring, you can use a dimmer switch too.
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PHLdyPayne

Snakes like the smaller enclosures for the most part, and will stress when in a large area.

ok, I hear ya'll. I'm going to keep them in the 20gal split down the middle till they are larger. The divider I ordered came in today, and after a few adjustments, I should have it all set up by tomorrow. right now, my makeshift divider will have to continue to do.

I will save the larger tank for them (or just one of them) when they get older and bigger.

I also bought 2 more new half-bark hides, and two new water bowls. So total they each have 2 hides, and a water bowl. I also bought an overhead red heat bulb (50 watts) in order to keep the ambient a little warmer in my cold aprtment during the chiago winter. It's also to bring the cool end up 5-10 degrees so that the gradient goes from 89-80, instead of 89-70 like it was.

Oh, and I tried to feed them f/t tonight... with success and failure. They both were on live mice with the breeder, and suprisingly both took to the thawed mice tonight. The female hit first, and the struggled with getting the mouse just right in her mouth since she stuck at it's middle... eventually after about

(didn't get to finish in the post above)...so after about 10 minutes or so, she dropped the mouse. She then lost interest and started to realign her jaw. So then I fed the male, and he took to the f/t too! His strike was much stronger and on target, he had the mouse in a death curl of sorts and was bent just over his water bowl...part of his body was in the water and all of a sudden he dropped the mouse in the water...

I tried again with both of them to take the mice, but with the exception of the male opening his mouth and looking like he was going to eat it, and then not eating it, I had no success...

although, I am happy to know that they both took to f/t mouse on the first try (kind of). So next time, I will be better prepared, and will try to feed them in a separate enclosure.

In your experience, have you found your baby balls to drop their mice? And is it impossible for them to strike again after having the mouse in their mouth for about 10 minutes because they jaw is all out of wack?

jen

My own ball has never eaten on his own, but my rainbows eat well (not as well as my king used to though). If they do drop it, pick it up and try again if it's not too cold. Warmth is the key, if you can get them warm enough (just not too hot, maybe temp gun them and aim for like 95 since mouse temps are about that) then their feeding responses will be strong. You know that they're comfortable enough to eat, that's most of the battle.

Also, for the tank make sure that you cover at least part with a background of sorts. You can get fancy and go to a pet store, or just use black construction paper. I find that my BP as well as my geckos are more active and comfortable this way in their tanks. Sorry I forgot to mention that before.
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Danne
---------
1.0 '07 BRB "Monroe"
1.0 '08 BRB 66% het Anery "Ace"
1.0 '08 Pastel BP "Sebastian"
1.1 Leos "Bowser & Peach"
0.2 Dumbo (non-feeder) rats "Josie & Holly"

Email = dshoback@eden.rutgers.edu

If they don't take the first time, maybe you could leave them alone for a little to get settled, and than try again. But use a hairdryer to heat them back up to "living" temperatures in between each try. Hope this helps! Cheers!
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Cheers!
• Chelsea Lynn Gardiner
(and Frank M. Wood)

I'm kind of glad she didn't eat the mouse because I fed it to her in her cage, like someone suggested to me on their first feeding for their comfort, and the cocunut husk substrate got all over the mouse. I was afraid if she ate the mouse like that, she could get impacted...

Do i have to worry about cocunut husk impacting my baby balls?

I will try again soon, and use your tips. thanks...