Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if it was safe to use a hard top for a Ball python cage? I heard that alot of people use screen tops but holding in humidity was a huge problem because Ball pythons require atleast 80% humidity. I have seen screen tops on ball pythons and they had such a dry shed it made me sick. I have a hard top on my cage with some ventilation holes to get some air flow but not so many that it would allow excessive humidity loss. I am just wondering if anyone sees a problem with that. I am also wondering if it is safe to use a hard top on snakes in general if anyone can help me with that? Thanks in advance.

Chris

According to Anthony Caponetto

http://reptiles.drivennewmedia.com/ball_python_care.htm

4. Temperatures & Humidity

80 F on the cool end to 90 F on the warmer end during the day
76 F on cool end to 85 F on the warmer end at night.

These temperatures can be accomplished by leaving a heat pad on 24 hours per day and leaving the light on for 12 hours per day. The basking spot (where the light hits and where the under tank heating pad is) can be as high as 95 F as long as the rest of the cage is within the above temperature range.

Keep Humidity around 40-60%. Usually, misting the cage with a spray bottle every other day is enough during the winter. Nothing is usually necessary in the summer, when the humidity is already high…unless, of course, the snake is going into shed.

(IMO)I would add that when a snake is in shed, then the humidity needs to be raised to about 75-80 percent.

Agree, 80% humidity is only neccessary when they go into shed. As for me I don't worry to much about adding humidity for mine, usually the 50% or so that is normally in my house is fine until she is going to shed then I just use a spray bottle and spray her everyday until she sheds and I get fine sheds.

Constant 80% humidity is not needed and can lead to serious problems. Ball Pythons are not Chondros.

Relative humidity is, well, relative. I live in Florida where the only time I mist is during a shed cycle. My snakes are housed in rack units where humitidy is held fairly well. If you live in Arizona, you might have a serious problem with humidity. I would seal part of an aquarium type setup. Leave some area for ventilation. You might also want to consider a humid hide.
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Jay A. Martin

If I want to put a humid hide in my enclosure, should I put it on the hot side or the cold side? I guess I should use sphagnam moss, right? Should I mist inside the hide often, or can it get too humid?

Also, I'm having problems with my temps, my basking spot is mid to even upper 90's in the day, with the cool end about 80. How hot is too hot for the basking spot?

It's the heat that holds humidity, so your hide should be in the warm end. Also, constant moisture breeds bacteria. So you do want your humidity hide to dry out. For my chondros (which require considerable more humidity than Balls), I like to mist once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Each misting lasts around 2-3 hours - the results that is. Overnight, the enclosure is allowed to dry.

I'd say your heat sounds fine. But what does your snake tell you? Where does he spend most of his time?
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Jay A. Martin

My snake spends most of his time at the pet store or breeder who I'm going to buy him from.

I'm waiting on one local breeder to get back to me, if he doesn't by the weekend, I'm going to go buy one from a pet store up near my work on Saturday.

I was just tweaking my temp and humidity in my tank before buying one.

I've found that 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch pegboard make excellent cage tops. I've used it with corn snakes, king snakes, garter snakes, ball pythons, and other species. Pegboard does need to be painted, it holds moisture in too well if the water bowl gets spilled, and the 1/8 inch thickness needs a bit of stiffening. Otherwise it's great.

Paul Hollander

I have kept hard tops on all my ball python and boa cages for a year and a half now and have had no problems with anything, especially shedding. To let you know just how good hard tops are, I keep my balls(hehe) on newspaper and do not spray them, or soak them and they make perfect sheds, eyecaps and all. Another great advantage of hard tops is you can buy cheaper lower wattage bulbs to heat the tank. Brian.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 40 watt incandescent bulb right over the water bowl. I used to keep a hide box with her but she never used it. She only stayed under the piece of drift wood I put in there for her to climb on. The temperature stays about 82-85 during the day and drops when my room gets colder at night to about 75-78. Her humidity ranges between 60-80%. She also has perfect sheds. In fact I keep all of her sheds so I have them to prove it. Does too much humidity cause respiratory problem on pythons??? Just outta curiosity.

Here's some info I found about respiratory tract infections.

http://www.reptilevet.com/boapyth.htm

Respiratory tract infections can result from bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic causes as well as aspiration of foreign material and inhalation of caustic fumes. Poor hygiene, chronic low temperature and humidity too high or too low (normal 50%-70%) predispose a snake to infections. Snake mites can carry infectious organisms from snake to snake such as the bacteria, Aeromonas, a common cause of pneumonia. Clinical signs are often inapparent until the infection has advanced to a serious state. Clinical signs of increased respiratory rate, exaggerated respiratory movements, open mouth breathing and bubbling from mouth are signs of pneumonia. Although nasal discharge may be present, it is a sign of disease in the sinus or mouth not of pneumonia. In severe cases, prognosis is poor to grave. Treatment is aggressive and should be based on the overall condition of the snake determined by physical examination, blood tests to evaluate cell counts and internal organ function, culture for infective organisms and in some cases, radiographs.