Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just wondering if there was anything else I should have for my ball python setup.Here is the list of the setup as is.
20 gallon long tank
newspaper substrate
under tank heater
heat lamp
water bowl
hide box
log for shedding and climbing
I also spray tank with mist of water once a day.
is there anything else Iam missing or need?
Any advice would be appreciated!
thanks

P.S. sorry the pic is so big.

If you can fit another hide in there.. maybe one on each side.. it would probably be appreciated. Also, depending on the humidity in your house, misting might not raise it enough for the snake to shed. I've been there.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

another hide will be added...no problem there.
how would I go about raising the humidity in the tank?

Well, assuming it's too low... you can cover up part of the lid, which might do it for a ball. You can also make one of the hides a humid hide, which means that you put something that holds humidity in inside the hide and mist that down directly. Green moss and peat moss work well for me. Increasing the size of the water dish can also help. I'm a little rusty on my ball pythons but I'd aim for about 60%. You don't want the humidity too high, and you also don't want wet substrate. So it's kind of a balancing act. You can get very nice digital temp/humidity gages for about 10$ and they're pretty handy. Symptoms of your humidity being too low include wheezing, dented eyecaps, and bad sheds. I just wanted to give you a heads up because it's a mistake I made more than once when I started getting into boas and pythons. I've got some really picky ones that need it around 80% and I had to fold and get them plastic cages. You shouldn't have to go that far, though.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

ty very much
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no that is just fine, but you don't need a heat lamp if you already have a heat pad, it waists to much energy.