Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm a newbie with a w/c bp that has only eaten 1 pinkie since I bought him on 3/18. I currently have 2 heat lamps that stay on 24 hours and one that comes on during day light hours only along with a flourescent bulb to simulate daylight hours. His home is a 70 gallon tank which takes constant heat lamps to maintain a temp of 80 to 90 degress depending on day or night. I was reading someones post about not needing heat lamps and using heat pads instead. I'm confused, can someone give me advice on what is the best for my snake. I really want to make it a realistic enviroment for him so hopefuly he will eat.

Thanks

Clerifciation to my own post. When I wrote heat lamps I mean the red heat lamps.

The heat lamps are "ok" but the under the tank heating systems are better. There are a few options open, but first, the lighting situation...12 hours on, 12 hours off is the general rule. I would also suggest that you get a smaller cage, especially is the snake is a baby. If it is an adult...the large tank is ok. Ball pythons want to feel secure. A smaller cage is the way to go. If you want to use an aquarium, I would use a 10 gallon for now and make sure you have a hide box!! Many would suggest 2 hide boxes, one on each end of the cage. You should have a warm end and a cool end so the snake has the option to move where it is most comfortable. I would check into under the tank heating if I were you and get a thermostat control (30 dollars will get you a perfectly good one) to control the heat pad or heat tape depending on the option you go with. Whatever you do...DO NOT get a heat rock!Try feeding your snake at night. Ball pythons are nocturnal. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. My bp is 32 inches long so I'm assuming that the 70 gallon tank is ok. I do have two hides with a air temperature spread of about 8 to 10 degrees difference. I'm going to buy a 2 UTH's tonight. Should I set them like I have the air temps set up? 90-95 during the day on the hot side and 80-85 on the cold side.

Thanks for your time.

UTHs are better than heat lamps. They need the belly heat to digest properly. Maybe that's why your snake won't eat?

In all of my cages, I use human heat pads ($10-15) with a 3 heat setting. They usually go on low, but one's on medium.

Of 3 cages, only 2 have lamps, on from 7a-7p. Well, 3, but I need a new bulb for the 3rd. UTHs are more important than bulbs.

And a hide on warm side, and one on cool so it doesn't have to choose between being at the proper temperature and feeling secure.

As to eating, they can be shy eaters, especially wc, so try leaving the snake in a feed box overnight with a DEAD mouse. No light, no sound, don't walk by it, don't check on it every hour. Leave it alone all night. That's the only way one of mine'll eat.
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-Irish
My Snakes

Thanks for your feedback. I'm going to get 2 UTH's tonight. I've tried every type of mouse and gerbal. Dead, live, stunned etc. He seems afraid of anything that moves too fast and I think thats why he ate the pinkie.

You will want 2 have a UTH and a heat lamp the lamp should be on for 12 hours in the day. THe UTH should always bee on. I have never had a BP but I have researched so I hope this helps.

You may want to consider keeping your ball in a smaller enclosure until you get him/her feeding regularly. She may be overwhelmed by such a large enclosure. As for lighting, I have my balls under a normal incandescent during daylight hours and they have their undertank heater for nighttime (which stays on all the time.) This is basically the same setup I use with all my snakes except for my adult boas. Their cage is 6' tall so I have a ceramic heat lamp in their enclosure to keep the temps up. You may also want to try something a bit larger than a pinky. He may just find the prey item too small to be bothered with. Maybe try a fuzzie or small adult mouse. Even better would be a smaller size rat if you have access to a suitable size rat. I was talking to Kevin at NERD and he told me his balls never are given mice, just appropriate sized rats. Good luck, Scott.

Thanks for the feedback. I've tried them all except a rat pup. My bp is 32 inches long how big of an animal can he handle. Anything that moves too fast he seems afraid of.

Hap

If it was eating good, it could easily take 2 or 3 adult mice. Mine is about 24 inches, and takes an adult mouse every 2 days. I would feed it a rat crawler, since it cant really do any damage to it.

Put your snake in a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium with a hide box. about an hour later, put the rat crawler in, and turn off all the lights, or cover most of the cage. Check back about every hour to see how it is doing. DO NOT put a rat big enough to hurt the snake in. Maybe I was wrong to call it a rat crawler (I dont mess with rats, and dont really know the sizes) Put a rat in that does not have its eyes open yet, and does not have that much fur.

If one is available, you could put a rabbit "kit"pinkie) in there. My mom and sister have pet rabbits, and I plan to feed the babies to my bp when she is big enough. They cannot hurt your snake, so you could put it in overnight.

Best possible thing would be to move your snake into a smaller cage, so it will feel more secure. Put a few hideboxes in, and fake plants, or shelves help too. Also, if it is an aquarium, cover 3 sides of it with some "wallpaper" stuff. (the background you can buy for fish)

Hope this helps!!!!