Reptile & Amphibian Forums

New to snake's need some advice. Here is a pic of my enclosure, set up from advice gathered on the boards here. The warm side of that tank is hitting 90-95 with a 100 watt bulb, so i purchased a 60 watt to try and bring it down abit. Also, the humidity is hitting around 35-40 in the middle of the tank. What is a good way to get it up to the levels i need, 60-70 from what i have been reading online. The bowl on the left is a full of water, so he can soak if need be, and i was hoping the evaporation would keep the humidity up, but guess not. Thanks in advance.

Humidity is hard in glass tanks. I've tried many tricks and the easiest I've found is to cover the screen with duct tape (put on the top/outside of the screen) leaving an opening for any lights - if no lights then leave an opening for ventilation.

Get a reptile heating pad or human heating pad - belly heat is more important than overhead heat (balls don't bask in the sun, they're nocturnal). Belly heat is important for digestion. Set the UTH on a thermostat. Supplement with overhead eat if needed, but rely on belly heat.

Ditch that thermometer - the stick ons are usually inaccurate. Invest in a digital w/ probes. They allow you to measure where you need to measure - belly/surface temps. Where your thermometer is located you can't tell what the surface/belly temps are.

You need at least one hide per side of the tank. Right now your snake can only go to one place for security and is stuck with the the temp in that log. What if those temps are too cool or too warm? Where will he/she go then?

I really like that background - kind of looks 3D. That's a good idea bringing it around to the sides like that.

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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I too like tha background and agree to more hides. Instead of the water there for evapration..place a cup with soaked paper towels or cloth towels over the under tank heat pad...yes get one of those. I like to cover the top with plastic to raise humidity. Just leave and inch or 2 on each side for ventalation. I happen to like glass enclosures as uth's will not melt them and different woods can effect snakes especially when you add heat and humidity and factor in they are in there 24 hours a day and not exposed for short times as they would be in the wild with open ventalation. I would also try and get a circualr hide (circle basket flipped over with hole cut in it) this will give the snake more security with something touching it all around. I would ditch the light all together or use a much lower wattage house light for a very small heat addition and a day night cycle.

Great point on the hides. they like them low and snug - touching all sides.

The bases for flower pots work real well.
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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

Ok, quick fix. I put the heat wave UTH on the right side, under the log hide, moved the water more towards the middle, and added another circle hide on the cooler side.

Is it ok if i just use electrical tape to close off the screen lid, and just leave abit of the screen open on each side? Also, how do you use a thermostat with a UTH? I would love to see some pics of enclosure set ups.

I am going to try the his first feeding on friday. The employee's at the store i saved him from had no idea what he was fed, so i would like suggestions on where to start. Frozen thawed, live, recently killed? Thanks guys.

getting much better. I think instead of electrical tape it would be easier to just tape some plastic over the screan lid and leave just over an inch on each side for ventalation...just use a grabage bag for your plastic. Those pags get hot too, the adhesive oned you need to be a little more carefull with. Since they stick directly to the glass they conduct heat more than one that would have a thin layer of air between it and the glass. You should be alright though. I aldo like to wedge bamboo from walmart or a place like that in the walls so you dont take up floor space but the snake can climb on it. If you dont understand what I mean I might be able to get a picture for you. And for temp readings with the heat pad...you can have one or 2 in the cage but one of my coolest toys is a little temp gun that I can hit a button and move along the cage and get floor and air readings around my tanks. Here is a cage pic that sort of shows how i wedge in the bamboo but its not great.

Here is the other side...this cage is 6 ft and the bamboo is roughly 6 ft and nothing is supporting it...it is just wedged in and can support the youung green anaconda in there. under that hide box is the same heat pad you have. In the water tub is a fogger to up humidity.

here is the middle just for fun...most my snakes have stuffed animals in there cages because girls think its cute.

Hi there, nice Ball and setup. This is my first time posting on this forum, but here it goes. How wide is the thickest part of his body? That give you an idea on what to feed. Try to always feed frozen/thawed. It's safer for him and more comvenient for you. If he doesn't take the f/t right away heat it up a bit under the lamp or a blow dryer. The log hide is not secure enough, too many large openings, but the cave hide is perfect. That UTH you have gets really hot so you'll definately need a thermostat w/probe to control it. There are all kinds out there, but I think this one would be good for your setup:
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.asp
PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=596
They also have those cave hides so you can save on shipping. But, don't order f/t food from them. The best place for that is a breeder near you or The Mouse Factory. I would also get that digital thermometer w/probe for accurate control. You can get them cheap from Radio Shack, they also have ones that measure humidity too. Taping a piece of cardboard to the screen would work good. If needed you can also add some moss to the hide in the cool side and mist daily to raise humidity. I think that covers it, but let me know if I left someghing out. And here is a picture of my 40 gal setup, it was for my five foot Gopher snake.

http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=596

is why does everyone point the entrance towards the front of the cage, where anyone/thing can look in? The point to a hide is for the snake to be able to get completely out of sight. I would think aiming the entrance towards the back of the cage (assuming there's a wall behind it) and having it close to the back of the tank would make the snake feel a little more secure. If you were trying to get out of sight, would you rather have the opening to your house out in front where there always seems to be activity, or in back where you're more secluded? Just a thought. Also, what's even better than those cave things are bottoms to plant pots. They come in a ton of sizes and are very short (snakes like to be able to sort of squeeze underneath things...it makes them feel more secure not having any open space above them)...and they're easy to make too. You just hold it upside down (or technically right side up if you were to use it as a the base of a plant pot) grasping on the opposite end you wish to make a hole in, then tap the inside of the edge with a hammer with just enough force to break a small chunk out of the side (big enough for the snake to fit in). These are really cheap and easy to come by, so I would by a few right off the bat in case you break too much off your first tries).

Just some thoughts. Keep in mind, I don't have a ball python, or any snake for that matter (right now I'm keeping a bearded dragon and a mali uromastyx), but I do a lot of studying on the internet and in books and that's where I get all of my information. I wish I had some first hand experience for you though.

Sounds like a good percetion, only thing is, snakes are known for getting out of their enclosure. I like to be able to make sure i know where he is, especially when i wake up in the morning. With the background around the aquarium, i would have to actually move the hide spot to check on him, which would probably tick him off more.

You will be good with the 35-40% humidity until the snake needs to shed (not ideal, but okay). Just spray or dump some water on the substrate as shedding nears.

Good luck
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CB

"Tattooed freak with an attitude"

I agree with that. I would not dump water unless you intend on changing the substrate more frequently up until the shed. I would mist and use platic instead of cardboard...coardboard can soak up humidity to a degree. I would always recomend ft food. if you must feed live..supervise and have a pen or something to put in the mouse's mouth if it is in a position to bite the snake. Feed with the lights off but have enough light to see whats going on. Avoid all this by feeding ft.

I dump water about every 2-3 days just because Balls love humidity, and it keeps their skin/scales looking prime. They do have a day of dry substrate in between though. They are as bad as most Naja when it comes to providing the correct humidity levels, but you got to try...LOL..
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CB

"Tattooed freak with an attitude"

I am just a little worried i am going to have a hard time with the first feeding attempt. I doubt he is CB, probably imported, and i wasnt sure on how easy/hard it is to get them to eat F/T right off the bat.

Most times it's not hard at all, but you will get the occasional animal that will need assist fed. Make sure the food is warm and wiggle it around, and back and forth, and up and down in front of the animal without touching its face, this should produce a feeding respose. If you touch its face, you probably did nothing but set the animal back a week or so. As long as its environment is correct, it should take to captivity without a problem.

Good luck
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CB

"Tattooed freak with an attitude"