Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK well I have a 10 gallon tank and have astro turd for reptiles as a bottom its my fav substrate. On the hot saide there is a heat pad thats about 93 degrees. There is a hide on the hot side as well as a water dish. On the cool side there is a large climbing branch. The cool side is around 75. The humidity is only around 35%.......Is this ok I cant seem to get it higher because the only way To get myambients up since I livew in PA is to use a heat lamp that I dangle overhead the cage....Is everything ok so far? ......
thanks
Mike....
Also after a few days of her arriving can I handle her??

This is what I think is a good example. There are two clay saucer hides, one warm(90F) and one cool(80F), a water source, cypress mulch, and a thermal gradient. My views on humidity are somewhat different. I don't subscribe to the idea that there is one great humidity level. No place ever has one constant humidity level. Usually there are large changes at two times of the day. 1. As the sun sets and night begins. 2. In the morning at dawn when dew falls. Drying out occurs after these big changes. The drying out keeps mold and bacteria away(which is why most don't like constant high humidity). With this in mind I spray my enclosures down heavily twice a day enough the keep the humidity up to 80% for a couple hours. They dry out over time and by the next spray down the humidity has dropped to 40-50%. I always get good sheds with this method. I'm no expert, but I think Humidity is very overlooked. One way to increase humidity and amdient temps is putting small sheets of glass over parts of the top and using cypress mulch instead of astro turf. It's fairly easy to clean and holds moisture well. And by using the ideas above you won't have to worry about mold and bacteria. I also feed my snakes in cardboard boxes to eliminate any chance of accidental ingestion of the cypress. Good luck with your setup.

Kenny D

isnt a ten gallon tank a little bit small for a ball?
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"it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
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1.1.0 green iguana
0.0.1 columbian tegu(for sale)
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1.0.0 ball python
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0.0.1 cuban masked treefrog
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0.1.0 gulf hammock rat snake
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake
0.1.0 siberian husky
1.1.0 ratties
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Not for smaller BPs. But for an adult, I would go larger.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Nice looking setup. Do you ever have problems with your snake ingesting the substrate? The substrate I have (Exo-Terra forest bark) says to not feed large reptiles on it as they could swallow some of the substrate which may lead to digestive issues. Has anyone had any problems with their boid eating substrate?

I feed all my snakes in cardboard boxes. This keeps them from ingesting any material. Some say it also keeps "cage aggresion" from occuring. I also don't have a huge collection, so it's not a problem for me to do this. I actually just got done feeding Roofus his first Prekilled mice. I just took over care after a year of neglect a month ago. He was only getting a live mouse once a month, so for the last month he's been eating 2 adults every 5 days. Tonight was my first try at prekilled and he took them both immediatly. Now all I have to do is switch to rats!

Kenny D

My thoughts:

1. 10 gal is fine for a baby, just know that you are going to need to buy a new one, pretty soon. Within 6-12 months, depending on growth.

2. Ensure that 93 using a digital thermometer or temp gun.

3. Put a hide on the cool side. (And when you upgrade to a larger tank, have 1 on warm side, 1 in middle, 1 on cool side).

4. You know that your snake can live for 40 years, right? Knowing this, we realize that we don't have to dive into handling her. A few weeks of solitude at the start can help ensure a happy snake to come. I would say leave her alone for a few weeks, until she has had 3 or 4 consecutive meals. After the 4th meal, wait a few days and take her out for a few minutes of handling.

Keep her eating, as long as she eats with some predictability, you can handle her. If she ignores food, ignore her.

Remember, these guys don't "want" to be handled, regardless of whatever anyone tells you. A happy snake is a hidden snake.

Within 6 months you'll have a snake that is eating (most important for the animal) and handleable (most important for the pet keeper).

Enjoy!

Joel
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0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.0 Leopard Gecko

Sounds like you have the typical reptile set up they sell at most pet stores - and sounds like you've gotten some good avice comming here.

The astro turf (or turd if you prefer - LOL) isn't the best substrate for a ball - for a single cage - I would recommend reptibark or cypress mulch - both of which will help with the humidity and work as an insulator to keep the heat from escaping from your cage. It's fairly easy to clean and will not mold and mildew.

Also it appears you have a screen top (?) which it pretty useless for keeping heat and humidity in a cage - you'll have to find some way to cover it up. I prefer using plexiglass but you can use wood or some people even use just towels. Also the heat lamp will kill your humidity - you should be able to properly maintain a good ambient temperature with the appropriate size UTH and by covering up the top - if you have to use the heat lamp cover up the remaining part of the top and try not to run the lamp too much - try spritzing the cage (not the snake but the cage) with water to help with the humidity. Make sure you have a good themometer/hygrometer and if you can afford it you'll find that a temp gun is will come in very handy.

A fair warning - if you keep your water dish on the hot side - its more likly to get bacterial build up in it - I would put it in the middle or cool end.

Hides if you have the room - one on each end and make them tight fitting.

As for handling - wait 5-7 days after she gets there - feed her - wait two days till she digests and then handle her for a short time. Once she has had several good meals in her and is settled into her new home you can take her out more.

Hope this helps.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

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I would suggest putting your heat mat on a thermostat to drop the basking temperature to 88-90. 93 is just too hot when you consider how inaccurate most petstore thermometers are. If its 93 with a temp gun, I suppose you're ok, but I'd still worry about hot spots...