I cleaned my ball python's cage today and took the opportunity to upgrade a little bit. As usual, I welcome comments about what I'm doing. Maybe I'm progressing through a series of mistakes that every new owner makes, but I'm trying to take my ideas from what I read here in combination with what I see my ball python doing.
She's been using the hide that I made with Rep-Tiles from Nature Zone, so I decided to add more of them. I have one new one on the cool side of the cage so that she can hide in an area that has no heating. I'm guessing this area sees temperatures around 70 degrees. (I'll know next week when my PE-2 arrives from Pro-Exotics.) This one may not be as tight as she'd like. If she doesn't use it, I'll probably add a little more bedding under it to make it tighter.
I also added a branch for extra climbing space. She likes climbing her thermostat probe cord, but I think a branch would be more appropriate. The branch doesn't go far vertically, but I couldn't find another way to fit it in the cage. I'll likely change the branch later to give her more real climbing.
She likes hiding between her cool side water dish and the wall, but this area sometimes gets wet and stays wet when water sloshes from the dish. I've added bark to raise this side of the cage by an inch and a half or so. When water sloshes now, it will have room to drain or may just absorb into the bark. She also digs under that dish sometimes, so more bark will allow more digging.
I had put a tile into her hollow log a while back to make it a tighter hide. This time, I put the tile back on one side and put cypress mulch in the log on the other side. Again, the idea is to fill the log a little so that it will be a tighter hide for her.
I need to bend the big plant's stems downward a little more so that they'll give her better cover. The little red fake plant seems to fall apart a little more every time that I mess with it, but I still like it. Whoever told me that plants provide nice cover to let the snake move around the cage with more security is right.
I've put the cave hide back in the cage even though I have no evidence that she's ever used this hide. I don't know whether it's just too big for her right now or whether she dislikes it for some other reason.
In the future, I have my heart set on making this cage into a split level affair. A platform in the right place might hold heat and humidity that is currently leaving through the screen top.
Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.
