RCReptiles.com

[fire-eyes]

Hello,

This is my first post to the forums; Aren't you all lucky :)

After much consideration and research, I recently purchased a hatchling ball python. What a lovely, wonderful creature! This is my second day with it. Despite my research, I am finding myself more than a little confused and worried about a few factors; I am guessing I am overreacting, however, I want to make sure, I care about the little bugger and wish it to do as well as possible.

It is currently residing in a 10 gallon tank with a slide-style screen top with a lock.

Inside: Fir bark for bedding, small under-tank (stick-on) heating pad as far to the left on the bottom as I could get it, a small sturdy branch, a water bowl deep enough and large enough for it to fit into, and a half-log hiding spot. The half-log is on the right, cooler side of the thank. There is also a temperature and humidity meter, although I just learned I placed it much too high and will need to move it.

Sitting on the screen on the outside is a simple dome lamp, on the left side again, for basking.

The snakes disposition is one which I believe is typical of a hatchling, that is to say it balls up and tries to hide in my hand. It seems slightly curious, slowly peeking out and sniffing around with its tongue. Nearly all of the rest of the time in the tank is spent under the half-log.

I have not attempted to touch it since placing it in the tank two days ago.

My main concerns are temperature and humidity; Obviously I will get better readings once I re-place the meters. Humidity is proving particularly difficult to keep above 40%. This is because I live in the desert, and ambient humidity is often well below 10%, and it is not uncommon for it to be 2 or 3%.

I have a small spray bottle, but I feel like I am taking shots in the dark with how much I spray (or not). I understand there can be considerable problems if it's too damp in there. I am asking for advice on this one, keep in mind again the above notes about the ambient humidity here.

I read about how they are active at night, and that structuring light (or lack of) accordingly helps. I turned off the lamp at night for 30 minutes, only to find the temperature in the tank dropped 10F very quickly. I left the under-tank pad turned on. I turned the light back on.

How can I accomplish appropriate lighting? I want to ensure it is receiving the appropriate treatment lightwise.

Should I try to gently pick it up and hold it for a minute or so (in the tank) a few times a day, to help it understand that me touching it doesn't mean it will be eaten? It is my understanding that I should always leave it alone if it is under the half-log, so that it learns that this is a safe place.

I already have an appointment to have it looked at by a vet, if it excretes any feces I will be bringing that along as well. Further, I have ordered 50 pinky mice from themousefactory (dot com). I have not attempted to feed it, nor do I plan to until after the vet visit.

Here are the pictures I have so far, normally my pictures are much better but I didn't set things up properly. There will be more later: http://fire-eyes.org/gal/v/ntr/rep/bp/b/

Thank you for reading!

[a_green]

50 - wow! That'll last you a while!

Firstly, have you given your bp a week in its new home to settle in before handling? This is important for acclimatization.

Secondly, lighting is not important so long as it's not lit 24/7 and gets at least some light during the day. I don't use light bulbs at all; only ceramic heat emitters. This is also the case with many other owners here.

Do you know that you need an overhead heat lamp? It's only necessary if the under tank heating alone doesn't get the ambient temperature up enough.

As for humidity, that is a battle for almost all of us. There are many options, such as putting a damp towel over the top of the tank, covering most of the screen top with foil etc., building a do-it-yourself humidifier (see Ron's blog), and simply providing a humid hide for your bp to enter around shed time. That last method tends to be the easiest, and I actually tried all the others before resorting to a humid hide. I could not get humidity up in my 50-gallon tank so I just gave up the battle. The important thing is that your snake will actually use the humid hide and you get good sheds with it; if not, another option is necessary. Try searching the forum--this is a very popular topic.

How are you measuring your temperatures? Make sure you have digital thermometers, ideally with probes you can place at snake level (i.e. in the hides). Same deal with hygrometers.

Do you have room for a second hide? It's ideal to have one hide on each end so that your bp can feel as secure in its warm spot as it can in its cool spot! Also, half-log hides look really nice, but they may not be the best choice for a bp. Some people use them but because they're open on both ends and have larger openings than other hides the bp may not feel as secure in there as in a more closed-in hide. At least try to get one end up against the tank wall so it's more closed-in.

Your photos are FANTASTIC! What a beautiful baby, and you've captured him so well!! Does he (she?) have a name?

Finally (and possibly most important of all), do you have a thermostat on your under-tank heater??

[fire-eyes]

[a_green]

[fire-eyes]

Thank you! I have ordered some digital thermometers with remote probes and a hygrometer as well. I have also ordered the thermal control unit thing.

Monty (the name I've chosen) went to the vet and the only minor issue was one rear tooth was missing. There were no other issues. It was fun to hold it for the short time that was needed.

I also tried to feed it for the first time, thinking it was a long shot after the vet visit. He didn't take it.

However tonight i left one in front of his hide, after wiggling it in front of him for about 10 minutes. I turned off all lights possible and left the room for 30 minutes. I came back to find the mouse is no longer there. So the mouse was either taken or move deeper inside.

I'm quite excited, I do believe the mouse was eaten. It then moved to the basking side for a very short few minutes, then went back into its hide.

Woohoo!

[mbm]

Fire-eyes I have a question for you -I just recently purchased a new ball python too, and I was wondering how much your vet visit cost, and how long did it take? I'm only 18 and I'm not making very much money but I would definitely sleep better if I knew that it was nice and perfectly healthy. Did you take a stool sample and everything?

[fire-eyes]

Hello, mbm,

My vet visit cost 35 dollars, and took maybe 5 minutes once I saw the vet himself. Maybe 20 minutes before that doing new customer paperwork and waiting around.

I was not able to bring a stool sample, as my snake had not (and still has not) done so.

This was just a basic look-over, no stool and no bloodwork. I am assuming either of those could ramp the cost up quite a bit.

No matter what it costs, I assure you it will be worth it.