Ball Python Help

I'm going (hopefully) to be getting a Ball Python. I know a lot of you have them so I thought I'd ask some advice. I'm planning on buying a set up tomarrow and want to make shore I get the right things. Things I need: a 30b (is that a good size?) uth, heat lamp, lamp dimmer, hides, and water dish big enough for him to fit in. From what I've read the hot side should be in the upper 80's to low 90's, cold side in the high 70's and the ambient temp should be around 80. How to do that I'm not to shore . Humidity should be in the 70's I think is what I read. I'll play with it but I think maybe I can acheave that by putting the big water dish under the lamp. My house sits at 40%. Is this sounding about right? Anything else I should know? I'm not shore what the right questions are to ask. I'm wanting to do everything perfectly! The one I'm hoping to get is a yearling and is already eating f/t so that's good. I was holding him today and he's a darling . Any advice would be great! Thanks!

Laura

well.. a heat lamp will just dry out the air.. what i do to acheive good humidity is put a water bowl over the heat pad... use a Tank hood with 2 day bulbs on the hot side (it keeps the air around 82 and the surface temps 89)

and then put a 60wat bulb in the heat lamp and put it on the cool side.. to keep the ambient air 82 and the subtrate temps at 75...

if this is confusing just pm me and ill explain it better since its 2am here and im tired

oh and 70 might be pushing the humidity to high id try to stay around 60.

Thanks for the advice! I think I know what you're talking about. I'll go look for one of those light hoods. Do you leave the heat light on at night or is it all right to let the temps fall? My house is at 75 if that helps . Thanks!

Laura

Never leave a light on all night, its stresses them out. A temp drop at night is fine as long as the snake as a place to warm up. I would also think about making a humid hide too for it.

I was thinking of a red light but I guess I didn't say that :bang: . I have all the stuff so lets see if I can get the temps to work out! Yay the fun! lol

Laura

Well . . . I'm having trouble getting the temps right. There's not much of a gradient. Without the uth on the temps are 95 on the hot side and 91ish on the cold side. How many watts should I use? I got one of those light hood things and it said the lowest wattage you could use was a 60 watt (at least that's how I interpreted it) so that's what I got. The store guy recamended a 100 watt but that sounded like too much to me! So, what are my options? I don't have it on a rheostat or anything. I guess I figured if you got the right bulb you wouldn't need to adjust it :shrugs:. Should I try a lower watt bulb or is a rheostat my best option? Also the humidity is low. The bulbs really dry out the air! It went down to 20 so I cut a peace of card board to fit and covered it with Saran wrap. This brought it up to 45ish. I misted the cage and that took it to a suitable level but that only lasted for an hour or two. I have the water dish, 12 in dog bowl, sitting on the uth (which is off at the moment since I was experamenting with the lights ). And I thought keeping hermit crabs would help me learn to adjust humidity well! There at 70-80% lol. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

My boa doesn't have a heat lamp he shares his light with my corn. seeing as their both in the same room. His temps are fine. I also have uth on half of his tank and his water bowl is on the hot side and I have a piece of plastic wrap over the hot side of his tank to keep the humidity in. He likes to laze across the hot side and cool side with his head in the bowl. He seems to be happy.

I found that at fist it was also hard to kep the humidity up. Thats why I put the dog bowl on the hot side and some plastic wrap over the hot side. mine humidity stays at a constant 55%.

Just wanted to tack on to this thread, instead of opening a new one, but I recieved a baby ball python last night, and it had eaten earlier in the day. He/She is a gorgeous little thing, and seems to be doing very well in his new home. Problem is, it has been fed live once a week (currently on hoppers, but is probably big enough to move up a size). How do I try to make the switch from live to f/t? What has worked for you other ball owners?

Also, I'm using a uth, as well as a 75 watt red/heat bulb. Temps are around 93 on the warm side, but drop to 82 with the lamp off. Is this okay during the night? Cool side stays in upper 70's at all times.

My temps on my bp tank are 80 ambient and 95 basking and it thrives. I use an aquarium hood and a uth. I use red 25 watt bulbs in the hood.