Ball Python Setup.

[whoaxmary]

Okay, so I'll be honest.
When I bought Blue, I was dating someone I can only describe as a doorknob. He slapped heat mats all over the tank, bought all sorts of lights, most I do not think we even needed for our Ball. I also believe something was brought in that was infested, because all of a sudden Blue got mites.
Well, I and doorknob broke up over a month ago, and I've desperately been trying to fix up Blues tank properly.
Thanks to this forum, I found out how to make nix solution and currently just need to wait a few more days before doing the third and final treatment.
So right now, this is what her tank looks like. Remember she had mites, I removed her climbing branch, substrate, and only left in the cheapest fake plants I had in case I end up disposing of them after. So, everything looks a little bare right now, but it's the humidity/temperature settings I'm worried about. I believe she's become dehydrated in the last few weeks as I often see her at her water dish bathing and drinking recently. :(

http://i52.tinypic.com/2w1skmw.jpg

Alright, so this is supposed to be the 'humid' side. Hence why I've recently tried putting cling wrap over the mesh on that side... A breeder I spoke with suggested I do this.
They also suggested that I put a shallow water dish over a heat matt on that side; so even though I've had the hat matts off since taking out the few inches of substrate for paper (Don't want burns... ), I went ahead and tried it out... lol looks like she pooped in it last night. >.>But now, with out over head lights, I can't manage to keep the temp. over 70 during the day and it's even harder to keep it up at night..
I'd really like to add some living plants, or a waterfall.fountain deal into the aquarium to help, but just don't have the money right now.

http://i56.tinypic.com/5y9ume.jpg

Alright, so this is supposed to be her dry warm side, which righ now basically just has her water dish in it, over a heat matt that is unplugged for the time being. . .

I have two cematic lights, which are the big buggers on top. I believe one is 150 watt and the other is 200? Or 100 and 150? Something like that. And a 75 watt basking light that I turn off at night. . I find I have to keep both cermatic bulbs on 24/7 to keep this side of the tank just above 75 degrees. ;/ The third small lamp is a simple basking light.

As you see, I kinda just hae them all crammed onto the one side because of the whole cling wrap idea. Not working out. >.> Any suggestions?

If anyone has good pictures of their python viviaviums please post them, I would love to look. (Not just a tubs with a heat source and water dish, please.. I understand many breeders and collectors keep their reptiles with the bare minamal to keep things simple to clean etc but right now Blue is my only reptile, and I love her. :P I have no problems cleaning out her tank, and now that her mites seem to be taken care of I'm looking forward to pimpin' it out for her again. :D )

And here are a few of my baby, just for fun. Going into shed so she's looking pretty dull right now.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2e163yp.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/1zgb09t.jpg
And this one is Blue and I. ^.^
http://i56.tinypic.com/30s7vbl.jpg
Will do a good photoshoot of her after she sheds for you all to see.

Thanks to everyone who reads and replies

[Sigge]

I would not recommend putting a under-tank heater under a water bowl, cause it's a great place for bacteria growth and mites. Just keep the humidity up by spraying the tank daily.

I would use one under-tank heater and a basking spotlight, both in the same end of the enclosure.

[whoaxmary]

Thanks.

Any comments regarding the whole cling wrap thing. ;/ I hate the way it looks, it doesn't seem to be helping much if at all, and I'm worried about stale air? Not to mention I'd like that half of my top space back.

[Aaron_S]

First thing, you need to take out ALL of those furnishings and give them the most thorough cleaning of your life. They all have small crevices and nooks and crannies that the mites can lay eggs in. I believe in nix but I also believe in sterile surfaces. Those aren't yet.

Secondly, if you wish to maintain your fish cage for your snake then you need to figure out why you need 3 lamps to keep the temperature up. That's a whole lot. When I had kept a ball python in a fish cage I used a single lamp or undertank heat pad. Don't forget you need to really check the temperatures of the the surface where the snake is. Not on the glass half way up. The snake doesn't live there. I recommend a temp gun. You can get them for 25 bucks.

For humidity, spray once a day, with a large bottle bowl in the fish cage. Once you switch to a mulch, I prefer cypress mulch or eco-earth type stuff the humidity should keep better for you. You can use a moss or moist paper towels under a third hide in the middle of the enclosure for a humid hide as well.

I would stick with a lamp and heatpad under ONE side of the enclosure since you need it to reach 91 degrees.You can turn off the lamp at night for a temp drop. Then a hide over top the pad and under the lamp and another on the other side. Make sure they are snug fit. If they are too big right now just use boxes. Since you're treating for mites you'll throw them out anyway so you don't need them to be looking good yet.

[Lankyrob]

Cant argue with any of what arron says, will post pics of my BP viv tomoz if i remember.

[serpentshideawa]

i agree with aaron as well that is a very good set up he suggested

[TeaNinja]

snakes with mites tend to bathe excesively, that's probably why you see her at the water a lot.

i have my bp in a 20 gallon tank with one 100 watt ceramic on top of one side. (i had a UTH but it died) even without the UTH the temp seems fine. i spray mine with a spray bottle once a day for some humidity, and the wet paper towl hide is a good idea.

[whoaxmary]

Wow -

Thanks everyone. :)

I've switched something’s around today, and will do more tomorrow as I have the whole day off and plan on giving the whole aquarium a cleaning and nixing it and Blue one last time. [Side note; I have not seen any mites since shortly after her first treatment...the first few days after I would find dead ones laying on her paper towel when I changed it every day but nothing since...fingers crossed that that is the end of that! lol) I took out her hide and put a new one in where her larger water dish was, under her lights, and she's been up there basking since she saw I came home from work. (For some reason whenever I go out and return, she'll come out of her hide if she's in it, and become very active normally, almost like she’s begging to come out and see me? :P) I've plugged that heat pad in, after laying newspaper under the paper towel - I'm just concerned about her laying on it too long and getting burnt . Then I put another temp. hide in her humid side (I have another good hide but want to keep it away from everything until the mites are a done deal for sure 100%) with moist paper towel under it. I brought home a ton of tiny cardboard boxes from work tonight that where going to be recycled, and figured I could just replace them every few days and that should eliminate the threat of any mites laying eggs and starting the cycle over there? And also turned that heat matt off.


Too Aarons first comment; They have been cleaned VERY thoroughly. Not only before each time they were nixed, but any time I have the chance…And like I stated I took as much stuff as I thought I could with out it being completely bare. I know you are right about the crevacies, which is why I try to clean them as often as possible. Normally every few days when I have her out for a while I’ll just throw everything into the bottom of the tub and soak them for at least an hour after spraying down with diluted bleach water and letting them sit in that for a while. . . Do you think that is enough?(Before nixing them I give them a hell of a scrub, just not during the in between soaks) I would just remove those furnishings along with the more expensive things I removed, but I swear Blue hates her home being so bare. When I tried that she spent a lot of time in her hide- and I’ve read on this forum that open spaces make them feel insecure? Any comments?

As for why I’m having such a hard time keeping it warm, I honestly believe it’s because I live in an open style basement apartment. When she first came home, there was snow on the ground and it was cold, but her aquarium was fine, but all of a sudden it’s freezing in my room. I have my heat jacked constantly, and moved two space heaters closer, but I can tell when I come downstairs it’s colder than it normally should be, so I feel like my room is just sucking all of the heat out of the mesh tops of the viv. >.> Maybe a dumb theory, But I don’t know. The only other difference, is when we found mites, and removed her coconut husk for paper… I figured that sucked for the humidity, but never thought it would change the temperature.? Could it somehow?
Oh, one of the gauges on the wall in a humidity gauge, the other for temp – and I know they are useless there- I don’t even look at though. Another stupid thing Blues previous co-owner bought and slapped in there – now it’s stuck. The viv came with a temperature reader, that basicaclly is a long wire? You can see it just hanging in the tank in the above pictures cause I had just been playing with it. :P I try to move it around to different spots, but I don’t trust it much – I know you’re right, I do need a temp. gun. :P Money is tight this month, but it’s on my list don’t worry. 

I have been spraying everything down, but maybe not generously enough? I will start using more water each day and see.

I will try and get pictures up tomorrow after nixing and show you how it looks now. Still trying to decide If I should rip that cling off or not?

And I hope you do remember lankyrob, I’ll look forward to seeing them.

Thanks everyone. Blue and I appreciate it.

[whoaxmary]

Just wanted to note, I spay with diluted bleach, then soak in the tub, not the other way around. o.o i'm bad at wording things.

[Reptile_Reptile]

Aaron nailed it on the head. i would just get rid of the wrap. it isnt going to do anything with all of the room that it isnt on and the heat lamps will just get rid of any of the humidity it traps anyways
GL

[whoaxmary]

Kay - it's gone. Been wanting to do it for a while but it was a pain to get on half decently, so I wanted someone elses opion. lol. Was alot easier to just pull it off than it was sticking it there. =]

[Shmoges]

I have never seen a ball with sand, looks kinda cool but aspen would be a much better substrate. Oh its paper towels lol my bad!

I feel like I say it to much but you should make a moist hide for blue I bet that will be the new favorite hide.

You can save the sand and get a cute little kenyan sand boa!!

[Reptile_Reptile]

dont use aspen for a ball python its too dusty for them and dries everything up you want a mulch of some sort

[whoaxmary]

:S I don't use sand or anything like that. Right now it's paper towel, normally I use coconut husk mulch stuff, that my vet suggested to me because it's eco friendly and won't harm her if ingested. Comes in bricks you mix with water, works wonderfully I find. Easy to clean an such, and not overly pricey.

[TeaNinja]

yea eco earth (coconut mulch) is good. i mix eco earth with reptibark for my bp and dumerils.

[whoaxmary]

I'll look into the repibark to then. I've heard of it on this forum, but never seen it.. Does it look similiar to the eco-earth? Where do you pick your up - just a pet store - or somewhere else? Sorry for all the questions, I'm a curious person.

[TeaNinja]

I'll look into the repibark to then. I've heard of it on this forum, but never seen it.. Does it look similiar to the eco-earth? Where do you pick your up - just a pet store - or somewhere else? Sorry for all the questions, I'm a curious person.

np, i buy big bags of eco earth and reptibark at petco or my local crappy petstore, im sure its at just about every pet store.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/substrate001.jpg

this is what it looks like once its mixed

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af184/teaninja/substrate2003.jpg

[whoaxmary]

thanks for the picture, ill keep my eye open my next trip into town.

[Lankyrob]

Here we go then - sorry for the reflections!

The whole tank, right hand side is big water bowl, humid hide stuffed with sphagnum moss - left hand side two big bits of "coconut bark??", small water bowl to help humidity, its directly under the heatlamp. - substrate is 100% reptibark
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Photo0204.jpg

Closeup of left hand side
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Photo0205.jpg

Closeup of right hand side
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Photo0206.jpg

I mist the whole floor area each morning, raising the humidity to baout 75% it then drops over the next 24 hours to around 50% before i spray again.

Here are a couple of pics of "monty" too!

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Animals/Reptiles/Photo0179.jpg
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Animals/Reptiles/Photo0178.jpg

[whoaxmary]

Awe ! Monty sure is a handsom guy~
Thanks a ton for the pictures, it's nice to compare how other people have them set up, and my brain works a lot better with picures vs words. :P

I just woke up, gotta get a coffee into me then it's off to clean /reset up the viv. I suppose, pictures will come after.

[Sapphyr]

Awww, what a lovely snake~ <3 Love his set up, too. :> Also, nice polar bear plush, Rob. xD

[Aaron_S]

dont use aspen for a ball python its too dusty for them and dries everything up you want a mulch of some sort


WRONG!!

Aspen isn't dusty nor does it dry everything up. I use it exclusively and it's fabulous. If a little gets wet just take that bit out and plop another handful in. I keep my water bowls filled and I don't have shed problems.

Also Mary, I forgot to mention a thermostat is what you need attached to the heatpad. It will regulate the heat output of it so it only reaches a certain degree. They run a little on the expensive side but you can find a rheostat as well.

[citysnakes]

Mary, if the cling wrap was covering a screen top then its best to leave it covered up. keeping the screen top covered reduces the amount of ventilation where humidity can escape from. if you are having humidity issues then a reduction in ventilation may help to retain some of the moisture in the air.

after your final nix treatment you should keep the snake on paper towel for a month or so just to monitor your animal for mites you may not have killed.

[whoaxmary]

Thank you Aaron. :) I will look into to those for the heat matts aswellll!
Got Blue out with me now. :) She's sems very happy and active today. Going to play around with her viv. Pictures will come later this afternoon.