NIKK: plz help me i need to find out if my bp ok

[Sapphyr]

hello my ball python is about 2 feet im not quite sure how old he is but i put him in 35 or 40 gallon critter cage and he hasnt come out of his cold side unless it is at night i finaly picked him up after a week of letting him chill in his new home and he feels so cold im scared that hes not getting enough heat but his cage is 85 to 90 in the day and 75 78 during the night plz help me :(

I'm not a BP expert, but I personally think a 40g is too big, even for an adult BP. 20g - 30g is recommended for them at an adult age. If your BP is a juvenile or a baby, then it's probably stressed from all the space it has, especially if there's not enough hides. A baby should be kept in a 10g until it's a juvenile, then it's probably safe to move it into a 20g. Snakes easily get stressed out from having too much space. I also think 90F is a bit too high for a BP, but I could be wrong. 80 - 85F is more appropriate, I think, and a night time temp of 75 - 80F.

Each snake has their own preference. Some like the colder side more than the hot side. Some like the hot side more than the cold. It really just depends. I also believe ball pythons are nocturnal, so I wouldn't be too concerned about it only roaming at night. I know most ball pythons are generally lazy, anyways.

Edit: For future reference, to start a thread, browse through the categories in the 'forum' section. For ball Pythons, it's under 'Python Forums' then 'Python Regius'. When you click on 'Python Regius', there's a 'New Thread' button at the top. Click it and type away.~

I just figured I'd go ahead and get this started so he can get in some more answers from more experienced people. I don't own a BP, so I personally don't know 100% if I'm right or not. Feel free to correct my answer.

[Lankyrob]

our BP is almost a year old - his viv is 4footby2footby2foot. In my opinion an oversized tank is fine as long as you provide LOTS of hideyholes. Probably 85% of the floor of my viv is covered by hides or the water bowl.

The hotspot temp should be 91f for BPs

[Sapphyr]

our BP is almost a year old - his viv is 4footby2footby2foot. In my opinion an oversized tank is fine as long as you provide LOTS of hideyholes. Probably 85% of the floor of my viv is covered by hides or the water bowl.

The hotspot temp should be 91f for BPs

Yeah but the entire hot side shouldn't stay a constant 90F, though, right? I mean, I could be wrong, but I thought there's a basking spot and there's also a hot side in addition to the basking spot.

[mykee]

Ball pythons don't "bask".
They hide.
Their entire lives.
You have two very distinctive areas in your enclosure:
cool side; 78-82
warm side; 90-95.

[Lankyrob]

Probably should explained it better - directly under the heat lamp is 91f the hot end generally is 88 - 91f the cool end is 80 - 82f.

I tend to specify a "hot spot" temp on the assumption that a correctly sized and ventilated viv will provide the temperature gradient radiating from this hot spot.