Me and Kaa

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

Hello Every body!

My name is Dove and I just brought home my new snake, Kaa. He is a 3 or 4 year old Ball Python. I am a brand spakin' new snake owner and found this site during my intensive research. I think I have the bare basics down but I sure do appreciate any helpful advice. I am good friends with Kaa's previous owners so I will always have their input and help. But I figure 8,000,000 heads are better than one or three in snake care, right? =)

One question I do have right off the bat is... Since I don't have a heat lamp right now and won't for a couple more days, can I put a heating pad under his hide box (under the cage)? I have my room heat turned up but I want to make sure Kaa is truly comfy. Or should I put a heating pad in a place where there are no obstacles around?

I sure do appreciate your help! Thank you!

[infernalis]

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[Swany]

Hi Dove and welcome to the madhouse :-)

[red ink]

G'day and welcome

[KORBIN5895]

Welcome. It's a jungle in here.

[alessia55]

Welcome! :)

A heat mat is certainly a fine choice. Whatever heat source you choose (heat mat or lamp), make sure you have it hooked up to a thermostat. A thermostat will help control how hot your source gets. Unregulated heat mats can get up to 130F and burn your snake! Having the heat mat under one of his hides on one extreme of her enclosure is exactly where you should have it :)

Feel free to ask more questions!

Also please post photos of Kaa when you get the chance!

[SpOoKy]

A heat mat under his hide is a great thing to do, but please offer him a hide on the cool side too so that he can feel secure while cooling off.

[UwabamiReptiles]

Welcome to the forum! The heat mat would be fine.

[Trent]

Hi and welcome!

[Kayla90]

Welcome to the forum :D

[CJNetrider]

Hi Dove, I'm pretty much in the same position as you. Found this site after much surfing and have already received some great responses over questions/concerns here! I've been lucky in that my BP settled in well and was eating his first meal within 6 days with little effort on my part. I've been researching almost 6 hours a day online and putting everything I can into providing my lil guy with the best of anything I can get. Hope you receive the same results with yours!
Cj :)

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

Gosh! Thank you so much everyone! It sure is nice to have such a nice welcome as a newbie! ^_^ Kaa is my beautiful boy! Even my room mate (who was once super scared of snakes) is now a big fan! Kaa seems to like her too so all is well!

I have put the heating pad half in half out of his hide. I will put another hide in for him on a cooler side. Thank you for the advice!!!

-Lady Dove

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I'm not sure how to upload pictures at the moment. I'm trying to do it now. We'll see if it takes.

The pictures were before I put his hide in. I had just gotten him home. I will post more pictures when I get the chance.

[Swany]

Love the pics, He's a beauty ;-)

[SpOoKy]

Nice looking snake, congrats :)

[Norm66]

Welcome! Nice looking BP. :)

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

Thank you! I really do have a soft spot for him! ^_^

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

I do have a new question...

How long do BPs hide? I gave Kaa a new hide and I haven't seen him in 24 hours! Is this normal? I haven't watched him the entire 24 hours due to sleep and school. His water bowl is on the other end of the tank. I think to myself, 'Maybe he is just taking time to feel secure.' I don't think he had a really good hide with his last owners. It has only been 2 days since I brought him home. Perhaps he's taking a time out. lol

I figure I would bring him out for a bit in a couple days and feed him too.

[Caylan]

Hey welcome! So theres a thermostat or heomstat/ lamp dimmer at least on that heat pad right? Phew.
Ball Pythons can tend to hide alot, and is probably coming out when you or anyone for that matter isn't around. They are necessarily display pythons so to speak. They can still be great to have out once they are acclimated and feeding well. I would suggest leaving him for now and try feeding soon(a few days or so)
If I can make a few suggestions. Use coco fibre instead of aspen. Helps for humidity. Tanks are notoriously horrible for ball pythons, but i can see you wantign to try to make this work(nice display) so lets give it a try. You may have a very forgiving ball python. Mkae sure the screen top is very secure, and then cover most of it lol. I use a folded shower curtain, my friend used books, many use cardboard or plexi if they can. For you I would go the plexi root, for the nicer sleeker look.I would cover all but a one inch strip in the front if it were me. I want to reiterate a thermostat on the heating pad, as heating this big boy could be a problem as well. Best of insulating the sides and back for now, and again, covering the top helps here too. Should he eat, and shed, and be happy over all, he's happy with the conditions. But they may not be the best for him, so look out for perfection, always. Keep checking temps and humidity to make sure nothing's 'off'(literal and sometimes otherwise) What was he eating before? What are his temps now? What are the temps of the heating pad? Oh and again, Welcome!! Caylan.S.

[alessia55]

It's normal for your ball python to hide and you might not see him sometimes. Does Kaa have TWO hides? There should be one on each side of the enclosure.

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

Caylan: Thank you for your help and suggestions! I am learning that it is somewhat of a chore to keep the tank warm enough. Right now I have a heating pad under the (raised) tank but it's not getting warm enough. This morning I recorded it at about 76 degrees farenheit. I know I want the warmest spot to be at or around 91 degrees, right? I will be purchasing a ceramic heat emitter (or lamp) and more thermostats along with food in a couple days. For now I've got the temperature of the room up.

He eats small, live, female rats. =) Yum!

I will definitely take your suggestions into account. For now I have an unused towel over the back side and top (leaving a one inch opening all along the front) of Kaa's tank. I also put another small water dish for humidity in.
Currently the temperature on the heating pad end of his tank reads: 80 degrees F and 35% humidity.

Would it help if I put some fake plants in his tank to help with insulation?

PetCo also suggested heat wires? I haven't heard of these so I am curious.

Alessia: Kaa does have two hides on each end of his tank. He has a cardboard box right now that he seems to adore. I will be purchasing a new hide (or two) in a couple days.

[alessia55]

Currently the temperature on the heating pad end of his tank reads: 80 degrees F and 35% humidity.

The humidity in her tank should really never drop below 50%. Ideally it should be between 55-60%.

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

This is good to know! Thank you Alessia! What can I do?

Humidity is at 40% right now. Temp at 82F.

[alessia55]

This is good to know! Thank you Alessia! What can I do?

Humidity is at 40% right now. Temp at 82F.

How are you measuring your humidity levels?
What kind of bedding/substrate are you using?

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

I have a small thermometer that tells me temp and humidity. That's all I have at the moment.
The bedding is aspen.

[alessia55]

I have a small thermometer that tells me temp and humidity. That's all I have at the moment.
The bedding is aspen.

Switch your bedding over to reptibark or coco husk. It'll help hold your humidity in better.

Is your thermometer digital or...?

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

I plan to get all new equipment and materials in a few days. Coco husk sounds great! =)

Yes it is digital.

[BurmeseGuy]

Welcome to the forums Dove and Kaa

Might I interject here for a moment, try covering the screen as before mentioned my Caylan and leaving that 1 inch strip...get a nice pump spray, not the trigger spray...I find the mist from the pump spray doesn't startle them like trigger spray does. And spray some water in the tank...watch for the Humidity to rise until you reach the desired %

They do make Heat Cable for under tank and it's awesome, I personally love it, it doesn't get hot enough to burn or set fire to whatever you have your tank on...you can get 25 feet of it for about 15 bucks...I use it on my 55 and 20 long for 2 of our snakes and the other 2 tanks one has an under tank heater and the other has a heat lamp

To be quite honest the 55 sucks for trying to keep the Humidity at the right %, I have cable on the bottom and a screen shut up except for an inch on each end and a hole for the lamp, I use a 100 watt bulb in it...but only during the day...and I mist the bedding down before going to bed and it keeps a constant 60-70%...you kinda gotta try different things until you find what works...

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

Oh man THANK YOU Burmese Guy! I did cover the top with a towel leaving that 1 inch strip along the front. I also wet some paper towels and put them in. I saw the humidity rise. Then I decided to wet a small kitchen towel and put that in there. The humidity rose another 5%. It is all now at 80F and 59% humidity.

I was already thinking about getting a squirt bottle and just spraying the sides. But I like your suggestion better.

This is all certainly a learning experience for me. But I am determined to be a good first time snake mom! :D



It is good to learn new things and I can't thank everyone enough for helping me!

[Kiljosh]

Oh man THANK YOU Burmese Guy! I did cover the top with a towel leaving that 1 inch strip along the front. I also wet some paper towels and put them in. I saw the humidity rise. Then I decided to wet a small kitchen towel and put that in there. The humidity rose another 5%. It is all now at 80F and 59% humidity.

I was already thinking about getting a squirt bottle and just spraying the sides. But I like your suggestion better.

This is all certainly a learning experience for me. But I am determined to be a good first time snake mom! :D



It is good to learn new things and I can't thank everyone enough for helping me!


I use the towel technique everytime he shed's, really helps. Welcome to the forum, everyone's advice is spot on! Stick around, you will learn a lot.

My 55 gal tank is really tough to keep humidity up, I have to spray twice a day. You get used to it quick though, just becomes daily routine. Like the cup of coffee in the mornings.
Kaa is big!

[LadyDoveM_Kaa]

Oh yes! I look forward to learning more. :D

Kaa IS big! lol My big beautiful boy!

I am pretty excited to experience all these new things. Sheds. Feeding. Handling. Learning more about his personality.... Cleaning the tank, even! lol