Ball Python Enclosure Help

[jay.preston]

Hi All,

I've got a couple general questons about my ball python enclosure I've been having some trouble with. I had the snake for about a month and I can't seem to get the temp and humidity where I want them to be.

The tank is a 30 gallon aquarium tank with a screen top.

The temperature according to my digital and analog gauge stays at around 75-77 degrees throughout the tank, and correct me if I'm wrong but it should be 80-85 with a warm spot of 90? Wouldn't think this would be a problem - just add more heat right? Well I've got 2 heating pads (1 large 1 small) and a heat lamp and I can't get the temp up.

Also as for humidity, I'm having to spray the cage 3x or 4x a day to keep the humidity above 40% and overnight it drops to 10% in the morning until I start spraying again. I've tried covering the 3/4 of the tank with a damp towel, and now I've even tried covering the area with a thin sheet of plastic to keep the moisture in. It has helped, but very little. I also keep the smaller of the heating pads under a fairly large water dish, which is also under the heat lamp.

Any advice is appreciated! :)

[Lankyrob]

It sounds like your heat and humidity are both shooting straight out of the top of the enclosure. Either you need to seal the top much much better or replace the tank with a reptile oriented enclosure.

The hot end should be 90-95, cool end 78-80, and humidity a minimum of 60 but higher during the shed process :)

[Loucifer]

Yup, what Rob said ^. Some people use plexiglass (I do), wrap the screen in aluminum foil, or (my least favorite) drape a wet towel over the top. All allowing a degree of ventilation, of course.

[jay.preston]

I mentioned I have tried using a wet towel, and now a sheet of plastic sealed around the edges to cover 3/4 of the top of the tank (the last 1/4 is left for ventilation and the heat light). Both of which helped, but not more than a 1-2 degree temperature increase or a 5-10% humidity increase. =\

[puffinluffin]

Yup, what Rob said ^. Some people use plexiglass (I do), wrap the screen in aluminum foil, or (my least favorite) drape a wet towel over the top. All allowing a degree of ventilation, of course.

Does the tinfoil really assist? I'm having the same problem to a certain degree. Looking for a new terrarium currently ..but in the mean time.

[DeesBalls]

i would try and use the plexiglass idea, or maybe your outside room temp is too low.

i know that before i got a heater in my reptile room, the cages, and tape was set at 94 degrees, but the room its self was around 65 or so, because of it being in the basement, so the temps in the tubs/cages went down.. got a small heater and the room temp is now 72, and the temps in cages/tubs went back to normal.

[Terranaut]

Again this is why I hate aquariums for snakes.
What is the temp of the object the tank sits on ? if it's 65 or something that would be a problem. What is the room humidity? It was -18 here a week ago and ambient in my house never dropped below 20% so unless you live in a desert I can't see you hitting only 10% Do you have any lights in the tank ? Do you use a thermostat on your heat source? Would you be willing to spend some cash to get an actual snake enclosure or are you stuck with what you have? Aquariums by nature must be vented through the lid so there is always a battle between not enough ventilation and to much heat/humidity loss. Front opening rear vented cages do not have this issue.

[KORBIN5895]

Completely cover the lid with foil and set your heat lap directly on the foil. The foil will conduct heat into the tank.

[Loucifer]

Does the tinfoil really assist? I'm having the same problem to a certain degree. Looking for a new terrarium currently ..but in the mean time.

I personally haven't used the foil method, but many people like it. I saw a very nice tutorial on foiling a screen top in another snake forum, once. Some people condemn glass tanks and will even try to sway someone to switch to those leftover food tub things...XD You can try google and look up the foil tutorial I mentioned earlier. Good luck, it's not impossible!

[Loucifer]

Again this is why I hate aquariums for snakes.
What is the temp of the object the tank sits on ? if it's 65 or something that would be a problem. What is the room humidity? It was -18 here a week ago and ambient in my house never dropped below 20% so unless you live in a desert I can't see you hitting only 10% Do you have any lights in the tank ? Do you use a thermostat on your heat source? Would you be willing to spend some cash to get an actual snake enclosure or are you stuck with what you have? Aquariums by nature must be vented through the lid so there is always a battle between not enough ventilation and to much heat/humidity loss. Front opening rear vented cages do not have this issue.

Boy, I sure hope my snake doesn't DIE in the piece of crap I own...:rolleyes:

[puffinluffin]

I personally haven't used the foil method, but many people like it. I saw a very nice tutorial on foiling a screen top in another snake forum, once. Some people condemn glass tanks and will even try to sway someone to switch to those leftover food tub things...XD You can try google and look up the foil tutorial I mentioned earlier. Good luck, it's not impossible!

Snakes in rubbermaids looks and sounds awkward
I heard they are "best" .personally id like to see him in his terrarium .
Just me. Im going to try the tinfoil.

[Terranaut]

Boy, I sure hope my snake doesn't DIE in the piece of crap I own...:rolleyes:

Never said it's impossible to use an aquarium but it sure isn't the best way to go. If you have a snake that has very low humidity requirements then it's a cheap way to go but if you need the humidity to be higher than th room it's in you run into problems. Battling humidity loss can be a pain but its the snake that suffers the most. Actually if you look on his site you will see that most people posting husbandry related illnesses in their snakes have screen top enclosures. The truth is they can be used but its a struggle. Even using the piece of plexi you would cover the screen with as a replacement wall in a tub is better and you can still see the snake. Food for thought.

[mykee]

It's funny how fish cages for ball pythons require SO MUCH modification that they not only look ghetto, but never really serve the purpose of providing proper husbandry. All because the keeper wants the tank to look "pretty".
This is about the snakes wellbeing after all, right?
Guess what: a tank with foil or plexi hanging off the top of it looks low rent and is gross.
Ignorant, stubborn and arrogant newbs rub me the wrong way.

[Terranaut]

Yeah it's pretty tough to keep giving sound advice then having it thrown back in your face. The glass is fine , it's the venting at the top thats an issue.
Glass snake cage right here but not top vented.
It looks ghetto and will be replaced soon.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-1944.jpg

[Aaron_S]

Keep running your hole, pal. You're great at it. Oh, one more thing, FU. I'm sick of people bashing on glass, GET IT Einstein???

This was made for you...(middle finger response)

"Sick of people bashing on glass". What the heck? You've been around for 4.5 seconds so I don't get how you can be sick of something.

Maybe those people have a point who make other suggestions. I guess you're too busy making childish finger responses to actually consider that you may be wrong. You know, people who've been around a bit to actually try out different mediums.

As Dan pointed out, it's not the glass itself that's the problem, it's the fact that it's top opening with a screen.

[DeesBalls]

OP- we are just trying to help... no need for the attitude. A very simple, and cheap solution is a piece of plexi glass cut, so that it fits on the lip of the top of the tank, the screen lid can sit like normal, and locks can still be used... very cheap, cant tell its there, hold in humidity, and again.. cheap...

personal opinions on the tank issue is so old, some like them, some dont... i dont like them, but in case senerio, i have to use them...

just take their advice, and those who are "mean" just dont read their post... BUT the ones who are being "mean" probably know some of the most about Ball Pythons on this site... so maybe you should lower the pride level, and take their advice. there is nothing wrong with accepting help. I'm not saying use tubs if you dont want to, just listen, and stop acting dis respectful...

if worst comes to worse, could you build your own tank/enclosure out of wood? they are cheap and pretty easy..

if you want pics of the plexi glass idea, let me know and ill post pics on how i did it...

i forget what size you said your tank was, but if its TOO BIG, maybe just trying to use a smaller one, or simply adding a humid hide?


there are options to making your glass tank work, just need to do some stuff to it

[DeesBalls]

Yeah it's pretty tough to keep giving sound advice then having it thrown back in your face. The glass is fine , it's the venting at the top thats an issue.
Glass snake cage right here but not top vented.
It looks ghetto and will be replaced soon.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-1944.jpg

actually does not look that bad, took me a min. to see what you were talking about lol.

[DeesBalls]

I personally haven't used the foil method, but many people like it. I saw a very nice tutorial on foiling a screen top in another snake forum, once. Some people condemn glass tanks and will even try to sway someone to switch to those leftover food tub things...XD You can try google and look up the foil tutorial I mentioned earlier. Good luck, it's not impossible!

there not really for food storage, they are for under bed storage, or something like that, alot of people use the to store shoes (6 qt tub) or use bigger tubs for bigger items, like sweaters, or old cloths to store... just wanted to clarify.

[Terranaut]

actually does not look that bad, took me a min. to see what you were talking about lol.

I rotated the tank onto its side and added a door with vents.
I am not satisfied with how it looks or functions. I have spent weeks drawing up plans for my next vivs.
Here is a melmine home made viv that functions great but I don't like the look.
4x4x2
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-1100.jpg

[DeesBalls]

I rotated the tank onto its side and added a door with vents.
I am not satisfied with how it looks or functions. I have spent weeks drawing up plans for my next vivs.
Here is a melmine home made viv that functions great but I don't like the look.
4x4x2
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-1100.jpg

ahh i see, still though, doesnt look bad. I enjoy building the cage more than anything i think! lol. make sure ot post pic up once you start!!

that one looks good as well, but if your not happy with the, then its determined to be fixed, lol. im the same process with my bearded dragons cage, mice cage, and 2 snake cages lol.

[jarich]

Well, we are getting somewhere! Instead of just slagging the tanks, its been brought up already that the screen top is the problem, not the glass tank. In this case, its not just the screen top, but the lamp in combination with it, that seems to be the problem.

Using lamps with enclosures that require humidity is always a problem when the light is outside the enclosure. Thats where all your humidity is going. They are essentially like small fans that suck the heat and humidity up and out of your tank. Just for fun, use that spray bottle you have and spray some right above the heat lamp. Youll notice how quickly the air is moving up from it. That is happening the entire time that light is on, drawing out your warm, humid air.

Cover your top with a piece(s) of wood and mount an RHP to the inside of the top. They cost about $50-60. There is no need for the UTH then, and no humidity is sucked out the top. As for the ventilation, they live most of their lives in burrows, so you need very little ventilation anyway. You can make the wood as fancy as you like (in case Mykee wants to compare with you ;) )

[omega]

I have a screen top on mine and the heat is always at the right temp. I use an UTH and a light on top. The humidity is always at least 50%...I mist and also have a humidifier close to the tank. I will up the humidity during the shed
period. The tank is only 20 gallons...I'm going to be getting a larger one soon so I can put plants and such in it... hopefully I will still be able to regulate that one.

[Terranaut]

I have a screen top on mine and the heat is always at the right temp. I use an UTH and a light on top. The humidity is always at least 50%...I mist and also have a humidifier close to the tank. I will up the humidity during the shed
period. The tank is only 20 gallons...I'm going to be getting a larger one soon so I can put plants and such in it... hopefully I will still be able to regulate that one.

Just out of curiosity what is the humidity like where you live?
The reason I ask is many coastal areas seldom fall below 60-65% so if thats the case where you live then you lose 10-15% which is fine if you keep 50% but if you live where relative humidty is 25% then ... well you get the picture.

[Corey209]

It's funny how fish cages for ball pythons require SO MUCH modification that they not only look ghetto, but never really serve the purpose of providing proper husbandry. All because the keeper wants the tank to look "pretty".
This is about the snakes wellbeing after all, right?
Guess what: a tank with foil or plexi hanging off the top of it looks low rent and is gross.
Ignorant, stubborn and arrogant newbs rub me the wrong way.

If you get the sliding top "terrariums" you can get glass fit to size that actually looks like and there's a lot of ways to make an aquarium look nice while achieving humidity and temps. But I do agree that they would never look as nice as something you could make.