Ball Python Issue

[CarissaREVV]

yes they are kept in the same enclousure. Jenhifer got more active once kyle got in there. they are almost inseperable. nothing i ever read before i got her said that they needed large amounts of humididty, well heat side and cool side should be at correct temperatures like i said we keep the aprt around 80 since we recieve everyone elses heat below us. and the heat lamp is intended for desert animals so the temp is about 120 i do believe two inches from the source then drops to about 95-100 six to seven inches away which should but gound level 90-95 the ground is actually pretty warm to the touch. we will mist the cage more and move the water bowl to the hot side so we can keep the humidity up.
curious why would kyle be just fine in the same conditions but jenifer having all of these issues

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by CarissaREVV

yes they are kept in the same enclousure. Jenhifer got more active once kyle got in there. they are almost inseperable. nothing i ever read before i got her said that they needed large amounts of humididty, well heat side and cool side should be at correct temperatures like i said we keep the aprt around 80 since we recieve everyone elses heat below us. and the heat lamp is intended for desert animals so the temp is about 120 i do believe two inches from the source then drops to about 95-100 six to seven inches away which should but gound level 90-95 the ground is actually pretty warm to the touch. we will mist the cage more and move the water bowl to the hot side so we can keep the humidity up.
curious why would kyle be just fine in the same conditions but jenifer having all of these issues

You're a ball of horrible husbandry issues. Worst part it isn't even just one snake it's two.

1. Do not keep together. The normal is stressed out and that's why she's active. Nothing to do with having a friend who's "inseperable". You only offer one cool side and one hot side. They compete for it so that's why you think it's "snuggling".

2. Use a heatmat and not that light. It's drying out the enclosure with FAR too high of temps that you're not really sure of. Use a thermostat in conjunction with it.

3. You didn't read much of anything if you didn't see they need about an average of 55-60% humidity. Do better research.

4. The normal isn't too bad of weight loss but the spider is. Who cares how long it takes a snake to swallow a piece of food? I've got ball pythons that take hours. They are just slow. Feed them hopper sized mice or rat fuzzies.

[bcr229]

Originally Posted by CarissaREVV

curious why would kyle be just fine in the same conditions but jenifer having all of these issues

She may have been having health issues when you got her, and you've had her on a pretty minimal diet since August. Snakes should be eating prey that's 1.25-1.5 times their girth at the widest point. Don't worry about how thin her neck looks, it will stretch.

What is Kyle eating? Hopefully not the same diet. Don't worry about how long it takes them to swallow the prey, 20 minutes is nothing.

On the humidity, what are you using for substrate? We found it easiest to keep the humidity up when using cypress mulch. Aspen and newspaper/paper towels dry out very quickly. I tried Reptibark once and while it's better than aspen for maintaining humidity, it's also very dusty so I don't use it any more.

If you have an open-top tank cover it as much as possible with aluminum foil, or make a plexiglass top and drill some ventilation holes in it. This will help maintain the humidity.

I would also use an under-tank heater instead of a light for heat, BP's don't really like direct bright light as they're primarily a nocturnal animal. Direct lights are also very drying (hence the term desert light).

I also wouldn't house them together. They each need their own space and while it's rare, BP's have gone cannibal. They're not social snakes and really only get together in nature to mate. Plus, if either gets sick (or is sick) you're guaranteeing the other one will pick it up.

There are awesome care sheets for all sorts of herps at CARESHEETS