New Ball Python - first time owners

[shaunyboy]

dont heat your cool end mate.you only heat the hot end,then the temperature drops the full legnth of the tank to give you a good temperature gradient.that way the snake will pick the temp that suits it best.put hides in both ends of your tank,in the middle too if you have enough hides.that way a shy snake can hide in the temp it likes best.if a snake only has one hide and its nervous it will use that hide even if the temps dont agree with it.it will take being out of sight over a desired temp every time.most of my snakes only go up their hot end just before,during or after a shed,some sit up there for the whole shedding proccess.as for it being in its hide most of the time.your snake may prefer to stay out of sight on the other hand once it settles in it might come out more.the longer you have it the more you'll get to know it.before buying a snake check up on how that particular species acts in the wild and in captivity.some snakes like blood pythons will stay hidden most of the time and only come out to feed.carpet pythons on the other hand are semi arborial and love to climb and hang off branches in full view most of the time.its really worth asking people who work with the species your after just in case its usuall living habits go against what your looking for with your reptile.hope this has been some help to you mate.
cheers shaun

[mommanessy247]

ok since your talking about feeding, humidity, heat & substrate...has anyone here ever invested in dri-dek? they're rubber mats with holes in them to filter out pee/poo & rubber pegs on the bottom to keep the snake off the pee/poo. that's what i'm planning on using.
heating-i'm also planning on a uth & thermometer strips. i'm not buying stuff for the snake until june so i have time to make changes to the list of things i need.
now, as far as feeding ...i'm hearing alot of conflicting ideas on how to feed, feed it in a seperate bin, feed it in its cage...i'm thinking what the heck. now i'm not sure what to do.
humidity-my cage is gonna be a visionarium from creativepet.com so theres no screen top & it should hold the humidity better.
if there's anything i'm missing please tell me.