House for a hatchling ball python????

[sgrdolphin]

Ok so I was wondering what you all would suggest for a baby ball. I am going to be getting my first ball python soon and want to have everything set up before I get the snake.
I have a 20 long glass aquarium, basking lamp, uv light, hide and water dish, but I will get anything that I need to make my new baby happy.

Any suggestions

[X-Factor]

Whew....This will take a while to explain and break down. I REALLY don't like acquariums for snakes (VERY difficult to retain humidity unless they are desert snakes in which case it doesn't matter)

1. Find an equivalent size sterilite tub (http://www.reptiletubs.com, target, wal mart etc). Needs to be long, not really tall and as wide as you like.
2. Use a heating pad underneath one side (we'll call it the warm side) and plug it into a thermostat (http://www.bigappleherps.com for example)
3. You will need a warm side hide, a cool side hide (at minimum), a water bowl (both for humidity needs and for bathing), both warm AND cool side temp guages (I HIGHLY suggest digital), and a humidity guage.

Your temps:
daytime warm: mid-high 80s (over 90-92 can be very bad)
daytime cool: 70s (I like to keep at least a 10deg difference between warm/cool side during the day)
night time warm: can be same as night time cool and day time cool, low/mid 70s (depending on your room's ambient temp you can probably unplug the heating pad).

Humidity:
60-70% is fine, maybe raise it a LITTLE during shed.

-What are you planning on using for substrate? I suggest newspaper/paper towels for a while
-Do you have a good vet nearby? You will need to make an appointment after the first few weeks to get it checked out (mites, respiratory infection, mouth rot, scale rot, parasites, etc).
-Can you easily find mice/rats for it? The prey should be frozen/well thawed and should leave a noticiable lump in the snake after they are done eating.

I think I'm forgetting something...Any questions?

[sgrdolphin]

I know that I can get frozen mice/rats of all sizes from the reptile shop near my house but they are the same place that told me it would be hard to get a ball to eat f/t. There live mice and rats are healthy, but I don't know what I should look for in frozen specimens. Other than that store there is a lot of commercial pet stores but I don't know if it is ok to buy food from them or not?

[X-Factor]

Ok, if you are buying already frozen animals, it's fine to get them wherever you want. You can also order online. http://www.rodentpro.com is one example that many folks use. If you buy live it's important that you find out what kind of food they feed their animals with. The better the food the better nutritional value. Rats are the better choice. Killing them is easy (I just put them in a ziploc bag and whack them on the stove; VERY quick death). Make sure you freeze them for about three weeks before thawing and feeding.

[sgrdolphin]

Just a few more questions...
With the tubs do I need to worry about ventilation? And what about lighting? And what kind/size of heating pad would you suggest?
thanks again for all you advice

[nanihokuahi]

If you are in CA a tank should be fine because the humidity here is always at a pretty constant 60% at least in my experience. I could be very wrong, but I house my snakes in both sterilite containers and tanks and have never had a problem with sheds. If you do go the tub route you will need to have ventilation holes otherwise the little guy won't be a happy camper...he will be a suffocating one. Just a few holes will suffice I believe I have several small holes around the sides of mine and it works great. hope this helps, and good luck with your baby.

[geckochick]

I keep my two baby balls in tanks. 10 gallon, because baby balls really don't like wide open spaces. If you have a screen top there are ways to fix it to keep the humidity in.(foil,duct tape)You will need a large water bowl because even Balls like to soak and it helps keep up the humidity. Two identical hides for each side. Balls will pick a favorite hide, its the best interest for the snake to not have to chose. I use a UTH connected to a thermostat kept below 92 degrees. These temps are read with a digital thermometer with a probe. A red heat lamp to keep the ambient air temp from getting below 75 degrees. I don't use a UV lamp with any of my nocturnal animals but some people do. I use aspen bedding or newspaper for a substrate.

Is this your first reptile? I wouldn't have liked having my first reptile in a tub. I really enjoyed staying up and watching my new friend in action. Tanks are harder to maintain and may require a spray or two during shedding, but I think it is worth the little extra effort. Good luck.

	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater: A commonly used method of heating a reptile enclosure.

[sgrdolphin]

Thanks guys for all the great advice. I think that I am going to go the tub route since I live in Washington and the humidity is not really high here. I haven't had any trouble with my garter snakes but they are all local. But I do have trouble with keeping the humidity up in my amphibian tanks so I had to set up water falls and mist a lot to keep them happy. So I think that that tub will work better, I just had no idea that was even an option.

[hartsock]

Originally Posted by sgrdolphin

Thanks guys for all the great advice. I think that I am going to go the tub route since I live in Washington and the humidity is not really high here. I haven't had any trouble with my garter snakes but they are all local. But I do have trouble with keeping the humidity up in my amphibian tanks so I had to set up water falls and mist a lot to keep them happy. So I think that that tub will work better, I just had no idea that was even an option.

You can go with a tank and solve the humidity problem in one easy solution: I kept my rtb in a 20L when younger and smaller, had a terrible time with humidity, but didn't know about tubs at that point (I have three neonate rtbs in a rack system with tubs now and really still don't like it, but it is only solution right now because of space). Went to local hardware store, bought a piece of plexiglass and cut it to fit over portion of tank except for where the heat lamp is. I drilled holes in it for some ventalation, and played with the number of holes until I got the humidity to the place where I wanted it. Never had a problem after that. With the other tanks I ended up going to Lowe's and getting the light covers that fit drop ceiling lights. They are large squares and I could get 3 to 4 tank covers out of one piece. THey are cheap too, a couple of bucks each, that's it. I put holes in them like I did the plexiglass and they worked just as well, they are thinner, cheaper, easier to drill the holes (or cut the holes), stand up to more of a beating (plexi cracks).

There is nothing wrong with using tubs, but the tanks give you the pleasure of looking in on them better and watching your snakes. Hides dont' have to be identical, they will choose which one they like better by the temp that they need at the time, just so it is a place they can get away from the world of eyes if they want to.

A 20L would be okay, but provide more hides and more decorations so they feel more secure and there aren't "big open spaces" for them to be weary of.

Do go with a UTH and Thermostat to provide belly heat, that seems to make a huge different in digestion and is more important then a basking light, although both are good to provide. With the covers on my tanks, I will sometimes spray once a day or once in morning and once at night. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your little guy --- one word of advice, make sure it is an established eater. As have been mentioned balls can be picky eaters and act up from time to time that they refuse to eat. Starting off with one that is already being stubborn may add to frustration for you.

	Red Tail Boa

	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater: A commonly used method of heating a reptile enclosure.

[angelboa]

always wash your hands very well when you go form handling your garders and the balls what part of washington are you in? if you need a good vet dr maas in bothell is wonderfull and knows what hes doing. if you want to buy frozen food in bulk ive herd from people on this site that mousefactory is a great place to get food if you dont want to do frozen you can do fresh killed by using a co2 chamber they are easy to make and in my opinion easyer than wacking them on the stove i just dont have the heart for that my husband was doing that for a while till we made the co2 chamber.