I just got a ball python off of someone who had to get rid of all his snakes. She looks like she is decently taken care of. Slightly thin for being 22 inches long, but other then that, she looks pretty good. I was having trouble with the lighting/temp for the cage. I had a 55 watt regular light in a clamp light, and a small heating pad under the tank. It was getting the temp to around 85 on the heated side of the tank. But I was not sure how to go about having the light off for nighttime? I was told 12 hours day, 12 hours night is a must for Ball pythons. But if I turn off the light, the temp goes down to around 78 on the heated side. (It has only been like half a hour since I turned off the light. Going to check again here in a bit.) But since ball pythons are nocturnal, I was told to keep the temp up to around 85 even at night. If anyone knows if this lower temp is alright for night time, or if I need to raise it up somehow, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, right now she is just curled up under his hide log thing. Since she is nocturnal, shouldn't she be moving around a lot more?
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Here is a pic of the tank setup. If anyone has any tips please let me know.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos -ak-a ...
Ball pythons don't need the heat lamp or light at all as they are nocturnal. They also prefer belly heat, it is much better when digesting their food. In order to raise your temp if you don't have it on a dimmer, get rid of some of the bedding where the heat pad is. The bedding absorbs most of the heat, and make sure to take the temp right on the basking spot so it doesn't get too hot. Keep playing with the bedding, like adding more or taking some out to figure out how much you need in order to get the right temp. Also you might want to change his hide. They like to feel safe, with the one you have it has a hole in the side, it won't make him feel safe. They like to be in hides that they can basically squish their bodies into. it makes them feel safer.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Also 85 at night will be fine, try to keep it around 90 during the day as the first person said.
Just to re-affirm. Sara is 100% right. They don't need light they are night animals and they prefer belly heat.:)
Firstly, loose the light. Ball pythons actually prefer to be in dark, covered spaces.
It looks o me like you have your ball python in a fishtank. My recommendation for you, is to purchase an enclosure which has been specifically designed for ball pythons. You will find it pays for itself time after time.
you will require a UTH and a thermostat to keep the temps consistent. The hot side should be around 90 and the cool side around 80.
Don't forget to get your humidity around 55% RH. This may be hard to do in a fishtank - once again - I recommend purchasing a reptile enclosure rather then a fishtank.
Goodluck!
One side needs to be about 90. Set your heat pad at 90. And the otherside at aprox 70. Put your heat lamp in the middle, use a red special bulb, otherwise your snake will think it is always daytime , and they like nighttime, you will have a shy snake if you use a white bulb. they can't see red, so that's prefect. put a themometer on the cool side of the tank, and turn the heat lamp off when it hits 80 on the cool side, and turn it back on if it gets much colder than 70.
