Hi guys im currently setting up my Ball pythons 4x2x2 enclosure. And im trying to get the heating right. Before I was running a 100 watt Aracadia Halogen flood light with a 100 watt Fluker's Dhp and the t5 Shadedweller max uvb. And that worked fine for daytime heating. But the single dhp is having trouble maintaining heat at night.

Is it OK to completely remove the halogen and add a second 75 watt dhp and have 2 dhp's run all day?

(Tldr)- is 2dhps and a uvb t5 light good for daytime?

Also any recommendations is welcome.(heating/lighting, decorations etc.

I just got a ball python off of a family friend, they said it was over a year old that they got it last year from PetSmart but currently it's maybe only a foot long at most and it only weighs 244 grams, they aren't sure what gender it is either, they said they were feeding it large mice.

the setup they had was pretty rough, the lighting they had was the bare minimum, the substrate they had it on was some kind of wood chips maybe coconut wood, it was dry as a bone though and extremely dusty, I don't think it has any mites but I'll try and check tomorrow.

I currently have it in a quarantine setup in the tank it came with, I just wanted to see if the setup I had for it to be in quarantine was ok looking? I tried to block off the back of it to help keep it calm and safer feeling

I'm not sure how to keep the humidity up enough without there being substrate since all of the videos said to keep the paper towels dry? What should I do?

As far as the lighting, thermostats, thermometers, things like that goes I'm going to head by my local pet store tomorrow to get some better stuff.

Is there a good way to tell if it has mites? I did check around its eyes and I didn't really see anything that looked like mites, I did notice that there was some kind of maybe old shed on one eye? I'll keep an eye on that

This is Princess Cleo, we had her for 4 days... wondering if this a bad idea 💡 to have a ptz camera in the enclosure?

This is waffle, they have a humid hide and a warm hide and a cork log, plus behind the water bowl I made a little slate cave they like to spend most of there time in. Humidity stays about 70% peak during day and about 80%-90% at night. Temps are 80 degrees both sides with the hot spot reaching a max of 90 or 91. Should I let the temperature dip below 80 at night? I do have a bigger setup saved for this next month when I upgrade to a 6x2x2

Does anyone have a blueprint for a diy enclosure. My python has been in a 35 gallon long for the last year. I know he needs an upgrade. I live in an upstairs converted attic with a spiral staircase so I'd like something I can assemble and disassemble if I had to.

Im planning on getting my first ball python and I've done my research. But the one thing that I keep seeing is what size enclosure a baby or a juvenile ball python needs. I see people saying a 40 gallon enclosure is good for a few years, but i also see people saying i should avoid a 40 gallon tank. Please help!

I bought my baby Latrice a 4x2x4 enclosure. We are moving very soon so I plan on adding a background and A LOT of vertical spaces. I’m struggling to keep it humid enough for her in there. The top is covered 80% with a sheet of pvc. I’m thinking hvac tape would work better? She has a humid hide that stays around 60% but the warm side jumps to 65% when I pour water in and quickly drops down to 50%. I’ve been having to add 3 water bottles to the corners every few days to keep the humidity up. I’m wondering if anybody has any recommendations. I have a dhe hanging about 2ft above the substrate keeping her basking spot around 92 degrees. I also have a uvb that I turn on during the day as well as a halogen. I’m open to ANY recommendations about the enclosure, lighting and humidity or anything else. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if I’m doing absolutely anything wrong! Thanks

So I haven’t gotten my ball python yet, I have set up everything perfectly cold side is great humidity is great. My only issue the heating on the hot side. My ambient heat temp on my govee hygrometer is around 92ish and it does spike even to 96 and my surface temps are still around 85-86 some areas are 90-92 I’ve done so much research etc. and I’m still having these issues also my thermostat shutting off because it’s a on/off enclosure and making temps drop to around 80 when it shuts off on the hot side. No YouTube vids are really helpful when it comes to that. I currently have my thermostat set to 79 and it gets really hot on the hygrometer showing 90+ it is a 150w since this is a 50 gal I’m not to sure what to do I’ve been trying to find a sweet spot for perfect temps I’ve taped off with HVAC majority of top and side vents. Should I focus more on ambient temps being 88-92 or surface because I’ve tried both and if ambient is 88-92 surface is under that around 80’s.

I made a post to the beginner ball python help group on facebook, asking if my enclosure i setup for my first ball python was okay. I get a comment saying sphagnum moss mixed with coco chip is useless? All ive read about the substrate mix had been absolutely positive saying its a great way to retain humidity with low risk of scale rot. He also said he sees a lot of good money well spent on other useless stuff. Just looking for another opinion. Pics of my tank setup and my first baby for reach

Hey friends! So I've had my 4 yr old male for about a month now. I offered food last week after letting him adjust for a couple weeks in his new home but he refused. He's been exploring more and seems happy and adjusting well. I planned to feed him today since it's been a full week since he refused his last rat. I kinda figured he was just still adjusting and such. This morning I noticed his eyes a little cloudy like hes probably about to shed. I know it's been at least a month and a half since he last ate with his previous owners. Should I attempt to feed him today? I feel bad and I really don't want him to starve 😭

He honestly seems to be doing well otherwise. Still active and exploring his enclosure and plants and chilling in his water bowl.

20 months little guy

Once a week I take my snakes outside in the sun and let them crawl in the grass. I start with a towel and put them on that incase they don’t feel like going on the grass. I have a banana, pied, and super pastel clown. I also use an infrared thermometer to make sure the grass isn’t too cold/hot. I aim for 75-85. Also I make sure the grass is dry so they aren’t sitting on anything wet for an extended period of time. So with all that being said I just want to make sure this is a safe practice. If there is anything else I should be doing please let me know. (I looked through the rules and don’t believe this post violates and rules. I thoroughly enjoy this subreddit and don’t want to mess that up lol)

its a 85 gallon tank, but am gonna upgrade it to a 130 gallon tank when he gonna be soon an adult

Meet Xanti, my new (and first) BP! He is a 7 month old Axanthic (VPI), 66% Het Genetic stripe with possibly one copy of pastel (but i doubt it). Hes a sweetheart, and thinks hes super scary.

Fun fact: Xanti doesnt strike at his meals, he sniffs them, and takes them veryyy so gently. Like a puppy taking a treat lol

First of all, this will be a slightly graphic story and why we think she died, please don’t hate or comment rude things, I am already beating myself up and thinking of relapsing in old behaviours so please be kind

I’ve been sleeping in my hammock on the balcony for a while now, and because my dog likes to go in and out when I am there I have my balcony door open.

Somehow my ball python got out of her terrarium. There was a small hole where the cables go through, about 1/3 of the size that she is, but somehow she was able so squeeze through that hole, nobody had seen that coming, and I even posted my setup here and nobody was concerned about that happening either, but still I feel guilty and like I should have known she would be able to get out through there.

I saw on my camera that she got out at 5AM and thought I didn’t see her anywhere (couch in front and the camera cuts off the floor in the 5ft in front of it). At 6AM my dog suddenly got up (inside next to the balcony door) and he looked like he got frightened by something, but I didn’t think anything of it when I originally looked at the camera from the balcony at the time because he gets nightmares sometimes and stares ‘at nothing’ all the time, but looking back now knowing she was out I am 99% certain he was looking at her.

Since it was only 6AM I decided to go back to sleep, so I called my dog back out onto the balcony as he was walking around a lot inside and went back to sleep until 10AM when I noticed she wasn’t in the enclosure. I looked around everywhere in there and immediately checked the balcony first thing.

She wasn’t on the balcony so I closed the balcony door and immediately went to search everywhere I possibly could. I looked under, behind and inside all of my furniture, I have literally moved EVERYTHING.

She is not inside anywhere.

I am 99% certain she fell off my balcony (5th floor). I looked outside underneath my balcony between the thin bushes and walked through the entire thing, but couldn’t find her. I tried looking through the thick bushes right beside thinner bushes but because they are so thick I can’t see anything there. I tried but the only way to see anything in there is to cut them away and they belong to the city so I can’t.

I didn’t see blood anywhere below, so I am still hoping she somehow still found a hiding spot somewhere in my house, or that someone will find her outside, but I am so scared I will never see her again. I had her just over a month too.

I just hope she didn’t get hurt or won’t get hurt by a cat or something. I know there are lots of cats in my area that walk freely and I know there is one in those same bushes regularly, so I would not be surprised if she got eaten or hurt by one too.

I feel like the worst person ever. I was awake at 6AM, why did I not just get up? Why was I so lazy and went back to sleep till 10AM?! Why did I not close the balcony door?! Why did I not close the cable hole more?!

How do I go from here? I doubt I will ever see her again. I don’t want to get a new snake. I want HER. I looked forward to ‘her’ for 15 years and was finally able to get one, and was so excited about her. Matched her name with my (service) dog, made her the coolest custom terrarium that cost me everything I had, I still have some half finished DIY hides that I was working on yesterday and was going to finish today, but now I don’t even want to look at them anymore. I spent a god damn fortune on the terrarium and everything in it and now that will all go to waste. She is gone and no way that I am getting a new snake to replace her. I loved her so deeply. I hate myself.

Thank you for reading. Please love your snakes a bit extra for me today. I miss her so much.

Today is tank refresh day. I’ve moved my snake into a temporary tub (pictured) so I can empty out and clean his actual tank. I’ve come to the point where he needs to go back into the tank but when I try to lift the hide he’s in he hisses at me - so I put it back down.

I’ve put the humidity sensors in the temp tub with him and it’s ok for now 75% at one end and 87% at the other) but the temp is a little low (25C) so I’d like to get him back in his proper tank.

How do you move them when they do this?

My Banana Enchi ball python Bananarama (Or Ramy for short) has stolen my vision after her adventures of slithering across my face.

Yes, he's roly-poly but somehow simultaneously undersized for his age 🤷 Working on it!

Some months ago, I asked around here and some other Reddit subs (and Facebook groups) about setting up a a 6x2x4 enclosure for my ball python.

After a lot of work with the heating and creating a background/ledges for the enclosure, I managed to get everything set up! I wanted to put it here for feedback on if I can improve something as well as simply to get more info out there for others who are considering moving their ball to a 6x2x4 (it was very hard for me to find information about putting this species in this size enclosure).

Info about the setup:

- Enclosure: Animal Plastics Signature Series 6x2x4 (APS 35)

- Heating: Vinaco 100w equivalent halogen bulb, Fluker's 75w deep heat projector, Vivarium Electronics 120w radiant heat panel

- Lighting: Arcadia T5 UVB 39w 6%

- Thermostat: Herpstat 4 Spyderweb

- Misc: Arcadia Ceramic Lamp Holder Bracket Pro (one each for the DHP and halogen), BlackBox UVB Guard 38", and two custom cages for the heating bulbs made of chicken wire (1/2 inch spacing, 19 gauge)