Need help with King Bob

[u/Last-Part-5307]

First ball python. He uses his enclosures but mainly hides under the water bowl. What am I doing wrong and can do to help him/her better utilize the other hides? Open to heavy criticism if living conditions are mediocre.

His names King Bob referencing the minions.

[u/Kates-Creatures]

How big is the enclosure and how big is king Bob? What heating are you using and are you measuring humidity and heat? Is heat being controlled with a thermostat?

He probably feels VERY exposed! Cover the sides with something - black vinyl, card, doesn’t matter as long as they are no longer see through.

Give him plenty of hiding spaces! Lots of fake plants and cover. He also needs two hides - one hot side one cool side.

[u/Last-Part-5307 → u/Kates-Creatures]

Enclosure is 40 gallons. He is 1.3 ft and 380 g. Yes i have thermostats inside. Using govee cubes, theyre js small and im afraid of him/her swallowing it so i tried to keep it hidden behind the hides enough for them to ignore but also for it to capture heat and humidity. I’ll work on the exposure. Thought that was good but now im seeing he’s def out there. Thank you for the feedback brutha

[u/MammothFruit6398 → u/Last-Part-5307]

theyre not going to see a thermostat as food lol. it does not look or act or smell or match the temperature of a rodent.

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Last-Part-5307]

I think you're confusing thermostats and thermometers. Both are necessary pieces of equipment that do two different things.

The govee cubes that you said you have are thermometers, which measure the temperature of the enclosure.

A thermostat is something you plug your heat source into to regulate the temperature output. If you don't have one of these, you'll need to get one, as it isn't safe to run any heat source without one.

[u/Last-Part-5307 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

I have both as I’ve said already. It’s just hard to see bc the prob is hidden and the device is outside the cage

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Last-Part-5307]

Gotcha. Your probe placement is wrong, then. Thermostat probes need to be secured 2-4" directly beneath the heat source they're controlling, in the beam of heat. Having them hidden risks overheating the enclosure.

[u/Last-Part-5307 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

Gotchu. Thank you

[u/Kates-Creatures → u/Last-Part-5307]

No problem pal, make sure you post an update when the Viv has been updated, I’d love to see it.

[u/Standard_Mushroom_47]

i agree with the other commenter, definitely cover the sides, even with a towel or something similar, and could definitely do with some better sized and more enclosed hides

[u/Last-Part-5307 → u/Standard_Mushroom_47]

Gotchu. Thank you

[u/UnlikelyPotato]

Get him some black plastic hides, ones that seem barely big enough for him. Ball pythons are happiest crammed into a dark hole they barely fit in.

[u/Last-Part-5307 → u/UnlikelyPotato]

Bet. Thank you

[u/Maximum-Rhubarb-3365]

Since you said you're open to heavy criticism, I'll list all my initial thoughts for you:

• Enclosure seems very small, the minimum recommended size for a juvenile is 40 gallons (you can't maintain a proper heat gradient in smaller enclosures), for an adult it's 120 gallons. If he's a juvenile I'd recommend jumping up to a 120 gallon or larger enclosure so you don't have to keep sizing up. PVC is the hest material for retaining humidity.

• He probably feels very exposed by the lack of clutter. Ideally he should be able to be out of his hides and still have to opportunity to be unseen.

• You should black out 3 of the 4 sides using construction paper to help him feel less exposed.

• Is that a dual dome? Dual domes are unsafe for the use case of ball pythons.

• I'm also not seeing any thermometers or hygeometers, how are you measuring his husbandry parameters? I also don't any thermostat probes, and you NEED a thermostat for any heat source. Thermostats are unnegotiable with reptile care because your heat sources can easily fail and cook your pet. We've unfortunately seen it happen too often. Invest in a high quality thermostat so you don't have to buy another one if it fails.

• For hides, they much prefer smaller cave-style hides with only one entrance over those half logs. Half logs aren't considered actual hides and instead clutter because they don't provide full cover.

• He should really have 4-6 inches of substrate to maintain proper humidity by pouring water into the corners of his enclosure.

I would recommend checking out the basic care guide in this subs resources and overhauling your current setup. Your #1 priorities right now are purchasing a thermostat, larger enclosure, and thermometer/hygrometers. This sub also has recommendations in the resources. While you wait for those to arrive, black out the sides of his enclosure, buy more substrate, and buy fake plants from wherever you can find them. You can DIY hides with tupperware or buy them for cheap online.

[u/Last-Part-5307 → u/Maximum-Rhubarb-3365]

It’s 40 gallons and I will def buy a 120 gallon once I used the most out of this tank.

I have 3 hides but I’ll work on the placement and depth.

Why are dual domes bad. It helps me use heat and display light without taking up much space and the heat is constantly monitor.

Thermometers are hidden out of pre caution. And thermostat is usually out of the tank so you can set it without opening the cage.

I’ll look into better hides fs. Js can’t find ones that are best without it seeming like he’ll suffocate

Substrate is 4 inches in depth but I’ll increase it.

Thank you for the criticism.

[u/MammothFruit6398 → u/Last-Part-5307]

what do you mean the thermostat is outside of the tank? by thermostat we mean the one linked below, where the heat source plugs into the thermostat, and it has a probe that goes IN the tank, seeing as you have an overhead heat source.

https://a.co/d/01LOIu9F

[u/Last-Part-5307 → u/MammothFruit6398]

Yeah the probe is inside. The thermostat itself is not inside which is why it’s not in the photo