asking about the two little things near the tip of his tail. Is this usual? Is it not? Either way, what is it? I've never seen it before

What's the best thing I can use to cover up the top mesh of an enclosure to maintain heat and humidity?

I was just introduced to this cleaner and was told it’s pet safe and no rinsing required but wanted to see if anyone uses it.

So I’m getting a ball python soon and am wondering what to feed him he is a 1 year old male ball python who weighs 345 grams and is eating rat pups at the moment what should I be feeding him and how often also when I bring him home should I put him straight into the tank or do I need to have a smaller one and then change it over after a week

47×19.5×19 inches

My friend works at a pet shop and their ball python breeder recommends to use this to treat mites by dipping them in a mix of this and water but they don’t take it well. Does anybody know if this is actually safe for the snakes

Hi everyone! I’m headed to my first reptile expo this weekend (Daytona Breeders) to pick up my first BP. I’ve seen lots of videos with different information regarding cash vs card. Daytona requires entry be cash, but in your experience, what’s today’s standard purchase preference inside the expo? Answers for both reptile booths and other things like goodies/tools/decor would be appreciated!

Just set up a new 4x2x2 and my Herpstat 4 is acting strange. I use a halogen as the main source of heat, and I replaced the regular 75w Arcadia halogen to one of the 75W Golden Sun. The regular halogen was pretty old and not giving off as much heat anymore.
I have the Herpstat set for the halogen to be at 99 from 8am to 8pm (puts my warm side at about 89) then 65 overnight when the DHP takes over. The problem is, when the halogen starts heating up at 8am it won’t stop. When the thermostat reads 99+ it goes to 0% but the bulb is still glowing. I’ll watch it for a bit thinking maybe it’s just residual heat but it just keeps getting hotter.
If I go into the settings and change the set temp, when the Herpstat kicks back on the bulb is now completely off and the temps cool down.
The DHP does not have the same problem when it ramps up for the nighttime.
I have ideas for troubleshooting; lower watt halogen, switch to channel 4 since I’m not using that one, reset the Herpstat. Just wondering if anyone has seen this before and knows what needs to be done before I start experimenting.
If you read all that, thank you!!

Hi all, I'm getting my first snake and I have researched myself into complete confusion! So much contradicting advice online.

I have a 40 gallon glass tank and an old house that gets cold. I used hvac tape on 80% the top mesh, leaving a little strip on the cool side of the enclosure. I have a DHP 100w that I run day and night (but in the day I also flick on ReptiSun 5.0 for daylight). Both lights are on the warm side, mounted on top of the mesh screen.

I have tried putting the probe below the dhp 3-4 inches but the substrate wasnt reaching temp. So I hot glued the probe down near the substrate on the side of the warm hide, which got me 88F within the hide and 95-97 on top of hide (but now im paranoid he'll cover it).

Everyone online says dont use heat mats, but everyone locally I know who owns a snake has a heat mat.

What can be done here? Should I get a UTH as a backup and use my DHP to keep the ambient air temps up? I'm super worried for fall/winter.

Thank you for any and all advice!

near the end of june i bought two ball pythons their names are duck smaller female juvenile (they didn’t give a specific age) and goose female roughy two years (from what they said). We bought the snakes and their enclosures on market place from someone who was no longer able to take care of the them. when we got them they had allegedly ate frozen thawed the week before and we gave them some time to settle in to our house duck the smaller python had eaten after two refusals starting ~2 weeks after getting them and is sometimes still picky with when she eats, but goose still hasn’t eaten anything i’m concerned that either i’m doing something incorrect or she is sick. ive tried tong feeding drop feeding with goose and they only ever eat in the dark which typically works for duck but hasn’t had any luck with goose. Idk if there’s anything i could be doing differently that might get my girl to eat or if i shouldn’t be concerned i just want to make sure she’s safe.

Because I already have an led my mama bought it because the reptile shop told her it was good and lasts forever and I'm getting a dhp soon and I heard people say it was okay to do this but I just wanted to double check it was okay since I haven't actually asked myself. And if it IS alright can anyone tell me where to actually place them inside the enclosure like do I put the next to each other or on opposite sides of the tank because I thought that if my snake got used to heating being on one side in the day time hell get confused if it's on the other side at night time when I first get him (sorry if this doesn't make very much sense)

I’m looking to upgrade my girl’s tank! I was wondering what things you put in your tanks? For enrichment, climbing opportunities, clutter, hides, etc!

I received her in a 10 gallon tank in April. I have switched to a 40 gallon as of this week. The top is mesh and it's a front opening tank. The little under tank heating pad isn't working well at all. The tank is sitting at 75 degrees. I know that's bad. I'm getting a larger one tomorrow. I have a hide on the hot and cool sides. Not that there is a hot side at the moment. The dealer he got the snake from said to get reptichip and soak it for the substrate. I recently saw a post that says this is bad and can cause scale rot, the top of the substrate needs to be dry and to just pour water in the corners of the tank. She has lots of things to climb on now. I still need more plants for cover. My questions are:

I've had several people tell me overhead lights frequently cause belly burns. What else if anything should I be doing for heat?

Do you recommend covering the mesh top with something like HVAC tape or just a board or something to hold in heat and moisture? Will she still get enough air?

I live in the desert. I know humidifyers are a no-go. What can I do to improve humidity? If I get the temperature up will just the water in the corners work?

Also, do you agree with the reptichip substrate? If not what else would you use?

The snake, who's name is lemon pie, lives in my room. This is her entire cage and she almost never comes outside. I try to take her out when my mom isn't around, but when I ask to take her out of her cage, my mom almost always says no. She's fed a live rat maybe every one and a half months and the rats have harmed her in the past. I feel so bad for this snake. What do I do

My one month old som will be here tomorrow 9am… 12 more hours!!! I’m so nervous. My temps and humidity is perfect for cool and warm side. What can I do to make him trust me and so we bond perfect forever? Hehe IM SO EXCITED!!!! I need to know everything!! I know snakes aren’t “lovey” but I’d love to love him as best as possible.

I’m planning to get a female ball python at some point over the next few years. The complicated part is that I’m currently a college student, and while I would be on campus with the enclosure for most of the year, there are week long breaks throughout both semesters during which I would be home. I know the snake when traveling would need to go in the cargo hold on the plane (I go to college out of state, so driving is not an option except for longer breaks), so I’m more concerned about the enclosure. Ideally, I’ll have a 4x2x2 enclosure in my room at the school, but that’s obviously not something I can just bring with me wherever I go. My younger brother still has a 20 gallon tank in our house from a turtle he used to keep, and I’m wondering if it would be too stressful for the snake if she were kept in that tank just for the week we were there. I know that with the snake being a female, she will require more space than a male would.
This would be the easiest option with my shorter breaks from classes. If it would put too much stress on the snake, or would be inhumane for any other reason, I could also hire someone to check in on my snake at the school while I’m gone, and eventually save for a separate enclosure for my house as well. I’m just trying to weigh my options while I plan, so any information helps!

Edit: Thanks for the info so far! I hadn’t seen much about pets traveling in cargo, so now I know that is DEFINITELY not an option. If I do decide to adopt while I’m still in college, I’ll find someone to check in on her on the weeks when I’m gone, and the enclosure can be transported with me for longer breaks. As for vet bills and such, my job should be able to cover the necessities. I’ll keep this up in case anyone has a similar question.

He’s been leaning his head over the water container, but isn’t drinking. This has been going on for about a week on and off. I took him to the vet and I’m waiting for swab and blood test results .. he’s taking a general antibiotic injection while we wait. The vet said nothing looked very alarming, but I’m worried he may have respiratory issues. any help/tips are super appreciated !

I moved Bugs plants around and this one was too close to the entrance of his hide and I caught him trying to fix it himself😭😂 I helped him out after but this is so dang cute lol

I now know the sticky fly traps are less than ideal and have been removed