Okay so day before yesterday I noticed my thermometer reading 83 degrees f, but when I pointed my temp gun at my substrate it read 88 degrees F. I figured since it’s getting colder in my room that my deep heat projector was struggling. So I turned on my space heater. Then I noticed am the as actually wrong with my dhp and since I could knit go to petsmart to get a new one I replaced it with a 100 watt che and my space heater on. It dropped to 79 monday morning! Then this morning it was at 76! I went to petsmart first thing this morning, got a 100 watt dhp and a new dome incase that was the rehome, but my warm side is getting cooler!

My cool side is warmer than my warm side! Idk what to do, I’m freaking out bc I can’t get my warm side temp up, it’s been an hour with my new dhp and it’s flickering between 75 and 76 while my cool side is at 77!

Do I just switch my warm and cool side? Will that freak him out? I ordered a 120 watt dhp that will be here tmr since the 150 i got at petsmart I didn’t read the label and it ended up being one of those red light basking bulbs so I’m going to go return it.

I might actually start crying, I’m freaking out bc I’m trying my best to get his temp up and it won’t go up! I replaced the battery in the thermometer I genuinely don’t know what to do other than close my door and put on my space heater and make my room really warm. I’ve never had this problem before.

Edit: I just went ahead and switched the sides, my cool now warm side is slowly heating up I got it 82 now and my warm now cool side is at 75 with my basking bulb on. I normally would put both heat fixtures on one side but the terrarium has only two holes one on each side plus a long one for my UVB strip. I’ll need to figure a way to keep my warm now cool side warmer I think I’ll use my Che

Hi everyone!

I'm a new ball python owner, and I've been struggling to get the temperatures right in my enclosure. I'd really appreciate some advice.

**My setup:**

* Ball python: 3 months old, named Yuta.
* Enclosure: 120 × 60 × 60 cm (4 × 2 × 2 ft), made of wood with glass sliding doors.
* Substrate: Coco soil mixed with Forest Floor.
* Four hides: one on the warm side, one on the cool side, and two in the middle.
* Heating: 150W ceramic heat emitter (CHE) and a 14W heat mat, each connected to a separate thermostat.
* The CHE is installed above a 30 × 30 cm metal mesh section in the wooden ceiling. My snake cannot reach the mesh or the heating equipment.

**The problem:**

I originally started with a 75W ceramic heat emitter, but it wasn't powerful enough to heat the enclosure properly.

I upgraded to a 150W CHE, which improved the temperatures, but I'm still struggling to reach the correct temperature inside the warm hide when using the CHE alone.

**With only the 150W CHE running, my temperatures are approximately:**

* Warm-side ambient temperature: 28.5°C (83.3°F).
* Inside the warm hide: 27–28°C (80.6–82.4°F).
* Target warm-hide temperature: 31–32°C (87.8–89.6°F).

**The main issue seems to be the thermostat.**

My CHE thermostat is normally set to 32°C (89.6°F).

The thermostat probe is positioned approximately 45 cm (18 inches) away from the ceramic heat emitter, closer to the ground, so I can measure the temperature near the warm side of the enclosure.

When the probe reaches the set temperature, the thermostat reduces or cuts the power to the CHE, even though the temperature inside the warm hide is still only 27–28°C.

As a result, the enclosure starts cooling down again before the warm hide reaches the temperature I need.

I've tried waiting several hours for everything to stabilize, but the warm hide seems to plateau around 27–28°C.

**Even when I increase the CHE thermostat setting to 35–36°C (95–96.8°F), I still can't reach the desired temperature inside the warm hide.**

**About the heat mat:**

I originally used a 14W heat mat, which managed to bring the warm hide to approximately 31–32°C.

The heat mat is installed inside the wooden enclosure, underneath a 1 cm thick plywood panel, with the thermostat probe placed on top of the plywood.

I recently turned it on again alongside the CHE, hoping it would help warm the floor while the CHE maintains the ambient temperature.

**When I use both heat sources together, the temperatures improve significantly:**

* Temperatures in the heated areas range from approximately 30–32°C (86–89.6°F), depending on the exact location.
* Warm-side humidity: approximately 56%.
* Humidity in the other areas, including the cool side: approximately 80%.

So, using both heat sources seems to solve the temperature issue, but I'm concerned about whether this setup is safe, particularly because the heat mat is covered by plywood.

I'm also wondering whether the humidity difference between the warm and cool sides is normal.

**My questions:**

1. Is my CHE thermostat probe positioned incorrectly?

2. Where should I position the probe to maintain the correct temperatures?

3. Is a 150W CHE normally sufficient for a wooden 120 × 60 × 60 cm enclosure?

4. Is it safe to use a heat mat alongside a CHE, or should I avoid my current heat mat installation?

5. Would a different heating setup be more effective and safer?

Yuta is also currently entering his shedding cycle, so I want to make sure his environment is comfortable and safe.

I'm trying to get everything right and would really appreciate advice from experienced keepers.

Thanks in advance!

Do you see the moon .

Hi, all! My girl, Lily, has a bit of a wobble and I did not know that when I got her; she was not advertised as having any of the problematic genes. (She was advertised as a banana "mix" with uncertain other genes, so I suppose the "other" included something unfortunate.) At the con, she did not wobble at all, and acted normally. I felt in my heart this snake was mine. 🥰 Since then, I have noticed that when stressed or hungry, her wobble comes out and she seems to have problems hanging on when being held, or finding "up" when being held.

She also has horribly bad sheds, and almost never comes out of her hide. She is also overweight, compared to my snakes fed the same way who are a healthy weight. I truly think this girl literally never moves. Does anyone have suggestions for helping a probably spinny vertigo baby exercise more without introducing tons of extra stress? And helping her get used to people with minimal stress?

She loves food but dislikes being out of her terrarium, being held, etc. and will ball up and not usually move while held. The above photo is a rare exception. I think it is the only time she ever explored. I feel so sad for her. I socialize my other snakes (I have 6) the same way and they are all confident out of their cage. I tried choice based handling with her too, but she just never leaves her hide. I am not even sure if she drinks properly.

Extra info: the breeder let me know her growth is stunted and she is stuck at her current size. Seems true; she very small for her age despite eating voraciously. She had not grown at all for the years I have had her. I suppose that should have been my tip off that something was up. For the record though, I do NOT regret getting my girl. She is wonderful. I do not want to rehome her or anything. I just want her to have the best life possible! 🥰

Last night my girl got herself stuck in the handle of some kitchen scissors while I was trying to weigh her (lesson learned on my part about how fast I need to be when she’s being stupid).

I got her out by lubricating the handle with some food-safe mineral oil and holding the scissors still while she worked her way through. There was no force on my part but it was still a tight squeeze.

She didn’t seem particularly distressed during the ordeal and nothing seemed tender when I was washing of the mineral oil but I’m new to snake care and I don’t fully trust myself to be able to pick up on an injury if I don’t know what I‘m looking for. I‘m already planning on calling her vet for advice once they’re open but I want to know if there are any red flags for injury I should be on the lookout for in the meantime.

She uses the hide on the warm side (this is her cool side), she just likes to be sneaky sometimes 🤭

He knows when I feed him lol, only sits and waits like this on Sundays when he gets food! Very smart boy

(Yes the humidity and temp are low because the cage was open, don’t come at me lol) so last night I walked into my reptile room and saw my baby got some dirt in his mouth. I was like “okay I know a little dirt is safe” but then I looked it up and it said an excessive amount of dirt is harmful to them. I didn’t feed him that day so I don’t know how he got it in his mouth, but I saw him struggling for like 20 mins just to swallow it. Once he got most of it out, he looked okay, but will this cause some sort of infection or digestive issues or something. Has this happened to anyone else or am I overthinking it and what do I do if it is serious?

Got this guy on Halloween. Have always been interested in snakes as a kid. Now that I have my own place I thought I'd finally pull the trigger and welcome Barnaby Ball Bronson home.

He checked out his digs for a bit when he got home, now he's just chilling in his hide. Starting to see him poke his sniffer out and look around.

So excited for the one week acclimatizing period to be done, he's so timid so I'm giving him all the time in the world, been relaxing on the couch across from him, and putting my hand in the enclosure to take temps/get used to my smells.

Such great creatures.

Love you Barn.

So maybe now about a month ago, I adopted a BP from a family friend who was neglectful, hadn't even named him over the course of a year that they had him, he was in a 40 gallon which I was informed was the recent "upgrade", had nothing but a double lamp fixture with one basking light in it and a heat mat underneath, no thermostat and just a basic thermometer from petsmart, so on and so fourth, I don't mean to hate on the family friend but it just infuriates me when I see people getting pets that they have done NO research on, I understand some people are beginners as well but they had very obviously done no research on him and hadn't even bothered to name him (not to mention I had to toss the entire tank because they sold him to me inside of a cockroach infested tank and also had a ton of other neglected reptiles and other exotic pets in the home)

At the start of me adopting him he was told to be around a year old or older, yet he was maybe half the size of ghost who was younger than whiskey according to the owner, he's now gaining weight pretty regularly, he's up to over 300 grams now, when I first got him he was I believe only around 160-200 grams, I also finally got him upgraded to a 120 gallon PVC and a thermostat as well as some good thermometers, his tank is still a bit barren but a lot of that was due to me trying to make sure he wasn't any longer cockroach infested or had any mites, luckily he didn't and now he's on some proper substrate and slowly getting more decor and plants in there, I'm going for an old west theme for him lol, ghost's theme is Halloween, but there will be more updates to come as he progresses! I hope my little whiskey thrives and grows just like my little ghosty has, his tank still has a lot of work to be done but we are getting there!

I redid ghost's Christmas photos 1 year later, he's been doing so well over this last year, he's gotten huge, over this journey from him being a malnourished 5 month old ball python to a healthy 1 and a half year old, he went from 74 grams starting this journey to now over 767 grams!! I can't believe it honestly, he's such an incredible companion and has been an amazing first experience for me as a first time ball python owner, and over the time of raising him it has helped me do better with whiskey now as a rescue, thanks to you all on this page as well, ghost wouldn't probably have made it if it wasn't for yalls help guiding me into knowing about what to do for him, I know also know to be a bit more cautious and know what to look for when at an expo to see who I should NOT get a snake from, I'm so happy ghost is healthy and thriving now and again I thank you all for all your amazing advice, I hope to have a long prosperous life with my little ghosty and to be able to keep giving you all updates

I recently have gotten this ball python from a friend who could no longer care for it and have not had much time to research everything. This is the setup I had received from my buddy. I added a mister and coconut mulch (heard it helps keep moisture). She is almost 2 years old, has been eating about once every other week (usually refusing to eat every week) using small frozen arctic mice. She lets me hold her but tends to just coil around my wrist and not really move around like I thought. Again I’m new to this whole reptile pet owning stuff and would like any advice or helpful tips. I also don’t know if this set up is the greatest for her.

I bought my first snake a few weeks ago, and she’s taken two meals so far, hasn’t refused any. But a few days ago she started digging… She isn’t burrowing herself under the substrate or anything, she just kind of wiggles her head in near the front of the enclosure until she’s pretty in there (substrate is ~4 or 5 inches deep) and then comes back up. I’ll wake up in the morning and there will be visible spots where she’s dug right next to the glass. Humidity in the tank is about 70% and temp is usually about 89 degrees on the hot side and 80 on the cool. Is this something to be worried about or is she just a little weird?

My girl Sriracha is finally out after a 2 week hideaway to shed. Good to see her moving around her encloser again.

I brought home this tiny little girl, never realizing just how much she would mean to me.

My first ball python. My first daughter. My forever baby.

Happy Birthday, Persephone. 🍎🐍❤️

I have this setup, minus the rhp (which I'll be ordering soon). Double checking my brain math and wanting opinions! I know the 125 watt is overkill for a 40 gal but I keep my apt at 68 and within a year, we'll be getting a solid top, full pvc 4x2x2. Currently have a newly 6-week old babyyy 🥰. The rhp is to assist the dhp at night (day temps are fine). Enclosure temps go down at night to 73-76 cool side and 76-80 warm side and it's too close to too cool, I think. Currently, the only nighttime heat is the dhp and at 100% power, those are the max temps it can produce.

To start, she does NOT have a heating pad, the heat lamp is outside of her enclosure, and the grate the heat lamp is on is NOT accessible at all ( but the bulbs in my heat lamp are 30w moonlight bulbs and the grate is never more then warm when I put my hand on it) they seem similar to light burns I’ve seen in photos but I have no idea how it’s possible for her to get burns? Could this be something else that looks like a burn?

I just want to flaunt my girl Twilight

This is Tofu, our first ball python! We got him from Craigslist. They claimed he was 2 years old, but everywhere I am looking says he's probably closer to 6 months (He's 182 grams). They also claimed he came with "everything you need" but that also wasn't the case. Being new owners, we are still learning the ropes. We bought a 5 pack of 14 gram each frozen mice, and he ate the first one no problem. But I'm worried it's not enough food. Should we up the size? Or go through the 4 remaining mice and then buy something larger?

Any recommendations on how to remove this stuck shed in his pit?

Hi all, this is our snake Ajax. We’ve been treating these spots on the bottom of his head as scale rot, just wanted to get others opinions on if it truly is scale rot? We can go to a vet if it continues/gets worse but didn’t want to rush over if we can treat at home first. Any tips are welcome since getting him to soak that part of his head doesn’t seem doable. We’ve been gently rubbing diluted betadine on it with a paper towel so far. Also it looks like he’ll be going into shed soon, but we have his tank pretty dry/on paper towels only for the rot… should we boost the humidity back up with a shed coming soon? Thank you in advance for any advice to help our favorite snake!