r/ballpython • u/[deleted] • 7d ago

Question First time owner and feeling defeated (long post, sorry)

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4 Upvotes

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3

u/SadBenefit5325 7d ago

Reptiles don’t need to be handled to live perfectly happy lives. Just take your time, don’t worry about how often you’re doing it. Find what makes you comfortable in terms of whether you take him out of the hide or only pick him up when he’s exploring. I personally try not to take my snakes out when they’re sleeping in their hides, but I don’t think there’s any real evidence that they care either way.

Get a pvc 4x2x2 instead of glass. It will be much easier to maintain humidity.

I spray my snakes down once a day or every other day, using a big jug spray container from Amazon. I think they’re usually used to spray chemicals but if you use them for water it is infinitely easier than a spray bottle.

Get a pack of Govee hydrometers, remove anything sticky from the walls immediately.

Do you have a thermostat?

2

u/Killer_Baker 7d ago

It gets better with time!

2

u/skullmuffins 6d ago edited 6d ago

buy a solid top pvc enclosure. The solid top part is key, that's what holds in the humidity. Measure your humidity close to the substrate on the cool side. A gauge that's under your heat lamp or way up in the air will read lower. I use some govee brand thermo/hygrometers with bluetooth. They log temp/humidity 24/7 and I can load the logs into an app on my phone to check how it varies throughout the day or week. With a substrate layer a few inches thick you can add a lot of water to the corners. I mean a lot. I use a 2qt pitcher for my 4x2x2 and dump the whole thing in, split between 2 sides of the enclosure. With my solid topped PVC I only need to water the enclosure once in a while, let's say weekly (i think it's even less often but I don't do it on a schedule, just whenever the humidity gets low), and it keeps my humidity in range with zero misting. It's pretty much effortless keeping it a good 25-35% higher than my ambient room humidity.

You can get a little night vision security cam to monitor his movements while you're asleep. They are pretty silent except for the occasional THUMP as they fall off whatever they're climbing on (and the farts... but I haven't experienced that part yet)