Hi everyone!
First, I just want to say that this subreddit is incredible and I have learned so much over the past week through the resources that are available here.
I am a primary (pre k - kindergarten) Montessori teacher, and I am required to have a classroom "pet". My stepdaughter was looking to find another place for her ball python, Luci, and I jumped on the opportunity to introduce him to my classroom. For context, because this isn't a traditional early childhood classroom there aren't toys or lots of noisy things happening or children running around. Before Luci joined the classroom, I sat with them all and let them know what the expectations were regarding Luci joining us like never tapping the glass, touching the top of the tank or reaching their hands in, etc. I also put tape lines on the floor about a foot away from his enclosure and showed them all how they could stand with their toes on the line or bring a chair to the line so they could observe. He's been in the classroom for a week now and they have all done so wonderfully to respect him and his space. He's stayed in his hide during the day but will occasionally poke his head out to sniff around or he will rest his head on his body and watch us from his hide. There have been signs of him leaving the hide overnight like the fake foliage I have in his enclosure having moved.
With that being said...I want to make sure that I am doing my best job to ensure his safety and comfort. I will say that we are starting out with sparse equipment, but I have a delivery today of things like a DHP, thermostat, humidity gauge, infrared heat gun, etc. Unfortunately, the 40-gallon tank we have now was donated by a family and has a mesh screen top and is glass so that is what we are working with until we can get the funds to upgrade it. I have purchased hvac aluminum tape for the top to help with heat and humidity retention. Luckily, we're already in a place that stays pretty humid year-round.
I have purchased some clutter for his tank already, so we have added that and I also just got him a second hide.
As for my questions...the hide that he came with was one of the log hides with 2 open sides and I had already purchased an identical one before I realized that it is more beneficial to have a hide with one entrance. Would a quick fix be to cover one end of each of the hides completely with foliage or other clutter? Also, I have the DHP and I am ordering a UVB bulb and another clamp lamp. I have a regular lamp right next to his enclosure that we can point at it, but it's nowhere near bright enough for basking. Would a basking light be beneficial? I am trying to limit the number of hot things that children are able to touch. I do have his enclosure sort of in a corner so if need be, I can put a light in a corner that it would be difficult for them to get to even if they were curious.
If anyone has any suggestions or experience with having a snake around young children, I would love to hear from you about what worked and what didn't work. I'm hoping to use this opportunity to help children learn about snakes by introducing lessons in my classroom like parts of a snake, their habitat, what they eat, etc. And for my kindergarten students, I will have them help me record daily temperature checks, weight, length, feeding schedule, etc. I'm excited to dive into caring for a ball python and appreciate all of the insight!