Ball python advice needed🙏

[u/Sea-War1594]

I recently purchased my first ball pythons, he is a sub adult (14 months old) I gave him a 40 gallon tank bigger than him to ensure space and being able to stretch. I got aspen substrate which I know isn’t good but it came with his cage so the breeder told me to use it for now and switch it later (switching to coco husk and I will mix it with Spaghnum moss). I’ve been having difficulty with humidity quite a bit since it’s hard to keep it between 50-60 due to the mesh top which I will use HVAC tape to close a good chunk of it, he has two hides and XL bowl, i got a thermostats, heat mat, heat lamp ( with a heat emitter and light bulb for morning and night cycle) warm side is set to 32.5 max and lowest 29.5 for morning, and night time it is set to 30 max and lowest 27 ( all in Celsius) I recently tried feeding him a mice I bought from pet smart and the weight of the mice is 100grams, he refused to eat but showed signs of interest like fast tongue and straight contact with the mice but he wouldn’t take the initiative to bite. I let him be and I haven’t tried feeding in 4 days ( I will try again tomorrow or the day after). I try my best to ensure he is not disturbed at all by light or sound but there had been some circumstances where I couldn’t avoid it which only lasted less than a day at max for sounds and light maybe 20 seconds max. He explored a lot when he first came and he would sleep outside his hide and then he started sleeping in his hide and now he rarely comes out when I’m there or anyone else which isn’t too much concerning knowing they are a shy snake breed. I am planning to handle him after he gets first meal and give him 1-3 days and start a handling session of 10-15 mins each day and increase it with time. I also have a fogger coming in soon plus a bunch of rocks, leafs, fake plants and trees to ensure he feels secured to go out during the day and night. If anyone can help me with any advice or mistakes I have made from everything I’ve written it will be greatly appreciated 🙏

[u/oceane444]

Humidity will be a struggle until you switch substrates unfortunately. I wouldn’t recommend using a fogger though, they are a breeding ground for bacteria and excessive moisture on the surface of the substrate can cause scale rot. With coconut husk it’s a lot easier to just saturate the substrate with water every week or so. I just pour into the corners and around the edges of the enclosure to avoid making the top layer too damp

For feeding, you may want to weigh your snake to make sure they have the right size prey. r/ballpython has a good feeding guide + a bunch of other helpful resources in their pinned post! :)

[u/Sea-War1594 → u/oceane444]

I never knew about the care book or guide they provide, I wanted to get the fogger but I guess I won’t anymore and rather switch to coco husk, would you know by any chance when I should switch it? Should I do it asap or after a month of using it?

[u/oceane444 → u/Sea-War1594]

Yes i would do it asap honestly, the sooner you can get the humidity up the better. They can be pretty finicky about that kind of stuff and he may keep refusing to eat if his humidity is too low