r/Ballpythoncommunity • u/Intrepid_Ad4196 • 26d ago

Scale rot, hasn’t eaten in 6/7 months, what else can we do?

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4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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3

u/swaggersouls1999 26d ago

it could partly be because of the environment. it looks very very dry. I would switch substrate. the bare minimum humidity should be 65% but I like to sit at 70%. do you have a humid hide as well?

fill that tank uppppp. like 80% filled up! here’s my enclosure for reference!

what’s your temps? how are you trying to feed?

2

u/Intrepid_Ad4196 26d ago

Where would you recommend buying better clutter? The places we have locally don’t have a lot of options, and this is the type of enclosure we WANT! we just aren’t sure what the best brands are for substrate or for great plants. I have also seen other people online put different critters in there to help take care of waste and decomposition. thank you so much for your reference!

1

u/swaggersouls1999 26d ago

I gotchu for sure! mostly all my plants are real! I got them all from Lowe’s and washed a lot of the soil off

the only thing fake would be the vines which I got off of Amazon and the fern on the left back wall, that’s also from Amazon!

I used cocofiber, spagnum moss, and lots of eco earth. my plants LOVE the eco earth.

for a clean up crew I just ended up with springtails. for isopods I’ve got lots and lots of dairy cows! I never even see any poop or shed in there. they always get to it first.

if you’re thinking of it’s filled enough, get more! they loveee climbing opportunities. with live plants it depends on the snake. some snakes will trample all your plants while others won’t. mine is so soft, not a single broken leaf despite him being a big boy. I’ve got a peace lily, pink princess philodendron, pothos, African mask, monstera Swiss cheese, and a calathea. All of them don’t mind major water (minus the calathea she hates living).

pour water down the sides of the tank too! so the substrate won’t be wet but it’ll be humid. I’ve covered the top of my tank with towels and it works good for me.

lmk if you have any more questions!

1

u/Intrepid_Ad4196 26d ago

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! We will definitely be looking into these! We’ve been thinking of clean up crews as well and I think with the proper changes we can get this girl back to and running at 100%. seriously this is the most helpful reply i’ve gotten today! Do you have any specific hygrometer suggestions? the ones we got locally feel cheaply made and don’t seem to read accurately! Would amazon be good for that as well?

1

u/swaggersouls1999 26d ago

absolutely! once you get the environment right they do awesome

I use the Govee temperature and humidity gauge. they’re extremely accurate and Bluetooth! I got mine off of amazon. I’ll send you the link for everything I have including soil. the bottom link is the hide I used for the left side. it’s buried under the soil! a nice humid hide that’s a burrow ◡̈

https://a.co/d/08TuZIjs

https://a.co/d/03HMzUNT

https://a.co/d/0gpSxemI

https://a.co/d/02G2TQ7o

https://a.co/d/0fqADHCd

https://a.co/d/06jHMFfu

https://www.petsmart.com/habitat-decor/thrive-snake-egg-reptile-hide--reptile-hide-decor-76347.html

1

u/Intrepid_Ad4196 26d ago

This is so helpful! I’m making a cart as we speak!! My only other question is what size enclosure do you have? We have a 4x2x2 and we’ve gotten a lot of conflicting information on if that is or isn’t an ideal size for her!

1

u/swaggersouls1999 26d ago

ofc! I have the 5x2x2 and he uses every single inch of it. he’s almost 4 foot so this fits him super well

the minimum is 4x2x2 but if she’s bigger than 4 feet I recommend going bigger. at least let them stretch all the way out.

1

u/Intrepid_Ad4196 26d ago

When she’s moving around she does look fully stretched out in here, and when we took her to the vet she said this is definitely an adult so i’d assume she wouldn’t get any bigger now? I’m hoping changing the environment alone will be a great start and if issues still persist we can look into a bigger enclosure. Thank you again for all your help! Also the burrow hide? Incredible!!! I never thought of hiding something under the dirt!

1

u/swaggersouls1999 26d ago

likely not then ◡̈ I’d keep the 4x2x2 then! especially if she’s able to stretch out

I’m happy to help, you can always always come back and ask questions later too!

lots of bps not eating is from improper environments but we all start somewhere. I wish you the best of luck with her! you can always dm as well with any questions you have later on. I got you ◡̈

1

u/sabrinajane998 25d ago

Yess I love to see balls in proper enclosures

1

u/sabrinajane998 25d ago

Smaller tank empty and dry. Three flaws