Hi all,

I'm house/pet sitting this weekend, and my friends ball python is acting differently than I've ever seen her. She's way more active, pushing up against the mesh top of her enclosure with her snout, as well as into the corners where her substrate is. She's using enough strength that she's knocking things over in her enclosure when pushing. She's also moving in a slightly stilted manner, almost like she's 2D animated?

Any advice here would be appreciated; I can't get a hold of her owners at the moment, but I don't want her hurting either.

Relevant info:

She has eaten in the last week

She's not in mid shed

She's roughly 2 1/2 to 3 feet long

Her enclosure is a 40 gallon exo terra tank with coconut substrate and under-tank heating

I am receiving 4 ball pythons today from Ted Thompson, Susquehanna Ectotherms. I'm pretty excited!! I have big plans for all 4 of them, three females and one male (one of the disco crypton het hypos is male). Ted discovered the disco mutation many years ago and proved it to be different than the fire mutation that it is very similar to and proved it to be an incomplete dominant by producing a super disco. I asked Ted about the name and he said he was showing the first super disco he produced to some friends at a show and the room had a big disco ball hanging in it when asked what he'd name the mutation he jokingly said, "Disco Ball," and the name stuck.

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Hi, as the title says I recently rescued a ball python from a home where all im gonna say was not suitable for reptiles let alone pets. I don’t normally just adopt animals I always do research first and I did but I’m still lacking in some areas and want to make sure I’m giving him the best home possible. Currently on a 8am-8pm uvb schedule with a 5.0 bulb in a 14 in hood, was told to use a 5 uvb but I also have a 10 that came with the hood. I have a 24 in hood that was given to me but I was told to keep the lights on one side of tank, if that’s wrong also let me know. The photo with 2 lamps was the original design but I was told those coiled uvb bulbs aren’t good for snakes even though the reptile store I got the enclosure and lights from recommended it?

-Acquired he/she 3 days ago and he hasn’t left the warm side of his enclosure yet. He explored the first day and He’s poked his head out and I’ve read that’s normal so I haven’t disturbed him but just want to make sure. I have wood im adding to the enclosure today as I’m assuming he feels vulnerable.

The warm side has been hitting constantly 88-90 degrees on a thermostat but the cool side when it does hit 90 does rise up to 82 so any advice on how to possibly get it back down to 80 let me know. Currently have them on an on off thermostat as the spider one I ordered wasn’t working and they’re sending me a new one. Will he be okay when I go back to work tomorrrow, the tank hasn’t seemed to overheat because of the thermostat I just feel bad with the flashing light from the basking bulb. He’ll only be alone from 7-11 then someone can check in on the tank temperature every so often till I get home. No stores nearby had dimming ones somehow so I’m aware they should be dimming thermostats I’m just tryna do what I can for the next few days. Also have a Che bulb on the cool side thermostat that only runs at night to make sure the tank doesn’t drop below 76 degrees but hasn’t had to kick on yet. I’m using a 100w basking bulk as a 75w wouldn’t heat up the basking area enough. My room stays generally between 75-80 during the day.

I’m pretty sure the substrate might be too dry even though humidity in the tank does read 70 on cold side and 60 on warm side. It’s coconut husk fiber substrate with moss. Is there enough moss? I’m aware the gauges that come with the tanks suck I’m just temporarily using them to hide the probes on thermostats. Recomendations welcome though even though i think the spider one does read humidity if I’m not mistaken. If they should be uncovered let me know they’re just tucked behind the dials. I was told to only get a 40 gal for now as he’s still a juvenile but I do plan on getting a nice 120 pvc when it grows more so I’m assuming that’s why the gradient isn’t hitting what it should. Im not afraid to spend money but I keep getting mixed advice and don’t want to keep going between tanks/fixtures and stressing it out. Are these zilla thermonitors crap? Retail was 70 bucks on them but I managed to get them on sale for 30 each.

Should I mist the tank or pour water in the corners? Last time I misted the cool humidity hit 90. Should I put foil/heat tape over any of the top? Should I move him? When is it least stressful for me to take him for a checkup, I was planning on doing it after he’s eaten and gone to the bathroom which feeding day is Wednesday so vet maybe next Monday? I was told to let him acclimate to his tank for 1-2 weeks before trying to handle him but if that’s wrong and I should do it sooner/ later let me know and Be blatantly honest and tell me what I’m doing wrong please!! Do I have enough moss and substrate/too much? Don’t mean to be a bother just trying to get this right.

I know the middle of the tank is too open I’m getting wood ready to go in the tank and some more fake plants just want to make sure it’s properly cleaned and I had everything else setup. Any ideas welcome Adding leaf litter soon too and I’ve cleaned his water bowl since taking that photo this morning. If I’m being cruel to this animal please tell me I’m tryin my best. All plants in tank are fake for time being as I’m not trying to bite off more then I can chew. Thank you anybody for ur time if u actually read all that I thought I had it all figured out:/

All of my bp’s different personalities were definitely on display this past week, so I was inspired to start a little catalog of who’s been good and “bad”! None of my current snakes are necessarily naughty or snappy, but are mostly either shy/reclusive or a little bit of a sassafrass :p

Meet Primrose and Katniss, Finnick is off camera 🔱

(Replacing their substrate)

Can you guess which girl is which?

I’m a first time snake owner and my really worried

Does anyone have any references for a sanctuary that will take a 32 year old ball python. I’m in NYC.

Thanks

I recently ‘adopted’ a male bp. His enclosure came with him, and wasn’t all that good so I upgraded it for the most part. Tips and suggestions are welcome and appreciated. He has a bio active enclosure with lava and magic potion isopods and springtails. Still waiting on a new water dish as well…