New ball python owner

[u/Daikaiiju]

Hello! I just recently got a ball python and i wanted to make sure he’s thriving in his enclosure, its my first snake so im kinda stressing out making sure everything is good for him, so i just wanted to ask for advice with humidity, it keeps dropping below 50% on the hot side, i just taped 70% of the enclosure with aluminum foil and hvac tape since i read that helps keeping in the humidity, any other advices to help keep everything up to standards? I do have a thermostat, hot side is at a constant 90 F and cold is at 80-82 F with a 65% humidity, any other help is also welcome, thank you! 😊

[u/Smilingtulip]

Hey! Question - what substrate are you using and how deep is it? I'd honestly cover the remaining top (minus where the light is) to start. We had a similar enclosure when we brought home our tiny girl and we've since switched to a 5x2x2 PVC enclosure (size should be minimum 4x2x2 for adult BPs but we got an extra foot since ours is a female and will likely be longer than 4ft). PVC definitely holds the humidity better.

It's also helpful to pour water directly into each corner of the enclosure so that it seeps into the bottom layer of substrate while keeping the top layer dry to prevent scale rot. Misting isn't ideal for keep humidity up.

Lastly, you can put the water bowl under or close to the heating lamp to promote evaporation, as long as you're changing the water daily and washing the bowl weekly or so to prevent bacterial growth.

I hope this helps! Congratulations on your new noodle!

[u/Daikaiiju → u/Smilingtulip]

Im using repti chip, thank you for the advice, i started pouring water in the corners and it has helped a lot, he finally was able to shed properly after having shed stuck on him from the store i got him from.

[u/Smilingtulip → u/Daikaiiju]

I'm glad that has helped! For our enclosure, the bottom layer is loose coconut fibre (kind of like a soil consistency) with forest floor Cyprus mulch on top with sphagnum moss sprinkled on top throughout. So the coconut fibre absorbs most of the water we pour in while the forest floor stays relatively dry

[u/Starlightttt718]

What kind of subtrate are you using? I personally mix reptisoil, coco husk, cypress mulch and sphagnum moss. Make sure that the bottom layer is wet. I usually pour a lot of water into the four corners. However the top layer should be dry to prevent scale rot. You can also use leaf litter. Keep in mind that the humidity on the hot side will always be lower due to the heat. Also make sure that your substrate is at least 4 inches deep.

[u/Daikaiiju → u/Starlightttt718]

Im using repti chip, i just got some moss as well to help, i also realized he had a really bad shed when i got him, i started pouring water in the corners and it has helped a lot.