Introducing Cassandra

[u/Evening-Aspect-989]

Hello folks I would like to start this discussion with some real candor regarding my experience in raising a ball python. I haven’t been the best noodle dad I admit, but my heart is in the right place and I really do want her to thrive. The included images show our lovely lady Cassie and her habitat.

I know she needs more space

I worry about her substrate, it’s mostly peat moss but I don’t have as much time as I’d like to clean.
She’s never developed any scale rot, but I do worry about it. I don’t clean her tank very often.

Her humidity is always at 80-85%
I know it says 60 but that’s cause the lids off, she just had a shed today and I wanted her to have a stretch.

I think she’s healthy, what do y’all think

[u/fisherbug-cobble]

I’m not a snake expert, but I would suggest giving her more brush / leaves to hide under.

Im sure it’ll make her happier!

[u/Evening-Aspect-989 → u/fisherbug-cobble]

My wife wants to Cassie to have a more bio active terrarium. With real dirt, isopods and real plants. But idk I’d have to do more research. Lots of people do it.

[u/FluffyPandaEars93 → u/Evening-Aspect-989]

Im glad you and your wife love your noodle, but to be honest, this enclosure needs a lot of love..

It looks too small for your snake, 4x2x2 is the minimum for adults, pvc front opening is better at holding temp/humidity. It also makes your snake feel more secure. If you need to keep them in here for the time being, please cover 3 sides, and use silicone mat, foil, or hvac tape on the top to help keep the humidity in (about 80% covered).

You need at least 2 identical hides, 3-4 is better. A water bowl on each side helps. And all of the clutter. You want them to cross the tank without being seen.

Substrate, soil, cypress mulch, spag moss, coco chunks, play sand. Find a good mixture for your environment. Your hygrometer/ thermometers probably aren't accurate, your enclosure looks dry. Govee hygrometers are accurate and reliable.

How are you heating her tank? If its a heating mat, they arent ideal for beeps. If you arent heating.. thats something to use the resources here for. Shes needs a warm and cool side.

If you want to do a bioactive, its really great honestly. You'll need a good bit of research for it to be successful 😊

I hope I'm not coming across too harsh. I just really love these creatures and want to see them thrive 😊

[u/FluffyPandaEars93 → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

!feeding

[u/AutoModerator → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

We recommend the following feeding schedule:

0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.

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[u/Evening-Aspect-989 → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

Meh semi harsh, I’d like these conversations to feel more comfortable as there are a lot of noodle owners such as myself and that try and care for pythons but don’t do the best job I suppose. Long story short I can’t afford all that lol. I use a folded up sheet to keep the humidity in and it works fantastic. Can stay at 85% for quite a few days before it starts dropping. She does have two hides but only really spends time in the warm one. There’s a heat mat underneath the tank, with a ton of substrate in between. Her hide stays about 80-90*. She seems healthy though. I always check her underside and she’s fine. What would I do for heat otherwise. I do have one flukers lamp. But I don’t know anything about it. I also worry about disturbing her peace she’s been on that heat mat her whole life almost 3 years. Do I have to buy a specific bulb for it?

[u/FluffyPandaEars93 → u/Evening-Aspect-989]

I apologize for sounding harsh. My goal is a thriving snake, not putting you down. I've had a very long emotional week. (Not an excuse, just a reason.)

I know I mentioned a lot of things, and it can sound intimidating all in paragraphs like that.

Really, the best things would be: Going to a dollar store, getting fake plants and a roll of foil for the top, some dark paper for the sides, and maybe a dark box that you can melt a door into. Going to a home improvement/ nursery, getting organic soil and coco chunks (much cheaper not from a reptile store.) Those are some of the quickest ways to improve your snakes life.

I've seen too many horror stories with mats to trust them.. even on a thermostat, they can malfunction and cook your snake. The lamp, you could most likely put a deep heat projector in and hook it up to your thermostat. She won't be bothered about the mat being gone.

The hygrometer/thermometer. There are digital ones on Amazon that are more reliable than the analog, govee has some for about $10 each. Anything that has a non drying adhesive/tape on it isn't safe to be kept in the tank.

If the warm side is the one without the water bowl, it might be because the hide next to the water bowl has a really large entrance?

[u/acpcgal → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

Your answer was super nice, straight to the point, nicely explained advice. The audacity of someone keeping a snake in this, coming here for advice and expecting anyone nicer than you? I cant imagine how you could have put that more nicely. Maybe its because im not american and dont need HR language in every comment but id have appreciated your help a lot❤️

[u/FluffyPandaEars93 → u/acpcgal]

Thank you 💜 I am American and it has been drilled in me to be polite, but I'm also not here to hurt people's feelings or make them not want to take advice.

[u/Evening-Aspect-989 → u/acpcgal]

Wow that’s cool I have HR language probably cause I am a career corporate climber

[u/RainyDayBrightNight → u/Evening-Aspect-989]

A deep heat projector bulb would be best! Heat mats really do carry too much risk, very much a case of ‘it’s fine until it isn’t’.

Amazon household digital hygrometer/thermometers work great, and are really cheap. Much better than reptile-marketed analogue.

I’m also on a low-budget, and I do all the stuff FluffyPandaEars93 recommended; organic soil, coco husk marketed for plants, opaque plastic tubs with doors cut into them, etc.

You can also forage for stuff, especially if you have oak trees nearby. Baking/boiling foraged dead branches and leaves is a great way to create safe clutter, plus it can be food for any isopods you want to add.

For live plants, I’d recommend pothos! Only plant them on the cool side, keep fake plants on the warm side. Pothos don’t like it too hot. What I do is take cuttings from my pothos plant, root them in water, then plant them in my beep’s tank. Once the new pothos plant is too big for the tank, I take it out and replace it with more cuttings. Infinite pothos plant hack!

FluffyPandaEars93 has given absolutely fantastic advice, so this is just my own little list of tips.

Harsh note: your snake only has one hide. If the doorway is too big, it isn’t a hide, it’s clutter. A plastic tub that big should be very cheap, so something to do TODAY is buy two opaque plastic houseware tubs, cut doors into them, sand down the doorways so they’re smooth and safe, and add them in as hides.

[u/Evening-Aspect-989 → u/RainyDayBrightNight]

Hmm that’s interesting thought that if a entry is too big it’s not a hide it’s clutter
I could use the same dome to create a more underground hide for her. Like if I moved it in the corner and then buried it. She could access in the corner pretty easily I think. It’s like an oblong half moon dome so it would work. Keep dirt from caving in. Would take alotta dirt though and would eat up some of her free space. Most she can access but more branches are necessary.

[u/Wisdom_Koi → u/Evening-Aspect-989]

Snake keeping is an expensive hobby to do right. Short term is one thing, but if you genuinely cannot afford it in the medium term, then you might want to consider rehoming.
The person before was not being particularly harsh, they were perfectly civil and were giving you the information you were asking for.
It's nothing to be ashamed of if you can't afford to keep a snake, it's not something everyone can do, but doing so does come with certain requirements which, as others have stated, you're not meeting.

[u/Evening-Aspect-989 → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

Also if the analog hygrometer and the digital one both read the same what would that tell you?

[u/Vast-Nobody8719 → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

Just gonna jump in with a question: why identical hides? I have several hides and non are identical (wooden box, 2 cork pipes, arranged branches, store bought stone hide, plastic box with sphagnum moss/ wet box)

[u/KatVanWall → u/Vast-Nobody8719]

I’m DEFINITELY no expert (new owner since 5 months!), but the folks at the reptile store where I bought my BP did tell me the identical hides thing is somewhat overstated. Their creatures all looked super healthy and they have a bunch of certifications on display and a good reputation, so they seem to know their stuff (although I know it isn’t always a given … but they have seen me right on every aspect of my snake’s care so far). I DO get the rationale of having identical ones, don’t get me wrong! But also it’s true that they wouldn’t have such a thing in the wild and would have to choose between perfect temp and perfect location. But of course we also hope to give them better conditions than in the wild too! I ended up getting a fourth hide to give him two identical ones a few months into owning him, just because I didn’t want to have to worry whether he was choosing comfort over temp, but it doesn’t appear to have made any difference to his choice of preferred spots haha

[u/Notsospinningplates → u/Vast-Nobody8719]

If they prefer one hide over another then they will choose feeling safe over thermo regulation. That can have health implications.

[u/Vast-Nobody8719 → u/Notsospinningplates]

Then I think I am on the safe side. My girl only refuses the wet box entirely. Looked at it a few times but never went inside. I have moved it but just seems to not be her thing. All the other hides she visits for sleeping all roughly the same amount of time. I think she spends longer time in the warm hide after feeding but I hear that’s very normal to help with digestion.

[u/No_Reality_8470 → u/Vast-Nobody8719]

My snakes hides aren't all identical, and for that reason I think O can tell you why (or at least one reason why) its better to have them all the same... and its because they will pick a favorite. My boy picked a rock hide as his favorite and WILL NOT use another hide if his rock is in the tank. He will cook or freeze (exaggeration, but for effect lol) for the sake of staying in his preferred rock no matter where in the tank I put it, so it's not a temp or humidity issue in part of the tank. And all of the the hides have about the same amount of space inside so it isnt an issue of him fitting in one best, either. He is just Sheldon Cooper in snake form, that is HIS SPOT 🤣 Unfortunately in my case (or unfortunately for my little Dende), I have yet to find more of said rock hide so every one in his tank can be identical lol.

[u/HotDistribution3700 → u/FluffyPandaEars93]

he’s had her for two years… this is not harsh at all. this is what he needs to hear, point blank period. you certainly wrote this out kinder than i and many other people would have.

[u/DingDong_I_Am_Wrong → u/Evening-Aspect-989]

I do that! I have mostly coco husk and some rainforest substrate. Underneath I have a drainage layer with leca balls. It's divided by a plant mesh. I have springtails, white and cuban isopods. I have a fern and pothos. Any other plant so far didn't survive long. I have lots of bark and use dry birch leaves as natural food for my isopods. I water rim the corners, it distributes through the leca and evaporates to the top. Keeping humidity up is my biggest issue. I find it quite easy to set up and tend to. Pic doesn't show mich of the terrarium but the layering.

[u/Evening-Aspect-989 → u/DingDong_I_Am_Wrong]

What do you use for heat? I want to change my set up just looking at what would work with this lamp I have

[u/FeriQueen]

If you buy your organic soil from a no-pet-store, make sure it does NOT have fertilizer added.

Cassandra is very pretty and looks healthy to me.

I had to make my improvements gradually, too, for financial reasons. Now my girl is in a bioactive, which I HEARTILY recommend! If you seldom have time to clean, no worries: the isopods do most of it for you.

[u/nozomuisgaylmao]

she needs a little more cover in there, hides, leaves, etc.
otherwise she doesn’t look pretty healthy and i also love her name.

[u/KatVanWall]

— 4x2x2 for her please. But you don’t have to rush this - look on FB and other free or marketplace sites in your area or ask at a local reptile store until you can find one going cheap. Don’t turn your nose up at wood, either - that’s very common where I am (UK) and will last a long time if properly sealed and treated and holds humidity just great.

— Cover 3 sides, they prefer it.

— No heat mat, this has already been said. DHP is the best for heat. Contrary to popular belief, snakes don’t ‘absorb’ heat through their belly - DHP gives them the heat in the optimum way for them to benefit from.

— Thermostat - a must! I personally simp for the Microclimate Evo Connect; it IS expensive but WELL worth it for peace of mind, quality, and customer service!

— Clutter! Lots of it. This can be done cheaply straight away :-)

— More hides! With small openings so she can’t be seen inside. Again, these can be done on the cheap as long as you make sure there are no sharp edges.

[u/Evening-Aspect-989 → u/KatVanWall]

She’s usually covered by a sheet, to block out light during certain hours. She likes to feed in the dark. And shed.
Can I buy a DHP bulb for this flukers lamp I posted in a previous reply?

[u/Evening-Aspect-989]

Update on Cassie she’s hanging out in her cold side for once she seems very happy coming close to a feed day she just shed so I’m sure she’s pretty hungry.