Hi everyone I’m here just looking for some advice and help as a newer ball mom this is my boy who has a wobble as my others never had one ever and I’m trying to get a general idea of what I need for humidity and heat as I’m in the Midwest and it does get cold here I know nothing of his genetics just know he’s a sweet baby and I have a new love for snakes he’s upgraded to a 76 gallon pvc enclosure coconut husk substrate right now a ceramic heat bulb huge water dish a hide some fake plants please just some helpful advice I tried asking elsewhere and got totally trashed
Hello!
Sometimes some of the other sites on the web can be too much of a negative clique and not much help.
First off, your noodle looks pretty good body wise. The wobble is because of his mutation (morph) which is spider. Spider causes a change in the inner ear area of the snake…and even though they don’t use it to hear like we do, they still use it for balance and coordination. Most will be fine, especially when they reach the size of this one. Just be careful with anything too tall since they have trouble with up and down. Severe cases can require some specialty care or in the most severe cases (rare) euthanasia.
As far as the care goes… What temps are you working with right now?
Ideally, I try to have a gradient air temp from 75F on the ‘cool side’ to 85 at most on the ‘warm side’. In the winter mine will sometimes dip to 70/82. The ‘hot spot’/basking spot I keep at 88. This makes sure if there is an accidental heat spike the risk of over 90 is minimal.
I try to keep my humidity at a low of 50. When they are in shed I will mist and raise the humidity closer to 75. You want to make sure that there isn’t water sitting in the bedding because that can lead to scale rot or bacterial/fungal growth in the enclosure.
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You’re at the right place, I’ve received lots of good advice here. No negativity for someone asking the right questions, looking for help.
For temps, I’m going to say on the hot side, you want a basking temp of 88-90, although some say 85 is also good. Ambient temps in the mid 80s. On the cool side, no lower than 75, is what I’ve read. You’ll want three hides, one on each side, and one in the middle, with lots of clutter. They like to feel safe, and not exposed.
Humidity should be in the 50s to 60s, boosting it to the 70s during shed. That’s what I’ve read after doing lots of homework, and having mine for about 9 months. I have mine set up in a bioactive enclosure with live plants and clean up crew.
I’m sure you’ll get lots of good advice here shortly.
Congrats on your new family member.
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Oh, I didn’t mention heat sources. There are a few options, like halogen heat bulbs, radiant heat panels, CHEs, and heat pads, depending on the type of enclosure. Looks like you’re getting a pvc enclosure, which is good. Heat pads wont’ be an option, I don’t think. I personally use a 100w deep heat projector bulb on a dimming thermostat. That’s all I use for heat. I also have an led bar for the plants. I have a 36 x 18 x 18 pvc enclosure, and the dhp works for me.
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Right now temp wise I have just a ceramic heat bulb and on the warm side it’s sitting around 83 I’m looking currently into something better than the ceramic bulb for him I’m okay with getting him whatever he needs
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Right now temp wise I have just a ceramic heat bulb and on the warm side it’s sitting around 83 I’m looking currently into something better than the ceramic bulb for him I’m okay with getting him whatever he needs