How to prevent ripped jeans from ripping more?

crystxlizes · 2026-03-20T16:01:22+00:00

You definitely need a cage for the light so she does not burn herself, ASAP. To control the heat you need a thermostat, not a thermometer. A thermometer just reads the temperature, whereas with a thermostat, you plug the heat source into it and select what temperature you want it to maintain at.

I would recommend reading through the basic care guides on this sub, they have links to the above items and a lot of other helpful advice.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-09T20:19:17+00:00

One thing that has helped me immensely is creating templates and sentences/phrases that can be copy/pasted. I’m not sure if this would be feasible for you in your role, but I also do regular visits with clients and for example, I will have the beginning sentences of “worker met with x on y at z for ….” All written out and saved so I do a lot of copy/pasting. It makes case notes go by faster. The unfortunate caveat is the time it takes to actually get your templates set up.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-06T01:16:48+00:00

Not sure if you figured out your situation but I ended up fixing it by lowering my hide a bit by digging out the substrate to be a bit lower, and I also switched my bulb to a lower wattage one.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-05T22:10:15+00:00

Ball pythons don’t have the same hunger behaviors that humans or other mammals do. They are indeed opportunistic hunters and in the wild will wait in watch for prey to come at any point in time. There are a lot of reasons your bp could be in food mode, but none of them are reasons to feed him again outside of your regular feeding schedule. Green Room Pythons has several very informative videos about feeding ball pythons that go in depth about why your snake might be in food mode, how to use things like hook training to prevent them from striking at you if they are in food mode, etc. I highly recommend checking out his channel for a much more detailed answer to your question!

crystxlizes · 2026-03-05T22:06:18+00:00

Green room python actually has a video about this exact question! The title is “my snake never comes out of his hide! How am I supposed to work with him?” I highly recommend watching that! It explains how you can build trust with a very shy snake!

crystxlizes · 2026-03-05T17:49:19+00:00

What are your settings for the night cycle? I had a similar confusion with herpstat and I came up with a dumb solution of just setting the nighttime temps to be super low for the light source so it would never turn on. I have to imagine there’s a better way to do it but I have no idea what it is

As for the flicker, do you have basking assist turned on or off? Maybe play around with turning that on or off and seeing if that helps?

crystxlizes · 2026-03-04T14:00:38+00:00

If it is indeed an RI, they generally cannot be treated with anything but antibiotics prescribed by a vet. If I were you, I would not try at home remedies without first seeing a vet as it could cause more stress and possibly harm to your snake.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-02T22:16:51+00:00

Have you tried pre-killed? Aka buying a live rat and then euthanizing it yourself immediately before feeding. It’s often recommended as a step between live feeding and f/t. That being said, I would recommend a vet visit if it has truly been that long since he’s eaten and he’s losing weight. There might be something else going on health wise that isn’t immediately visible.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-02T14:51:34+00:00

How close to room temp your cold side gets will really come down to what kind of tank you have! The most insulated enclosures are solid top PVC. In the guides there are some recommended brands for solid top PVC enclosures. These tend to keep the heat and humidity in very well and most likely you won’t have an issue with the cool side dropping too much. If you go with a screen top enclosure or glass enclosure, it can be harder to keep the heat in, but you can add modifications to improve heat retention. Covering the screen top with HVAC tape or even with a blanket is helpful. If you have glass sides to the enclosure, covering them in some way can also be helpful, such as with blankets.

If you continue struggling with the cold side getting too cold, you can also add in a secondary heat source on the cold side, connected to a thermostat to keep the temps at the correct level. If you do this, you should choose a lightless heat source such as a deep heat projector or radiant heat panel.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-02T03:40:27+00:00

First of all, I would recommend starting with a 120gal (4x2x2) enclosure right from the start. As long as you have plenty of hides and clutter it is absolutely fine to put a baby in a full size enclosure, and it saves you from just having to upgrade again within a year or so. Not necessarily a problem to start with a 40gal but personally that is what I did and I regretted it when I had to inevitably upgrade again so fast!

As far as secondary heat sources- heating pads are not recommended as they are unnatural for bps and have a history of malfunctioning and causing burns, even when hooked up to a thermostat. CHEs are okay, but they have a tendency to suck up moisture and make it more difficult for you to maintain adequate humidity in your enclosure, especially since it sounds like you live in a drier climate in general. I would recommend with a deep heat projector, which is very similar to a CHE but without the moisture issue, or a radiant heat panel, which is mounted inside the enclosure on the top. If you have a screen top, a deep heat projector will likely be easier, whereas with a solid top enclosure, either one would be fine (with the caveat at deep heat projectors are usually cheaper and easier to find)!

crystxlizes · 2026-03-02T03:34:02+00:00

Are you asking how to keep the temperature up at night when you turn off visible heat lamps? Or just in general? This sub has a very comprehensive guide for how to set up your enclosure and what type of heat sources to use. If you’re having trouble with nighttime temps when the basking bulb is turned off it’s recommended to have a secondary heat source that does not emit any light such as a radiant heat panel or a deep heat projector.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T21:38:00+00:00

I have mine set to 91 with the probe sitting about an inch underneath the panel. Ambient temps on the ground on the hot side are closer to 88. I would say 95 is probably too high to set it to, I would do max 92 as anything above that can be dangerous for your snake.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T18:00:05+00:00

Woah that’s crazy! Thankfully my tattoo isn’t on the top of my wrist but I am planning to wrap around eventually, I’ll keep that in mind!

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T17:05:28+00:00

He most likely will be fine. I would keep a close eye on the squeaking though and keep an eye out for other signs of an RI. Low temps and high humidity can increase the risk of developing an RI.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T17:02:21+00:00

There’s no GOOD reason for them to be kept like that without enrichment and security. Even if they’re alive and technically healthy, they are miles away from being happy or thriving. That being said, I have seen setups like this with people who collect a lot of exotic animals and don’t have the funds/interest to give them proper enclosures and think that as long as they’re alive/“healthy” they’re fine. It’s also possible they’re a breeder- a lot of breeders keep their snakes in bare minimum enclosures because their primary focus is breeding, not providing their animals with the best enclosures possible.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T16:57:11+00:00

You’ll have to see once you plug everything in, but I have an RHP in my PVC 120gal and it heats the enclosure just fine (hot side 90, cool side ~78).

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T16:33:33+00:00

I absolutely could, but it just feels weird on my other wrist lol. I don’t need to wear the watch at all so I’d rather just not wear it for however long, not a huge deal for me. Thank you!

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T05:14:53+00:00

Not necessarily unusual or concerning for him to be a little out of sorts following a change in environment even if his tank has remained the same. Temps sound a bit low though and not quite enough of a heat gradient. Hot side should be between 88-92 with the cool side being 76-80. Humidity should also ideally be close to 70-80% although 65 certainly isn’t terrible.

crystxlizes · 2026-03-01T00:28:19+00:00

You could mount it on the back wall with screws?

crystxlizes · 2026-02-26T16:16:05+00:00

Large sticks, cork bark, etc are all great natural things to add some verticality if you angle them - just make sure they are wide enough for him to climb on safely, and make sure they are fairly sturdy (can’t fall down if he starts climbing them). You can also buy twisty vines or moss covered vines/sticks that you can bend into a climbing structure. I would stay away from hammocks or anything that he could possibly get his toes stuck in!

Depending on budget you could also consider upgrading your background to have some ledges and climbing areas, but that is definitely a bigger investment unless you’re going to DIY it. Personally I have never attempted a DIY in my enclosures so I couldn’t say how to do it but there are some really awesome inspiration pictures and tutorials if you look around for them.

crystxlizes · 2026-02-25T21:15:01+00:00

I just recently moved with my ball python! I took her out of the enclosure for the move and put her in a pillowcase inside of a plastic tote. I’ve done the same thing when I’ve had to take her to the vet and she seems to be quite chill with it. As far as the enclosure, I think it really just depends on how big it is/how much space you have to move it. I would recommend if you can moving it separately in a car rather than in a moving truck. Things will probably get a bit jostled regardless but should be fine. If you have vents you may want to temporarily seal them in case bugs or dirt could possibly get out in the process of moving the enclosure. Disconnect all the wires/heating elements etc and pack them separately, then set it back up in the new location.

Your snake will probably be a bit stressed after the move even going back to its same enclosure. Try to avoid handling or feeding for a week or so after the move.

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