r/ballpython • u/RootBeerBog • 1d ago
Question - Husbandry Why does he love his water dish
This is my boy Arthur.
Husbandry: Cool side 78, hot side 88. Humidity is kept consistently at 80+ He has three hides (buried except for the hole, one on cool side, two on hot side) Bio active, no signs of scale rot or mites, I don’t have any other reptiles, I just added the butterwort yesterday as there ARE little fungus gnats. I’m thinking he might be bothered by them and so that’s why he’s bathing, but it’s almost daily at this point, and I noticed him hanging out in the water a few days ago. He is fed f/t so no chance of injuries. The top mesh is blocked by HVAC except for lights.
Note, the hydrometers visible on the ground in his tank have no sticker/residue. He has one that is by a probe as well.
His water dish is about a gallon and a half deep. He moved from his starter 40 gal to this 4x2x2, a few weeks ago. He is 1.5 years old and ~625 grams. Fed 7% weight every three weeks, but I’ll be spacing out to 4 weeks because he is looking a smidge rotund. He’s about 32” long.
Yesterday I handled him, returned him to the sticks and he chilled out in the center back for a bit. The other day when he was in the water, I added more water to the corners of his tank and he then slithered out into his hide, so I thought maybe he wants it extra humid, but it’s already pretty damn moist in there!! When I reach my hand in, if I rub my fingers together they’ll feel wet after a moment.
His cool side was at 80 prior to yesterday, I thought maybe he was too warm so I brought it down— since the water feels cool to the touch. But he’s still hanging out in there. He doesn’t stay in there during the night.
Idk if I should aim for 90-100% humidity instead (I know humid spikes happen and would be fine for him to endure) or if he just really likes his deeper water dish? His older one was wide enough for him to lay in if he chose to, but it wasn’t deep like this one!
Or maybe I just need to buy the pet-safe gnat killer stuff today.
Thoughts?
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u/ImmortalGamma 1d ago
Maybe too warm. When the house gets too hot mine take a bath, even if the cool end temperature is just a bit higher than normal.
One other possibility; the latest one I got spent almost his entire first month with me in the water. Temperature and humidity were perfect. I put it down to novelty of having a bowl he could fit in.
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u/RootBeerBog 1d ago
I turned the cool side down to 76 on the thermostat, it’s still at 78 currently. So the left side heat is entirely off. He slithered on out :) I’ll monitor how he does with this change.
Novelty makes sense. So cute and silly of them
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1d ago
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u/RootBeerBog 1d ago
He’s had food— he only has rats. Being a ball python and all
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u/RootBeerBog 1d ago
ball pythons aren’t insectivores
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1d ago
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u/RootBeerBog 1d ago
that’s abnormal. they eat rats and chicks. they do not eat bugs, they aren’t nutritious for them. I’d be concerned about their health tbh
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u/RootBeerBog 1d ago
they aren’t even supposed to eat that often. have you read the care guide? or even done a google search?
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u/RootBeerBog 1d ago
that’s really not best for them though. it’s dangerous for their health to feed them improper food. have you tried offering a rat? it’s what they’re supposed to eat.
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u/blueseoks 21h ago
How long have they been living on a diet of bugs??? There is no way those snakes will live full lives if you are truly feeding bugs to ball pythons.
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u/auroramyrsky 17h ago edited 17h ago
Assuming you're joking, please never joke about stuff like this in places where genuine help and information is being asked for. Telling false advice in the form of poor taste jokes is not funny, but it can be dangerous, as someone inexperienced could take it as real advice and it could end up killing their pet.
If you're not joking, please rehome your snakes or switch them to an appropriate diet ASAP, the animal in question is not a lizard and should not be fed like it was one for the sake of its wellbeing
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u/ballpython-ModTeam 17h ago
Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.
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u/blueseoks 21h ago
You can use a product called mosquito bits to kill gnats, it just takes longer. I forget the specifics but it should kill larvae and the adults eventually die of natural causes. You use water that has been sitting with the bits in it for at least 24 hours to water plants/pour into the substrate instead of plain water. Keep the water in his bowl the same though, you don’t need to use the bits in that. Mosquito bits are completely safe to use in his enclosure and will not harm your snake in any way.
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