baby ball python concerns

[elmo]

i have my new bp in fir bark... not cedar chips, but should i put him in calcium substrate sand, or just leave him? what is the best thing for them? also, some people are saying UV lighting isn't needed.. other are saying it is... i dunno which one is true? i have a uv sunlight and a uv moonlight. should i use them? any other comments, please let me hear them, i'd really love to know

	Ball Python The Ball Python (Python regius), also known as the Royal Python, is a ground dwelling snake native to the savannahs and rain forests in western Africa, predominatly the countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

[JuliusSqueezer]

Sand is bad especially for snakes with heat pits. Fir? I have no idea. I use cypress mulch and because it's like 2 bucks for a bag I can barely carry...I don't see a need to try anything else right now. Some snakes need UV...most of them are insectavors though which your snake is not. Any reptile who's diet consists of whole mammilian prey does not need UV. It won't hurt him though as long as he's not an albino....just a waste of money. Any household bulb will do.

[elmo]

thankyou for all the help... so the uv light won't hurt? and the fir bark won't hurt either so they are both ok? i just want to make sure this one doesn't die on me

[leerankin]

royals come out when the suns down in the wild so exposure to bright lighting ie UV will damage their eyes over long term exposure and they hide from bright light anyway and if given can stress them out more which is bad at such a vunerable stage of their life paticularly when the stress causes them to regurgitate food and they get their calciyum from the mice wheras it would be needed for the insectvorious snakes like the rough greens etc
personally i use no artificial lighting i use ceramic heaters for adults and heatmats for smaller royals
best set up for small royal is a simple one(kitchen towel or newpaper substrate with just the necessaries like small hide,waterbowl maybe a branch)as little snakes and newspapere in adults as its safe and theres no risk of ingesting the substrate and as royals are not desert animals theres no need to have calci sand in the cages and bark can be swallowed unless you are prepared to put it in a seperate feeding tub
lee

[buck2003]

You do not require uv! just a heat source! the best substrate is newspaper or kitchen roll! Just a few hides and your done! Above you'll see the temps to maintain!
Buck